Hi friends!
Books
I’ve been on a reading rampage.
Hello, Beautiful – Man can only see himself through the eyes of others. His goodness and his unworthiness only exist because of those around him. William Waters, the protagonist in Ann Napolitano’s novel Hello, Beautiful, is never truly seen—not by his parents, nor by Julia, his wife. The void necessitates “secrets” and “bullshit” in order to survive, but William can barely hang on.
It is only when he stops pretending, when he accepts himself, his life, and all the complexities, that William is slowly able to recover (and uncover) who he is. By being seen, William is able to see himself and others. He ceases to invent and deny, instead understanding his father-in-law’s sentiments that “we’re not separated from the world by our own edges”. William begins living in the world—igniting passion and tragedy, forgiveness and hope.
I loved the book and the way it dovetailed with Victor Hugo’s classic Les Misérables. The 1400 page masterpiece left me in tears and pining for the noble Jean Valjean. Like William, Valjean harbored secrets believing, “people weighed down by troubles do not look back; they know only too well that misfortune stalks them.”
In both cases, the men sacrificed themselves (and hid truths) to protect the ones they loved, believing in their own unworthiness. In fact, the secrets, once revealed, liberated them.
One final man who achieved freedom from the depths of despair is Natan Sharansky. His autobiography Fear No Evil chronicles his wrongful imprisonment and his years in the Russian Gulag. While William and Valjean create their own self imposed prison, Sharansky’s captors are the notorious KGB (Russian Secret Police). He determines to be free from them and refuses to sign admissions to crimes he never committed for, “if [he] accepted the KGB’s proposal, in addition to betraying [himself], [he] would be adding to the evil in the world.” Sharansky wants all secrets exposed and fights for transparency with each step. His story is remarkable (and you can listen to him speak here).
Beats
I’ve been hitting a lot of museums recently, and this throwback freestyle rap at an art show was pretty clever. If you don’t know about Chris Turner, check it (the first 4 minutes are PG. Shifts to R after that).
Barbells
LIFTING IS LIFT! But you also need mobility. One day I wasn’t feeling well, so decided to work on movement.
Peace and love,
Kit
Find the balance. 