Sharing three things with you periodically. But only three. At a time, each time. That is why it’s called “Only In 3’s.”1
A Short-Short
A Few Thoughts About Sin by Abigail Thomas | What Comes Next?
I spent the evening before bed listening to the news, and wound up nowhere. Maybe my time could have been better spent. I could have tried doing something useful. For no particular reason, at least nothing that travels in a straight line, I look up the word “sin.” The earliest Indo-European Root for the word “sin,” is the verb “to be.” Sounds hopeless, right? I burst out laughing. To be is to sin. And vice versa.
A Reported Piece
Can We ‘Shroom Our Way Out of Depression? | DAME Magazine
The great Stacy Lu wrote this piece last summer, edited by my friend Kera Bolonik, about women microdosing psychedelics for their mental health. In my case, a one month supply of mushrooms isn’t cheap and the pandemic-inspired microdosing ritual I started eventually boiled down to one decision. It was either shell out the money for maybe-magic or stick with pro therapy. Couldn’t do both on the regular so I went with what I know best. Shit, that might have been the wrong decision. The key to managing “wellness treatment” might be the way that many of us approach paid Substack subscriptions and streaming services in a world where saving our pennies is actually pointless. Remember pennies? If we’re able to afford one modality, maybe we alternate with another financially comparable one. Pause one, resume the other, repeat. Wax on, wax off. After a month of torturous talk therapy, you just reward yourself and peace out on a psilocybbatical. You have to take a break from psilocybin anyway or you’ll build up a tolerance. Is this a solid healthcare plan? It might be. Anyway, I’m just thinking out loud here. That’s what a magazine is for. Also, I’m not sure if you can tell, but at this current and very particular moment in time, I am not actually doing any kind of therapy. Enough about me — read the story. (I’m also in the story.)
Guess who’s 6 months old. Yes — the little independent How I Learned series baby magazine project! It takes a village, and paid subscriptions and donations do the most to sustain the work, support the writers, and make it possible to offer stuff for free. Every bit helps. Thank you, and we’ll see you at the family reunion.
A Word
How To Slay A Dragon by Rebecca Dupas
Speaking of everything, watch this 3-minute clip. Pause, put your jaw back on your face, take a breath, and thank me after.
Hey, y’all. Happy New Year.
By which I mean, I hope you end up having the kind of New Year’s Eve you actually want to have. And we’ll take 2026 one day/hour/anywhere from 20 to 3 minutes at a time. Yes?
xo Blaise