Wandering through the sonder

Hello you best thing since sliced bread.

A caveat: I will soon lose my enthusiasm for talking about my various reflections when navigating the transition from winter to spring... but not yet, my friend... not yet... #wintertrauma #springmania

As we all continue to claw our way out of winter hibernation, I have been thinking this week about the collective seasonal experience of reconnecting with the world and each other.  I love the feeling of nature-human synchronicity this time of year--- as the trees and sun and environment starts to transform and open, so too do people. Until recently cocooned in dour layers of winter fluff-- faces buried in scarves, hands muffled in mittens, scurrying to get out of the cold as quickly as possible, head bowed and body covered from head to toe-- people are now warming up, sticking their necks out (literally) and interacting more with the world again.  

As we notice each other, we start to recognize each other too. Perhaps you have heard of the concept of Sonder? "It is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk."

I love how this concept is framed-- that while we are all in our own story, we are also in everyone else's story in small and big ways. It can be hard when we are bundled up in winter to feel connected to this reality. The concept of sonder also reminds me to imagine people more complexly at this time of year, especially as I am living downtown in a relatively large city where you encounter lots of strangers (and not-so-strangers as well). As we shed our winter layers, it becomes more apparent how connected and how vulnerable we all are really, and how important it is to treat each other generously as we tiptoe out of our protective armour and engage more with each other and the world. 

However, building more sonder in one's life isn't just about imagining strangers complexly-- it is also about understanding the bigger collective picture and how we are all interconnected. We can chose to curate and cultivate that connection or not, but you are connected to those around you regardless. I liked this article about the importance of building community, and how that process is ultimately "about a series of small choices and everyday actions: how to spend a Saturday, what to do when a neighbor falls ill, how to make time when there is none. Knowing others and being known; investing in somewhere instead of trying to be everywhere. Communities are built, like Legos, one brick at a time. There’s no hack." (As a side note, I also read an interesting article this week that makes the case for taking notes when hanging out with friends, which feels like a potentially nice way of understanding sonder-- what do you think?) Basically, I am enjoying embracing the sonder around me right now, and loving how choice and chance converge  in these transitions to help imagine ourselves and the world in new ways every year. What a joy! 

Finally, in rabbit-hole news (pardon the Easter/Passover pun... or not...): I can't quite remember how I started this descent into tenor madness, but I have been mildly-to-moderately obsessed with Pavarotti this week. Jeez the PIPES on that man!!! Listen to this performance of Nessun Dorma at the peak of his career and then try to tell me he is not a tsunami of audio ambrosia. But wait: perhaps even that is too heavy for you this week? If so, please enjoy this rendition of "Who let the dogs out?" puppy style

From one complexly connected person to another, I am glad that we can share some sonder together with this newsletter. I hope you enjoyed this dispatch, and have a connection-filled week!

Until next Sunday,
The Earnest Platypus