#earnesty

[lyfeinlaw]

'but we were dead while everyone else was alive. we had something they could never.'

'what was it?'

'peace.'

[hannaheppersonmusic]

working on grant applications always makes me think about the people and places that continuously guide me towards reconciliation between the inner and outermost divisions of my self, which in turn always guide me back towards the relief of remembering that as individuals we are, in the grand gesture of geologic time, essentially (but so dearly!) nobodies... it's a complicated world we live in, and it feels near impossible to take one step or release one goddamn breath without implicating one's self in a riddle of labyrinthine compromises (part of this pattern of self-implication is a symptom of our paralyzing culture of individual libertarianism, which merits it’s own rant on another day).  but there are those moments - always fleeting, but anchored in trust and respect and sense of duty beyond one's self - where a true kind of happiness and sense of connectedness suspends insecurity and frustration and so many centuries of inherited guilt. it takes an awful long while sometimes to find those moments in the deafening din of today's contrived social pressures and hollowed expectations, but when those moments happen ... goddamn! how good it can feel to cut herbs from a garden with a pair of old squeaky scissors! to muck out a stable in a hail storm! and to hug with a deep sense of recognition a dear friend and mentor with everything you've got. and here a thank you to meghan merker, who is just that and who will forever be just that. often, in fleeting moments of a spring sun striking the brick wall behind my brooklyn apartment, i’ll go outside barefoot with a cup of tea and a stolen segment of the New York Times (my roommate has a real life newspaper subscription, bless her heart) or a book of poetry to have a two-birds-one-stone soak.  this week, i’ve been quenching so many thirsts with james rebanks’ understated autobiography: The Shepherd’s Life. and there’s one passage that i’ll leave as a gentle ellipses to this brief but ever-sincere outpouring:

“my grandfather was, quite simply, one of the great forgotten silent majority of people who live, work, love and die without leaving much written trace that they were ever here. he was, and we his descendants remain, essentially nobodies as far as anyone else is concerned. but that’s the point. landscapes like ours were created by and survive through the efforts of nobodies [...] the real history of our landscape should be the history of the nobodies.” 

[jdegrazia-blog]

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Smiling

Just heard World Party on the radio. I didn't think that'd ever happen.

It wasn't this song, though.  It was song about rainbows from Goodbye Jumbo.

But you gotta love this one too, for its earnestness* if nothing else.

She's the One is track 5 on Egyptology.

*Note: Wouldn't earnesty be a better word?

[rubymolotov]

As we collectively marvel, mouths agape, at the wonder passing over New York City—the space shuttle, the space shuttle!—we are reminded of how rare these moments of wonder truly are in today's cynical world of snarky blog posts and curmudgeonly, ennui-filled responses to anything remotely fun or good or precious. How sad we are as a people that, in response to an icon of American engineering and space exploration swooping past overhead, this writer's response was to call attention to the fact that obviously it's a much bigger deal that people are wearing shorts in SoHo right now. (It is only 50-some degrees, people!). Meanwhile, better humans than us were sobbing on nearby rooftops over the joys wrought by this magical moment. But I am a part of the problem, not the solution, and my response was a defense mechanism, a posturing of judgy 21st-century proportions. The first step is admitting it, right? To admit it and then to do a better job at being earnest, honest, authentically joyful, less guarded. Basically, to be less of a snarky pain in the butt. Here are some ways to foster that.

The Importance of Being Earnest: A Guide for Today's Cynical World

[vervacious]

231. "I never call, she know what's up."

Games, games, games.

I had this conversation with my older brother today and he brought up a good point today. I know its in human nature - animal nature to be honest - to play games. Peacocks flaunt their feathers when they want attention, girls put on make-up. I'm not trying to preach some feminazi shit about how we should all enjoy life exactly how it is, but sometimes it just needs to stop. Why do people have to pretend not to be available, not to be impressed, not to want something because it'll make someone else want them more or make them look better. Why do we fall for that shit? When did someone showing you their best side - their honest side, the side that wants you and your company - start being a turn off. Why do you have to wait for something to go away before you appreciate it?

I think that we all hate pretending. I think at the end of the day we want someone who wants us as much as we want them, someone to pull back the layers and the fuckery and say "Hey, you there....you with your flaws and your weirdness...I like you."

i think we all underestimate the importance of being earnest.