💭 When Things Fall Apart / Happiness / Composing with AI
This is our choice in every moment. Do we relate to our circumstances with bitterness or with openness? ~ Pema Chodron
👋 Hi friends,
There comes a time in life where things seem to be falling apart. When everything we thought that was solid and secure in our life suddenly seems to be made of quicksand. When search desperately for something, anything to hold onto.
This feeling can hit us when we least expect us.
We get a diagnosis we weren’t expecting, a loved one dies, a neighbouring country invades.
Sometimes the unthinkable happens, and these are often the hardest moments of our lives.
I don’t know about you but I tend to rage against these moments. I think of myself as a problem solver, and when something happens I want to find the solution, even where none exists.
In these moments, what can we take refuge in?
When no solution exists, we have to look inwards. As the world seems more scary and dangerous by the day, a book I recently finished *When Things Fall Apart *****seems increasingly relevant.
Three things I took from the book are:
Relax. To paraphrase, Pema says we don’t have to tense up as though we are spending our whole lives in the dentists chair.
Everything is workable. Everything can be part of ‘the path to waking up’, according to Pema. I am not quite sure exactly what it means to ‘wake up’ (probably because I am very far from enlightened), but the message that everything is workable is a comfort.
Lighten up. Ok, this one might feel inappropriate in times of war or intense suffering, but for the more minor everyday trials and annoyances, this is the antidote.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to share this email with anyone who might enjoy it.
Love to the people of Ukraine. 🇺🇦
Jamie
🔎 Wise Bites
🎼 Lucas Cantor on the craft of composition and completing Schuberts Unfinished Symphony with AI - podcast
Lucas Cantor (@lucasdcantor) is an Emmy-winning composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist and conductor. In this conversation we talk about Lucas’ collaboration with artificial intelligence to finish Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony. We explore his process for working with the AI, and what this means for the intersection of music and technology.
Listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
☀️ Happiness - podcast
I realise I include something by Naval in almost every newsletter now, but it’s just so good. His clarity of thinking is on quite another level. I have listened to this podcast episode on happiness a few times already and each time there is always something new to take away.
🍂 When Things Fall Apart - book
This is the book I discussed above. It’s a good companion for hard times. If you want more from Pema, this article Good Medicine For This World, is worth a read as well.
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