The There There Letter: Heat, Home, and Hope
Three things from DAH.
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I write, organize, plan, produce, manage, direct, act, sing, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Heat …
In California, where I live, summer heat has arrived. Multiple days above 100F (38C) have me looking for ways to keep cool. I grew up with low humidity heat like this, and went barefoot most of the summer. I quickly learned that the light-colored concrete sidewalk was much cooler than the dark asphalt. I still use that awareness as an adult, although I don't wander the summer streets as much now as when I was a teenager. I learned from my parents that drinking hot tea and spicy foods were cooling summer practices (ideas endorsed in the linked article below). But neither of them ever drank enough water to stay properly hydrated, in my opinion. Drink more water! And I'm super-thankful for having a great refrigerator, and a wonderful wine fridge to keep all our bottles at 16C (a bit warmer than most would consider perfect, but it works for me).
10 surprising ways to keep cool in the summer heat
Second up this week, Home …
At my current home the air conditioning works well, although it is an older system. Lucky me. This "home" is my seventh in the past 20 years and my 19th overall … that is, actual physical residences. How can they all be home? And, beyond these places I regularly rested my head at night there are the places, real and imagined, that sustain (or sustained) my soul. These homes are at least as important to me as those that contained my physical stuff. I've decided to map all my homes in my imagination. I'll have a personal neighborhood that provides the context for my memories. A memories-of-home-community I can visit whenever I like, or whenever I need restoration.
The Psychology of Home: Why Where You Live Means So Much
Third up this week, Hope …
This is a particularly dark period in the world, and in my world. It's often a challenge to feel hopeful. I've developed a personal practice to cope. I expect we all have our ways and means, if we ever do feel hopeful these days. My practice is one of thankfulness. I think of it as a sort of praying, although I'm not conventionally religious. I take a moment or two, each day, to consider where I am, what's around me, those with whom I've interacted, things I've read, seen, heard, tasted, smelled, touched. And I say a quiet thank you for what sustains me, which usually makes me imagine possibilities, which brings hope. Also, I've been reading William B. Irvine's delightful little book "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy." The Greek Stoics would have been surprised at how we misuse their name. I am pleased to learn that they didn't believe in the denial of pleasures.
The philosophical case for staying hopeful in dark times
and
A Guide to the Good Life: An Interview with William B. Irvine
That's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I write, organize, plan, produce, manage, direct, act, sing, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Heat …
In California, where I live, summer heat has arrived. Multiple days above 100F (38C) have me looking for ways to keep cool. I grew up with low humidity heat like this, and went barefoot most of the summer. I quickly learned that the light-colored concrete sidewalk was much cooler than the dark asphalt. I still use that awareness as an adult, although I don't wander the summer streets as much now as when I was a teenager. I learned from my parents that drinking hot tea and spicy foods were cooling summer practices (ideas endorsed in the linked article below). But neither of them ever drank enough water to stay properly hydrated, in my opinion. Drink more water! And I'm super-thankful for having a great refrigerator, and a wonderful wine fridge to keep all our bottles at 16C (a bit warmer than most would consider perfect, but it works for me).
10 surprising ways to keep cool in the summer heat
Second up this week, Home …
At my current home the air conditioning works well, although it is an older system. Lucky me. This "home" is my seventh in the past 20 years and my 19th overall … that is, actual physical residences. How can they all be home? And, beyond these places I regularly rested my head at night there are the places, real and imagined, that sustain (or sustained) my soul. These homes are at least as important to me as those that contained my physical stuff. I've decided to map all my homes in my imagination. I'll have a personal neighborhood that provides the context for my memories. A memories-of-home-community I can visit whenever I like, or whenever I need restoration.
The Psychology of Home: Why Where You Live Means So Much
Third up this week, Hope …
This is a particularly dark period in the world, and in my world. It's often a challenge to feel hopeful. I've developed a personal practice to cope. I expect we all have our ways and means, if we ever do feel hopeful these days. My practice is one of thankfulness. I think of it as a sort of praying, although I'm not conventionally religious. I take a moment or two, each day, to consider where I am, what's around me, those with whom I've interacted, things I've read, seen, heard, tasted, smelled, touched. And I say a quiet thank you for what sustains me, which usually makes me imagine possibilities, which brings hope. Also, I've been reading William B. Irvine's delightful little book "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy." The Greek Stoics would have been surprised at how we misuse their name. I am pleased to learn that they didn't believe in the denial of pleasures.
The philosophical case for staying hopeful in dark times
and
A Guide to the Good Life: An Interview with William B. Irvine
That's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
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