Be Less Urgent

I couldn’t ride to to work today because, family stuff. I was struck by just how much of a hurry everyone else driving seemed to be in to get to their destination, especially given it was probably a job they complained incessantly about. I felt no such urgency.

Instead I mentally swiped left through these scenes from my commute home yesterday, a day when everything, everywhere just seemed right. The air, the temperature, the radiantly clear sky. The subtle breeze and intensely bright, warm sunlight. I’m sure my nature homies John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Edward Abbey or mix master H.D. Thoreau all have quotes that could aptly accompany these images, but I’m not well-read enough and my memory reservoir not deep enough to call any up.

Instead, I’ll borrow the words of my internet brother-from-another-mother, Slim Wonder and simply say I took the long way yesterday and here’s what I happened upon “getting around to getting home.” Don’t be in too much of a hurry, kids.

Upcoming Reading

I’ve placed an order for a few new books that have been in my ‘to read’ queue for a long time, as well as a new addition. I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately via my phone/laptop of ebooks, but I’m missing the physical sensation and satisfaction of a physical book.

I had gone to ebooks as an effort to ‘declutter’ as I didn’t want to keep having books around – I went through a process of purging a bunch some months back, so buying more physical books leaves me sort of conflicted.  We’ll see how it goes. Depending on my attachment to them I think I will either keep them or possibly donate them to the library. For the most part these that I’ve ordered aren’t available in my local library system.

I also need to check out the used bookstore downtown and see what kind of inventory they have cross-referenced with my ‘to-read’ list.

Here’s what I picked up:
Meditations on Self-Discipline and Failure: Stoic Exercise for Mental Fitness
William Ferraiolo

This is interesting because I found it via a blog post I shared on LinkedIn regarding stoic philosophy. The author of this book, a philosophy professor, messaged me and made some solid reading suggestions. Looking forward to digging into this one.

These next two books were recommended via an online pal who reads as much as I aspire to.
The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
Kevin Kelly

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari

I actually went looking for this author’s latest book, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, but there wasn’t a cheap used copy available so decided to put it off until later and read this one first.

Finally, I read Sand County Almanac last year and it was a game changer for me. I’ve seen a lot of cross-referencing between it’s author, Aldo Leopold and Edward Abbey, so I thought I’d check out some of his work starting with Desert Solitaire.