5 Things I Consumed Last Week(reboot)
On becoming a magician, letters to a young poet, worry and more
Dear reader,
This week’s newsletter is all about challenging yourself and your beliefs, finding comfort in letters and for me getting out of a book slump. Last month had its peaks and troughs and the idea of being like water is one of the wisest diary entries I made (among my doodles and rambling) so, I am trying to be like water - aware and present.
Note: If my emails end up in the ‘promotions’ tab, please move them to the inbox so you don’t miss out.
When I talk about water, I can’t miss recalling ‘This is Water’ by David Foster Wallace. If you know me, you know I am a sucker for commencement speeches and this is pure gold. It gained so much popularity that it was later converted into a thin 15 page book. It talks about living with awareness and compassion.
“The capital-T Truth is about life before death. It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over: ‘This is water.’ ‘This is water.’”
It’s time for recommendations of the week!
Becoming a magician by Autotranslucence on Wordpress (Essay)
It was an interesting read about how manifestation deep roots itself and why it is necessary to keep up-skilling yourself and comparing everything to the like of being a magician. Almost hit me personally, on how I have learnt only a few new things in the longest time. I took it as a reminder to put myself into more uncomfortable situations for the next half of the year.
One of my heuristics for growth is to seek out the magicians, and find the magic. Often without noticing, your progress in aspects of life or all of it unconsciously becomes linear. You made a certain amount of money last year, so you aim to make some ‘reasonable’ proportion more this year. But you are largely using the same tools to get 2x as you used to get x, and so you end up with diminishing marginal returns as you wring the remaining juice out of the initial strategy.
The psychology behind worrying by Ojuolape on The Mind Nodes (Newsletter)
I use Ojuolape’s newsletter as journal prompts to delve deep into the subject. The prompts are always something basic yet profound. Answering why worry while journaling is the simplest way to get over it. In this one she talks about some research behind the subject and how she gets over it.
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (Book - Classic + Philosophy)
Letters to a Young Poet remains nothing short of secular scripture for the creative life, replete with Rilke’s wisdom on what books do for our inner lives, the life-expanding value of uncertainty, what it really means to love, and how great sadness bring us closer to ourselves.
Ask yourself in the stillest hour of your night: must I write? Delve into yourself for a deep answer. And if this should be affirmative, if you may meet this earnest question with a strong and simple “I must,” then build your life according to this necessity; your life even into its most indifferent and slightest hour must be a sign of this urge and a testimony to it.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb (Book)
This book got me out of a book slump!
My first encounter with Lori happened when I was researching on advice columns. Her advice column ‘Dear Therapist’ on The Atlantic is one of the most read columns.
Going into the rabbit hole of her podcast, I was intrigued enough to read her book. Before beginning to read it, I was under the impression that it’d be a case-study account of her sessions but to my surprise it was about her.
In therapy, you’ll be asked to be both accountable and vulnerable. Rather than steering people straight to the heart of the problem, we nudge them to arrive there on their own, because the most powerful truths—the ones people take the most seriously—are those they come to, little by little, on their own.
The candor, wit and sheer honesty of being a human reflects extensively in the book. It is awash with humor and gives a vivid account of behind the scenes for therapists.
I am halfway through the book and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.
So You Want To Be a Writer by Charles Bukowski (Poetry)
This poetry is a necessary reminder that, contrary to the culturally toxic tortured-genius myth, to create is to celebrate rather than bemoan life. Charles Bukowski known for his hard-hitting, gut-wrenching, unapologetic writing style delivered this poem in his book sifting through the madness for the word, the line, the way.
Read the full poem here.
if it doesn’t come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don’t do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don’t do it.
That’s all for this time folks!
We are halfway through the year, it’s time to get back to those resolutions and check progress. Hit the rest of 2022 hard and have fun🙆
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As always, I appreciate your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement) as well ideas that inspire you, reading/podcast recommendations etc.
You can write to me on bhumikasankhla12@gmail.com. or connect with me on IG at _i__cook or use the comment section!
With love and gratitude,
The Hummingbird🌺
Onwards & upwards