Spring Break is winding down in DC, and our family spent the week holed up at the Wood House rather than visiting family in Massachusetts as originally planned. It was a great way to return to a slower pace, spend time together, and dig in the dirt. I hadn't been there in about two months and nature has definitely decided it's spring. The gardens are coming alive, the water level is up, and the animals are stirring.
The down time allowed for a wide array of inspiration, including these things I've been:
Watching - I loved game shows growing up. It seemed like they dominated TV in the 80s. Whether it was Press Your Luck, Hollywood Squares, Family Feud, Jeopardy, or any other board game transferred to the tube, I was enthralled. Then in the late 90s reality TV pushed everything else aside and took over the airwaves. I can't say I was a huge fan. Recently though there seems to be this interesting intersection of the two where a recurring cast of contestants compete against one another. Our family has fallen down the rabbit hole of one such series called Is It Cake? It's a pretty simple premise: nine pastry chefs compete to see who can fool a panel of judges by creating ultra-realistic cakes. Then the host, Mikey Day of SNL fame, pulls out a giant chef's knife, looks knowingly at the camera and asks "Is it cake?" before attempting to slice into whatever item the judges have chosen. Admittedly this show is down right silly, but if you're looking for a half hour TV nonsense, I recommend you indulge. Maybe it's the baker's artistry that's engaging. Maybe it's trying to guess which thing is actually cake. Maybe it's just the host's ability to find endless ways to deliver the show's tagline and always snag a laugh. Who knows, but I'm pretty sure you'll find it entertaining.
Reading - I just picked up Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos. It's a collection of Bezos' letters to shareholders as well as pieces from interviews and speeches. I haven't gotten into the body of the book just yet, but the foreward by Walter Isaacson is wonderful. Isaacson has written incredible biographies on Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Leonardo DaVinci and others. According to Isaacson, the things that pulls these inventors and titans of industry together is not intelligence; it's creativity and imagination. The thread that he sees between his subjects is trifecta of childlike curiosity and wonder, a blending of arts and science, and an ability to think differently. I'm. excited to see how these traits appear in Bezos' writing and speeches. I'm also very inspired to pick up a few of Isaacson's other tomes now.
Thinking about - Zachary is currently in the throes of a playful stage I'll call "literalism for the sake of dissonance". If you're a parent you've likely been through this phase. Five minutes is exactly five minutes. A little embellishment from his sister gets responded to with an "actually...". You know where this goes. As frustrating as this can be, it's got me thinking about places we use certain words whose literal meanings may not serve us all that well. Agency is a big thing for me, so the obvious examples are saying can't when I mean won't or choose not to; using need to or have to when I really mean will or want to. Another big subconscious offender for me are is should. Should is an expectation that you've accepted from the outside world. It's an easy word to lay out there, but having full agency means taking a beat and asking yourself, "is this something that I choose to do?" What literalisms are triggers for you? Which ones slip into your lexicon and may not serve you well?
I'm trying something new this week, attempting to sync this blog post with an email blast. As a little celebration, I'm adding a new link to the post. Each week I'd like to share a YouTube concert that I recently enjoyed.
The inaugural show is from Sturgill Simpson. It's a complete live performance from 2016 of his third studio album A Sailor's Guide to Earth.
Enjoy a musical and curious week.
No comments:
Post a Comment