☕ saturday mornings - July 16, 2022
☕ saturday mornings - July 16, 2022
peaceful rivers, grand visions & quiet days
Happy Saturday all!
I hope you’re having a great start to your weekend.
What I’ve been up to:
I arrived in Porto, Portugal on Friday. I'll be spending the next 3 weeks here for an event, but will do my fair share of exploring the city.
I've paused writing essays for the next 2 months, as I've had a few important projects come up. As painful as it can be, I'm trying to be more focused in terms of what I choose to work on. The concept of work-life seasons has been very helpful.
Here's a recap of the coolest things I've explored this week.
✍️ Quote I’m pondering:
Hal Boyle, Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist, on the peace of nature:
“What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt - it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else.”
📚 Book passage I loved:
“Full of grand visions and the desire to do something great, I often couldn’t find the first small beginning and then the next small beginning.
I couldn’t dial huge possibilities into small practical actions. I couldn’t trust that doing enough of what needed to be done today would, with time, render a path and an outcome that could be great.
I had to learn to be in the process of transformation, not trying to be transformed. You can’t skip past creating to the creation.”
―The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life by Boyd Varty
💡 Idea from me: Quiet Days
We're constantly barraged by information.
Every day there are books and articles to read, podcasts to listen to, and videos to watch. Never mind the list of things to consume that ceaselessly grows longer.
Each thing we consume rings with the promise of "better". We'll be more intelligent, more informed, more successful.
One day I found myself asking: “How much of my day do I spend with my own thoughts?”
The answer was practically zero. Somehow I decided filling my head with the ideas of others was more important than listening to my own.
Yet, the more I consumed the more confused I became.
Julia Cameron writes: "By limiting the inflow of other people's words and ideas, it is possible to focus more clearly on your own. Without reading, talk radio, or television, you are able to hear yourself think. What the self has to say is often very interesting."
This summer, I've tried to spend one day a week with my thoughts. It gives me empty space. Time to be able to think.
I've found my quiet days, days spent consuming nothing, have helped me confidently and clearly make decisions.
They're also some of my happiest and most peaceful days.
If that's not a win, I don't know what is.
❓ Question for You:
Is the life you're leading worth the price you're paying to live it?
✍️ Essay from me:
Work-Life Seasons (~4 min)
Work-Life Seasons has a simple premise. Instead of trying to balance work and life equally, all the time, what if you alternated your focus between your different roles?
Work-Life Seasons has been one of the most practical and actionable concepts I've learned this year.
📸 Photo of the week:
This is my second time in Porto. It's easily one of my favourite places I've visited in Europe.
The city, especially around the river, is stunning. Even when shot on an iPhone 8!
If you have any feedback, I’d love to hear from you.
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Have a fantastic weekend.
Much love to you and yours,
Tommy