With a decade as a body liberation facilitator and a lifetime of lived experience as a fat, biracial, queer, neurodivergent person, Tiana Dodson is well-versed in what it is to exist in a multiply-marginalized body. As an active co-creator of the Syllabus for Liberation, her work addresses how personal, community, and global liberation depend upon each other. Through her consulting services, group offerings, and public speaking, Tiana highlights the ways these systems of oppression are bound together and how we can push back against them.
Because the holidays can be hard...
Hey there Reader
Yesterday, in spite of the fog that all the recent bumpy and anxiety-inducing happenings in my life, I realized that it's really holiday season yet again.
You see, here in Europe, we miss several of the major holiday observances that are the obvious hallmarks of holiday season in the US and Canada. There's a lackluster nod-to-Halloween situation (which makes any and all efforts sadder to witness) and an absolute absence of Thanksgiving (because these folks around here are the ancestors of colonizers that didn't get on boats, just supported them that did).
So when the Christmas Markets open and every store every where is selling evergreen pieces for decoration, it somehow always sneaks up on me like a nasty jump scare in a movie that shouldn't have one.
And, naturally, I hate it.
So the past few years, I have been finding ways to make the season fun for myself, minus all the obligations that such a season tends to try to foist on us each year.
One of the ways I do that is choosing to opt out.
I am discerning about what I'm willing to do, put up with, and endure in order to celebrate with the family that I have, the family that I've chosen, and create traditions that feel real and easeful.
So I see you if this season is hard, for whatever reasons it's hard. Your feelings are valid. Your experiences are valid.
And with that in mind, what can you choose to opt out of in order to be more discerning about how you participate in the holiday kerfluffle?
If you want a place to share your thoughts, feel free to reply to this email. My inbox is open to you and I look forward to reading what comes up for you.
May you have more ease this holiday season,
Speaking of things I choose to opt out of, there are also some things I choose to opt into. And this is one of them: 25 Days of Deals.
My friend Melody from the Course Consultant is hosting the Holiday Course Collaboration, a digital holiday countdown until the end of December. She's curated a group of templates and trainings offered at a discounted price exclusively for course creators that want to grow their recurring revenue.
So if you're planning on growing or launching a membership, group program, or course in 2023, this is for you!!!
It all kicks off December 1st. Are you in Reader?
| Signup for the Deals! |
Tiana Dodson
With a decade as a body liberation facilitator and a lifetime of lived experience as a fat, biracial, queer, neurodivergent person, Tiana Dodson is well-versed in what it is to exist in a multiply-marginalized body. As an active co-creator of the Syllabus for Liberation, her work addresses how personal, community, and global liberation depend upon each other. Through her consulting services, group offerings, and public speaking, Tiana highlights the ways these systems of oppression are bound together and how we can push back against them.
Hey Reader! Years ago, I got into the work of Gretchen Rubin. She's somebody who did lots of research around happiness and even published a book about it. One big thing I took away from her work (nothing about happiness, somehow), was that I was an Obliger. Here's what her quiz results say about folks like me, "Obligers meet outer expectations, but struggle to meet inner expectations. Of all the Tendencies, Obligers are the biggest group, and the ones whom people count on the most. They put a...
Hey Reader. [read this with your ears by clicking here] Do you ever catch yourself sliding down the YouTube rabbit hole of videos that you're watching for "curiosity" or "entertainment" sake, yet are thinly veiled self-punishments because you spend the entire time judging yourself for what you aren't doing already but think you should be? No? Just me?? Well, that's fine. Because if you keep reading I'll tell you more about the wild landscape that is inside my brain and maybe you'll find...
Happy 44th unbirthday to you, Reader! (unless it actually IS your birthday today and then YAAAYYYY!!! Happy Birthday to yoooooouuuu!!!) I'm not a big birthday celebrator... I think it has to do with the fact that I put so much into producing birthdays for my child. But mostly it probably has to do more with the facts that I'm just mentally and emotionally busy right now and most of the people I really want to do stuff with live across oceans from me. Le sigh. Either way, I'm sharing my...