Dear readers,
How’s life? Let’s have a casual dialogue. What are you reading and learning? What are you creating? I am curious and care to know.
Here is my July 2020.
Reading – slowly and daily (links at the bottom)
I am reading the Paris Review’s summer edition. Right now, I am on the interview where Margaret Jull Costa talks about translating and her relationship with writing and poetry. I quite like her answers (philosophies). It is the first time I am reading anything she translated and I want more.
I am also reading the art of learning by Josh Waitzkin. He is my type of person. I can sense how important this book is going to be for me. The urge to take notes is a good sign. Maybe I will share my book notes at some point.
Running/Walking – daily
On most days, I can’t wait to get out and run at the end of the day. On days I don’t feel like running or the floors are too wet to run, I walk. I love summer for the longer days. I love running outside and taking all the scent into my chest, into my brain, eventually into my heart. Sometimes, I would dance in the middle of a run. I look like a mad person, I do. I would dance around the park bench, right next to the bike racks, close to the edges of the lake. Dancing makes me happy. And I dance when I am happy. It is simple enough. I make sure I am not in anyone’s way while dancing.
Cooking/food – mostly daily
I am creating fun simple dishes. I cook with veggies in season. Lately, I am craving cucumbers and rice. I started eating meat again, lamb and shrimp of late. I enjoy shopping for fresh veggies and fruits. I love touching them. I plan to go to the market tomorrow. Wish me luck with the meat! They go out fast. Night owl problems.
Attention and focus – getting them back
I want to be able to focus on things that matter to me. It sounds like a simple and easy enough thing to do, but the quality of my attention and the anxiety in my chest prove otherwise. I love what we can do with the internet and smart phones. Capitalism amplifies the good and the bad of a tool to the extremes. It is a race to the top and the bottom. I don’t want to be a part of that race. For me, my frenemy is my phone. It is so useful that I find excuses to have it around me all the time. It is a powerful and convenient little thing. I need to rewire my relationship with my phone. I am testing out different ways. Such as turning my phone off completely during the day and leaving it outside of my bedroom when I go to bed. It is still an uphill battle. I recently bought a flip phone thinking it would be a good alternative. No. Not a smart decision. I don’t use the flip phone. I am dependent on my iPhone camera, maps, Spotify, my ebooks and audio books, and my friends and family on the other end of their smart phones. I am a person alive in 2020. I am going to try and work with my current set of environments. Do you have tips or tricks to increase the quality of your attention?
Playing – A skateboard
I am looking forward for its arrival. I think it will be fun. We will find out. Hopefully it is so fun that I will forget about my phone, completely.
Recurring thoughts for July 2020
Until next month. How is your July? What are you thinking, reading, creating and learning?
Books I mentioned:
1. Interview: https://www.theparisreview.org/authors/4784/margaret-jull-costa
2. The art of learning: https://www.joshwaitzkin.com/the-art-of-learning/
