The last three months of 2021 were busy.
Once again the coronavirus changed our expectations with the emergence of the omicron variant. I followed developments as best I could but the amount of information was overwhelming. In my opinion, framing the pandemic as a hyperobject is a good way to make sense of it.
I read and wrote reports on two books in the fourth quarter.
Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships by Robin Dunbar
How to Survive the Modern World by The School of Life.
Conrad Goodsir, the son of my sister-in-law, wrote a lengthy article, BRAVE: THE LOGICAL CHOICE, about his views on the coronavirus pandemic. I wrote my response, inserting my comments into his work. I had hoped to engage in discussion with him but he ignored me.
I also wrote an article, Reflections on Reflections, capturing my thoughts on a video series discussing the nature of the self.
I wrote two essays, both related to my growing involvement with Emergent Commons. Both essays are related to the pandemic. Also, the Emergent Commons Crew, Crafting Communitas, which I initiated, met six times.
About James Corbett, posted on November 20, 2021
About Vaccine Mandates, posted December 22, 2021
Pat and I had been discussing giving up our Shaw satellite service for the last few years. The cost kept rising as alternatives kept emerging. Finally we made a decision and stopped our payments in September. However, we continued to receive the signal. But near the end of December we were cut off.
CNN was launched in 1980 and immediately I was a fan of the 24/7 cable news channel. But slowly over time the quality of reporting deteriorated. That decline accelerated in recent years. I continued to watch CNN, a bad habit that was hard to break. But I also used it as an opportunity to practice mindfulness, recognizing their attempts to provoke outrage. I refused to be captured emotionally and drawn into polarization.
In December I was pleased to reconnect with Bruce Goodsir, a relationship that is now over fifty years old.
And, sadly, I paid tribute to Neil Earle in the In Memoriam section of my website.