| | | Trying to save our healthcare, embracing sweater weather, and more. | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | December 6, 2016 | Letter No. 63 | | | | | | | | | | | Advertisement | | |  | | | | | | | | | Hi Lennys,
Each day brings a fresh outrage — a threat to revoke citizenship for flag burners, a false claim of voter fraud — and it makes you feel like gathering a primal scream from the depths of your belly that could last four years. But that kind of blazing passion can make you impulsive, and it can make you flame out. While we definitely need the primal screamers, we need something else, too: right-thinking people showing up every day and doing their jobs, making the phone calls that matter, and continuing to do the best they can under the current circumstances.
This week's issue is about those unassuming, consistent actions that actually accomplish a whole lot. First we have Mattie Kahn's interview with current Health and Human Services secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell. What I found low-key inspiring about this interview is what Burwell says about handing over her role to Trump and his team, who threaten to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, her office's signature piece of legislation:
"We stand ready for their team to come to help them have the smoothest possible transition. That is what our country is about. We will support that and do that. And at the same time, we'll complete the work we've set out to do for the American people. That's our job."
Which is to say, she's not going to sit down and have a tantrum (though I'm sure part of her feels like it). She's going to do her damn job and try to keep health care going as long as she can. Also on the political front, we have Emily Ellsworth, a former congressional staffer, writing about how best to contact your representatives to complain about Trump gutting the ACA, among other things. Short answer: pick up the phone. I know phone calls are actually the worst (if I want to torture Laia, I threaten to call her). But right now it's a daily practice that matters.
Next up we have an interview with MAKE Beauty's creative director, Ariana Mouyiaris, along with a video visit to the company's Long Island City factory. In addition to manufacturing gorgeous lip, cheek, and eye colors, MAKE gives 10 percent of its sales — all sales, not just profits — to the We See Beauty Foundation, which supports female-led businesses on a cooperative model. Funding other women's businesses has been part of MAKE's model from day one; this isn't just some one-time gimmick.
Finally, we have two pieces of lightness: Melissa Broder's monthly existential horoscopes and Joana Avillez's illustrated ode to sweater weather. Hopefully they will salve that part of your soul that doesn't feel like primal screaming or making earnest phone calls to gleeful hog castrators.
We also need to remember that it can't be all action, all the time. Everybody needs some time to sit back and watch a movie. We're thrilled to present a special screening of Hidden Figures, the new 20th Century Fox movie about the brilliant, groundbreaking women who were behind the Apollo 11 moon landing. Immediately following the screening, Melissa Harris-Perry will be moderating a panel including Margot Lee Shetterly (author of the book Hidden Figures) and our very own Kaitlyn Greenidge. You can submit questions in advance, and may get the chance to chat with them in person. Check out our Instagram for details. If you're in New York this Friday, December 9, RSVP to attend the screening here. Tickets are limited.
If you don't get into this screening, there are tons of other potential distractions to sate you. Sometimes a girl just needs to space out and look at ottomans on Pinterest for nine hours. We need our momentary diversions, in order to rest up for the long days ahead.
Xo
Jess Grose, Lenny editor in chief | | | | | | | | | | | | Advertisement | | | | | | | | | | | Walking Against the Wind | | | | By Mattie Kahn | | |
The second time I interviewed Sylvia Mathews Burwell, secretary of Health and Human Services, I realized she had a good sense of humor. The first time had been all business — open-enrollment season had just kicked off and Burwell wanted to tout the achievements of the Affordable Care Act. I wanted to delve into those, but wanted to probe her, too, on why it seems that its costs are on the rise, that the choices it offers are fewer, that it hasn't quite lived up to all of our low-premium-laced expectations. It was a good conversation — informative, critical, honest.
But it wasn't until two weeks later that I heard her crack a joke. Between our conversations, America had elected a businessman who'd never held public office and ran on discrimination and hate and a definitive promise to repeal and replace the law that Burwell has advocated for since 2014. The heartbreak was so deep, the shock so fresh and terrible — what else could we do? We laughed. Aptly, hospital humor. And then Burwell led us back on track. Because millions of people will have to live with the choices the new administration makes about Obama's health-care law. Because people, even people who voted for Donald Trump, are scared they soon won't be able to pay for their medication. Because Representative Tom Price, whom the president-elect has tapped to fill Burwell's seat in the Cabinet, has spent more than six years trying to gut the Affordable Care Act. And now he'll have more power than ever to do it.
But Burwell, who was president of the Walmart Foundation, worked at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, served in the Clinton administration, and was a Rhodes scholar after she graduated from Harvard, hasn't given up yet. She takes her cues from her constituents. Within three days of the election, more than 300,000 people had signed up for 2017 health-care coverage. Within the first 12 days of open enrollment, over a million people selected insurance plans. The demand, Burwell insists, is there. How Trump decides to meet it, whether he will rejigger the law so that women have to pay more than men for the same health care, so that people with preexisting conditions can be turned away by insurance companies, is anyone's guess.
When I reread our initial interview in our new upside-down universe, I expected to find at least some sense of false assurance, a few mistaken assumptions about a warmly lit, woman-led future that I'd need to cut out. But there were none. No wonder: Burwell has watched Congress try to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than 60 times since the bill was passed in 2012. For over two years, she's needed to make a case for it — to insurers, to hospitals, to Americans, to recalcitrant Republicans. She never presumes. Burwell is an avowed optimist, but a clear-eyed realist all the same: She never believed the battle was over. Now more than ever, she's ready to fight like hell.
Part 1: Before the Election
Mattie Kahn: Given that we're in open-enrollment season, give me the hard sell: What progress can you point to that proves that not only is the Affordable Care Act working, but it's working better than we expected?
Sylvia Mathews Burwell: First, let's start with the fact that there are 20 million fewer uninsured [people] in our nation, and that [of] those that are in the marketplace, we know that their customer satisfaction is the same as those that have insurance provided by their jobs.
Beyond that, because people talk about the Affordable Care Act as a whole around open enrollment, we have to look at the changes it's made that are now in the fabric of health care in the United States. The fact that no one is going to go back to a place where preexisting conditions can keep you out of insurance. No one is going to go back to a place where women could be charged more than men for insurance. We're not going to go back to a place where we don't support preventative care and make people pay for vaccinations or precancer screenings or "well woman" exams with additional out-of-pocket costs.
When we answer the question of "What's working?," I think it's important that we answer the question for the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. Of course, there are certainly places where we know there can be improvement.
MK: What are those places?
SMB: The complaint that people raise the most right now is the premiums. Certainly, while 85 percent of the 10.5 million in the marketplace have tax subsidies, there's 15 percent that don't. Some of those people live in states where there are premium increases, and some of those people live in states where there are not dramatic premium increases. But that's a challenge, and we want to work on it.
MK: What steps are you taking to address that?
SMB: Some of what the president has proposed to work on it include, one, increasing subsidies so there's a broader reach of the subsidies that are out there. Two is the idea of having a public option where there's not a lot of competition. That could put downward pressure on price and provide people with an alternative. Three is that we need to do more about high-cost drugs. That would help the marketplace, help Medicare, help Medicaid, and help the consumer, who is paying a portion of the costs of these drugs.
MK: Because of the ACA, women can't be charged more than men for insurance on the basis of their gender. But do you think sexism still works against women in terms of how they receive care?
SMB: One of the more important achievements that's probably not focused on and that has occurred in 2016 is the implementation of a portion of the Affordable Care Act called 1557. When I got here, it had been worked on for five years. It's the language to implement the law that Congress gave us to protect against discrimination in health care. Discrimination does exist. It exists for women. It exists for transgender people. It exists in a number of places, and so I think that's a critical step forward.
What we need to do more of, certainly at HHS because it's large and because we fund so much research, is make sure that research is done on women. Many conditions are researched on men, and they may be different for women. That's a place where I think continued progress is important.
MK: To do what you do, you have to be both a total pragmatist and probably somewhat of an idealist to believe that progress is really possible. How do you strike the balance?
SMB: It's true. I'm just an optimist at heart. I'm optimistic about our country. I'm optimistic that progress can be made. It helps that I get to meet some of the twenty million people who have been helped. I have met a woman who, before the Affordable Care Act, had breast cancer and delayed her chemotherapy because she had hit her annual limit. I met a woman who told me, "I'll tell you how you treat MS: You get sick enough that an emergency room will take you." That's how she treated the disease before she got coverage on the Affordable Care Act. This was a working woman with four children.
That's how you maintain high energy and enthusiasm even when there are headwinds and sometimes even when those headwinds feel unfair.
Part II: After the Election
MK: Oh God. OK. Trump has repeatedly promised to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act. And yet we know that millions of people who voted for him depend on it. Given that, what's the best- and worst-case scenario for the ACA?
SMB: There are a number of unknowns and uncertainties, so what the team and I are doing is focusing on what we do know. What we do know is that we're still in this period of open enrollment, that the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, and that a million people made plan selections in the first two weeks of November. That's what we're focused on. We have seen insurers all say that these plans will be good for 2017. We have seen even some Republicans say that there will not be an abrupt shift. We're focused on the very specific task ahead, which is getting people the coverage they need.
So I think we don't have a sense of worst and best. As people move from the rhetoric to the reality, from the slogan to how these changes will actually affect people's lives, the conversation will become more real.
MK: Do you have a message for the people in the Trump administration who will be making these decisions?
SMB: Folks should think hard about what it is they're trying to do and want to do. I'm going to assume the best — that both sides and most everyone in this country can agree that we want is more affordability, quality, and access. Those are the standards that Americans should use to judge what happens in Washington, DC.
When I say access, that's the number of people who are insured. When I say affordability, that means, what does it cost for Americans to have health care, to have insurance? What is the taxpayer paying? And when we talk about quality, it's extremely important that the American people know how these decisions will affect their coverage. Does it mean they'll no longer have limits on out-of-pocket expenses? Does it mean they'll have annual limits [on what insurers are willing to pay for care]? Does it mean women will need to pay for contraception? And overall, how are those changes going to impact the deficit?
MK: And to the people who are terrified that they're going to lose their health care — do you have a message for them?
SMB: First, I would say go get it. It's open enrollment — go get that coverage. Now's the time. Go get covered for 2017. Talk to friends who don't have health insurance, and make sure they know they can go to HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 and see for themselves if there's coverage that would be affordable for them. A huge percentage of folks can find plans for $75 or less.
Second, to young women in particular, I want to say your stories matter. Use social media. Share your stories. If you're on your parents' plan or you care about the cost of your contraception or you have a preexisting condition, share that. As I said, this conversation needs to move from rhetoric to reality. The Affordable Care Act affects millions of people's lives. So voice that. [Editor's note: A week after we talked, Burwell launched #CoverageMatters, an online platform that lets consumers share stories of how the ACA has changed their lives.]
MK: Handing over the keys to all of your work to this administration, given what the president-elect has said about health care — is it hard?
SMB: We stay the course. We stand ready for their team to come to help them have the smoothest possible transition. That is what our country is about. We will support that and do that. And at the same time, we'll complete the work we've set out to do for the American people. That's our job.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
Mattie Kahn is writer at elle.com. | | | | | | | | | | | | Advertisement | | | | | | | | | | | “Go Where It's Warm” | | | | By Laia Garcia | | |
Every woman has a different relationship to beauty and makeup. I go through phases of wearing bold lipstick and eye shadows and phases where I embrace a minimal look. (Well, as minimal as a Puerto Rican can ever get with makeup, so my version of minimal is just a bold eyebrow and … lots of shimmer and shine. OK, glitter. Lots of glitter.)
A few years ago, during a particularly difficult time with my personal relationships, I developed an obsession with tiny squares of flashy eye shadow given to me by a friend: a bright turquoise blue, a deep shade of rose pink, and a champagne-tinged glitter that I took to brushing all over my face (which I still do to this day). On the top of the small eye-shadow compacts were the words MAKE in a thin, almost handwritten type. I had never heard of the brand, so I did some sleuthing on its website. I felt like I was looking at art supplies rather than makeup, and it was hard to not go on a crazy buying spree. I also found out that MAKE was based right here in New York, and that the company donated 10 percent of all sales to its We See Beauty foundation, which works to empower women-owned businesses and cooperatives. I had found a new favorite.
Not only does MAKE actively support women entrepreneurs, but its own creative director, Ariana Mouyiaris, is an incredibly smart woman who I immediately felt a kinship to. After studying international relations and working in various design fields, she joined the family business — her dad Nikos started manufacturing high-end cosmetics in the 1970s — when they decided to launch their own brand. She agreed to show Lenny around the MAKE factory in Long Island City, Queens. (Of course we brought a camera along; you can check out all the glorious behind-the-scenes action here.) Afterward, we talked on Skype about starting a beauty company that approaches makeup more like art than "fix your wrongs," joining the family business, and why it's important to follow your instincts, in life and in the workplace.
Laia Garcia: What is your earliest beauty memory?
Ariana Mouyiaris: I remember my father coming home from work and his hand would be covered in color swatches, because he would be trying different shades of makeup. I always felt like beauty was a really tactile thing, and something that could be played with. My mother was this very stunning woman. She had this beauty dresser, and each main drawer just had all of these shadows and blushes all stacked together. I used to sit there and look through it all and play. I remember she gave me these really thick, fat pencils, which I guess were probably beauty pencils, but I got to use them for drawing.
LG: You didn't think you would go into the family business when you became an adult, right? What changed your mind?
AM: Not at all, it was the last thing I wanted to do. I had other interests, and I was always really interested in and inspired by art and design, and that's the world I gravitated toward after I finished my undergraduate degree. I'd studied international relations, but then I started working with a branding agency. Then I did my master's in curating contemporary design, and I continued in that world, working in London with a really talented creative director and designer.
When my father wanted to start a new beauty brand, a new business that would be a social enterprise, which is something really close to his heart, I felt like, Well, if I can come onboard and consult more, work more in the creative side and help make it more culturally relevant, then that's something I would like to do for him. That was how I got hooked in.
LG: So tell me a bit more about We See Beauty. Did it launch simultaneously with MAKE?
AM: Yeah, they were established around the same time. It was always part of MAKE's mission to work synergistically with the foundation. From the beginning we were donating a percentage of sales. We now donate 10 percent of sales, whether it's wholesale dollars or sales through our website, to the foundation to help support and incubate women-led businesses. We started focusing first in the United States, and we've also done partnerships across the Americas. That element was definitely part of MAKE's reason for coming into existence, which goes back to my father's real interest in cooperatives. He grew up in a small town in Cyprus and his family was part of a cooperative. When he was a child, he would sell eggs to the cooperative, and that's how he was able to buy his first bicycle. He saw the impact of cooperative business, which benefitted not only his family but the community in general. That's something that he wanted to see if he could bring to the business world in a new way in America.
LG: What are some of the businesses that We See Beauty is currently working with?
AM: Since the foundation launched, they've given grants to a small, work-owned cooperative in North Carolina called Opportunity Threads, which is a "cut and sew" cooperative. They work with fashion and accessories businesses. When we first began working with them, there were, I believe, four workers, led by a brilliant woman named Molly, and now I believe they are up to 40 employees. We gave them a small grant to buy machinery and other things they needed for their business. Then we also wound up partnering with Mercado Global to create bags with fabric sourced in Guatemala, which we sold through Birchbox as well as our own website. We also got Opportunity Threads involved in doing some of that work. So we were looking at different ways of being involved with a local or American cooperative, and then it expanded, since Mercado Global works with cooperatives in the Americas, particularly in Guatemala.
We've done a mix of grants, and then tried to find ways to also do business partnerships. The foundation also has worked with Working Worlds. They're a very well-respected 501(c)(3) that works on cooperative development in the Americas as well. As a small independent brand, obviously there's only so much that you can do, but as we get bigger the amount that would go toward the foundation and be going toward these types of projects will also grow. Being committed to small, grassroots, incremental change is part of our bottom line. It's not a token thing, it's not 10 percent of after-sale profits or 10 percent on after-sale profit of one lipstick for one month during the year. It's a consistent donation.
LG: What is a piece of advice that you would give someone who is afraid to explore their creative interests, or is going down a career path that no longer feels right for them?
AM: As much as possible, try to stay with your intuition. I love the phrase "Go where it's warm." Try to stick with the things that actually bring you joy and light you up in a certain way. For me, going into beauty, it definitely wasn't part of my game plan, but sometimes I think having really fixed ideas of what your life is going to look like can be detrimental.
Try to find your own kind of chart and constellation. It might not be visible or make sense, but it probably wouldn't until the end anyway, so you just have to stick with what feels right. Develop those things on the side that nurture you on the side, and see how those conversations progress and where they lead you. The more that we do that, the more you tap into that, and put yourself out there, the more you can grow, and find encouragement and support and nurturing on your authentic life path.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
Laia Garcia is the deputy editor at Lenny. | | | | | | | | | | | | Advertisement | | | | | | | | | | | Fall Fashion Forecast | | | | By Joana Avillez | | |
Joana Avillez is an illustrator and cartoonist whose work has been featured in the New York Times, Vogue, Real Simple, and The Believer, among others. | | | | | | | | | | | | Advertisement | | | | | | | | | | | Hello Operator | | | | By Emily Ellsworth | | | |
Since the election, many people who are disappointed, angry, and scared about the outcome have been looking for concrete ways to influence their government. The president-elect has announced a slate of Cabinet picks who are unified by the fact that they have an extreme view about the departments they've been chosen to head: Steve Bannon is a white-supremacist- sympathizer and now Trump's chief strategist; Myron Ebell is a climate-change-denier and up for head of the EPA; Betsy DeVos is a billionaire with no teaching experience and was tapped as the head of the Department of Education. Each of these selections indicates a move toward extremism that will likely be reflected in legislation when Congress begins its next session in January.
Because I worked for Congress for six years, and answered the calls of many an irate constituent, I know all the best practices on how to contact your elected officials. I tweeted out a thread with tips right after Election Day, and those tweets have since been seen over 25 million times. Social-media advocacy works for building awareness of an issue, but when it comes to contacting your representative, tweeting and leaving comments on Facebook aren't enough. Here's what you need to know if you want to make sure your message gets heard.
1. Do your research.
You don't need to be an expert on how Congress works, but it will help to know a little about its day-to-day operations. (I wrote a short guide that can get you on the right track to understanding the basics of how both chambers of Congress work, how to contact your representatives, and what to say or write when you do get in touch). But here's what you need to know to begin: You have three representatives to the federal government: two senators and one member of the House of Representatives. When you make your phone calls, you'll want to limit your contact to these three people, since most offices don't have the resources to respond to people who are not their constituents.
The House of Representatives and the Senate have similar roles, but there are a few key differences you should be aware of. The Senate is the chamber that handles presidential appointments as well as Supreme Court nominations. So, when you start hearing about confirmation hearings, you'll want to contact your senator rather than your representative.
If you have a concern about something on a state level, such as funding for education or Medicaid expansion, you'll want to contact your state legislator. On a state level, you have one state senator and one state representative. The best way to find contact information for them is on your state's website or with a quick Google search.
2. Create your script.
Now that thousands of people are calling their congressional representatives and jamming the phone lines, there are many different scripts available. One of the most popular is a Google document called "We're His Problem Now." If you're feeling unsure about making a convincing script, the ones on that spreadsheet are a good starting point.
However, it's easy and more effective to make your own scripts that include your personal story. When it comes to contacting Congress, it's not just the volume of calls or emails that matters, it's the message as well.
When you make your script, you can start with this formula:
● Begin with your name and city. Be sure to include that you are a constituent. "Hello, my name is (first name), and I am a constituent from (city name)."
● Briefly and respectfully state what you are calling about. It's important to condense your message as much as possible, similar to an elevator pitch or a short answer to an interview question. Stick to one topic per phone call, and give any specifics you have, such as bill numbers, names of presidential appointees, or your support for a policy.
● Take a minute and explain why this issue is personally important to you. If you have expertise or a personal experience about a topic, sharing it with a staffer is powerful. It puts a human face to an issue and makes your position more persuasive.
● Ask the staffer if the representative has a position on the issue you raised, or how they will vote on a bill, or if they will issue a statement. This gives the person on the other line a chance to give your representative's opinion or let you know if they haven't reached a decision yet.
Those four elements will create a phone call that doesn't last too long, but gets your point across clearly.
As you start engaging with your representatives, don't spin your wheels or get burned out by calling every day. Choosing a few key issues that you care about and getting involved with like-minded friends and neighbors will help you know your stuff before you call and reduce the amount of time you spend actually calling.
After inauguration, the new Congress will begin its session, and we will have a clearer understanding of what kinds of laws it will pass. Some of the most important issues will be health care, immigration, national security, and environmental regulations. For instance, funding for a border wall would have to come from Congress. So would the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, or a reversal of the financial regulations found in the Dodd-Frank Act. These are concrete pieces of legislation that Congress will either vote on separately or roll into other pieces of legislation. The best chance to stop these massive changes is by preventing them from coming to a vote or ensuring the vote fails.
During my time in Congress, I found that we were most influenced by public opinion when constituents told us how their lives were affected by bills we were passing. For instance, we heard from many veterans that they wanted more flexibility to choose to participate in health savings accounts provided by their employers. But participating in those benefits meant permanently opting out of TRICARE — their military health coverage. We sponsored legislation that would allow veterans to temporarily pause their military benefits so they could use their employer's benefits. It wasn't a piece of legislation that got a lot of press, but it was something that meant a lot to the veterans in our district who were asking for it.
I believe that with a Trump administration, the best places to take a stand are with keeping existing policies laid out by President Obama. If the Affordable Care Act has made it easier for you to access health-care services, call your representative and let them know which provisions are most important to you. If you came to the United States before your 16th birthday and have been working and going to school because of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, call your representative and let them know that your livelihood and education are at stake.
It's likely that opinions in Congress will not change overnight. The past few years have made representatives more divided than ever. But staffers and Congress have been listening to the fringe voters for far too long. It's essential that reasonable Americans start calling and raising their voices to Congress and showing encouragement for sound policy decisions. Regardless of how you contact your representative, each time you make contact, you are making a difference.
Emily Ellsworth is a freelance content creator and marketer and author of Call the Halls: Contacting Your Representatives the Smart Way. She is a former congressional staffer for Congressman Jason Chaffetz and Congressman Chris Stewart, representatives from Utah. During the 2016 election, she was the Utah state leader for Republican Women for Hillary. | | | | | | | | | | | | Advertisement | | | | | | | | | | | December Lennyscopes | | | | By Melissa Broder | | |
SAGITTARIUS
(November 22 to December 21)
Happy birthday, Sagittarius. "This too shall pass" always seems like a platitude when you are going through it, but it's one of the truest statements there is and also applies to the beautiful times as well. Whether you are feeling good right now or suffering, know that you cannot cling to the feeling, nor can it cling to you, no matter how attached it might seem.
CAPRICORN
(December 22 to January 19)
There is a lot of talk about trusting one's intuition, but how do we know what is intuition as opposed to an impulsive thought or a crappy defense mechanism? I mean, people have done a lot of crazy shit in the name of God, talking dogs, or voices in their heads. In my experience, an intuition may possess some of the same adrenaline as an impulse, but it's a lot quieter. If your head is a noisy place, chances are that what you are hearing or feeling is not your intuition.
AQUARIUS
(January 20 to February 18)
Intellectually, you have a tendency to question a lot when it comes to the outside world. But in terms of your emotions, the feelings and deep-seated beliefs that guide your actions, you have a tendency to forget that these are not fixed states or firm rules. If you are doing something that is boring you or feels in some way like it doesn't fit, ask yourself why you are doing it and whose reason that is.
PISCES
(February 19 to March 20)
Thunder only happens when it's raining, players only love you when they're playing, and some people — no matter how much they seem to have changed — will always create the same dynamic between the two of you. This isn't entirely their fault or your fault, but the nature of a dynamic that has been cut like a groove on a record and it's just where the needle will always fall. You can't re-record the record once it's cut. So, maybe time to play a different one.
ARIES
(March 21 to April 19)
Often, the thing that we despise most about people is really the thing that we cannot tolerate in ourselves. As they say, "You spot it, you got it." I don't think this means that you have to love every shitty thing about yourself, or love it in others, but having an awareness of why certain things hit you hard can be helpful when you feel baffled by the behavior of the world.
TAURUS
(April 20 to May 20)
What we resist persists, but sometimes our resistance is not in the form of a direct protestation. Rather, our resistance can arrive in the form of an unwillingness to look clearly at some aspect of our lives. This month, pay particular attention to those things you approach with a vague or nebulous nature, and ask yourself why.
GEMINI
(May 21 to June 20)
The origin of the word sin does not mean to be a total shithead or a ne'er-do-well or unfit for this earth, but simply to miss the mark. This month, when you are not who you would like to be or are embarrassed of your behavior, perhaps you can reframe it as simply missing the mark. Without a load of self-torture, it might be easier to see the target more clearly and avoid missing it next time.
CANCER
(June 21 to July 22)
There are moments when you see a little boy eating chicken by himself and you feel like you are going to cry … or when an old man is buying plums and your heart breaks … or when a cashier smiles at you and you feel like you are no longer alone in the world. Those moments are not just hormones. They are your humanity, our common essence coming through, and they are more real than anything else that can possibly go on.
LEO
(July 23 to August 22)
You have the tendency to make everything into an emergency — in part because you really do love being alive, and being in a state of emergency lifts you out of the doldrums of life and changes your feelings into excitement and adrenaline. This is totally fine. It's your life. But for the sake of experimentation, what if this month you allow nothing to be an emergency, no matter what, and see what that's like.
VIRGO
(August 23 to September 22)
Stillness is scarier than motion, but only because when you are still it's harder to distract yourself from difficult truths. But we as human beings can learn to sit with anything, and even you — a runner by nature — can find some spaciousness in stillness. You may ask, "But why would I bother doing this if I could just as easily run instead?" Well, someday everything will grow very, very still, and it's a good idea to be acquainted with it in advance.
LIBRA
(September 23 to October 22)
The action of surrendering something that isn't working for us is a lot harder than it sounds. What does it mean to let go, and how do we even start the process of doing that if we don't feel willing? One way is to ask the universe, or whatever you believe in — your therapist, sleep — to help you become willing to be willing. Another way to start, even if you can't move away yet, is by not taking any more steps closer to that thing.
SCORPIO
(October 23 to November 21)
If you stay outside and fight the elements all winter, you're going to tire yourself out and freeze. But if you sit indoors by a fire, it's actually kind of peaceful to watch the wind, snow, and desolation outside. There is a contrast between what is warm and what is dying. Consider, also, that you always have a fireplace inside you — even when life seems cold and barren.
Melissa Broder is the author of four collections of poems, including Last Sext (Tin House 2016), as well as So Sad Today, a book of essays from Grand Central. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The email newsletter where there's no such thing as too much information.
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