I'm one of the newcomer who just discovered your Substack, and reading this just now, I'm so glad I did. I relate very much to the experience you described. The only difference is that I'm still on the "working in media" side of the equation, where half of all my days are effectively spent doomscrolling.
Moving almost constantly every day from one idea to another—most of them negative and inciting and many of them contradictory and bearing inverse supporting evidence—takes its toll. Lingering on ideas. That's where it's at and where I hope more of us can find our way back to.
I was turned on to Byung-Chul Han's writing recently, and he's got some thoughts on this that resonate with me as well. I find myself struggling not to highlight every sentence in his books. He cuts to the chase and then keeps cutting to the chase.
Here's a paragraph from one of the first few pages of his book "Non-things" on "lingering" that I think speaks to what you wrote. It certainly speaks to what speaks to me about what you wrote:
"Lingering is another time-consuming practice. Perception that latches on to information does not have a lasting and slow gaze. Information makes us short-sighted and short of breath. It is not possible to linger on information. Lingering on things in contemplation, intentionless seeing, which would be a formula for happiness, gives way to the hunt for information. Today, we pursue information without gaining knowledge. We take notice [nehmen Kenntnis] of everything without gaining any insight [Erkenntnis]. We travel [fahren] across the world without having an experience [Erfahrung]. We communicate incessantly without participating in a community. We collect vast quantities of data without following up on our recollections. We accumulate ‘friends’ and ‘followers’ without meeting an Other. In this way, information develops a form of life that has no stability or duration."
So happy to have found your writing. I’m just in my toddler stages of writing, and love to feel fed, nourished and inspired by seasoned ones. I went to a wonderful writers workshop in October with one of my favorite authors, and similarly he says: writing is just thinking and good writing is clear thinking.
Dear Rosie, greetings from Malibu West, as you may recall many homes are adorned with Christmas lights, etc. It’s all looking extremely festive, I hope your town dresses up for St.Nicholas? Your writing really is inspiring, and by brief, however meaningful take away, is simply this…..”Less is More”, perhaps at times over used, but in this case, I firmly believe right on point. Best wishes to you Dan, and Rafe. Merry Christmas, Cheers, Dermot 🎄🎄👍👍
This really spoke to me, Rosie. I am fairly new to Substack and have returned to my practice of writing after taking many years off due to my “real” job (lawyer - which leaves little room for creativity). As far as writing goes, my best ideas and words come to me when I’m moving - out walking in nature. I use my voice notes to capture the downloads and then transcribe/arrange them later. The concept you describe here - that our good thinking precedes good writing validated, to me, that I am an actual writer. I sometimes think that because I can’t force my butt in the seat to just write X amount of words or write for X amount of minutes that I’m going at it wrong. Thanks for this beautiful piece 🫶✨
ps agree re. anatomy of a fall. loved the ideas expressed and how it was held in tension, as something in mid-air. not sure i breathed at all for the full 2 hours!
So pleased for you Rosie, getting this well-deserved readership, and well done for sticking to the slow and steady approach, where things have their space to percolate. lots of love to you xx
Thank you for a wonderfully reflective piece about your writing Rosie. I love the idea of asking people how they have come to believe that? It’s such a deeper way of understanding the people we interact with. I look forward to asking. ☺️
I have found that good thinking and good writing support each other. There have been many times when I have written an essay just for myself to help clarify my thoughts.
I relate so much to this. At some point, I had a realization that having to turn out content that had to be linked to something that had just happened in the news was a recipe for disaster. It didn’t just make my life miserable. It meant that I didn’t really have time to think things through or let them simmer. There are so many things I’ve written that I wish I could just delete, but since they were published by other publications , I have no control over that. It’s why I love writing here even if it’s for a much smaller audience.
I cannot really thank you enough for your outlook on something that I am just starting read about for my own spiritual journey/discovery/curiosity in Zen Buddhism: oneness.
I admittedly have no clue how exactly that is a thing, what it means, and why I should practice or think about the world as such yet. I am still in my own "thinking process" about that - and likely, as an ex-scientist, I will stay there for a while.
But how you connected here the slowing down of life, despite inconvenience, with our potential own wellbeing, as well as the planet's, that is something I can definitely relate to even now. You see, in exercise, health and sports, everything has become like "fast food" variation of itself - quick fix, intense workouts, ultra-hyper compressed - all just to "cave" to the narrative that apparently everyone is busy and has no time. I always thought this was silly, while other people in my field thought I was silly for speaking up against that "extreme-ification" of everything.
"In a very direct way, it pays for the childcare I need to think and write freely, which means more people are thinking and talking about these themes. In my better moments, I believe that makes the world slightly saner place."
This is a beautiful sentiment and a great way of thinking about it. And I think you're right!
"Burnout, loneliness, inequality, divisiveness, struggling to make ends meet in a hyper-individualist culture, anxiety and depression on a scale we haven’t seen before."
Thanks to this piece I’ve just read your thoughts on Ballerina Farm. What an interesting, nuanced article -- one I’m about to re-read with my laptop open so I can make notes!
Love the Blank Check recommendation. Have you listened to any Rewatchables podcast episodes? Also focussed on films. It’s brilliant. Happy New Year ✨
I'm one of the newcomer who just discovered your Substack, and reading this just now, I'm so glad I did. I relate very much to the experience you described. The only difference is that I'm still on the "working in media" side of the equation, where half of all my days are effectively spent doomscrolling.
Moving almost constantly every day from one idea to another—most of them negative and inciting and many of them contradictory and bearing inverse supporting evidence—takes its toll. Lingering on ideas. That's where it's at and where I hope more of us can find our way back to.
I was turned on to Byung-Chul Han's writing recently, and he's got some thoughts on this that resonate with me as well. I find myself struggling not to highlight every sentence in his books. He cuts to the chase and then keeps cutting to the chase.
Here's a paragraph from one of the first few pages of his book "Non-things" on "lingering" that I think speaks to what you wrote. It certainly speaks to what speaks to me about what you wrote:
"Lingering is another time-consuming practice. Perception that latches on to information does not have a lasting and slow gaze. Information makes us short-sighted and short of breath. It is not possible to linger on information. Lingering on things in contemplation, intentionless seeing, which would be a formula for happiness, gives way to the hunt for information. Today, we pursue information without gaining knowledge. We take notice [nehmen Kenntnis] of everything without gaining any insight [Erkenntnis]. We travel [fahren] across the world without having an experience [Erfahrung]. We communicate incessantly without participating in a community. We collect vast quantities of data without following up on our recollections. We accumulate ‘friends’ and ‘followers’ without meeting an Other. In this way, information develops a form of life that has no stability or duration."
—Byung-Chul Han
So happy to have found your writing. I’m just in my toddler stages of writing, and love to feel fed, nourished and inspired by seasoned ones. I went to a wonderful writers workshop in October with one of my favorite authors, and similarly he says: writing is just thinking and good writing is clear thinking.
Look forward to seeing what you publish in 2024!
This simplifies the solution to so many problems of society and individuals. The cycle of defeat must be abolished before things turn around.
Dear Rosie, greetings from Malibu West, as you may recall many homes are adorned with Christmas lights, etc. It’s all looking extremely festive, I hope your town dresses up for St.Nicholas? Your writing really is inspiring, and by brief, however meaningful take away, is simply this…..”Less is More”, perhaps at times over used, but in this case, I firmly believe right on point. Best wishes to you Dan, and Rafe. Merry Christmas, Cheers, Dermot 🎄🎄👍👍
Thanks for sharing this, Rosie. Good thinking is good. For me, non-thinking (aka meditation) is even better :-)
This really spoke to me, Rosie. I am fairly new to Substack and have returned to my practice of writing after taking many years off due to my “real” job (lawyer - which leaves little room for creativity). As far as writing goes, my best ideas and words come to me when I’m moving - out walking in nature. I use my voice notes to capture the downloads and then transcribe/arrange them later. The concept you describe here - that our good thinking precedes good writing validated, to me, that I am an actual writer. I sometimes think that because I can’t force my butt in the seat to just write X amount of words or write for X amount of minutes that I’m going at it wrong. Thanks for this beautiful piece 🫶✨
ps agree re. anatomy of a fall. loved the ideas expressed and how it was held in tension, as something in mid-air. not sure i breathed at all for the full 2 hours!
So pleased for you Rosie, getting this well-deserved readership, and well done for sticking to the slow and steady approach, where things have their space to percolate. lots of love to you xx
Thank you for a wonderfully reflective piece about your writing Rosie. I love the idea of asking people how they have come to believe that? It’s such a deeper way of understanding the people we interact with. I look forward to asking. ☺️
I have found that good thinking and good writing support each other. There have been many times when I have written an essay just for myself to help clarify my thoughts.
I relate so much to this. At some point, I had a realization that having to turn out content that had to be linked to something that had just happened in the news was a recipe for disaster. It didn’t just make my life miserable. It meant that I didn’t really have time to think things through or let them simmer. There are so many things I’ve written that I wish I could just delete, but since they were published by other publications , I have no control over that. It’s why I love writing here even if it’s for a much smaller audience.
I cannot really thank you enough for your outlook on something that I am just starting read about for my own spiritual journey/discovery/curiosity in Zen Buddhism: oneness.
I admittedly have no clue how exactly that is a thing, what it means, and why I should practice or think about the world as such yet. I am still in my own "thinking process" about that - and likely, as an ex-scientist, I will stay there for a while.
But how you connected here the slowing down of life, despite inconvenience, with our potential own wellbeing, as well as the planet's, that is something I can definitely relate to even now. You see, in exercise, health and sports, everything has become like "fast food" variation of itself - quick fix, intense workouts, ultra-hyper compressed - all just to "cave" to the narrative that apparently everyone is busy and has no time. I always thought this was silly, while other people in my field thought I was silly for speaking up against that "extreme-ification" of everything.
I feel now a bit less silly. Thank you.
"In a very direct way, it pays for the childcare I need to think and write freely, which means more people are thinking and talking about these themes. In my better moments, I believe that makes the world slightly saner place."
This is a beautiful sentiment and a great way of thinking about it. And I think you're right!
you write nicely, Rosie 🙏🏼
"Burnout, loneliness, inequality, divisiveness, struggling to make ends meet in a hyper-individualist culture, anxiety and depression on a scale we haven’t seen before."
--
i'd like to put my post (re: digital heroin) on your radar. https://opentochange.substack.com/p/growing-up-before-digital-heroin
Thanks to this piece I’ve just read your thoughts on Ballerina Farm. What an interesting, nuanced article -- one I’m about to re-read with my laptop open so I can make notes!
Love the Blank Check recommendation. Have you listened to any Rewatchables podcast episodes? Also focussed on films. It’s brilliant. Happy New Year ✨
Now I can't stop thinking about ballerina farm! Loved your perspective 🐄