Oof, slow and tired this morning. Too much food this weekend o_O Tomorrow shall be a long walk to/from our town’s little cafe for lunch
31 — Trail run →
Priorities →
Having priorities isn’t enough for me to end up sane. I’ve overcome the naive urge to line up everything into a single-file queue; That’s not how life actually works. Leaning into parallel-ism is the way. Social engagements bubble up on their own, and I lean into those whenever I can. Maintenance and administrivia need to be regimented and so I’ve process-ified everything so the important but not-urgent things get attended to. One must have the mental space—the ability to sit with one’s thoughts—to really think about life.
At the individual level, it is not enough to work on good ideas. You must only work on the best ideas. It is not enough to ask “is this good” you must also ask “is there something better?” As painful as ruthless prioritization is, it is not as painful as failing to do it.
~ Andrew Bosworth from, Half Staffed is Unstaffed
slip:4uboai6.
Unfortunately, prioritization stands upon the idea that “best” or “better” have meaning. I have no interest in being particularly disciplined at anything. (Setting aside various comments people make about how much I get done.) I have no interest in doing what’s “best”. I have a moral compass I’m comfortable with, and I enjoy creating things (like great conversations).
ɕ
Your real job →
I tell my students, when you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.
~ Toni Morrison
slip:4a1233.
32 — Walking →
Active recovery day. Oof, pebble wrestling always pays off. Tomorrow: A loop of our usual trail run.
August 06, 2023 — #44 →
Reading time: About 5 minutes, 1100 words
Get 7 for Sunday in your inbox. → Subscribe here.
This issue is https://7forsunday.com/44
Graphic →
I’ve been stumbling more over graphic depictions and graphic novels. There’s this fun book Out on the Wire by Jessica Abel which describes the storytelling secrets of the new masters of radio. I’ve read another graphic novel about finance and the visual element really brings the stories to life. (See Craig learn, sorry.) In hindsight, I don’t understand at all why this would have surprised me. I spent gobs of time reading comics like Calvin and Hobbes and Bloom County in book form and they’re graphic novels if you read the entire arc in one go.
Our thoughts are a composite process. We really do think with our entire bodies.
~ Alex Pavlotski from, Habit Change and the Embodied Mind | alexpavlotski
slip:4uwoha1.
Pavlotski is another example. I had a wonderful conversation, Ethnography, leadership, and trajectory, with him for the Movers Mindset podcast. He is probably best-known for his work visualizing Parkour, but there’s much more to his work than just the drawing portion. This is not just a guy who does parkour, who also happens to draw kewl cartoons.
ɕ
Perspective →
Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
~ Miyamoto Musashi
slip:4a1232.
33 — Bouldering →
Fun little session with just enough pebble wrestling to get a good workout. Tomorrow’s activity will be walking.
Truth →
The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.
~ George Orwell
slip:4a1231.
34 — Jump-rope and rail balance →
Circuits of jump-rope and rail balance, two wonderfully antagonistic activities; get all wound up jumping, then try to be calm and balance. Repeat. Tomorrow: We’re heading up to the local rocks to do a little bouldering.