This isn’t the first time I have mentioned this in this newsletter, but after my first visit to Antwerp 3 years ago, I was in the grips of a Belgium fascination that had me watching all the Belgian TV I could find, drinking Ouede Krieke and exploring the architect, Julian Laampens.
Throughout that phase I’d talk about The Twelve so passionately as one of the best TV shows ever made, and would bring sour beer to gatherings at my friends and scroll Instagram daydreaming about concrete houses in the forests of East Flanders!
Now, all this time later, are these things actively a part of my day-to-day? Not really, but they are always there, and so easily available for recall at any given moment - for the joy of memory, to connect with someone through story, or perhaps, just maybe be needed in a pub quiz.
So last month, Elvis was the thing that had me in its grip. Every conversation I had led there and I couldn't recommend the new movie enough. I had so many entry points of reference to share - and looking back I was shaping what I would share or highlight purely based on the person I was speaking to.
Liked Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo Dicaprio? - Got it - Same director. Interested in musical history? - Got it - Amazing lineage of gospel and rhythem & blues and influence on rock & roll. Interested in pop culture and mass communications? - Got it - You know Elvis live streamed to 1 billion people via satellite from Hawaii!? And so on.
But even with as much as I loved the movie, I was relatively quick to move on to the next thing, just like I did with Belgium eventually. Reading this last sentence back to myself has me feeling a bit sad. But it’s ok, I am realizing something here - that all these fascinations (or obsessions each month) eventually becoming something more dormant, that allow me to enjoy other new unexpected things, while still being energized by what I was experiencing.
There's a world and audience out there if I wanted to do just Shakespeare or Elvis themed issues every month, or on obscure brutalist architects. But so far, I've yet to stick to just one thing and if I did I feel I would miss out. I understand and appreciate those who can go all in on something and stay with it forever - I think we all benefit from that sort of dedication and resulting craft, expertise and output.
I need something for my mind to focus on and to tell stories through. I am easily moved by - books, cinema, artefacts, experiences, whatever, even snow globes I could write about and find new meaning in!
But these types of things rarely overtake and run my identity full sail - instead are fragments that contribute to part of me. That said, who knows? Maybe one day you'll find me at the Collingwood Elvis Festival in Ontario one summer performing a version of ‘'If I can Dream'.
Lastly, what I've been describing above I feel relates to my day-to-day energy - hobbies, curiosities, interests etc. But I think the same mechanism plays out on the larger, longer time scale too as well as in a career context too.
After carrying around my 40 Rules for Life for almost a year, there was a great feeling of satisfaction from finally finishing and publishing it. But shortly after there was a slight void, or an empty space where the weight of the project had been for so long.
For me I am realizing it’s on two planes - the here and now and the working towards something. And I am finding I really like that balance between the two.
“Both and..” as they say.