Pardon the interruption
A rule, two lyrics, three tweets
“What’s a rule you live by?” was the first prompt in a writing course I’m taking as G transitions into daycare.
Something about the question immediately got my hackles up. “Rule” sounds so hardline. And “live by”? Like all the time? Yikes.
But alas, the main point of compiling a newsletter and taking the course is to take time reflecting and crisping up thoughts in hopes of being more conscientious away from the keyboard.
So this edition starts with a rule I try to live by: interrupt wisely. And then it’s music-, parenting-, and tweet-heavy.
🎧 Compiled to Shadows by Bonobo feat. Jordan Rakei
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Interrupt wisely
Interrupting is impolite, yes, but it's way more than that. It risks short-circuiting something wonderful.
A toddler shaking a new object, a puppy exploring off leash, a friend sharing excitedly. Isn't this exactly what I want for them? To be on their own roll? As long as they are safe from serious harm, I want to be very careful about disrupting.
Of course, if someone is in danger then INTERRUPT. It doesn't matter how important that phone call is if you're about to step in front of a yellow cab. On the other hand a little pain is an effective teacher. It takes wisdom to find the line between a stretch and a strain.
It also takes wisdom to interrupt encouragingly. Maybe some positive reinforcement will help someone further into their zone. Maybe that person’s train of thought is derailing wondering if they have my attention.
Attention unlocks so much good—learning, connecting, soulfulness. So I’m really trying to pay it well, respect it in others, and steal it only wisely.
“No one knows me like the piano in my mother’s home. You would show me I had something some people call a soul. And you dropped out the sky, oh, you arrived when I was three years old.”
— Sampha, (No One Knows Me) Like The Piano (Spotify, Live performance)
Hey G, is that a drumset I see in the sky?
“I know you're struggling what to call it. But why you gotta call it anything at all?”
—Leif Vollebekk, Hot Tears (Spotify, Live performance)
Interrupt attachment
the key differentiator between the ‘secure’ & ‘insecure’ kids is *how much interest they show in the rest of their environment*…
The anxiously preoccupied kids cling to mom upon her return, whereas the avoidant kids pay her little heed; but, crucially, neither type of kid shows as much independent interest & initiative in exploring the rest of the room as the securely attached kid…
‘the world is a place where I can thrive, and it's up to me to do it.’ …
We're free to love & connect with others, partly because we aren't paralyzed by the fear of losing them; we know our ability to function in the world does not fundamentally depend on them.
Interrupt myself
“Usually, when I’m doing something boring but necessary—the washing up, or walking to the post office—I’ll constantly interrupt myself; there’s a little Joycean warbling from the back of my brain. ‘Boredom is the dream bird that broods the egg of experience.’ But when I’m listlessly killing time on the internet, there is nothing. The mind does not wander. I am not there.”
—Sam Kriss, The internet is already over
“It’s an old joke among jazz musicians,” Cecchini said. “You ask, ‘Can you read music?’, and the guy says, ‘Not enough to hurt my playing.’”
—David Epstein, Range: Why Generalists Triump in a Specialized World