“What’s hypocrisy?” asked the eight-year-old not looking up from his tablet but obviously listening to the conversation happening around him. Frankie was sitting between us on the couch, Becca and I drinking our morning coffees. Two sisters deep in post-party analysis before 9 am on New Year’s Day. And because he is his mother’s son Frankie was in like Flynn. It was an analytical start to 2023, unpacking the whys of both human behaviour and language. (And if you’ve ever listened to our podcast you’d say that
and I were very on brand with this opening salvo to the new year!)Before and after New Year’s celebrations this holiday season included a deep dive into the board game Ticket to Ride Amsterdam. It’s a shorter version of the popular game that you may know where the goal is to make routes to get from point A to B. Because other players and their journeys will get in your way you might have to reroute. It’s a life metaphor in a box! Maybe that’s one of the reasons I enjoyed playing it. I am making lots of plans these days, cross referencing calendars to make sure I can travel from A to B and still make it to C. And though some of the routes are harder to complete than others, I am excited for the ride. But a side effect of having so much on the go is that my mind feels busy. Cluttered even. So much so that for the past three mornings I have woken wondering if a resolution for 2023 might be to say yes to less. Fewer train cars on my game board. Perhaps my own learning might be honed if I were to focus solely on one or two ideas.
And yet if I am true to who I am at this very specific time in my life I don’t want to whittle down my routes. I’m learning too much!
Analyze with me for a moment. Where are you today? On the couch with the Davey sisters doing a close read of the world around you? Busily planning next steps for the days and weeks to come? Here’s something I’m toying with. Instead of defining words like hypocrisy I’m thinking that in 2023 I would like to take a closer look at a word like grace. When a dear friend texted me this morning to say, “A cluttered mind is alive, Nat!” I felt so seen. What a great reframe! Let’s celebrate a busy mind. The Union Station of living and learning. In my case, I’m striving to see how all the routes eventually connect and feeling grateful that I’m not playing this game alone.
My mind is VERY alive too. Eek.
I want to say - “Say yes to less,” Nat! After all, “less is more,” said some famous architect once.
But, in truth, I admire your openness to all the routes ❤️ I mean, the stations have benches, right? You can always sit and rest when the need arises...