By Emma Atkinson

Hello lovely readers! Kisses and hugs all around, and all of them consensual, of course. I'm back from traveling to France and double air kissing many French folx, as they do — so much magnificent art to see and so little time. Count me convinced that seeing art live and in person is several orders of magnitude greater than seeing reproductions.

Bumbershoot Festival at Seattle Center this year featured a poster with the word "consent" written down the left side and an explanation of what each letter represents in the land of consent. It was kind of awesome to see consent reminders as one experienced the many wonders of the festival. And, we're going to consider how each consent concept affects our lives and our experiences.

So, let's start with the letter C, which means to check yourself and your friends before you wreck someone's night. Isn't there a line in a song with the advice to check yourself before you wreck yourself? Thich Nhat Hahn suggests that one might have on one's wall the question, "Are you sure?" I'm thinking that it can't hurt to stop whatever one is up to, especially at highly emotional times, and take a good look around.

Have you ever been swept up in some hysteria of the moment only to think, in hindsight, how you might have made better choices? Who of us hasn't let our better judgment take a back seat to the lure of something or someone? As an added benefit, when you stop to look around, you have the chance to express your gratitude, as needed.

Homework: At some random time, check out yourself and your friends. What did you find? Let us know at: info@thecspc.org.

"Be excellent to each other." —Bill and Ted

"Be sexcellent to each other." —Emma