No two people ever read the same book (or hear the same song, watch the same film, etc.). When you engage a creation of any kind it changes; it gets filtered through your life, your experience, your frame of reference. You bring something to the work and it is transformed. 

You are an alchemist. 

Inspired by an article from The Atlantic (The Real Reason to Wear a Mask), this episode is about invisible human connection, and how we are affected (and even infected) by the words we encounter and employ.

"I just call it like I see it." Great. But what if none of us see things are they really are? 

This episode is about perspective. And Mantis Shrimp. But mostly perspective.

*Exciting Announcement*

We just released An Intro to the Attention Collection. It's an ebook that answers the question "What is an Attention Collection?" and explores ways we can all cultivate our own. It's a quick, fun read. AND IT'S FREE. Click this link to grab your copy now! 

Context and circumstance can change who "you" are in an instant. Or as Alex Hitchens (Will Smith) said to his nervous new client, "You is a very fluid concept right now." 

In truth, we can change our personal expression and disposition like we change our shoes. But there is a deeper "you," one that is flexible yet steady, open to growth and change and yet completely grounded in the present moment.

If an extra-terrestrial were to secretly walk among us, taking notes, what would the assessment be? And what would it feel like to integrate into such strange existence? The situation we find ourselves in these days (pandemic, social distancing, etc.) brings me back to my favorite novel, and this time I’m looking at it from an almost alien perspective.

Featured:

The Humans, by Matt Haig

In this bizarro world we find ourselves in, virus and fear and uncertainty is spreading like wildfire. But you know what else is spreading?

Radical generosity. 

Featured:

Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems

DJ D-Nice and Club Quarantine

Tara Brach 

Scott Erickson

BeSquare.Education

We Are Teachers

There's an old wisdom saying: "Everyone you meet is your teacher." What if we stretched it further? "Everything you encounter is your teacher."

What if we chose to see EVERY circumstance as a teacher? Good, bad, ugly, and indifferent. What would that change for us? For instance, let’s take this scary course we’ve all been involuntarily enrolled into, this wide-sweeping pandemic known as the Coronavirus. 

We interrupt our Enough series to address the issue on everyone's mind: COVID-19. But this is not a botched attempt at unraveling the complexity of the Corona virus, nor will it be a political rant about our government’s handling or mishandling of the situation at hand.

This episode is about the breakdown of our cultural illusion of normalcy and individualism, about how we’re all connected, and how the choices we make (or don’t) affect each other in significant ways. 

Many restaurants feel the pressure to increase their offering to cater to a wider audience, to fill more tables and keep up with the competition. So they pad the menu with MORE. It seems like the only appropriate response. 

We’re like that sometimes, aren’t we? We assume the key to a successful or satisfying life is to increase the options, to appeal to a wider audience, to keep up with our perceived (and often unspoken) competition. This is normal. But what if we lose something distinct and essential in the process?

Gordon Gekko, Cranberry-Orange muffins, looking at other people's plates, and our insatiable desire for MORE.

You already have so much right in front of you. How can you slow down and enjoy it?