Good AF: Vol. 9 -- Alcohol Free (And The Other One)
Your Monthly List of Recommendations to Listen, Read, Watch, and More
It’s July which means the Tour de France and the most wonderful time of the year for me. Whether you’re into watching dudes on bikes or not, this month’s recommendations have you covered:
Listen: How To Reconnect With Your True Self & Live With Purpose with Kirsty Gallagher on “Feel Better, Live More” with Rangan Chatterjee
This one is all about purpose: where we look for it and don’t find it (things and achievements), how it doesn’t have to be in your job (but can be), and that it’s something you are, not something you do.
Big emphasis on trusting the timing of life; something I’m believeing more and more, and also something I still struggle with.
My favorite thought on intuition: intuition tends to be the inconvenient voice of truth. In other words, we know what we want to do and we’re often scared to step into actually doing it.
Read: A Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilber — Non-fiction here, so I won’t fault you for skipping by. This one’s been on my list for a bit, and I’m mostly through it. As the title indicates, Wilber explores everything: from history to science to religion to spirituality. He makes a case for his vision of where we’ve come from and where we’re going as a species that hinges on the idea of “transcend and include.” Each period in human development transcends the prior one, but instead of leaving it behind it absorbs those elements and continues to iterate on them. It’s a bit dry at times, but overall is an interesting case and I’m curious to see where it finishes.
Tunes: Big Money by Jon Batiste — Batiste’s latest single catches some shuffle vibes and lyrics with a solid message, or at least one I’m needing this summer.
Watch: Colin from Accounts— A man and a woman come together around a dog. There’s more to the premise than that, but I don’t want to give anything away. This one’s lighthearded and funny in spots while not shying away from some of the harder aspects of this thing called life, including relationships. The characters feel original and unique, and I can’t wait for season three to drop.
Practice: Name wins at the end of the day — This one comes from Kirsty Gallagher (among others) on the podcast rec this month. How often do we race through the day, hit the pillow at night, and start the next day without much reflection? I definitely make time to reflect/meditate in the morning, but often miss the evening. No formal meditation needed here. Just take a minute or two as you’re waiting to fall asleep to think back through the things you did well during that day. That’s it. Even on some tough days there’s also one or two things that went well, and this practice helps us keep those in mind and in our body in a world that often distracts us from both.
Imbibe: Watermelon Mint Nixie — Haven’t been as adventurous on the libation front lately, but sparkling water is a staple in our house and this is my favorite recent discovery. Watermelon mint is a perfect summer combo and I need to pick up some more because I’ve cruised through it.
Thanks for the restack, Cassandra