We did it! We made it to the end of January! In dark times, it’s more important than ever to lean into the things that give us joy and promote goodness, truth, and beauty in the world. This is my weekly roundup of what has been lighting me up and lighting my way this week.
I mentioned last week that I’m doing a re-read-a-long of Wilkie Au and Noreen Cannnon Au’s The Discerning Heart (2006) with a close family member. We had our first chat about it last weekend and it was a wonderful reminder of the power of intentional conversation with special people. It’s too easy for regular catch-ups just to be a laundry list of work and family updates, so it’s good to dedicate time for deeper conversation. What stood out to me in my read from the book this week (and definitely not for the first time) was the way it described discernment as our “ability to stay with the discordant notes of our lives” until they find their resolution. It’s such a beautiful description that hits me every time I read it.
I read some great books this week. The big standout was a brand new release from Canadian author Emily Austin, We Could Be Rats. Few people take as big literary swings as she does — her books have complex premises and feature protagonists who are often hard to relate to, let alone like — and yet every one I’ve read so far (this is the third for me) have been home runs. This one is essentially the story of two sisters who took very different approaches to dealing with life in their dysfunctional family. Overall it was a week of bookish serendipity, where the books I picked up shared themes or motifs, a phenomenon I always love! This week those themes were children who take on too much responsibility for the adults in their lives and the essential difference between fitting in and belonging. The latter of these is an idea I first saw articulated years ago by Brené Brown and has become an important concept for me since. She wrote:
One of the biggest surprises in this research [on belonging] was learning that fitting in and belonging are not the same thing. In fact, fitting in is one of the greatest barriers to belonging. Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be in order to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are. (Daring Greatly, 231f)
This is such a huge thing, particularly when thinking about so many of the ‘culture war’ issues so prominent in our news cycles and politics.
I mentioned last week that I was really enjoying the new album by Max McNown. That album will, I think, have some staying power for me. This week it’s been joined by new releases by The Weeknd, Lilly Hiatt, and Kim Wilde (a blast from the past!), all of which are worth a listen.
One of the great things about platforms like YouTube is that they give us not only the opportunity, but also often a push, to follow our curiosity. I fell into a very unexpected YouTube curiosity vortex this week in the form of content creators dedicated to the cruise industry. I’ve never been on a cruise, nor have I ever been interested in doing so, but it was weirdly fascinating to get a glimpse into cruise ship life through the eyes of people who love it. I’ve already largely emerged out the other side from this particular vortex, but it was an interesting few days!
So what’s lighting you up this week?
Matthew Root 