Sunday picks: December 18th
I fell short on having a post like this last weekend as I got caught up on what I call information binging. This when I just consume videos, articles, and podcasts in the name of “research” without purposeful direction. Plenty of lessons learned from this wonderful distraction that I will be sharing with you in the future. Hope you enjoy the following picks!
1. Create or Hate is a quick and inspirational read that I recommend for everyone. All of us innately have the capacity to create and I think that this what makes humans so distinct from all other creatures on Earth. The hate (Steven Pressfield calls this the Resistance) comes in many forms, from many places, and trips up along the way. Whatever it is you are creating or aspire to do, that this gives you inspiration.
2.I’ve been thinking about about digital minimalism lately. So much is built (devices, apps, websites) to hijack our attention. It is incredibly easy to fall into a rabbit hole and even easier to justify this behavior. While making an introduction to someone recently, I described myself as being pessimistic towards technology. The pessimism was grounded in how I perceived the use of it. While thinking through my reasoning later I realized that I was wrong. Technology in itself is neutral. What is required is the right mindset, tools and the why of being more intentional in our relationship to technology. There are plenty of tools to develop a system that works to help us use technology and consume information mindfully. A short term goal for myself is to create such a system and share my experiences.
3. Last weekend I watched Embrace of the Serpent. It is the story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together over the course of 40 years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant. The movie is from the viewpoint of the indigenous people, specifically Karamakate, on the impact that europeans and colonialism had. The movie is rich with symbolism and allegory that is masterfully woven together in the cinematography. This is a movie that I will be coming back to again and again. Here’s a great article from HighExistence about it with an interview with the writer and director Ciro Guerra.
4. Listening to a lot to this favorite song lately. The lyrics have a certain trippy playfulness about them:
There’s a universe inside us, all made of liquid.
It’s a case of inner space, chemically dependent.
Through the veins to the brain, a whole solar system,
And I’m a jet-setting space cadet experimenting.
