November 25, 2018

What we do, in English, and in the humanities more broadly, what we teach, what we celebrate and investigate, is human particularity.


Death of an English Major

By Gary Taylor

This piece devastated me.

(Not unlike the feeling of heartbreak I felt after reading this piece commemorating the life of a boy killed in the Newtown mass shooting.)

So, SO, beautifully written and unique to the author and his (and the victim's) experience.

Thought it especially important to give it a lift given the terrible news lately—I'm feeling the gravity of the loss of life and of the indifference to the lives of black people and POC, of women and children. A whole, vast universe with all its potential is lost after each person is killed and it's a huge, ugly shame.

"But Maura, unlike the others, was an English major. She was many other things, too; she was a treasury of particulars and potentials." 
"What we do, in English, and in the humanities more broadly, what we teach, what we celebrate and investigate, is human particularity ... We grieve, now, the loss of all the “brave, bold and kind” particularities of Maura Binkley."

November 24, 2018

Happiness is possible only when you stop running and cherish the present moment and who you are.



© HarperOne

The Art of Power
By Thich Nhat Hanh

Per usual, I'm overwhelmed by all of my goals. And my obligations. I promised myself after the last big trip (to Peru) I'd take a few months off from traveling to be still. To reflect & reset. After a while, so much travel feels like running. It's been a great privilege and has opened me up to possibilities. Now I need to sit with them.

Good lessons imparted with good intentions in this read. At times repetitive but the solutions are so simple & I'll do my best to implement these teachings into my life.

“I take my time. I want to be myself. I don’t deny myself in the here and now. This is our practice—we call it aimlessness. We don’t put a goal in front of ourselves and run after it constantly. If we do, we’ll be running all our life and never be happy. Happiness is possible only when you stop running and cherish the present moment and who you are. Who you are is already a wonder; you don’t need to be someone else. You are a wonder of life.”

“To dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the future. The idea is simply not to allow yourself to get lost in regrets about the past or worries about the future. If you are firmly grounded in the present moment, the past can be an object of inquiry, the object of your mindfulness and concentration. You can attain many insights by looking into the past. But you are still grounded in the present moment.”