The ‘Christopher Hitchens’ Gremlin:
WE HAVE MORE IN COMMON THAN WE THINK
Google Christopher Hitchens and you’ll find links to his books on why religion is bad and the divisive nature of belief, as well as clip art quotes from super fans. And yet, beneath our apparent polarities, Christopher and I share a lot in common. Mainly, we share a love for questioning and an insatiable curiosity about getting to the root of something, which leads me here.
To paraphrase, Christopher Hitchens said it’s less important what you think than how you think. Because even though what we do on the surface may look different, when we dig a little deeper to find the why, we often find common ground.
For example, you love golf, and I love painting, but why we love those things is more illuminating than what we do. Perhaps we love these things for the same reasons, such as a craving to reach peak flow, to connect to nature or to feel like we are on the path to mastery… the same ‘why’, different ‘hows’.
In that little sentence, I realised there’s a painfully simple key to evolution. If we learn to detach from the how of our identity and instead listen to and converse with the why of our desires, we would probably all be much happier.
I got the lucky chance of going to Spain for work, and as is often the case, some in flight wisdom as a bonus - there’s nothing like being a few thousand feet in the air to bring clarity. This came:
PART OF THE MEANING OF WORDS IS HOW THEY WORK RHYTHMICALLY. TO NOT RUSH THROUGH A PAGE, BUT MARINATE LONG ENOUGH FOR THE BEAT TO HARMONISE WITH YOUR HEARTBEAT AND REST IN THE FEELING. THE ESSENCE IS WHERE THE SPOKEN WORD LIES.
New Minis
From The Factory
Update on new bits in progress working on a sunny series called ‘Soleil’
Musings
Mop Theory is perhaps the most useful and intriguing think piece I’ve come across about fans/subculture and building a movement. Thanks to Amir for sharing this. When I read it, I couldn’t help but think of The Gremlins.
Be slightly evil. Geeks need to learn and use some of the sociopaths’ tricks.
The optimal mop: geek ratio is maybe 6:1. At that ratio, the mops provide more energy than they consume. A ratio above about 10:1 becomes unworkable; it’s a recipe for burnout among supporting fanatics.
Lemn Sissay, My Name is Why
“Secrets are the stones
That sink the boat
Take them out, look at them
Throw them out and float”
Till next week
P.S @fatherbronques and Gremlins out there, read THE MOP link. Trust
