On Writing, Brian Wilson, Sly Stone, etc.
In which God only knows what I'd be without you.
👩💻 Hey now! Kinda/sorta recently wrote about a few things I’ve been up to professionally, and a few things I’ve been into.
📓 An inspiring profile of Raymond Holbert, an 80-year-old Bay-Area resident that “maintains the belief that there is no limit to what he can learn in his life,” and has kept a journal since his early 20s, totaling around 21,000 entries.
“The longer you keep a journal, the more valuable it becomes to someone after you exit this life.”
✍️ Waiting on inspiration can become a barricade. Octavia Butler on writing: “Write, every day, whether you like it or not. Screw inspiration.”
“No matter how tired you get, no matter how you feel like you can’t possibly do this, somehow you do.”
🌸 Leslie Kern explores the tension between transforming what we can versus embracing what’s already present in our lives. “‘Oh, this is the part where I give myself a hard time over a couple of mistakes. This is just what I do!”’ That moment of recognition is enough to pause the spiral and give a little distance, but it doesn’t require a concentrated effort to stop those thoughts.”
🎧 (19/50) The Smiths, The Smiths: Sad songs for truly last dances. Melancholic, literate, sardonic and almost defiantly romantic. A moody, poetic cornerstone of indie rock.
🙏 Rest in Peace to Brian Wilson. He gave us transcendent harmonies, aching beauty, and a window into innocence lost. His music remains, tender, haunted, and eternal.
Also, Sly Stone, who shattered boundaries with rhythm, joy, and defiance.
We need joy this week, and often there is no better place to turn to than music.
And so on and so on…
❤️ Keep the Hoping Machine running.
Love,
Luke
