David Pennington

Simone Weil, writing in Oppression and Liberty (published posthumously in 1955):

“Never has the individual been so completely delivered up to a blind collectivity, and never have men been less capable, not only of subordinating their actions to their thoughts, but even of thinking.

They ask, innocently enough, if I tasted any good scotch while I was in Scotland. And I answer, with a bit of spite – I have no idea.

Does the act of sitting in a park, patiently looking through a pair of binoculars and reading through field guides really deserve to be described with the same adjective usually reserved for angsty hardcore punk music, crusty anarchos and angry outcasts with ripped leather jackets?

If one considers punk as anything defiantly anti-capitalist,... See more

Conclusions: Drumming is a complex composite intervention with the potential to modulate specific neuroendocrine and neuroimmune parameters in a direction opposite to that expected with the classic stress response.

Composite effects of group drumming music therapy on modulation of neuroendocrine-immune parameters in normal subjects - PubMed (nih.go

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Key points – How to revive your sense of wonder

Wondering is rewarding. By embracing wonder – your drive to learn about the world – you can deepen your appreciation of the world’s richness and engage more fully with others.

Wonder commonly declines with age – but it doesn’t have to. A childhood boom in wondering often subsides as people grow up, yet... See more

This is the bottom line : if we don’t make room for deliberate play, we’ll burn out under the weight of seriousness we’ve forced upon our own shoulders.