The Awe Effect [#163]
Living through the juxtaposition of joy and despair during these long days of summer.
Hello from Phoenix,
The temperatures here reached 110F and I’m still sunburned from our family vacation to Zion National Park last week, suffice to say I’m very itchy. Something beautiful about being out in one of the most majestic national parks (despite the consequences of government cutbacks all around) is experiencing awe. Contemplating “I am but a tiny speck in time,” nature feeling infinite and immense, knowing the rivers will keep flowing whether humans are around — or not — is a recalibration we need, especially during a summer (and an era) like this one. Brene Brown points out that awe “leads people to cooperate, share resources, and sacrifice for others” and causes them “to fully appreciate the value of others and see themselves more accurately, evoking humility.” It’s also great for our nervous systems. So getting out in the vastness of nature and experiencing awe is a gift to yourself and the rest of us.
Reading
As things feel hopelessly broken but strangely normal, the Soviet-era concept of hypernormalization can help. Tragedy in the Texas Hill Country, at the very sleepaway camp my eldest daughter was waitlisted for this summer. While we’re living in a "who cares” era, let’s care instead. A satiric take on DJT’s 79th birthday party. Online rentals like Airbnbs and Vrbos “have been going downhill like a hippo on a water slide”.
with a reminder to stop enabling sexism in your home. Landlines are back for kids. You can carry-on up to 200 HEB flour tortillas on your flight, it turns out.Book on my nightstand: The Buddha in the Attic, by Julie Otsuka. Y’all, this book is so so so compelling and reads like a poem. It’s also crucial to read as the Trump administration disappears our neighbors, in the same way the government disappeared Japanese Americans in the 1940s, which is covered toward the end of Otsuka’s narrative.
Werk Werk Werk
The brilliant cultural observer Maris Kreizman dropped by on Forever35 to talk with me about how the older she’s gotten, the more liberal she’s become, and why meritocracy is a myth in today’s hyper-capitalistic society.
The wise and soulful poet Sarah Kay and I spent an hour together talking through the times we live in now, how to face it and continue to live with integrity, and she offers some Poetry Rx for callers.
Besides that I’ve been summering. Summer is summering! Attended a gorgeous wedding in San Francisco. Said a lot of goodbyes in Washington DC. Then went with the family to Utah, and am now in Phoenix trying to raise money for our documentary, Windswept.
Watch and or Listen
F1: The Movie is a good summer blockbuster I enjoyed in the comfort of great AC, but you know what else was a good summer blockbuster? CON AIR (streaming on Hulu), which came out in 1997. I forgot about it until today, when I was thinking about tent pole movies, and so we started a re-watch and if you can get past the terrible Alabama accents, the characters are so much fun. Nic Cage, Steve Buscemi, Monica Potter, Ving Rhames, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Danny Trejo … what a cast.
And with thanks to
, the OK Go video for the song A Stone Only Rolls Downhill, which is like the musical version of that much-shared Maggie Smith poem, Good Bones.Keep up the fight. Keep calling your reps. Keep speaking up.
And happy Cancer season (and birthdays) to all the Cancer babies out there!
With love,
Elise
