The 30 | Dive
While pacing through a piece about how our brains interpret fatigue, I misread the sentence: "As a result, I’d unshackled myself from the penance of expectations and run a race nobody could have predicted." Prerace was the actual word, but I'd debate you about the "correct" version - I rather like penance in that slot.
That's kind of how winter feels to me, a bit like punishment for the rest of the year's outdoor fun that doesn't require seven layers of clothing. Winter necessarily kills the verdant fields and window boxes, but 16th-century hand-painted illustrations can fill the color void. However, I haven't yet found a convincing solution for 2D fragrance or taste.
Speaking of senses, I've filled this month with music. Did you know Bach wrote a cantata about coffee? That post has the song and a link to the lyrics in English and German. Here's another piano-driven piece I've listened to on repeat lately: Jukebox the Ghost's new single. And rounding out the music category, a reminder that the fear of forever-scarcity can generate new merit for what we’ve otherwise undervalued or devalued.
That idea also holds for objects we've held but forgotten, like a “three-meter planisphere on the polar azimuthal projection.”
The world around us provides endless fascination, even without the fun sea monsters. Adding a few paper cutouts can bring back some of that ancient magic. Which reminds me of one of my favorite pieces from National Geographic Traveler last year and this great online counterpart, now nominated for a National Magazine Award.
I'll send you along with a delightful short poem, translated from the original Spanish. Cheers to maintaining a sense of wonder.
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