The summer "knowing" list
For content geeks, Japan and popular culture lovers & more
Hey there, wonderers!
As June went out the window and the heat slowly melted my brain cells, I didn’t get to write as much as I wanted.
But I did think quite a lot of thoughts O_o
Scattered, indeed.
So I decided to gather them all here, for all of us to enjoy.
Below you’ll find pieces that made me appreciate the power of No, the mesmerizing science of the stories we tell ourselves, what makes us, well us, what Buddhism has yet to teach us & many, many more:
To read
I don’t know about “hurting my image”, but I know that this was a hard lesson to learn — I’m still struggling with it at times. Yet to know your limits, choose your priorities and just say No can be such a sain thing to do, for your mental and physical health. So here’s Adam Grant explaining how to say No and even help the other while doing it.
Are you a time voyeur? Sometimes, setting deadlines can become detrimental to our living. “Leave time for exposing yourself to randomness,” Newport says.
So what do you stand for? Eric Barker asks. And then, he offers this “template” of scrutinizing your life story:
Growing up I was blessed in that I had been given the gift of ________. Not everyone had it as good as I did. I remember seeing _____ and I felt the need to do something about it. I have always believed that ______ was the right thing to do. Discover all the rest here.
"We need to redefine "hard work" to include "hard thinking."
The person who outsmarts you is out working you. The person who finds shortcuts is out working you. The person with a better strategy is out working you.
Usually, the hardest work is thinking of a better way to do it." James Clear
If you’ve ever struggled with making yourself understood or listening and understanding what another had to say, this article will help you. On point and pretty accurate in offering you tools to ask better questions.
To see
Let’s start with such an overlooked, yet ripe with creative power medium: animation. And my favourite film studies channel:
Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude. The science, the philosophy, the way to be content with the life you’re living. And Kurzgesagt for the details:
I keep saying that I love exurb1a, but I really do! (I’m definitely creating a newsletter edition just on his way of storytelling).
Here’s a visual and simple explanation of impermanence, karma, reincarnation, and what Buddhism can teach us, in his unique voice:
With the caveat that he hates being called The Disney of Japan or Anime, see Miyazaki at work:
This one is to see and listen to and I have mixed feelings about it. Yet, I think it’s a good mix of educational intention and popular culture:
To listen
For this section, I’ve been inspired by a recent conversation with a friend. About poetry. And how poetry is distilled knowledge. I never thought about it like that, but it resonated with me, so here’s poetry in motion:
T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock in Tom Hiddleston’s voice:
Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas has never sounded more harrowing”:
If
Tom Hardy reads bedtime stories — not quite poetry, but something similar: