Hello hello,
Still battling wildfires here in the Bay Area. They are way to close for comfort and have destroyed many homes throughout wine country. Hoping everyone stays safe!
I heard a really beautiful teaching in a recent episode of “People I (Mostly) Admire”, a new podcast featuring Steven Levitt of Freakonomic fame. Steven was interviewing Mayim Bialik (aka Blossom, or Amy from Big Bang Theory), and she was explaining a Jewish teaching about how we spend our time on Earth. She says, “There’s not an amount of money in the world that makes you not want more. There’s not an amount of possessions in the world that makes you feel done consuming. And at the end of the day, when you are buried, your gravestone will not tell any of those things. We live in a hyphen. We live in the hyphen between the year we were born and the year we died…. What will you do with your hyphen?” Check out the whole episode here: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/pima-mayim-bialik/
Since hearing that podcast, I cannot stop envisioning a sea of gravestones with years and hyphens. All that a person was and did captured in a small tick mark. And for those still alive and well, we have the choice to fill that tiny tick mark with good deeds, charitable contributions, antiracist demonstrations, long embraces, belly laughs… the more I focus on what I’m doing with my hyphen, the more overwhelming it is! And, I tend to dwell on what I’m not doing! Am I cherishing each moment enough, am I helping others enough, am I saying enough, am I listening enough, am I learning enough. How do we even know what enough means?! [Cue panic attack now!]
It is in these moments when I have to wrangle in my grandiose thinking about how one is going to be remembered, and put pen to paper writing down very manageable, bite-size action items that can actually be accomplished. Things like:
- Send a note to someone you haven’t talked to in a while
- Surprise your husband with a bottle of his favorite kombucha
- Help a coworker find a job opportunity
- Forgive yourself for being short with the kids today
In my most egotistical moments, I think I need to write a book or come up with a new revolutionary theory and change the course of history to make a difference. But, I’m starting to see it’s the tiny, repetitive actions (aka habits!) that will ultimately fill our hyphens.
Lastly, check out this fascinating podcast that explores the history of the Black presence in European painting: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/art-matters-podcast-the-black-presence-in-european-painting I found Mr. Ohajuru’s manner of explaining the content a little quirky but also sort of adorable. Thanks Tia Taylor for the recommendation!
#purposetoprivilege #courageousconversations #blacklivesmatter
Talk soon,
Jessica