Greetings Starfighters,
I’m at my desk right now, thinking about how much crap I’ve accomplished today (it was quite a bit) while at the same time remembering that all of it, every last bit, will be gone one day.
Productivity is great and marking things off of lists is fulfilling but let’s not forget that the universe is rolling on past and doesn’t see much, if any, of what we do. Such is the pain of this existence, but also the joy.
Even if no one ever reads anything I write or sees anything I do, I’ll have done it and my little piece of the world will be better for it, even if only for a little while.
The same is true for you and your work. Never mind that you believe the work you do is trivial. All work is trivial. So why not have a little fun with it?
Here’s your reminder to not take yourself so seriously. Yes, you should want to do more and be more and make a change in the world for the better. Because someone else needs it to be better.
But, 50 million years from now, we’ll all be dust. Alexander the Great is buried in the same dirt as his mule driver.
But the people around you need you to be your best. You bring light to this world. Keep going.
Quote of the Day
Musical Interlude
Right before Thanksgiving, the recently Hall of Fame inductee Dave Matthews Band played a weekend at Madison Square Garden. The Sunday Show turned into a fundraiser for hurricane relief and OH MY, what a show it was.
You can watch the entire show here:
Or, maybe you just want to see some highlights, like Bela Fleck joining DMB for “The Last Stop” live for the first time in 25 years…
Or Dave joining new favorite Goose for a cover of Bruce Hornsby’s “The Way It Is”…
Long Read of the Day
With my dissertation work focusing on virtual schools, I’ve been reading more and more about Connectivism, a theory that George Siemens described as a “learning theory for the digital age.”
Stephen Downes wrote more about this theory and you may enjoy reading about it:
“Knowledge has many authors, knowledge has many facets, it looks different to each person, and it changes moment to moment. A piece of knowledge isn’t a description of something, it is a way of relating to something.” – Stephen Downes
Read more here: https://www.downes.ca/post/33034
Second Long Read of the Day
Yep, here’s another article. The more I write, whether it’s journaling, note taking, or anything in between, the more fascinated I am with how people have used notebooks throughout history to manage their thoughts.
Jillian Hess of Noted fame shared some great insights on Jack Kerouac’s notebooks, including his required reading list:
Whatever he was thinking, Kerouac likely transferred it to one of his many notebooks. They remain a testament to his creative mix of discipline and rebellion. Kerouac wrote doggedly, but loosely. He set out to be a great writer, but he would do it his way.
Final Thoughts
Yes, I’ve been absent a lot lately. I’ll blame it on Alexander’s mule driver. And I’ll be back on Friday with more awesome things to share.
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