Janette Watt (she/they)
@janettewatt.bsky.social
Janette reflects on issues affecting us all. A career as a lawyer, academic, and a government policymaker - what has always driven her is a passion for a better world for everyone.
SUBSCRIBE: https://janettewatt.substack.com/
SUBSCRIBE: https://janettewatt.substack.com/
When I reflect on my friendships I feel an interconnectedness - a kinship that is not defined by blood ties but by a familiarity and shared experiences - if not now, once upon a time. What is it for you? I wrote about friendship this week. Please come visit by clicking below. #belonging #connected
FRIENDS. How many do you want? How many have you got? Are they forever?
A couple of weeks ago I sat down at our dining room table, and over several days, I wrote holiday cards to friends.
janettewatt.substack.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:23 PM
When I reflect on my friendships I feel an interconnectedness - a kinship that is not defined by blood ties but by a familiarity and shared experiences - if not now, once upon a time. What is it for you? I wrote about friendship this week. Please come visit by clicking below. #belonging #connected
Our first friends were family and neighbours -- and we were capable of creating whole worlds together.
More this week on my substack about friendship: janettewatt.substack.com
The original photograph "French snowman" is a postcard ca. 1910s from publicdomainreview.org/.../photographs-of-snowmen/
More this week on my substack about friendship: janettewatt.substack.com
The original photograph "French snowman" is a postcard ca. 1910s from publicdomainreview.org/.../photographs-of-snowmen/
December 17, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Our first friends were family and neighbours -- and we were capable of creating whole worlds together.
More this week on my substack about friendship: janettewatt.substack.com
The original photograph "French snowman" is a postcard ca. 1910s from publicdomainreview.org/.../photographs-of-snowmen/
More this week on my substack about friendship: janettewatt.substack.com
The original photograph "French snowman" is a postcard ca. 1910s from publicdomainreview.org/.../photographs-of-snowmen/
THIS WEEK, I wrote about friends: how many do you want, do you have and how many are forever?
Please come spend time with my short reads and let me know your thoughts janettewatt.substack.com
#culture #friendship
This wonderful work of art is titled Friends Forever found here gillieandmarc.com
Please come spend time with my short reads and let me know your thoughts janettewatt.substack.com
#culture #friendship
This wonderful work of art is titled Friends Forever found here gillieandmarc.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:08 PM
THIS WEEK, I wrote about friends: how many do you want, do you have and how many are forever?
Please come spend time with my short reads and let me know your thoughts janettewatt.substack.com
#culture #friendship
This wonderful work of art is titled Friends Forever found here gillieandmarc.com
Please come spend time with my short reads and let me know your thoughts janettewatt.substack.com
#culture #friendship
This wonderful work of art is titled Friends Forever found here gillieandmarc.com
A couple of weeks ago, over several days, I wrote holiday cards to friends. Not acquaintances. Friends. Maybe you and I are destined to become friends and we’ll remember back to the day you read this, reached out, and we began our friendship … maybe forever.
Click below for my post about friends.
Click below for my post about friends.
FRIENDS. How many do you want? How many have you got? Are they forever?
A couple of weeks ago I sat down at our dining room table, and over several days, I wrote holiday cards to friends.
janettewatt.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:32 PM
A couple of weeks ago, over several days, I wrote holiday cards to friends. Not acquaintances. Friends. Maybe you and I are destined to become friends and we’ll remember back to the day you read this, reached out, and we began our friendship … maybe forever.
Click below for my post about friends.
Click below for my post about friends.
✨️ Look what I discovered this morning on our garland that runs along the patio railing. A pappus, looks like milkweed. How did it get here in winter weather? It wasn't there just yesterday ...a little miracle. One to go along with Jack the Christmas Pumpkin. Sending HUGS, jw. #nature #writers #poets
December 13, 2025 at 9:14 PM
✨️ Look what I discovered this morning on our garland that runs along the patio railing. A pappus, looks like milkweed. How did it get here in winter weather? It wasn't there just yesterday ...a little miracle. One to go along with Jack the Christmas Pumpkin. Sending HUGS, jw. #nature #writers #poets
I was deciding which reflection to post on my Substack next Monday and last night's fortune cookie helped decide for me!
Find me here janettewatt.substack.com anytime!
This week's post was FUN -- know a TEEN? Need some help with their SLANG? You'll find it on my Substack with directions! #culture
Find me here janettewatt.substack.com anytime!
This week's post was FUN -- know a TEEN? Need some help with their SLANG? You'll find it on my Substack with directions! #culture
December 12, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I was deciding which reflection to post on my Substack next Monday and last night's fortune cookie helped decide for me!
Find me here janettewatt.substack.com anytime!
This week's post was FUN -- know a TEEN? Need some help with their SLANG? You'll find it on my Substack with directions! #culture
Find me here janettewatt.substack.com anytime!
This week's post was FUN -- know a TEEN? Need some help with their SLANG? You'll find it on my Substack with directions! #culture
With the help of awesome teens in my life I wrote a fun piece this week about SLANG here janettewatt.substack.com CAUTION: do not use teen slang without proper supervision!
😁
Cartoon source - search: Berger & Wyse on teen slang (from the Guardian)
#poets #writers #rebels #teens #slang #culture #art
😁
Cartoon source - search: Berger & Wyse on teen slang (from the Guardian)
#poets #writers #rebels #teens #slang #culture #art
December 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
This week on my Substack janettewatt.substack.com I wrote about how SLANG can be an important way to communicate. This includes activists! SLANG words are often fundamental to building solidarity and help to motivate us to carry on! And when words are taken from us we MUST reclaim them. #activists
December 10, 2025 at 3:45 PM
This week on my Substack janettewatt.substack.com I wrote about how SLANG can be an important way to communicate. This includes activists! SLANG words are often fundamental to building solidarity and help to motivate us to carry on! And when words are taken from us we MUST reclaim them. #activists
SLANG! Sometimes it's FUN!
What about this one? Are you a RIZZLER? Don't know? It’s a SLANG term for charisma or charm, especially in the context of attracting or impressing others.
Come have fun and read more on my Substack this week! janettewatt.substack.com
#WRITERS #POETS #ARTISTS #CULTURE
What about this one? Are you a RIZZLER? Don't know? It’s a SLANG term for charisma or charm, especially in the context of attracting or impressing others.
Come have fun and read more on my Substack this week! janettewatt.substack.com
#WRITERS #POETS #ARTISTS #CULTURE
December 9, 2025 at 4:32 PM
SLANG! Sometimes it's FUN!
What about this one? Are you a RIZZLER? Don't know? It’s a SLANG term for charisma or charm, especially in the context of attracting or impressing others.
Come have fun and read more on my Substack this week! janettewatt.substack.com
#WRITERS #POETS #ARTISTS #CULTURE
What about this one? Are you a RIZZLER? Don't know? It’s a SLANG term for charisma or charm, especially in the context of attracting or impressing others.
Come have fun and read more on my Substack this week! janettewatt.substack.com
#WRITERS #POETS #ARTISTS #CULTURE
SLANG carries coded information and attitude — sometimes informative, sometimes playful, sometimes rebellious, sometimes intimate, sometimes defiant! sometimes compassionate, sometimes hateful. AND, WE ALL USE IT!
Read more when click on image below.
#writers #poets #ACTIVISTS #thePOWERofWORDS
Read more when click on image below.
#writers #poets #ACTIVISTS #thePOWERofWORDS
VIBE CHECK: SIMP, SLAPS, SLAY... ALL Sus! You know what I mean?
This time, I’m going to start with a very short story of sorts. There’s a dialogue (partially internal) with some context.
janettewatt.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:46 PM
SLANG carries coded information and attitude — sometimes informative, sometimes playful, sometimes rebellious, sometimes intimate, sometimes defiant! sometimes compassionate, sometimes hateful. AND, WE ALL USE IT!
Read more when click on image below.
#writers #poets #ACTIVISTS #thePOWERofWORDS
Read more when click on image below.
#writers #poets #ACTIVISTS #thePOWERofWORDS
As I try to find ways to connect and understand, I've been gathering up some things that have turned into something REALLY FUN!! I'M SHARING IT IN MY next substack post this coming Monday. Find what I write on my Substack -- I write for you janettewatt.substack.com
#Writers #Poets #Artists #CREATE
#Writers #Poets #Artists #CREATE
December 5, 2025 at 6:15 PM
As I try to find ways to connect and understand, I've been gathering up some things that have turned into something REALLY FUN!! I'M SHARING IT IN MY next substack post this coming Monday. Find what I write on my Substack -- I write for you janettewatt.substack.com
#Writers #Poets #Artists #CREATE
#Writers #Poets #Artists #CREATE
✨️ We can ALL still imagine. WE CAN!! We just need to take the time -- and it can be fun!! ... and it's also REALLY important for our heads and hearts!! 🙂 More about why we need to keep imagining here: janettewatt.substack.com
AND YES those are some of my books and my polka dot ukulele 😀 #IMAGINE
AND YES those are some of my books and my polka dot ukulele 😀 #IMAGINE
December 4, 2025 at 3:57 PM
✨️ We can ALL still imagine. WE CAN!! We just need to take the time -- and it can be fun!! ... and it's also REALLY important for our heads and hearts!! 🙂 More about why we need to keep imagining here: janettewatt.substack.com
AND YES those are some of my books and my polka dot ukulele 😀 #IMAGINE
AND YES those are some of my books and my polka dot ukulele 😀 #IMAGINE
Once upon a time, as children, we imagined ourselves all the way into a better world. The greatest thinkers in history believed that if we keep imagining anything is possible! Read more on my Substack this week ... please imagine ... for you and me and ... well, posterity. janettewatt.substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Once upon a time, as children, we imagined ourselves all the way into a better world. The greatest thinkers in history believed that if we keep imagining anything is possible! Read more on my Substack this week ... please imagine ... for you and me and ... well, posterity. janettewatt.substack.com
Took this photo just now. May look like I'm taking a break from writing, but its all part of the same intention: finding ways to reach out and connect. I love my family, friends ... and as the childhood poem goes, I also love... "the friends I haven't yet met". I write here: janettewatt.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Took this photo just now. May look like I'm taking a break from writing, but its all part of the same intention: finding ways to reach out and connect. I love my family, friends ... and as the childhood poem goes, I also love... "the friends I haven't yet met". I write here: janettewatt.substack.com
From Aristotle to Hume to Einstein, so many great minds figured out the importance of IMAGINATION! If we can imagine it - it is possible! Take flying! So let's get to it again - let's all of us (re)imagine our world!
I wrote about (re)learning to imagine here: janettewatt.substack.com Come visit!
I wrote about (re)learning to imagine here: janettewatt.substack.com Come visit!
December 2, 2025 at 4:19 PM
From Aristotle to Hume to Einstein, so many great minds figured out the importance of IMAGINATION! If we can imagine it - it is possible! Take flying! So let's get to it again - let's all of us (re)imagine our world!
I wrote about (re)learning to imagine here: janettewatt.substack.com Come visit!
I wrote about (re)learning to imagine here: janettewatt.substack.com Come visit!
I believe imagining is critical to ALL life. And, I also choose to believe that if we’ve lost the ability to imagine that we can get it back. I write about my experience with needing to learn again to imagine - how it's going ... and why it's important for all of us. Click image and imagine with me.
TO SURVIVE and THRIVE we NEED IMAGINATION!
It’s December 1st and the temperatures have dipped to around the freezing mark.
janettewatt.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 6:15 PM
I believe imagining is critical to ALL life. And, I also choose to believe that if we’ve lost the ability to imagine that we can get it back. I write about my experience with needing to learn again to imagine - how it's going ... and why it's important for all of us. Click image and imagine with me.
LOTS to think about when you witness how the lie of survival of the fittest actually plays out - and how it fails most of us. An important example of what we can be convinced to believe even in the face of evidence to the contrary! I reflect on this (click below)
#culture #success #survival #issues
#culture #success #survival #issues
A Dangerous Lie: "Survival of the Fittest"
When you hear the phrase “survival of the fittest” - what do you think of?
janettewatt.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:26 PM
✨️ ... we can all still imagine if we try,
I know this to be true ... that's part of what I'm contemplating ahead of completing the reflection I'm working on for next week. Please stop by and find my thoughts and share yours too. I am here: janettewatt.substack.com
Kind Regards,
- jw. ✨️
never far.
I know this to be true ... that's part of what I'm contemplating ahead of completing the reflection I'm working on for next week. Please stop by and find my thoughts and share yours too. I am here: janettewatt.substack.com
Kind Regards,
- jw. ✨️
never far.
November 28, 2025 at 8:44 PM
✨️ ... we can all still imagine if we try,
I know this to be true ... that's part of what I'm contemplating ahead of completing the reflection I'm working on for next week. Please stop by and find my thoughts and share yours too. I am here: janettewatt.substack.com
Kind Regards,
- jw. ✨️
never far.
I know this to be true ... that's part of what I'm contemplating ahead of completing the reflection I'm working on for next week. Please stop by and find my thoughts and share yours too. I am here: janettewatt.substack.com
Kind Regards,
- jw. ✨️
never far.
Survival of the fittest is a phrase that was always flawed - from the beginning. It never reflected reality. YET, it's been used to prop up injustices, inequalities, and every "ism" that hurts and divides us. Read more on my Substack this week: janettewatt.substack.com
#justice #equality #TOGETHER
#justice #equality #TOGETHER
November 28, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Survival of the fittest is a phrase that was always flawed - from the beginning. It never reflected reality. YET, it's been used to prop up injustices, inequalities, and every "ism" that hurts and divides us. Read more on my Substack this week: janettewatt.substack.com
#justice #equality #TOGETHER
#justice #equality #TOGETHER
I seek out those who go beyond their own pain recognizing their experiences are part of broader struggles. Those who work to foster solidarity and understanding. People brave enough to take their voices into the streets alongside the rest of us who care.
More here: janettewatt.substack.com
More here: janettewatt.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I seek out those who go beyond their own pain recognizing their experiences are part of broader struggles. Those who work to foster solidarity and understanding. People brave enough to take their voices into the streets alongside the rest of us who care.
More here: janettewatt.substack.com
More here: janettewatt.substack.com
YOU and I #SURVIVE and #THRIVE through acts of mutual aid AND NOT when we compete to see who's the "fittest". This isn't a new idea. Homer wrote "By mutual confidence and mutual aid - great deeds are done, and great discoveries made." A short reflection here: janettewatt.substack.com/p/a-dangerou...
November 26, 2025 at 4:58 PM
YOU and I #SURVIVE and #THRIVE through acts of mutual aid AND NOT when we compete to see who's the "fittest". This isn't a new idea. Homer wrote "By mutual confidence and mutual aid - great deeds are done, and great discoveries made." A short reflection here: janettewatt.substack.com/p/a-dangerou...
Einstein understood that we need each other to survive, to thrive ... it has NEVER been about "survival of the fittest" ... it is "survival because we have one another" ... Read more on my substack this week titled: A Dangerous Lie: "Survival of the Fittest" here janettewatt.substack.com
#community
#community
November 25, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Einstein understood that we need each other to survive, to thrive ... it has NEVER been about "survival of the fittest" ... it is "survival because we have one another" ... Read more on my substack this week titled: A Dangerous Lie: "Survival of the Fittest" here janettewatt.substack.com
#community
#community
Many of us continue to believe in "survival of the fittest". It's a dangerous lie. It's never been the strongest, biggest, or most aggressive individuals that win - not in life. Even if they have those attributes - they need others to survive. To read more/click on image. #survival #justice #TRUTH
A Dangerous Lie: "Survival of the Fittest"
When you hear the phrase “survival of the fittest” - what do you think of?
janettewatt.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:14 PM
At different times in our lives we are lost for words. In those moments, we can sit in silence with ourselves and each other. Other times, we can lean into, lean on the words of others … More on this in my short reflection below. Please come sit with me awhile, and let me know you’re here … jw.
Tears and Laughter, Words and Silence
Language, words sometimes have their limits — don’t they.
janettewatt.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:38 PM
At different times in our lives we are lost for words. In those moments, we can sit in silence with ourselves and each other. Other times, we can lean into, lean on the words of others … More on this in my short reflection below. Please come sit with me awhile, and let me know you’re here … jw.