Gravity and Time
• Check out this video of acrobat / choreographer Yoann Bourgeois performing a mesmerizing routine. Think about the hours of practice, the precise physical control of the body, the flow state he must be in. What a cool video and accompanying description.
Leg Matrix
• Simple but deadly leg exercise that takes less than 10 minutes and no equipment.
1. 24 Squats
2. 24 Alternating Lunges
3. 24 Jumping Alternating Lunges
4. then 24 Jump Squats.
• 3 rounds. One minute break in between (just enough time to vomit). Your legs will feel like tree trunks when finished. You’re welcome.
• Thanks (sort of) Mateo for the idea, and thanks (sort of) Josh for reminding me to do it.
Polarization
• This article in PLOS ONE shows a) moral and b) freedom of speech stances of US Republicans and Democrats in a global context. Figure 1 and Figure 4 do an especially nice job representing the spectrum of belief. US Democrats and Republicans appear quite close together on these issues when plotted on a spectrum with other nations.
• Read this article to gain a bit of hope for political unification in this crazy year.
Peanut Butter Falcon
• For a wholesome, authentic movie, check out Peanut Butter Falcon. Its a Mark Twain style journey with an excellent soundtrack, with serious topics but plenty of comic relief. Currently on Netflix. 96% from critics and audience on Rotten Tomatoes. Why haven’t you seen it yet?
More on COVID and Posttraumatic Growth
• Another article similar to ours on how we can harness the stress of COVID-19 to make individuals and organizations stronger and healthier. It is important to believe in our resilience during this time.
Sweet Tooth
• Looking for a low/no calorie sweetener that is healthy and relatively natural? Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that will not raise blood sugar and supposedly has little effect on insulin levels. It also may even prevent cavities. The main downside is that this stuff is toxic to dogs, so do not let your pets near it.
Sojourner
• Sojourner Truth (born Isabella “Belle” Baumfree; c. 1797 – November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826, then went to court to recover her son in 1828. In 2014, Truth was included in Smithsonian magazine’s list of the “100 Most Significant Americans of All Time.”
• She is well known for her speech “Aint I a Woman” (1851):
“Amid roars of applause, she returned to her corner, leaving more than one of us with streaming eyes, and hearts beating with gratitude. She had taken us up in her strong arms and carried us safely over the slough of difficulty turning the whole tide in our favor. I have never in my life seen anything like the magical influence that subdued the mobbish spirit of the day, and turned the sneers and jeers of an excited crowd into notes of respect and admiration. Hundreds rushed up to shake hands with her, and congratulate the glorious old mother, and bid her God-speed on her mission.”
Quotes
Literature differs from life in that life is amorphously full of detail, and rarely directs us toward it, whereas literature teaches us to notice. Literature makes us better noticers of life; we get to practice on life itself; which in turn makes us better readers of detail in literature; which in turn makes us better readers of life.
James Wood, How Fiction Works
“Well now really when we go back into falling in love. And say, it’s crazy. Falling. You see? We don’t say “rising into love”. There is in it, the idea of the fall. And it goes back, as a matter of fact, to extremely fundamental things. That there is always a curious tie at some point between the fall and the creation. Taking this ghastly risk is the condition of there being life. You see, for all life is an act of faith and an act of gamble. The moment you take a step, you do so on an act of faith because you don’t really know that the floor’s not going to give under your feet. The moment you take a journey, what an act of faith. The moment that you enter into any kind of human undertaking in relationship, what an act of faith. See, you’ve given yourself up. But this is the most powerful thing that can be done: surrender. See. And love is an act of surrender to another person. Total abandonment. I give myself to you. Take me. Do anything you like with me. See. So, that’s quite mad because you see, it’s letting things get out of control. All sensible people keep things in control. Watch it, watch it, watch it. Security? Vigilance Watch it. Police? Watch it. Guards? Watch it. Who’s going to watch the guards? So, actually, therefore, the course of wisdom, what is really sensible, is to let go, is to commit oneself, to give oneself up and that’s quite mad. So we come to the strange conclusion that in madness lies sanity.”
Alan Watts
