Good afternoon evening and happy Sunday folks,
Transparently, this past week and weekend have gotten me quite scrambled.
Lots of spinning plates.
*Too many spinning plates.
And a couple of plates fell and broke.
And that hurt and further deepened some thought spirals.
Alas, I know things will eventually “all work out” and be fine. But gol dang, don’t it suck in the moment!
Doing my best to zoom out, gain perspective, and use these times as “learning opportunities.”
The best part of the week was getting to go on a long motorcycle ride in the Austin hill country yesterday.
As I write this, my mind compels me to share my experience with a small waterfall—a creek juxtaposed alongside a curvy country road.
After 7+ hours of riding under the hot sun—it didn’t take much to to convince us to pull over, strip out of our riding gear, and hop into some (warm) water.
The surprising thing, was that sitting in that shallow stream filled with slimey balck and green algae, was something I didn’t know I needed.
The continuous rush of water over my head, shoulders, and torso gave me respite from the ubiquitous thoughts, planning, to-do lists, mistakes, and ‘shoulds’ bouncing around my head.
Refereshing. Rejuvenating. Nature’s therapy session.
Minnows nibbling at my calloused toes brought me back into awareness.
I didn’t want to leave, but it was 8pm. The sun was finally setting, and my body— a shriveled sun-burnt prune.
Back to reality.
In today’s Study, I’ll be sharing a few things that helped me get through the week.
Let’s dive in.
EP/band that has been on repeat
Horse Jumper of Love (what a name!), has been my jam. Bless the Spotify algorithm.
This EP is a little bit ‘darker’ of a vibe, if you are craving something lighter—here is the first song I heard from them.
Bonus songs I’ve been jammin’ to:
This tune by Fontaines D.C.
This banger (with a legendary title) by, the just as legendary, Bilmuri.
As always:
all of Ant’s Recs can be found in this playlist.
got music you’ve been jammin’ to? Add your recs HERE!
on Earnestness
I really enjoyed this read. And I’ve read it over a few times this week.
I think it resonated with me so much because I am realizing I “vibrate” at a speed much lower than I used to. It’s hard to keep up. It’s harder to accept.
The part I keep coming back to is an anecdote he shared of Naval Ravikant, a human I also admire, spontaneously leaving dinner parties or social gatherings if he has had enough socializing or if he not interested in the conversation.
Justin writes, “The signal it sends is, ‘if this was interesting to me, I’d be all-in on it. But it’s not, so I’m going to go do something interesting.’ And the reason he’s such an interesting person is because he doesn’t waste his time. He only spends his time on things that are interesting to him.”
Food for thought. If it makes you think, I recommend reading the full post.
(Thanks to
for writing and for sharing.)a podcast i am still thinking about
I typically take copius notes when I listen to podcasts, but since I have listed to both of the full versions of these episodes a long time ago, I took the opportunity to just enjoy.
highlights from each guest to look out for when you listen:
Dr. Jane Goodall
“teach/show your kids the indomitable human spirit”
“that chimp saved my life”
Cal Fussman
A Train Story: Hungarian Grandma’s Goulash
“Aim for the heart, not the head. Then aim for the head. Once you have both, you can claim the soul.”
Take it for a spin on your next post-lunch walk.
quotes i am pondering
"Commitment is an act, not a word."
—Jean-Paul Sartre
“In the end, winning is sleeping better”
—Jodie foster
As always, if you’ve made it this far, thank you.
If you have any questions, comments, or ways I can improve this newsletter, please comment/reply!
Lastly, if you enjoyed or I made you think today—please consider letting me know by leaving a like. (This helps others find this newsletter…and it makes me smile :)
ML,
cow crik tony
(P.S. — below-the-fold-club, once again, you get two bonuses this week!
below is a text I sent myself this week:
link 1 to the video (I think I laughed harder rewatching this skit)
link 2 to the full post (thank you
for sharing your lessons with the world!)