We Are Not Wired That Way + Painful Regret + That Doesn't Last Long in Our House

Good Morning from Prince Edward Island,

Thank you for allowing me into your time and space for a bit this morning.

Is the kettle on?

It was a newsworthy week. I am loyal to my words by not bringing politics into the blog.

Here is what is happening with COVID on the Island this week.

Earlier this morning, I finished reading my first book of the year.

Non Fiction: Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport published in 2019.

Notables from the book:

“Digital Minimalism A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.”

“Digital minimalists see new technologies as tools to be used to support things they deeply value—not as sources of value themselves. They don’t accept the idea that offering some small benefit is justification for allowing an attention-gobbling service into their lives, and are instead interested in applying new technology in highly selective and intentional ways that yield big wins. Just as important: they’re comfortable missing out on everything else.”

“We need solitude to thrive as human beings, and in recent years, without even realizing it, we’ve been systematically reducing this crucial ingredient from our lives. Simply put, humans are not wired to be constantly wired.”

“Solitude Deprivation: A state in which you spend close to zero time alone with your own thoughts and free from input from other minds.”

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone,” Blaise Pascal famously wrote in the late seventeenth century.”

“Three crucial benefits provided by solitude: “new ideas; an understanding of the self; and closeness to others.”

“in many cases, these addictive properties of new technologies are not accidents, but instead carefully engineered design features.”

“It is never too late to give up our prejudices.”

“Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius.” ~ Edward Gibbon

I read this book with a desire to understand more about the digital world. What it was doing to me, my children and the world around me. The book encourages me to think look at my online habits and remove the time-wasting ones.

The lesson I learned from this book: Use it instead of ‘IT’ using you.

In proportion as a person simplifies his life,

the laws of the universe will appear less complex,

and solitude will not be solitude. ~ Henry David Thoreau

The most 'important to me author' I discovered and read last year was James Clear. His newsletter is "Working to deliver the most wisdom per word of any newsletter on the web."

“Habits are safer than rules; you don’t have to watch them.

And you don’t have to keep them either.

They keep you.” ―Frank Hall Crane

You may find an excerpt from Chapter Three of his million-seller book, Atomic Habits and rewarding article to read. How To Start New Habits That Actually Stick.

I love this story as told by Kris Bowers and his grandfather Horace Bowers. Kris, a virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer. He and his grandfather share with us his family's lineage from Jim Crow Florida to Walt Disney Concert Hall.

I hope you enjoy A Concerto is a Conversation as much as I did.

These times are anxious times. I think of our dear friends, brothers, sisters, cousins in and from the US. Tears flowed this morning while I listened to Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Two versions for you. Which one is your favourite?

#1 Art Garfunkel

#2 John Legend

With love from Prince Edward Island,

Take care of each other and have a weekend of peace.

Sincerely,

Bruce & Mille

ps. Your Morning Smile

Our neighbours gave us a pumpkin pie as a holiday gift. As lovely as the gesture was, it was clear from the first bite that the pie tasted bad. It was so inedible that we had to throw it away.

Ever gracious and diplomatic, my wife sent the neighbours a note. It read: "Thank you very much for the pumpkin pie. Something like that doesn't last very long in our house."