Hi everyone. Well, I could review this book and say it’s an excellent book. It is an excellent book, and ironically, it refers quite a bit to Chinese medicine. I’m reading a book on Chinese medicine and really hope to get a better understanding of qi (pronounced “chi”) because that’s part of Chinese medicine is qi. I dunno how to describe qi so I won’t, because I’m reading the book about it. Maybe after I read the book, I’ll talk a little bit about qi, but I do know that qi is involved in Tai chi. Tai chi is the movement of qi.
The movements are slow. Yes. But then so are the movements of yoga. So what’s the big whoop? I don’t know. It’s good for balance too. It’s been a challenge for me to balance on one foot, on my left foot. Wasn’t there a movie called My Left Foot? Maybe I should make a movie called My Left Hand and Foot in a Footnote. No. Okay, nevermind. Maybe I should make that movie. Honestly. That’d be what a great silent movie for .… Okay, I’m just goofing a little. But yeah, it was one of those terrible weekends. So I’m trying to recover.
What have I said so far? I talked about Chinese medicine, I talked about this book, which is really good. Has a lot of great advice that I’ve already actually employed because I have to, because I’ve been dealing with this for 20 years. And no matter how much pain relief I get, it’s not going to fix this. This is just a continually source of energy drainage. That’s what it comes down to. Okay. Yes. So do check out. It Doesn’t Have to Hurt: Your Smart Guide to a Pain-Free Life, even if you don’t get a pain-free life out of it. But perhaps a better life with pain, I think is what I am aiming for, because the pain, it’s out of my control. The wiring in my brain has gotten so messed up because of the stroke that it’s affecting this. That’s the long and the short of it, and it’s all involuntary.
I can’t stop it. Somebody tells me to relax my hand. I can’t do it. I can’t. There’s no way I can fully relax my hand without, even if I place my hand on a book, it’s not relaxed. I’m pressing it to keep. I’m pressing my hand with my arm, which is also affected. The relaxation is just, it’s not happening. Anyway, so much for that.
This book is genius. George Orwell. Why I Write. There is so much quotable stuff in here I’m not even going to try. It’s brilliant and it’s wonderful, and I so wish I could have met Eric Blair. He just seems like a really smart, funny, awesome guy. I love this book so much. I’ve only read a little bit, and I got to tell you, take it in small doses. The man is just freaking brilliant, and what he has to say is devastating.
Think … substitute the word America for some of what he says and see how that plays in your head. Ooh, yes. Yes. Writing as a political act. We’d like to pretend we’re not being political, but politics is in us, in everything we do. Why are we lying so much about that? Why are we pretending to be something that we aren’t? Why are we pretending to be fabulous, because we’re authors. We’re not fabulous. We’re just human freaking beings and there was nothing that brought this home for me more than listening to Jennifer Esposito. She talked about her struggles very honestly [in a video on Substack]. It was so honest, my hand was clenching madly, and I had to stop listening, because God, I’ve been there. I am there. We’re all there now.
My Challenge
So my challenge to all of you is stay off the internet for one full day. Pick a weekend and stay off the internet one full day. That’s my challenge. Go digital detox, cold turkey. One full day. You can use your computer. Just don’t use the internet. Don’t check your email, don’t check social media, don’t go to Facebook, don’t go to Substack. Don’t go to any of those platforms one full day and then write something about, write in a journal about your day. What was that day like for you? Did you feel an incessant need to go check your Amazon rank? Did you feel an incessant need to be online doing something?
That’s my challenge. Write something about that day and if you feel up to it, do it again the next weekend. Maybe you can start a new habit. That might be a really good way to feel better about yourself to just disconnect from all that nonsense. And if you want to use the time well, pick this up and freaking call somebody. Now, there is an idea, huh? What about an old-fashioned phone call? Even a text, although I suppose that’s internety. I don’t know. Is it? You need a signal and all that. Well, I will make allowances for modern communication, I guess, but just these things are fricking computers. I mean, the whole thing is just a big temptation. Everything in the world is out there. We can do anything now and there are no gatekeepers, right? I have a bridge I want to sell you if you believe that one.
Alrighty. Everybody’s struggling. But that’s my challenge. Take a day off from the internet, write down what the experience was like or anything you’d like. Maybe you went somewhere, maybe you went for a walk in a beautiful place and you want to describe it, feel free. Please do so. I’d be interested in seeing your thoughts. I’ll even put them up on my blog, one of them somewhere, Substack, someplace. What is it like for that one day when you’re not online at all?
Yes, that’s my challenge and I’m going to start next weekend. So that’s it then, and happy Columbo Day. It’s Columbo Day here in the US of A. [Well, it was when I recorded this. 🙂 ] No, actually it’s Indigenous People’s Day, I think it’s called now that Columbus has become a dirty word. But Columbo will always be a welcome word because Peter Falk was awesome and he was so much more than Columbo, but he was a great Columbo, wasn’t he?
Ah, yes. Just one more thing. Cute. I love it. Anyway, Columbo, and if somebody looks at me and goes, who? I’m just going to slap them. 😀 All right? Be seeing you. Take care.