Showing up in the world
Greetings
There was a time when our digital lives felt like a small, separate portion of our lives, especially in the early days, when we were trying to figure it out. In a way, we still haven’t figured it out but it is now an integral part of our lives. The days when a ‘public life’ were the sole domain of famous people are long gone. Today, many of us live partial public lives with moments, thoughts, and feelings broadcast using the different platforms available to us.
We document how we show up in the world on a daily basis, whether consciously or unconsciously, simply by participating in the digital world. In my mind, it should be a lot more conscious, it should have thought behind it, it should be a lot more deliberate.
I love this Harper’s Bazaar profile of Solange Knowles: A Beautiful Mind. I have been fascinated by how she has navigated and found her space in the music and creative worlds, considering who her sister is. It was her third studio album A Seat at the Table that really made me take notice. She shows up in the world on her own terms and in her own way, which is beautiful to both watch and draw inspiration from.
The idea of the sole hero, the person who changes the world on their own, hasn’t always sat well with me because, as said in No One Is Self-Made, we have all had someone, even if it is just one person, who has helped us along the way, sometimes with a word, a thought, a comforting hand. As Ryan Holiday writes, “We are, in the end, a reflection of the support and guidance we receive from the countless people who shape our lives.”
“Folklore is an overlooked repository of philosophical thinking from voices outside the traditional canon.”
Storyteller is part of the fabric of what it means to be human. Fields of study like philosophy have often overlooked, for example, African folklore when defining and exploring philosophy.
As a layperson, this was a bit of a dense read but my takeaway from Abigail Tulenko’s essay Folklore is Philosophy is very simply we need to revisit what philosophy is and incorporate elements like folklore which “ is a rich source of thought on topics of philosophic interest with the potential to uplift a wide range of voices who have thus far been largely overlooked.”
Since my last newsletter, I have published three more podcast episodes. In my chat with editor, author, creative director, speaker and friend Lerato Tshabalala, it was fun chatting about our past existences as magazine editors and how we showed up in the world versus where we are today and how many of the concerns are no longer valid.
In the last two years, I have been getting deeper and deeper into the writing of Haruki Murakami which has opened me up to reading from Japanese authors. I stumbled upon Genki Kawamura’s If Cats Disappeared from the World on Kindle Unlimited and decided to give it a shot, to justify what I spend monthly on the subscription.
According to the book blurb, “Our narrator’s days are numbered. Estranged from his family, living alone with only his cat Cabbage for company, he was unprepared for the doctor’s diagnosis that he has only months to live. But before he can set about tackling his bucket list, the Devil appears with a special offer: in exchange for making one thing in the world disappear, he can have one extra day of life. And so begins a very bizarre week . . .
Because how do you decide what makes life worth living? How do you separate out what you can do without from what you hold dear? In dealing with the Devil our narrator will take himself – and his beloved cat – to the brink.”
What a lovely, quick read, that had me contemplating what is important, grief, and the like.
It’s Not Over takes a critical and in-depth look at Burna Boy’s song ‘Monsters You Made’. Too often, it feels like we are totally veered off into music that doesn’t really ‘say’ anything and, as a result, when a song comes out that actually does, we miss it, as I did in this instance.
Scarface has been one of my favourite rappers since I first heard him on Mind Playin Tricks on Me as one third of the Geto Boys. His album The Diary is still in relatively regular rotation for me to this day. There has always been an authenticity in and sensitivity to his music that I have always connected with. And now I return to his Tiny Desk Concert which he did towards the end of last year at least once a fortnight.
That’s it for today. Please share, subscribe and/or comment.
Also, check out my podcast and book Listen To Your Footsteps.
Easy
Kojo
Big bro, we are indeed all public figures, by default at certain responsibilities we have adopted. Indeed we miss the depth of some of the creativity around us, not only due to complacency, but also, numerous distractions. Living simply with purpose has become a luxury, scarse and rear. We must learn to declutter to the most important minimum. I am giving that a short, too...