Feldman's Faves: March 14, 2022

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

For those of you with children on March Break right now I hope after two years of being stuck in your homes you are able to do something fun. Whether you are going away or staying at home, the world has opened up a lot and there are finally activities to do with our kids that do not involve a streaming service, sourdough bread or yet another puzzle. But of course when all else fails, we have MARCH MADNESS. As a life-long basketball nut and especially of the college game, there is no better time of the year (for me) than right now. This weekend was a phenomenal run of games and upsets (sorry Duke) and the next few weeks will be good fun as it always is, with fans in the stadiums and everything….I know the world is pretty crappy these days, but I think we need to try to find the things that bring us joy (while always being mindful of the world around us). Oh and by the way, Tom Brady is back (huge shock, I know…).

This week’s theme is experiments; one literary and one lifestyle.

RECITATIF - By Toni Morrison –One of the celebrity meeting highlights of my life was getting the opportunity to meet Toni Morrison in 1995 who had just won the Nobel Prize in Literature and was making her rounds across the world. Following this meeting I read many of her books, including Beloved, which is her most famous. It was only the other week, however that I saw the publication of her one and only short story entitled, RECITATIF. Morrison is famous for taking on the issue of race and bringing her unique perspective and talent to this issue. In RECITATIF, she decides to create an experiment when she tells the story of two eight year old girls who meet at an orphanage and then have chance encounters with each other throughout the course of their lives. What we know is that one girl is white and one girl is black. What we can never fully determine, is which one is which, which is exactly Morrison’s’ point here. Just when you think you figured it out you realize you have no idea. The brilliance of this concept and the way it makes you think is why this story is remarkable. It is really short so I am purposely not providing any plot details. Please read it and let me know what you think. Here is an excellent review from the NYT - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/books/review/toni-morrison-recitatif.html

TED Business - How to tame your wandering mind | Amishi Jha - My family often tells me that I give off a NEZ vibe (Zen spelled backwards), and I get that…but I am trying. We are all constantly bombarded all day long with emails, phone calls and pulls on our time that it is really hard to focus on only one thing at a time. This is not good for us at all. Think of the distracted driver or the distracted surgeon….not good. In this PODCAST, Jah tries to illustrate how our lack of focus can be harmful to us and those around us in so many different ways BUT at the same time shows that there are way to combat his affliction through the use of mindfulness and meditation, something I am actually trying to learn to do. I will let you know if it works – because if it works for me, it can work for anyone….. Here is an excerpt from the PODCAST itself: “Amishi Jha studies how we pay attention: the process by which our brain decides what's important out of the constant stream of information it receives. Both external distractions (like stress) and internal ones (like mind-wandering) diminish our attention's power, Jha says -- but some simple techniques can boost it. " Pay attention to your attention," Jha says : https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ted-business/id470622782?i=1000553126556

The other day someone asked me why I am pushing our book club and shared this clip from Family Guy – it was a good reminder that we don’t all find the same books, podcasts, ideas, etc. to be equally interesting, which is totally fine and why I am always pleased to get others’ ideas and suggestions.

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.

And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon