The Recommended Dosage #2
A weekly prescription for morale: music, books, food, and media.
A long time ago, I listened to an episode of The Diary of a CEO with Evy Poumpouras. She is a former U.S. Secret Service special agent and the author of Becoming Bulletproof. She was saying: “When you feel stuck, lost, confused, or emotional, generate kinesis. Move.”
Movement, no matter how small, generates new information that can inform a better decision. It’s important to create progress and momentum. If you’re struggling or sad, or something terrible has happened, find ways to move out of it. Don’t take a bath in it. There is freedom in letting go. Sometimes you put yourself in more pain by staying still. Illustrate your fortitude. Don’t take a bath in it.
The world is scary and tough, and it’s hard to always know the right thing to do. It’s easy to feel tied up by the state of the world. This series is my version: not taking a bath in my anxiety. Not letting the horrors get me down and doing what I can to make the world a better place.
This series is my way of generating kinesis, because sometimes we need to just make a wholesome dinner, talk to a neighbor, take wine to a friend when she is sad, or take the scary step and go to therapy.
A Micro Dose
I found this on a tea bag: “Smiling is the simplest form of peace work.” I want people to see me as a warm yellow light. Being warm and approachable, in the right settings, helps me feel more a part of my community.
I have formed a relationship with a neighbor recently, and it makes all the difference just knowing someone on your street who is a safe person and has been through life themselves. Thank you, Patricia.
Some of my garden plants are growing back. I’m excited to see how full my catmint will be this year.
Environmental Support
Open your windows. That’s it. Just get a literal breath of fresh air.
Squeeze something. A NeeDoh is perfect. A cure for when your hands feel awkward or are filled with nervous energy.
Paint your nails red. Kur + Dazzle Dry if you hate sitting in salons as much as I do.
Wear cute pajamas. Put on soft pajamas and allow yourself to be done for the night. These are my favorites.
Media Intake
Articles
You don’t have a right to believe whatever you want to — Daniel DeNicola
A sharp look at the ethics of belief. DeNicola argues that belief isn’t purely private. When our convictions ignore evidence or logic, they become a kind of intellectual irresponsibility that affects everyone. If you’re tired of the “my truth” era, read.
Fuck Work — James Livingston
Despite the title, this isn’t laziness. Livingston questions the idea that our worth should be tied to productivity and asks what happens when we stop defining ourselves primarily by our labor.
I am not a story— Galen Strawson
This is a high-level pushback against the modern obsession with “narrative.” Strawson argues against the idea that we have to see our lives as a cohesive story with a beginning, middle, and end to be healthy or ethical. It’s for anyone who feels like their life is more of a series of disjointed moments. It’s okay to just be without having to turn your existence into a “journey.”
The glorious and the mundane — Diana Saverin
This piece is a beautiful study on the friction between our desire for an extraordinary life and the reality of the daily “smallness” that actually makes up our existence. Saverin explores how we often miss the richness of our immediate world because we are so busy looking for the “grand” version of our lives.
In the Name Audio / Written Version — Pádraig Ó Tuama
A jolt of a poem about the things we do in the name of something else—faith, love, honor, belonging. Ó Tuama traces the strange power those words carry and the deep human wanting underneath them. It’s brief and resonant.
Building a better world starts with small, wholesome notes. Be a good neighbor & share with a friend!
Music & TV
Friends
This is my comfort show. It makes me laugh, helps me forget the weight of the day, and feels like home. It was a constant presence in my house growing up, and even now, my sister puts it on the moment I walk through her door. Making the trip to visit in two days, and I can’t wait.
Songs
Worth It — RAYE
She’s Got Something — Greg Holden
American Love Song— Infinity Song and Momo Boyd
Books
Update: Just finished Station Eleven — Emily St. John Mandel
The Current Read: The Year of Magical Thinking — Joan Didion
Administrative Work
Plan your moves. Seeing the entire year at once helps me move toward my goals with more intention.
Open-dated and minimalist. Perfect if you hate rigid planners.
Massive wall calendars that let you see an entire year at once. Ours hangs above our bed, so we actually plan our lives, get off screens, and enjoy the sun!
If you’ve been here long, you know I can’t function without my journal, so here is the one I love. It’s an affordable version of the Louis Carmen or Paper Republic, but one day, when I go to Paris, I’ll get mine.
Nutritional Support (food/recipes)
Easy Dinner: Tikka Masala Samosas
Quick Sauce: Stir together sour cream and chimichurri (Trader Joe’s jarred chimichurri works perfectly). That’s it. Tangy, herby, and really good with the samosas.
I usually pair them with a simple fruit bowl for something fresh: strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries with a squeeze of lemon and a splash of orange juice. It’s easy, colorful, and takes almost no effort, which is the entire goal.
Internal Diagnostics
Journal prompts
Where in your life are you currently “taking a bath” in a feeling, like anxiety, resentment, or hesitation, rather than moving through it? What is one small, literal movement (opening a window, making a meal, a ten-minute walk) you can take to break the seal on that mood?
Reflecting on the “I Am Not a Story” philosophy…if you stopped trying to make your current struggle fit into a tidy “meaningful journey,” how would that change your immediate stress level? What happens if you allow this moment to just be disjointed?
Look at your immediate environment. What is a “mundane” task you’ve been neglecting (laundry, clearing a desk, watering a plant) that actually anchors you? Describe the shift in your headspace that occurs when you stop thinking about the “big” problems and focus entirely on the physical rhythm of a small, ordinary chore.
The Prescription: One act of micro-kinesis daily. Do not wait for the “perfect” conditions to move.
Refusing to be stagnant is an iteration of dignity.
Fortitude doesn’t have to be dramatic. It’s developed in daily intentional choices that ultimately make the difference. It’s choosing a bright red nail polish when you feel low, or lying on the ground when you need a minute, or just shutting up, giving a hug, and moving on.
These are the tools we can use to build community and identity in a world that can feel dangerously cold. I’ll see you next week.
Get moving & take good notes,
Moll
If you enjoyed this, read:
The Recommended Dosage
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