Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals brings a piercing look at what time management is. I find it to be a good blend between philosophy and self-help all with a tone of “look, I’ll just be straight up about this” kind of attitude.

For my birthday, I took a small day trip to Richmond, Virginia to see their museum of fine art. It is a gem. I woke up early for the train. And, already, I was full of anxiety. In a creative writing seminar in grad school, the professor wisely guided us to face ourselves. We were discussing how to get the full voice of a poem, and she asked us: “if sorrow had a voice, what would it say? Part of your job as an artist is to get to a place to listen to it”. Very wise.

One of the things I did not expect in returning to school and this field of study is how much it is about people, not systems. It’s what I am appreciating about the course, Leading and Managing Change right now. Meaning, it is a recognition that this is a human thing. Change is a human experience and, as such, there should have been no surprise that grief is also involved with understanding change. But I was. I was surprised.

And so I was remorseful to find that it was still around and well. Earlier this summer, I attended an event at The Library of Congress. The current US Poet Laureate, Adda Limón dedicated a poem to NASA. A POEM TO FREAKING NASA! for their Europa mission. I love this. Along with being another reason why I love DC, it is a profound act to declare humanity to the stars like this. Here is the event in full recording. It genuinely is worth the watch.

Zero Gravity. Hyper Proximity. Assets. Multiverse. Human experience. Serendipitous social interaction. These are boundless, additive words that stir excitement and wonder. Who wouldn’t want a place like this, whatever some of this means? The promises are gigantic here. Also something directly out of science fiction. Consistently, this line makes the promise of connecting people and promoting a healthy lifestyle. I think of one of the posters at the beginning of the exhibition.