The last few weeks have been heavy. Even for 2020/2021, it seems especially absurd. While I try to watch how I interact with the world (online, phone, tv, etc.), I still felt the weight of current events. With my mental health challenges, I have to be careful with how I interact with mass media. Boundaries are helpful here as well as to ask myself afterwards how I feel about such events. Critical thinking is something I cherish but it also keeps me sane. The stories I hear of hardship and tragedy can stick with me for days in very personal ways, as tragedy should. Yet, with many things in life, I find it difficult to overcome as one fractured person. There is undoubtedly a balance between such events and hope – the healthy among us can hold the tension found within both of these. With the speed of life quickening to alarming levels, it is a necessity to take a step back, breathe, and cling to something good. This good grounds us. It keeps the remnants of despair that flank us at bay. And though melancholy, like hope, is holy ground, it is also a reflection of our Creator to laugh sometimes.
On one particular day, I found a few things that raised my shoulders a little higher. The joy these things, shockingly found on the internet, granted me are a welcomed solace. They continue to teach me to care deeply about the affairs of this world, but also to care deeply about joy – a celebration in the face of futility. It is joy like this that is our only remedy for the random absurdities of evil. Irreverence can sometimes be just as powerful as absurdity.
So I share such things with you because I feel you could probably also use a smile. Keep doing the work laid out before you. Keep an eye on your mental health. And above all else, keep hoping.
“I am not a cat” . . .
Many of us have become experts in online meetings. For most of us, our biggest struggle is forgetting to mute/unmute ourselves. Embarrassing but understandable. Yet for some (mainly this poor lawyer below), their online woes extend far beyond sound and end up trending online forever. While I am naturally a bleeding heart empathic, I am not too proud to say that I have not laughed this hard in a very long time.
I Don’t Even Care if He Was in One Direction . . .
I am not a huge pop music fan. However, years ago when I heard Harry Styles speak of his solo effort, I was hooked. His music has the ability to bring so many different fans who normally wouldn’t give the genre an honest chance. In his latest video, Styles shows why he is a pop and fashion icon. “Treat People With Kindness” treads on many styles that came before, yet still looks forward to infinite possibilities. Originally I was curious for guest star Phoebe Waller-Bridge (an icon in her own right) and her ability to transpose gender roles that plague the entertainment industry. Both her and Styles are magnetic in this danceable, singable, and endorphin inducing nod to the best of pop.
I Hope That’s Not a Rental . . .
While the last two videos made me giggle with childlike wonder, this one let me escape back into the warmth of an oversized sweater. Phoebe Bridgers is redefining how music is presented in a pandemic. Her vulnerable and piercing art speaks of a songwriter who will continue to make exceptional music for years to come. On a recent gig on Saturday Night Live, she showed just how transcendent she is. Walking the line between warm singer-songwriter and combustible punk ethos, Bridgers shows why she is up for four Grammys. Her live take of “I Know The End” is absolutely spellbinding as it builds and ultimately ends with the theatric smashing of musical equipment and eardrums. Any time someone puts that much thought and passion into a song, I am all in.
Matt simon blog 