We started off strangers...

I’ve had some amazing conversations this month with the likes of brilliant Ivy League students and passionate pluralism pros. But none were as memorable as the one I had with July (pronounced “Joolee”). ⬆️

We started off strangers — one picking up the other for a scheduled ride to the Newark airport. Then she stopped so I could get coffee, I bought her one too, we settled back in the car, and something in us… opened. For the rest of the three-hour ride, through laughter and tears and spot-on Spanish curses, I had the honor of hearing her story. It had chapters in Colombia and Argentina; in trauma and triumph; and by the time she shared her hard-won wisdom about motherhood, I felt more alive than I can say. By the time July dropped me off at the terminal, I didn’t give a quick “thank you” to my driver. I scrunched my face and hugged my friend. 

Here are three things to spark your curiosity this week:

A stat 📈

Your friends change your world. In a 2008 study, researchers asked people to stand at the base of a hill and judge how steep it is. And get this: People who stood with a friend by their side saw the hill as less steep than people who looked at it alone. (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology)

A quote 🗣️

“Never win an argument. When you win, you lose so much more.” That’s Jefferson Fisher, a Texas lawyer who’s earned a huge following with his lightning-quick tips for confident communication. I’m obsessed. (Jefferson Fisher)

An awe 🌈

Nothing is simple. Not even hate. Stumbling upon this, from meditation teacher Jesse Maceo Vega Frey in adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy (p. 206), gave me an instant “I never thought of it that way” moment:

“Fear and craving and hatred and clinging are deep emotional protections against the unknown that enabled us to survive over millions of years of evolution, and while we need to see how they hold us back, and learn how to overcome them — individually and collectively — we shouldn’t pathologize them. We actually need to respect them.”

Stay curious, all.