QUOTE OF THE NOW

"Our life evokes our character. You find out more about yourself as you go on. That's why it's good to be able to put yourself in situations that will evoke your higher nature rather than your lower. 'Lead us not into temptation.'" Joseph Campbell

Monday, June 8, 2015

S to the j (or: Should you keep me?)

So organizer Marie Kondo has a central question for us, when we're going through our things: Does this spark joy?

“Keep only the things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest,” she advises. “When you put your house in order, you put your affairs and your past in order, too. As a result, you can see quite clearly what you need in life and what you don’t.” (WSJ)

I wonder if this is a useful criteria for relationships too. When I heard the phrase, it made me think of my husband--it was the clearest expression of why I want to be with him. It cuts through the clutter, so to speak.

I used to think, of my friends, that I tend to only remain friends with people who are interested in growing. But sparking joy might be a better categorization.

But then, I guess you have to take the relationship as a whole. It's got to be more than a Once in Awhile thing. In the Kondo organizing world, you'd take all your friends, heap them on the bed, and then pick each one up one by and one and see how you feel.

"Sparking joy can be different from evoking happy memories, Kondo said. You can look at a sentimentally freighted item and feel happiness remembering the times when you used it. But that’s often a quiet sensation. When something sparks joy, you feel it viscerally, Kondo said. That’s why, to determine whether an object sparks joy, you have to touch it, not just look at it from a distance." (Market Watch)

 Ah yes, there's that too. There are some people you'll always have some fond memories about. Again, not the same thing as "sparking joy."

Alright. I'd better go to bed before this analogy falls apart.

Here's a song that s my j.


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Reading

Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
Les années douces : Volume 1
Back on the Rez
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
Stupeur et tremblements
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