The Thursday Dispatch - June 5, 2025

There’s been a concept which has been heavy on the brain for me this week or so.

Grace.

Or, the act of giving someone grace. What does this mean exactly? Giving someone grace means treating them with kindness, understanding, and forgiveness, even when they don’t deserve it or when they make mistakes. It’s about extending compassion and patience, recognizing that everyone is human and capable of falling short.

This has been a part of my growth journey. I can admit I’m impatient at times. Sometimes that impatience causes me to get mad at people that may or may not deserve it. I’ll give an example.

I have a good friend who lives in a full house. This person is one with whom I’m very comfortable being 100% open, a rarity for me. But because of their full house and consequently their full agenda, it means they cannot be readily available for me at all times. Their home comes first. It is what it is. This also means plans can get canceled. In fact, plans are usually made short-range. Very few things are weeks in advance.

In the past, I would get upset with this. I’m a planner. I put things like dinners and lunches with people in my calendar. When I meet my friends in Lincoln for hockey games, I not only put the game in my calendar but also the pregame meetup, complete with driving time. This is how I operate. This is a clear contrast to someone with whom I frankly can rarely plan anything.

I’ve had to learn to take a step back, usually a deep breath, and come with the understanding that these canceled plans aren’t an attack on me, but they’re a direct result of this person’s life being a hell of a lot more chaotic than mine. I live a life where I have too much time on my hands. They live a life with little available time. So, these two things will clash, but none of it is personal. And I’ll tell you something else: if I really need them because shit is hitting the fan for me personally, they’re there. Every time.

So, you step back and give people grace. Because you never know the full scope of what people are dealing with, so the last thing they need is yet another person putting pressure on them when what they might need most is a soft landing and someone showing them they understand. It’s a tricky balance sometimes, but a necessary one.

Weekly Photo

I went for a hike this past week to the Hitchcock Nature Center in the Loess Hills in Iowa. Afterwords, I went on a hunt for a sling bag, with my first stop (after getting coffee at Archetype) being The Fontenelle Supply Co. in the Little Bohemia neighborhood in Omaha. I took the photo for this post simply because I enjoy the architecture here.

Weekly Links

Tulsa, Oklahoma, plans more than $105m in reparations for America’s ‘hidden’ massacre

$150m is a drop in the bucket these days. But, it’s a start and frankly better than nothing, even if it’s coming well beyond anyone living through this tragedy still being around. May this be a step in the right direction over any kind of virtue signaling.

Exactly Why Minimalism Feels Empty and Unsatisfying and what to do about it - YouTube

This video struck a chord with me. I find myself drawn to minimal spaces, but not the drab monochromatic color schemes. Minimalism can in fact still be expressive of who we are as individuals.

Vinyl Me, Please to Relaunch Following Acquisition | Pitchfork

A cool, albeit pricey, service lives again.

Songs In the Chaos

This is my weekly list of song that either caught my attention or came to mind this past week. I post these throughout the week on a site called Crucial Tracks, where they’re also added to a playlist on Apple Music. Feel free to follow me on either space.