I once got invited to a book club of all women after being dubbed an “emotionally aware” man. I’m unreasonably proud of this.
(These books are unrelated, I just needed to tell you.)
“She generally gave herself very good advice (though she very seldom followed it.)”
- Alice in Wonderland (1865)
Napkin note:
Sometimes, the pride you can take in “knowing better” slows down the urgency to do better. (See: diversity efforts)
A less plannery interpretation a friend/CD pointed out:
Tumbling down a rabbit hole can often get us where we need to go quicker than figuring out the perfect route.
“Most personalities have been obliged to be rebels. Half their strength is wasted in friction...such battles do not always intensify strength, they often exaggerate weakness.”
Napkin note:
The ad industry has a passionate love of absurdity. (Crazier, weirder, more unexpected.) But what used to be a surprising rebellion against reason has (in many cases) become a fairly routine result of agencies broadcasting their own taste. My point isn't that absurdity is bad; maybe we just need to stop treating it like a rebellion. Or maybe better, find a more modern way to make it rebellious again.
“The soundtrack to grief isn’t always as dark as the grief itself. Sometimes what we need is something to make the grief seem small, even when you know it’s a lie.”
Napkin note:
This is from an essay about Chance The Rapper’s album, Coloring Book. Anything I’d add would be unnecessary.
“Keep in mind that life is a loose mix of odd circumstances that together can sometimes yield great results.”
Napkin note:
We don't say "sometimes" enough.
“In a competitive society, conversation is often a battleground in disguise on which we are constantly (and unconsciously) trying to win victories.”
Napkin note:
Is the problem that we have too many meetings or that they last longer than they need to? So much time is spent making points that are smart, true and unnecessary. Aiming toward “necessary” rather than “correct” might get us off the battleground.