Footnotes to a Conversation, June 5, 2023
“It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little.” – Sydney Smith
Enchantment
I enjoyed reading Enchantment by Katherine May. The book was written after the Covid pandemic, and she says:
“Perhaps I am struggling to assimilate all the changes that have patterned this earth over the last decade, but it strikes me forcibly that I am living in only one dimension. It’s not just a matter of being confined to home. It’s more than that, a whole existence that’s constrained and over-reasoned, full of fear. The life I have made is too small. It doesn’t allow enough in: enough ideas, enough beliefs, enough encounters with the exuberant magic of existence. I have been so keen to deny it, to veer deliberately towards the rational, to cling solely to the experiences that are directly observable by others. Only now, when everything is taken away, can I see what a folly this is.”
May seeks the wonder we experienced as children:
“Enchantment is small wonder magnified through meaning, fascination caught in the web of fable and memory. It relies on small doses of awe, almost homeopathic: those quiet traces of fascination that are found only when we look for them. It is the sense that we are joined together in one continuous thread of existence with the elements constituting this earth, and that there is a potency trapped in this interconnection, a tingle on the border of our perception.”
It’s a dense book and what was meaningful to me may not be meaningful to you, but there is something for everyone in this short book.
Gut Instinct
I never cease to be amazed at the intricate and exceptionally complex make-up of not only the world around us but also the world within us. Our bodies host vast microbial communities (microbiomes). The largest microbiome is in our gut and it affects everything from digestion and immunity to mood and behaviour. Anxiety and stress, for example, have been linked to reduced microbial diversity. Couples have a similar microbiome, while people with a larger social network tend to have a more diverse microbiome. [Wicked Leeks]
Worrywart
A worrywart is someone who worries excessively and needlessly. But that hasn’t always been the case. In the 1920s, cartoonist J. R. Williams introduced a character called Worry Wart, and he caused other people to worry. [Columbia Journalism Review]
Immerse Yourself in Art
Imagine stepping inside an enormous wedding cake. If we were in England this summer, we could do just that. Elaborately decorated, and iced with thousands of shiny pink, white, and blue ceramic tiles, it joins other fantastical sculptural works at Waddesdon Manor. [Waddesdon]
People First
An underutilized freeway ramp in Albany, NY, has been transformed into a park, outdoor art gallery, pop-up event spaces, and safe pathway to the city’s waterfront. Doesn’t that sound like much more fun than a noisy stream of cars? [Public Square]
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.
If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.