Hello from gorgeous cow country!
How are you all doing in quarantine, my friends? Are you a Bilbo or a Frodo?
I'll be honest. I've had my Frodo days. But I'm intentionally choosing to be Bilbo more often.Â
And it becomes a little easier when I turn off all the noise and screens and consciously choose something called digital minimalism. Now, as author Cal Newport argues, more than ever, this choice can mean the difference between a day of joy or a day of disasters.Â
But for all the hand-wringing, I've noticed a lot of good come out of this strange time. For one, I think a lot of us (including me) have had to come to terms with just how self-absorbed we can be sometimes. Now, I'm sure we've often heard spiritual leaders of some kind tell us of the moral dangers of self-absorption. But now even psychologists are talking about it!
To help get outside of ourselves, it might (as painful as it is to some of us) be a good time to really commit to learning how to talk to others. Other than reading good books, conversation is such a wonderful way of entering another person's world. The trick is, of course, to actually let the other person have his say, especially when we don't agree. Harder than you think, right? Well, here's a wonderful essay by writer Emily Fox Gordon about how learning to converse (not merely talk AT someone) might have actually saved her life.Â
Finally, I'd like to challenge you all to think about why there are so many conflicting messages in the media and from "experts" during this time. Why it's so difficult, in spite of an unprecedented access to information, for the truth to be found. I think it has a lot to do with the problem of heroes and heroism. When we lose our appreciation for heroes because we rely on ourselves so much, we lose something vital. This article makes a compelling argument for why now, of all times, we need to reconnect with a heroic ideal.Â
Hopefully some of these stories will bring you comfort even as they challenge you. I also wanted to let you all know that my "Good Books for Great Lives" Book Club is starting a new book this month. If you'd like to help choose our next read, here's the link to join the book club.Â
In the meantime, stay healthy and joyful, everyone!
~Nicky