This is an excerpt from Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. It's the kind of passage that's just filled with gems of insight: a parable inside of a novel. You could dismiss them as just that, but if you really need them, they're the kinds of words that can save and change your life.
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With the world gazing down the barrel of World War III and fresh on the heels of the craziest two years since WWII, I want to share a perspective that's helped me so much to keep my sanity and optimism in these troubling times. This is the deliberate choice to look somewhere else, and ways to build a magic bubble to both improve well-being and contribute something beautiful and hopeful, even if it's small, to a troubled world.
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With this post, we come to the end of my series on cancer. The topic here, the deeply immoral decisions that expose us to powerful cancer-causing agents, reaches far beyond just cancer itself. We're going to explore the troubling realm of DU weapons before we take a look at ways to pivot from a natural response of depression or reactionary activism to strengthening the heart as a muscle, as a defense against depression, anxiety, overwhelm, and hopelessness.
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When terrible needs arise, it's natural to look for saviors. But there is another way: to respond with great generosity. This is the Jupiter Principle, and I'm going to illustrate this by telling a story about how I decided to take action about climate crisis, and how the willingness to be the solution has opened up all new possibilities. This is not meant to preach or pressure activism, but to offer a pivot for when you're feeling overwhelmed by dire needs.
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One of my New Year's resolutions is to re-read The Lord of the Rings, making this the 17th time but the first time in 20+ years! I did rediscover fantasy a couple years ago, and have now sampled some of what's come out since Tolkein broke the mold in 1954. This is the Fantasy and SciFi that kept me sane during the pandemic.
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My takeaway from the Harry and Meghan interview centered around bullying and the kind of armchair-at-a-distance kind of judging that we out here do with people we only see in the media. My guide Aran had an interesting additional perspective to share.
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I wrote this article about ten years ago, reflecting on community after returning to Virginia from San Francisco. It makes me think of my family, and I’m feeling sentimental about them today, so I thought I’d share it again.
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Love your enemies is one of those things that sounds like a luxury for peacetime, an exercise for cloistered life, the resort of weaklings and doormats, or at best, a do-gooder sentiment that can lean perilously close to betraying the people and values that you love.
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