The August Journal
Let me tell you what I know.
I know that I don’t know much about anything.
I don’t know about politics (not really my fault, considering Australia hasn’t had a Prime Minister last longer than 3 minutes). I don’t know about current world crises. I don’t know about historical crises. I don’t know about art. I don't know about war. I don’t know about influential humans. I don't know about capitalism, fascism, communism (really, any of the -isms).
I’ve recently come to know some exceptionally switched on people – people who truly give meaning to the phrase: food for thought. The conversations are highly intellectual, analytical and argumentative to a degree I've never experienced. This is new playing ground – in fact, I feel like I'm still in the playground, and that everyone else ditched the slide and swings a long time ago.
I's just like being Joey from Friends - the one who never really knows what's going on, but nods along anyway. On the one hand it’s great – it means I’m exposed to so much free education – but it’s a real bother when everyone is talking about the Greens and you pipe in with “that’s one of my favourite colours too!”.
I’m not relaying all this to sound all cute and bashful (I’m certainly not as loveable as Joey Tribbiani) nor am I calling myself utterly useless (I do know things about some stuff). I’m saying it because a lack of knowledge means that you can only connect on a certain level with a limited amount of people. And if you are limited to following along a small fraction of the conversations around you, well, you aren't really getting much smarter at all. I know that as soon as I fall behind in a conversation, my brain won't try to catch up or make sense of things. I switch off, I nod along, and I go "Mhm, yes I agree" every now and then for good measure. Unfortunately, that's not learning at all.
This month I’m setting myself four challenges. Every week, I’ll do something to create more awareness, more conscious thought and more time to dedicate to learning. I’m not afraid to ask questions – I’ve seen the reactions some of mine get but they don’t dishearten me. I know that when I get the answer, I’m only going to get smarter.
More questions, slower conversations. More reading, less scrolling. More comprehending, less dismissing.
More, more, more.
Monthly Favourites:
Book: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Heartbreaking, funny, complex, provoking - this book is a masterpiece. I didn't ever want to stop untangling the thoughts of Eleanor Oliphant. I couldn't help but fall in love with everything about her.
Podcast: My Dad Wrote A Porno
This is undoubtedly my favourite piece of published media, ever. I can’t listen on public transport anymore – the suppressed laughs were getting bad for my health. It’s brought me tears of laughter, tears of disgust, and tears of pride that I live in the same era as our Lord and Saviour: Rocky Flintstone. Season Four has just kicked off, and I’m already severely dehydrated from all the crying. If there’s one thing I can teach you, it’s that My Dad Wrote A Porno will seriously brighten your life.
Album: Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again
So good that you can hit shuffle and not have to skip a single song.