Sublime sounds almost as sublime as you! hurrah! checking it out. This edition made me feel like i could maybe just consider RELAXING a bit! maybe even muse…love
I’ve come to see doing new/different things leading to new paths as a result of us simply following the breadcrumbs as “rendering reality” (well, our experience of it anyway, as reality itself is unchanging), it provides entirely different experiences in a way that seem to synchronize with our new interests/rabbit holes. It widens the window of what seems possible for us.
Viewing life through this lens gives it an inherently magical quality and an infinitely rich one.
I love this question: "What can we do with our lives as they exist right now, given our curiosities, commitments, constraints, and conditions?"
Since you ask, here's what I'm curious about these days:
-- Traditionalism (the Perennial Philosophy)
-- Initiation, especially for boys-men
-- Great literature, which I have not really read much of in my life
-- Whether my Nationals will be any good in 2026
-- Weird and unexpected baseball stats (such as, Ted Williams and Ken Griffey Jr did not get 3000 hits in their careers)
-- Why I felt compelled to totally change up the vibe of my library and office as my Mom entered her final sickness, and since her death
-- the writings of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Marco Pallis, and Whitall Perry
-- How I can be okay with maybe having a deep impact on a relatively few number of people than fleeting touches with many many people
-- Why do I listen to mythologist Josh Schrei and economist Tyler Cowen (cheerleader for AI and capitalism) -- and have a sneaky suspicion they are both "right"
-- Why I enjoy reading / listening to the spiritual traditions of the East far more than my own Catholicism, and yet am skeptical that I (emphasis I'm only talking about me here) should fully take up one of those traditions.
So if you have any insight into any of those, that'd be great, Sara :)
Finally, I say Wile E. Coyote is not just a "Genius," but a "Super Genius."
Thanks as always for being supremely, uniquely, beautifully YOU!
Pretty great stew with which to conjure here, Russell.
For what it's worth, Zen Buddhism, which I know a little about, never supplants the native religion of the countries it migrates to. So in China it lived alongside Taoism and Confucianism, in Japan it lived alongside Shintoism, and now in the West it lives alongside Christianity. For me, also a person who was raised Catholic, there is rich territory in exploring how these two systems coexist, and how they might evolve alongside each other. I've gone full in on Zen, it's true, but Catholicism will always be the backdrop.
This was so great! I love King Arthur, magic (of the Penn & Teller, Merlin, and Mitch Horowitz varieties) and Danny Brown. Atrocity Exhibition is probably my favorite non-Kendrick rap album of the last ten years.
A kindred spirit! Thanks, Mack. And yeah, great record. It’s crazy to me that he was still able to be so good in active addiction all those years. Glad he found his way out.
Do it Alan Moore style. Turn your midlife crisis into becoming a wizard.
https://youtu.be/k1qACd0wHd0?si=5CP2jYgosTbQgMTa
I cannot wait to watch this.
Sublime sounds almost as sublime as you! hurrah! checking it out. This edition made me feel like i could maybe just consider RELAXING a bit! maybe even muse…love
Relaxing and musing seems like a good plan for your first NYC winter!! Xx
I loved this essay! So much there to unpack.
I’ve come to see doing new/different things leading to new paths as a result of us simply following the breadcrumbs as “rendering reality” (well, our experience of it anyway, as reality itself is unchanging), it provides entirely different experiences in a way that seem to synchronize with our new interests/rabbit holes. It widens the window of what seems possible for us.
Viewing life through this lens gives it an inherently magical quality and an infinitely rich one.
And I’m here for it.
Yes! That’s a great way to think of it. Transformation through attention.
Also a good indicator of what *not* to give too much of your attention to
Totally. Ever more important to protect your psyche.
I love this question: "What can we do with our lives as they exist right now, given our curiosities, commitments, constraints, and conditions?"
Since you ask, here's what I'm curious about these days:
-- Traditionalism (the Perennial Philosophy)
-- Initiation, especially for boys-men
-- Great literature, which I have not really read much of in my life
-- Whether my Nationals will be any good in 2026
-- Weird and unexpected baseball stats (such as, Ted Williams and Ken Griffey Jr did not get 3000 hits in their careers)
-- Why I felt compelled to totally change up the vibe of my library and office as my Mom entered her final sickness, and since her death
-- the writings of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Marco Pallis, and Whitall Perry
-- How I can be okay with maybe having a deep impact on a relatively few number of people than fleeting touches with many many people
-- Why do I listen to mythologist Josh Schrei and economist Tyler Cowen (cheerleader for AI and capitalism) -- and have a sneaky suspicion they are both "right"
-- Why I enjoy reading / listening to the spiritual traditions of the East far more than my own Catholicism, and yet am skeptical that I (emphasis I'm only talking about me here) should fully take up one of those traditions.
So if you have any insight into any of those, that'd be great, Sara :)
Finally, I say Wile E. Coyote is not just a "Genius," but a "Super Genius."
Thanks as always for being supremely, uniquely, beautifully YOU!
Pretty great stew with which to conjure here, Russell.
For what it's worth, Zen Buddhism, which I know a little about, never supplants the native religion of the countries it migrates to. So in China it lived alongside Taoism and Confucianism, in Japan it lived alongside Shintoism, and now in the West it lives alongside Christianity. For me, also a person who was raised Catholic, there is rich territory in exploring how these two systems coexist, and how they might evolve alongside each other. I've gone full in on Zen, it's true, but Catholicism will always be the backdrop.
Agreed re W.E. Coyote.
You make an excellent point about Zen Buddhism, Sara. Something else to add to my list of curiosities!
This was so great! I love King Arthur, magic (of the Penn & Teller, Merlin, and Mitch Horowitz varieties) and Danny Brown. Atrocity Exhibition is probably my favorite non-Kendrick rap album of the last ten years.
A kindred spirit! Thanks, Mack. And yeah, great record. It’s crazy to me that he was still able to be so good in active addiction all those years. Glad he found his way out.
I love this. A proper response related to the serendipity of it all is probably more suited to an email, but I really dig this one, Sara.
Thanks, Chris! Would love to know more if you’re up for sharing. 🧙🏽♂️
How inspiring, I love this! I love King Arthur! I want to be the wizard/fae of my own life's conjuring🩷🩷🩷 thanks Sara!!!
Hehe, thanks, Samm!!