[COFFEE]
My local spot, Hopscotch Coffee & Records is down to their last batch of the Tanzania Peaberry, so I’m continuing to enjoy that while I can. Seems it is/was a Limited Edition… (4.5/5)
If you’ve been paying attention, you know I prefer African beans, and this particular selection has moved Tanzania ahead of Kenya in my Top 3 African countries of origin (Ethiopia is #1 by a pretty wide margin.)
Rumor has it, the next Limited Edition batch is from Congo. I’ve never had coffee from Congo before, so I’m looking forward to that!
[MUSIC]
Channeling some summer vibes with Radio Margaritaville on SiriusXM Channel 24. It’s exactly what it sounds like - 75% Jimmy Buffett and 25% Bob Marley, Jack Johnson, and random steel drum resort music.
[BOOKS]
In The Blood, Jack Carr’s latest book, is the 5th installment in the James Reece/Terminal List series and it came out in mid-May. I devoured it. Even though I paced myself, I listened to the whole thing in a matter of a few days.
I absolutely love his writing. This one seemed a bit shorter than the others, but still very good.
I’ve also been re-visiting some other titles in my Audible library:
The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene
Anti Fragile by Nassim Taleb
[PODCAST]
My streak of not listening to podcasts continues… for the most part.
I keep seeing this guy Lex Fridman’s name pop up, so I figured I’d check him out. He was on Rogan recently and started it, but couldn’t keep going.
Turns out Fridman has a podcast of his own, and has quite the guest list.
I chose this one, but it hasn’t really hooked me yet, and I haven’t picked it back up after the first 30 minutes of a nearly 4-hour episode.
#272: Brett Johnson - US Most Wanted Cybercriminal (The guy who invented what we now call the DarkWeb)
One main topic for today…
Rage Against Comfortably Numb
The Preamble:
One of my favorite things about using this particular platform (Substack) is the ability to share media with you.
For example, what you’re about to read was sparked a unique, LIVE, version of the classic Pink Floyd song, Comfortably Numb.
This version, performed live in Berlin, features Roger Waters, Van Morrison, and The Band. If you’re not familiar with The Band (SMH 🤦♂️), I’ll forgive you, as long as you click here to consult Professor Google.
Anyhoo…
Lately, I’ve been experiencing more… let’s call it “existential angst” than normal.
Call it a funk, depression, frustration… “
it” is the result of several factors converging simultaneously.
Here/now isn’t the time & place to bore you with my 💩
But I do realize it is valuable to be vulnerable and to share that we all deal with these things from time to time. Truth is, these phases are nothing new for me.
I have gotten better over the last few years at recognizing these phases sooner, which gives me the opportunity to dig into them, interrogate them, and discover the root cause faster.
That’s one of the benefits of “doing the work” (personal development work) for more than a decade now… (I’m not bragging. There is a reason for highlighting this.)
Getting Closer
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that I gravitate towards certain familiar songs during my “phases” and by paying attention to the song(s), I’m better able to hone in on what is eating at me.
Pretty cool how art affords us that mechanism of expression and connection…
Almost like that’s the point of it…🤷♂️ 😏 😉
(—> If you’re looking for tips & takeaways, that was one. Music/art can be cathartic.)
Back to Comfortably Numb…
The lyric in this song that really resonated with me right now is this:
“The child is grown, the dream is gone
I have become comfortably numb.”
TO ME, in the context of the song,
(another great line from earlier in the song =“This is not how I am”)…
The message being conveyed is one of sadness, and maybe frustration about the fact that the speaker has accepted a gradual recession of a life that is duller/dimmer than the one dreamt of as a child…
And that’s how I’ve been feeling lately = comfortably numb.
Apathetic.
Living in Groundhog day.
Trapped by my own routines & schedules.
Ready to rage and tear things apart at the seams.
Again, turning to music to relate & express…
“I've done my best to live the right way
I get up every morning and go to work each day
But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold
Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode
Explode and tear this whole town apart
Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart.”- Springsteen, The Promised Land
Like I said above, I KNOW, that my “issues” are of my own doing.
My schedule. My discipline, routines, chosen responsibilities, etc, etc..
That’s good news.
Because it means that I too hold the keys to making the needed improvements.
And for me, it means the solution is to simply change my daily patterns.
To break up the monotony. To play. To have more fun.
And I have.
So I’m in a good place - no need to worry about me.
The Point I Want To Share
Comfortably Numb is such a great phrase.
It’s one that I think can describe a lot us - if not all of us - at certain times in our lives.
One of the behavior patterns that I caution against, is the use of anesthetics to “numb” the trauma of thought.
Let’s face it, life is hard. Being human is complicated.
So it’s no surprise that, for as long as we’ve been on this planet, we’ve sought out ways to distract, or incapacitate, ourselves so we don’t have to sit with, or confront those uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, experiences, etc…
BUT, as uncomfortable as it may be, I WANT to feel these things.
I WANT to sit with them.
If I can’t numb them…
If I can’t run from them…
I’m forced to face them and do something about them.
I don’t want to be anesthetized by drugs, alcohol, porn, gambling, or other “addictions” that pull us into shadow lives and distract us from our true calling.
I don’t want to seek or choose temporary incapacitation, because it (usually) leads to that gradual acceptance of the dying of the light… becoming comfortably numb.
Rage Against Comfortably Numb
To paraphrase Dylan Thomas:
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Do not recede into the horizon, numbed &/or incapacitated by anesthetics
Rage against the comfortably numb
Deep inside me burns a fire that will continue to burn, as long as I draw breath.
A desire for meaningful moments.
A desire for a life that matters.
A desire for purpose.
A desire for action, adventure, and challenges that force me to grow, evolve, and continue to become a better version of myself.
That fire has a voice.
And I am forever grateful for that voice.
For it reminds me of who - and how - I am.
And it refuses to allow me to become comfortably numb.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Have an awesome day.
Pursue Progress & RAGE against comfortably numb,
Munsey
P.S. If you enjoyed this, please share it with someone else that you think might enjoy or benefit from reading it.
A great one brother, I am in the midst of this too…