Hey, how’re you keeping?
(On a random note, am I the only one who’s found it fascinating that “Stay safe,” has become a standard greeting with a literal meaning?)
First off, apologies for not sending an email last week: I was so focused on publishing an essay I didn’t realise until two days later that I hadn’t shared it with you, but I decided I’d just wait till today.
Anyway, here’s our table of contents for today:
🖊 New essays
💻 New website
🎓 New graduate
🤔 Not-so-new thought
🖊 New essays
I just published an essay off of a Twitter thread I did on wealth and how we tend to associate it with others but not typically ourselves.
If you follow me on Facebook you might have seen it as well, but if you haven’t, check it out here: http://docayomide.com/wealth
I also published an essay last week, about something I’ve really gotten interested in lately: personal knowledge management, or PKM as it’s called in the circles where it’s a thing. I’ve struggled a bit with talking about it on here, because that’s probably not why most of you signed up for this newsletter, but then I figured, might as well, since knowledge is a key aspect of being human, which is what this newsletter is about.
The essay is titled, “Collecting versus Connecting the Dots,” and it’s my take on ho the value of information has changed over time (especially in the last 2-3 decades) and what that means for how we think about it, especially if you’re a knowledge worker—and most of us are now, whether we realise it or not.
I’m really curious to see how it speaks to you! Once again, here’s the link to the essay on my website: http://docayomide.com/dots
Speaking of websites…
💻 New website
Or to be more precise, a new home for my website. But kind of a new website, too, really, because as you’ll immediately notice once you click the link to the new essays: the site’s got a brand new look. Here, take a glimpse 👇🏾:
You like?
Long story short, I moved the site back to WordPress, which I used for years before moving to Squarespace for the past three years. Squarespace has lovely designs but I wanted more control over how my site looks. So you’ll notice there’s now a reading time marker, and a blue bar that elongates as you read. It’s also got a clear, easy-to-read font, and is generally fairly minimal. I hope you like the new changes!
Oh, and speaking of changes…
🎓 New graduate
Highlight of last week: one of my cousins graduated from uni (complete with online graduation ceremony) and then we had a family hangout on Zoom to celebrate him. It was such a delight to see everyone again, and make noise like we normally would in real life. But I remember thinking while we were doing it, “We could have done this for at least the past 5 years, maybe 10. But we didn’t even think to.”
That’s the kind of thing I had in mind in a previous essay on how the coronavirus pandemic has changed our relationship to technology similar to how the industrial revolution changed our relationship to time.
Check that essay out again here, if you could use a refresher: Coronavirus, communication and connection
Speaking of… I’m kidding, there’s no connection to the next topic. 😃
🤔 Not-so-new thought
I love stories a lot, and think about them quite a good bit. Earlier in this week, while thinking about story, I wrote this in Roam (my new fave place to connect dots—check their Twitter):
The purpose of stories is not to reflect reality faithfully (which it is debatable if anything does outside of mathematical formulas), but to help us navigate it. The problem is that we do not often articulate our master stories to our own selves, and so place ourselves at their mercy.
To this I’d add that your master story develops as you grow, and sometimes undergoes a complete change (which in religious terms is what you would call conversion—like when mine changed to Christian faith).
What would you say is your master story, and how’s it developed or changed?
Take care—literally.
Doc Ayomide