This long May included my first in-person retreat, Work/Life, international romps with friends through Rome and Vienna, small-group coaching with the guides who lead public tours at the MFABoston, and my 20-year college reunion with another set of dear friends.

So here’s a recap of these goings-on.

There’s truly something special about feeling like you click with weirdos whose oddness matches your own. The most magic places and experiences are definitely not for everyone, but you don’t get something truly special without turning some people off.

First, some bird watching.

Second, some oasis watching.

Third, some watching of… I don’t know what the hell Pioneertown is exactly.

Meow Wolf: I slid and climbed and played gesture games with costumed performers moving through the space. Jennifer and I made a lot of nerdy art museum jokes about which elements were like knock-off Yayoi Kusama’s or Nam June Paik’s and James Turrell’s. It was a good time of an afternoon.

[Taylor Mac’s] collective engagement transforms the experience, creating a magical place of possibility where harsh truths and awkwardness mingle with triumph.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to offer visitors an unexpected experience during their time in the museum. I like delight and surprise (who doesn’t?), and I heartily believe that an art museum is ripe to provide both of those things.

An interdepartmental team of curators and educators came together to brainstorm ideas for how to take action in response, and after some discussion, we decided to focus in on this section: “Always be just as ready to listen as you are emboldened to speak out for or against others.”

The spirit of play. That’s how I’m referring to it, at least.  The same idea was talked about as “being OK with failure”, “going in without predetermined outcomes”, and “iterative approaches”, but it was all shades of the same thing, and it was popping up everywhere.