Today's Brass Ring Daily: Flaubert Didn't Say This
You Snooze, You...Win?
We can only express ourselves in so many ways: our work, relationships, appearance, what we consume. And in each of these ways, we make a choice: Will we be an original, a copycat, or…boring?
When Flaubert wrote “Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work,” he didn’t mention the word boring. (Oh geez, she’s quoting Flaubert, this email is jumping the shark!)
But if we follow Flubby's orders, then “regular” and “orderly” can look, to outsiders, awfully dull. If you’re conserving your energy for elsewhere, then you might happily collect your day job paycheck while plotting your next step. You might meal prep the same boring lentils because you don't want to decide what’s for dinner. You might fall behind on the latest Netflix show or lose track of the news cycle or only wear all black for 365 days because you can’t be bothered to create new outfits.
That’s okay.
Be shockingly boring now, so you can shock the world later.
"Let's do it quick."
For 80% of the day, I sit like a maybe-creep near my window and listen to people. Overheard this yesterday morning. Maybe it was a construction worker or a kid copying math homework, I dunno. But message received: Speed counts.
If This Display Copy Doesn’t Get You to Read This Story, I Give Up
Remembering the World’s Oldest Person, in the Objects She Left Behind
Emma Morano’s singular achievement in life may have been perseverance. She lived for 117 years, crediting her longevity to raw eggs and her lack of a husband. She died on April 15. Full story here. (Thanks Char for the rec!)
Thank you for reading.
Love, Kara