Wonderbringers Newsletter with Monica Parker
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Hello Wonderseekers!
It’s Carnival time all over the world, and given the mood lately, some festivities are in order. My family is from New Orleans, and so Mardi Gras has always been a special time. for me. King cake season gave way to Krewes and parades before the piety and deprivation of Lent. For locals, it is much more of a G-rated affair than the debauchery often associated with ‘Fat Tuesday’. Families stake out sections along the parade route, bring picnics and make a day of it. So it only seemed fitting that when I moved to Nice, France, I learned that they also have a strong Carnival tradition—some say it is the longest-running Carnival, having begun in 1294 — complete with their own version of king cakes and parades.
Most people believe the word carnival comes from the medieval Latin carnem levare or carnelevarium, which means to take away or remove meat, as was tradition during Lent. It was also a time when social strata, norms, and hierarchies were paused. Where order and decorum gave way to chaos and debauchery. (The Niçoise celebration was even managed for a while by a group called ‘the abbots of the insane’— I bet they knew how to throw a party!) Those celebrations likely grew from the Greek and Roman Bacchanalia festivals, where celebrants sought to drive out the dark winter spirits to make way for the light-filled omens of spring.
I like thinking about the ancient history of the Carnival because I find it inspiring (and instructional) that people still made time to party even when their lives were incredibly tough. At the time of the first Bacchanal, child mortality was 30%. By the time the first Nice Carnival was held in 1283, life expectancy had only creeped up to 40yo. And even during those much harder times, people still partied. It was because of the harder times that they partied. They grasped the joy and wonder wherever they could find it, and we should do the same.
Let’s honour the tradition of Carnival by throwing out some norms and breaking the rules. For this Lenten season, instead of giving up meat or sweets, give up angst and anger. Replace lack with light and deprivation with dancing. Stop inciting darkness and instead ignite joy and wonder.
Wear purple, green, and gold. Grab a feather boa. Make some pancakes. Spank someone while demanding their buns. (FYI: NSFW)
There is plenty of time for impecuniousness come spring. Bolla! Bolla! Bolla!
Some wonderbringers for me this week:
Conversation is a game with rules about politeness: To have deeper conversations, try being more of an asshole.
Wonder is everywhere: Ed Yong Wants to Show You the Hidden Reality of the World.
Wisdom of the elders: Grandma stand helps strangers connect.
Thank you for all the interest in the Vision Boarding session! It will be held live on Thursday April 4th at 4:30pm GMT (11:30am ET, 8:30am PT). A recording will be available for those who cannot join live.
It is free for Wonderbringers subscribers, so if you have any folks who would like to join, forward them this email so they can subscribe to get access.
Get in touch if you want an invite!
With wonder,
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