Hi everyone. Back again this week after a fairly chaotic and sleep deprived week and a half where my wife and I found ourselves in charge of 253 more animals than what we normally would, including sheep, two sausage dogs and a solitary chicken. Not because of some livestock spending spree, but in fact a house sitting gig down on a farm. Hoping to at least have some good content come out of all of this and things to return to normal fairly soon, but in the meantime here are some bits and pieces from the notebook. Thanks for reading and as always, hope you enjoy.
Hoarding
It can be easy to look at people who have a hoarding problem and wonder how it gets to that point. How it can get so bad that you literally can’t walk into a room because it's filled to the brim with old magazines and knick knacks and whatever else. There are times where I'll catch myself thinking 'what a way to live, I would never do that' and then I remember how many browser tabs I currently have open. Tabs that have been sitting there for months that I can't possibly close because I'm definitely going to get around to reading that post one day, it’s just that I haven’t had a chance yet. Also, that funny video I started watching that I'm going to get back to later in the week. Plus there's that reddit thread and a bunch of articles, and I certainly can't close that other tab because there's something in there I wanted to save which I'm planning on getting around to, and yes I know it's been open for over a year but I don't see how that's relevant.
Going down a rabbit hole can definitely result in a whole lot of browser tabs being left open. You might start out researching ergonomic keyboards and then suddenly find yourself 10 tabs in and not know how you ended up watching competitive tag videos on YouTube. My wife and I are currently pet sitting two sausage dogs, and the owners told us that both dogs have been known to run off into the neighbouring forest to chase rabbits. On one specific occasion they were gone all night and eventually found their way back in the morning, both covered in dirt and one with a giant cut on their head; I'm assuming from all the literal rabbit holes they went down. This tracks fairly closely with my own experience of going down digital rabbit holes, where I'll eventually emerge dazed and tired after many hours, covered in dirt and occasionally sporting a fresh wound on my head.
Clarity
Sometimes I have moments of perfect clarity where everything makes sense and I feel like I have things figured out. Like last Wednesday for about a minute and a half when I was taking a short break and staring out the window. Also, on a Saturday afternoon back in January of last year when I'd just finished doing some sweeping outside. Then several fleeting moments while I was overseas last year. That's how it tends to go I think. It's never an end-point, just a brief moment when the planets are aligned. Where everything felt perfect and right and it all made sense. Right before the clouds shifted and the world changed again - as it does - and you suddenly find yourself desperately trying to grasp onto what has passed. Everything you had figured out suddenly becoming obsolete.
Perhaps this is just some form of mindfulness: understanding disguised as acceptance. Sometimes I think I'm good at being mindful, but then I notice how much of my day is spent counting down to the next time I get to eat or drink something. I might be doing something mindful like watching the waves crash on the beach or staring out a window and then my brain will say 'hey we get to eat lunch soon', or 'only an hour until my afternoon snack’. It probably means I need to practice more, or maybe it just means that the secret to mindfulness is being able to stare out at a tree whilst safe in the knowledge that you have a pastry in your bag that you get to enjoy soon.
Where to look
In my opinion a great place to find hidden treasures or things you've lost would be to look by the wayside. The amount of times I've heard someone say that something has 'fallen by the wayside', makes me think there must be all sorts of amazing stuff down there.
BookTok
There seems to be an increase in the number of books these days that include a strong marketing hook in the title. 'Sunday Times bestseller' or 'As seen on..'. Recently I came across one that said 'TikTok's new favourite book'. This felt like a bit of an odd selling point considering the fact that using TikTok or any social platform versus reading a book would appear to sit at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to attention spans. Kind of like marketing a delicious new herbal tea that comes highly recommended by cocaine users. I can only imagine the book in question must be one where you open it up and the pages are hollowed out, and then wedged inside is a phone that’s already logged into TikTok. And then perhaps hidden in the front is some popping candy and a set of tiny fireworks that go off every minute or so.
You're standing on it
A thought I had recently whilst watching some cows grazing was that it must be nice to have food that you enjoy eating just growing under your feet. That the floor of the area you walk around on all day is also your food. Maybe not your favourite food if you were to choose something, but still decent enough. That’s how I imagine it anyway, that grass tastes fine to cows and sheep. Not mindblowing or anything but reasonably tasty, and also convenient. Perhaps for humans it'd be like walking around an area where there are ham sandwiches all over the ground, except they're made from packet bread, not the nice gourmet bread from a bakery. Or a kale salad with a very light dressing that could do with some more nuts and cheese or something. It's not hugely exciting but it’s nice not to have to get in your car and go to a supermarket.
Bombs
I imagine there are different levels of training you have to complete before you can get a job defusing bombs. And if the absolute top most technical level is defusing an explosive device which can cause death and injury, maybe the entry level would be having to defuse a bath bomb. The stakes are much lower obviously with the only risk being that afterwards you might find yourself overcome by an overwhelming sense of calm and relaxation. The next one up from that might be an F-bomb or a C-bomb, which technically would be quite difficult to defuse as it's hard to see those coming. And, depending on the setting, could be either quite devastating or potentially even welcomed, possibly encouraged. The penultimate level would almost certainly be a truth bomb. These can sometimes be caught before they go off, and then sometimes not. Depending on how early you spot it, the general consensus for defusing a truth bomb seems to be either smothering the blast, or by more preventative measures such as being careful who you invite to a family dinner or being more thoughtful in your seating plan, in order to limit the damage.
Delighted to know I'm not the only totally aware of when they get to eat the pastry in their bag!
Really enjoyed all the 'crumbs' in this piece Mike. Great reflections, pondering & humour and as always, well balanced👌