5 Quick Things #295 ๐
wonder, walkability, real communities, & lasting for a thousand years
Hi there,
Iโm writing you from a dark hotel room, sleeping family around meโlater this morning weโll make our final few miles up the road to our oldestโs new home for this next school year. I tell you, Iโm feeling ALL THE FEELINGS right now about all this, including sleep deprivation (hence why Iโm writing this)โฆ I havenโt slept well this entire week. Really, month.ย
Iโm so thrilled for Tate and whatโs all in store for her! Truly. And I love where sheโs going; itโs a great fit for her. And yetโฆ Yeah.ย
Thankfully, weโve got a lot of practical things to do this weekend โย moving into a dorm leads to lots of errands, set-up, fixing of things, carrying heavy stuff, campus tours and meetings, and navigating a new town. Itโs a fun weekend!
St. Monica, pray for us.
5 Quick Things โ๏ธ
(Iโm doing something a little different this weekโฆ Because this week is SO crammed full, Iโm pulling from the back catalog of 5QT and re-sharing some links Iโve liked in the past. With almost 1,500 good things shared, youโve probably missed a thing or two, or if youโre like me, youโve forgotten you read it and could use the reminder anyway. ๐)
1.ย ๐ป From the archives of A Drink With a Friend: The Genesis of Gender ๐ป What does it mean to be a man or a woman? And just as important in today's culture, how do we have civil, truthful, loving conversations about that topic? Seth and I chat with author and professor Abigail Favale to talk about all this and more. She's written a book that's taking off like wildfire about one of the most pressing questions of the day: Who are we as men and women?
2. Does our technology-everywhere world limit our human capacity and drive for wonder? I think so. No longer do we need to sit with our thoughts while we wait in line, and we donโt need to let a curiosity go unanswered. โWonder is what happens when we unexpectedly apprehend the marvellous quality of the ordinary.โ I've been slowly mulling on these thoughts, which I think is the right thing to do regarding the topic of wonder.
3. I am fascinated with small towns, urban planning, and human-scale living (i.e., walkability), and I enjoy a good nerding out on learning why certain places hold more livable appeal than others. Thereโs something near-universal about our natural desire to live in thoughtfully and in community โ this is an interesting exploration about why a little Florida town works as well as it does.
4.ย Myles Werntz (whoโs written a guest piece here on The Commonplace) said on his own Substack what Iโve wanted to put into words but couldnโt. โAre online communities communities? Until further notice, Iโm staying with no, for a few reasons.โ What makes IRL an actual community, something the internet canโt replace?
5. And finally, beautiful cinematography, beautiful project, beautiful lives, beautiful message about authenticity โย โif it looks like a stone wall it needs to be a stone wall. โฆI want the janitorโs closet to be beautiful.โ
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening ๐ป
The Sounds Like Home playlist I made for Tate
Quotable ๐ฌ
โWe have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.โ
- Confucius
What was your favorite subject in high school? ๐ฉโ๐ซ
Boy, weโre just birds of a feather around here, arenโt we? #booknerds
Find this weekโs poll here.
Coming THIS WEEK! ๐ซ
First Light & Eventide officially releases this Tuesday, on August 29:
Order your new journal now to start a habit of examen and gratitude.
Quick Links ๐
๐ฌ๐ท Join Me in Greece: June 20-30, 2024
Question(s) For You to Ponderโฆ ๐ค
What one previous day would you re-live, just to soak it in?
Have a great weekend,
- Tsh
p.s. A list of really great, currently living artists of faith.