Harry(ˈherē), Meghan(e), and the Pact Between the Royals(ˈroi(ə)l) and the Press

By Isaac Chotiner

A year after the Duke(d(y)o͞ok) and Duchess(ˈdəCHəs) of Sussex(ˈsəsəks) stepped back from their royal duties and embarked(əmˈbärk) on a life outside the United Kingdom, the couple sat for an interview with Oprah Winfrey(ˈwinfrē). The result was two hours of television in which Meghan Markle and her husband, Harry, chronicled(ˈkränək(ə)l) the alienating(ˈālyəˌnāt) treatment they faced inside the British(ˈbridiSH) monarchy(ˈmänərkē). Markle said that she reported feeling that she “didn’t want to be alive anymore,” but that she was denied access to mental(ˈmen(t)l) health care. She also described racist(ˈrāsəst) and discriminatory(dəˈskrimənəˌtôrē) behaviors within the royal institution. During her first pregnancy(ˈpreɡnənsē), at least one member of the Royal Family expressed concerns about what color her son’s skin would be. Around the same time, Markle said, the Family discussed changing a rule so that her son would never become a prince, a title which would have entitled(inˈtīdld) him to security protection.

A statement from Buckingham Palace(ˈpaləs) said that the Royal Family was “saddened” to hear of the couple’s difficulties, and that “the issues raised(rāzd), particularly that of race(rās), are concerning.” The incident recalls an earlier public-relations crisis(ˈkrīsis) for the monarchy, when Princess Diana(dīˈanə) talked publicly about her mistreatment by the royals during her marriage to Prince Charles(CHärlz).

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https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/harry-meghan-and-the-pact-between-the-royals-and-the-press

Unstuck(ˌənˈstək): Create a New Path for Yourself

By Leo Babauta

Sometimes it can feel like we’re stuck in life, doing the same things we’re unhappy with, over and over again.

Maybe you’ve been procrastinating on your meaningful work, or getting stuck in indecision(ˌindəˈsiZH(ə)n) or perfectionism(pərˈfekSHəˌnizəm). Maybe you’ve been putting off exercise or meditation, getting your finances(ˈfīnans) in good shape, or making some other important change in your life.

We get stuck.

I’m a living testament(ˈtestəmənt) to the truth that we can get unstuck.

In my life, I’ve been stuck many times — and it turns out there’s always a way through the stuckness. It’s not turning away from the stuckness, but turning towards it. Going through it. Embracing the stuckness, and letting it unstick(ˈənˌstik) itself.

I’m going to talk about a few principles of getting unstuck, and creating a new path for yourself. And then talk about recommendations for changing your habits this year, or getting good at doing your meaningful work.

Ways to Get Unstuck

There’s no one way to do this, but I’ve found some things are incredibly helpful:

Turn towards the difficulty. If you’ve been avoiding thinking about a difficult project, or your messy(ˈmesē) finances or messy clutter, or your exercise or diet or other health issues … not much will change until you turn towards it and face it. A willingness to turn towards the difficulty and work with it is one of the most important requirements to change.

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https://zenhabits.net/unstuck/

Arbor(ˈärbər) Day Foundation Statement on J. Sterling(ˈstərliNG) Morton(ˈmôrtn)

06/30/20

J. Sterling Morton, the founder of the Arbor Day holiday, was a vocal(ˈvōk(ə)l) anti-abolitionist(ˌabəˈliSHənəst) who held deeply flawed(flôd) beliefs regarding race(rās) and slavery(ˈslāv(ə)rē). The Arbor Day Foundation condemns(kənˈdem) those beliefs.

We have long embraced(əmˈbrās) diversity(dəˈvərsədē) and inclusion as core organizational values and know that upholding these ideals(īˈdē(ə)l) takes conscious and continuous work. Confronting(kənˈfrənt) Morton’s history, which is inextricably(ˌinəkˈstrikəblē) linked to our organization, is an important aspect of that work. We regret(rəˈɡret) not condemning(kənˈdem) Morton’s racist(ˈrāsəst) views earlier and we commit to addressing this issue with transparency(ˌtran(t)ˈsperənsē) moving forward. Our first step is to evaluate how to best offer an honest and uncompromising(ˌənˈkämprəˌmīziNG) portrayal(ˌpôrˈtrā(ə)l) of Morton’s history and how it intersects(ˌin(t)ərˈsekt) with that of the Arbor Day holiday, Nebraska(nəˈbraskə) City, and Nebraska.

In the past we have attributed the spirit(ˈspirit) of Arbor Day to Morton, but it truthfully(ˈtro͞oTHfəlē) belongs to the Nebraskans(nəˈbrask(ə)n) who have embraced the tree planting tradition for generations and people around the world who know that a greener world is healthier, more beautiful, and more equitable(ˈekwədəb(ə)l). By shedding(SHed) light on and learning from past mistakes, we aim to build a legacy(ˈleɡəsē) that is proactively(prōˈaktivlē) reflective(rəˈflektiv) of our values and inclusive of all those who have contributed to the tree planting movement.

https://www.arborday.org/media/pressreleases/pressrelease.cfm?id=480

Review of “The Up Documentaries(ˌdäkyəˈment(ə)rē)”

By Roger Ebert

The “Up” documentaries, they’re called. Every seven years, the British director Michael(ˈmīk(ə)l) Apted revisits (rēˈvizit) a group of people whose lives he has been chronicling(ˈkränək(ə)l) since they were children. As he chats with them about how things are going, his films penetrate(ˈpenəˌtrāt) to the central(ˈsentrəl) mystery(ˈmist(ə)rē) of life, asking the same questions that Wim Wenders poses in “Wings of Desire”: Why am I me and why not you? Why am I here and why not there?

They also strike(strīk) me as an inspired, even noble(ˈnōbəl), use of the film medium(ˈmēdēəm). No other art form can capture so well the look in an eye, the feeling in an expression(ikˈspreSHən), the thoughts that go unspoken between the words. To look at these films, as I have every seven years, is to meditate on the astonishing(əˈstänəSHiNG) fact that man is the only animal that knows it lives in time.

“The child is father of the man,” Wordsworth wrote. That seems literally(ˈlidərəlē) true as we look at these films. The 7-year-olds already reveal(rəˈvēl) most of the elements, good and bad, that flower in later life. Sometimes there are surprises; a girl who is uptight(ˌəpˈtīt) and morose(məˈrōs) at 21, vowing(vou) never to marry, blossoms(ˈbläsəm) in the later films into a cheerful(ˈCHirfəl) wife and mother.

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https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-up-documentaries-1985

Group exercise may be even better for you than solo workouts. Here’s why.

By L. Alison Phillips and Jacob Meyer

Group exercise is very popular: Nearly 40 percent of regular exercisers(ˈeksərˌsīzər) participate in group fitness classes. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the American College of Sports Medicine predicted that group fitness would be one of the top three fitness industry trends in 2020 — for good reason.

Exercise has clear benefits for your health and well-being, and the side effects — think lowered blood pressure(ˈpreSHər), improved glycemic(ˌɡlīˈsēmik) control, better sleep — are overwhelmingly(ˈˌōvərˈ(h)welmiNGlē) positive. And exercising in groups may have particularly beneficial(ˌbenəˈfiSH(ə)l) effects.

If you’ve been considering joining an online group class — or been encouraged to by others — here are some research-based reasons that might be a great idea.

Other people influence your attitudes and emotional responses to exercise. That is, they can affect how you feel about exercising, which is critical(ˈkridək(ə)l) for determining whether you do it or not. If you get to know others who exercise regularly, you start to perceive(pərˈsēv) exercise as more positive, common, desirable(dəˈzīrəb(ə)l) and doable(ˈdo͞oəb(ə)l).

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Even if you’ve already decided exercising is something you want to do and intend to do, there are different kinds of motivation that can determine whether you are successful at beginning and maintaining(mānˈtān) exercise. Exercising with others can boost those motivations.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/exercise-motivation-group-workout-online/2021/02/19/c922b9a6-538c-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html

Being Appreciated(əˈprēSHēˌāt) as a Creator

By Steve Pavlina

If you’re a creative artist, how important is it for your work to be appreciated by the people you serve?

I’d say that it’s pretty important to be appreciated as an artist. This isn’t about needing validation from other people. This is about serving people who will receive your work with gratitude(ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od).

If you are appreciated, it’s probably because you’re providing something of value to people, something that resonates(ˈreznˌāt) with them and that they care about. You’ve earned that appreciation. I don’t think this needs to be your main reason for creating art, but it’s healthy to incorporate this into your big picture mindset of your life of an artist. When you create and share your art, you’re inviting people to experience and appreciate what you’re sharing. So can you allow yourself to be appreciated?

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Remember that you aren’t creating for everyone. You’re just creating for the appreciative people. That’s one reason you needn’t worry about critics(ˈkridik). If a critic shows up, and they don’t appreciate your work, then clearly they’re lost. The critic showed up where they don’t belong. So you can simply nudge(nəj) them out, or direct them to something they may actually appreciate.

It may take some time to calibrate(ˈkaləˌbrāt) yourself to the right audience, but you want to keep investing where the appreciation is. If you aren’t building an audience of appreciative people, then you’re building an audience of unappreciative people? What sense does that make?

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https://stevepavlina.com/blog/2021/03/being-appreciated-as-a-creator/

Barack(bəräk) Obama(ōˈbäːmə) on The Women Who Made Him

InStyle: What’s the most badass(ˈbadˌas) thing about Michelle, Malia(ə), and Sasha?

Barack Obama: They all have multiple badass qualities. I think people know Michelle well enough to know how amazing she can be as a public speaker. They probably are less aware of what it’s like to work out with Michelle when she’s really in her groove. And sometimes that includes her boxing. You don’t want to get in the way when she’s working on a bag — including some kicks. There’s force there.

Sasha is, as Malia describes it, completely confident about her own take on the world and is not cowed(kou) or intimidated(inˈtiməˌdāt) — and never has been — by anybody’s titles, anybody’s credentials(krəˈden(t)SHəl). If she thinks something’s wrong or right, she will say so. When she was 4, 5, 6 years old, once she made a decision, she would dig in and couldn’t be steered off it. I write in the book about how we were trying to get her to taste(tāst) caviar(ˈkavēˌär) when we were visiting Russia. She was like, “Mnn-nnh. No. Sorry. That looks slimy(ˈslīmē). It’s nasty(ˈnastē). I’m not going to do it, even if I’ve got to give up dessert(dəˈzərt).” And that part of her character has always been there.

And Malia, she is just buoyant(ˈboiənt). She’s somebody who enjoys people, enjoys life, and enjoys conversation. She’s never bored(bôrd), which is a badass quality that can take you places.

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https://www.instyle.com/celebrity/barack-obama-a-promised-land-excerpt

How to design language tests for citizenship(ˈsidizənˌSHip)

And how not to

“Perfect swedish(ˈswēdiSH) is overrated(ōvərˈrādəd). But comprehensible(ˌkämprəˈhensəb(ə)l) Swedish is deeply underrated(ˌəndəˈrādəd),” says Ulf Kristersson, the leader of Sweden’s centre-right Moderate(ˈmäd(ə)rət) party, which supports a language requirement to become a Swedish citizen(ˈsidizən). The left has come round, too: the Social Democrat(ˈdeməˌkrat)-led government plans to introduce a language test. Sweden(ˈswēdn) would thereby leave the small club of European(ˌyo͝orəˈpēən) countries that do not make passing such a test a condition of naturalisation(ˌnaCH(ə)rələˈzāSHən).

To learn the language of the country you live in is the key to a full life there. But many experts in language policy oppose(əˈpōz) testing for citizenship—because they suspect a less compassionate(kəmˈpaSHənət) motive(ˈmōdiv) in some who propose(prəˈpōz) them. “Becoming a Danish(ˈdāniSH) citizen is something one has to become worthy of,” said Inger Stojberg in 2015, when she was the immigration(ˌiməˈɡrāSH(ə)n) and integration(ˌin(t)əˈɡrāSH(ə)n) minister(ˈminəstər) in Denmark’s(ˈdenmärk) centre-right government—implying that the unworthy(ˌənˈwərT͟Hē) had been slipping(ˈslipiNG) through. Her thinly(ˈTHinlē) camouflaged(ˈkaməˌflä(d)ZH) goal was not to improve immigrants’ Danish, but to naturalise fewer of them.

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https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2021/01/30/how-to-design-language-tests-for-citizenship

Learning the lesson, not the example.

By Derek Sivers

Learning how to read metaphorically(ˈˌmedəˈfôrək(ə)lē) was a major(ˈmājər) turning point in my life.

When I was nineteen, attending Berklee College of Music, I had no interest in anything but music. Then a teacher made us read the book Positioning, which is a straight-up(strāt) business book. I thought, “Business? Yuck! I’m at music school, not business school! I just want to be a musician, not some corporate(ˈkôrp(ə)rət) suit!”

Then he showed us how we could apply that book’s business lessons to our music. Even though the book makes no mention of music, he told us to translate the examples to whatever we’re doing.

In other words: Don’t focus on the example itself. Use it as a metaphor(ˈmedəˌfôr), and apply the lesson to my situation. It sounds obvious now, but I’d never looked at it that way before.

I realized I could advance my music career by reading books that make no mention of music. In fact, I’d have a competitive(kəmˈpedədiv) advantage by doing so, since most musicians won’t!

Now here I am, twenty years later. I write little articles to share the lessons I’ve learned. But in the comments(ˈkäment), I notice that people sometimes focus on my random example, instead of on the greater lesson.

Nobody else knows your exact situation. So learn to see past the example, focus on the lesson, and apply it to your own life. Think in metaphors.

https://sive.rs/metaphor

I got the COVID-19 vaccine(vakˈsēn). And I feel guilty(ˈɡiltē)

By Arjun Sharma

A pinch(pin(t)SH), a jab(jab) and a push. Just like that, it was over.

When I received my first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, there were no cameras or reporters. It came without any bit of the pomp(pämp) and ceremony(ˈserəˌmōnē) that accompanied the early shots of politicians(ˌpäləˈtiSHən) I saw on television or read about in the news.

After signing a stack of papers and flashing my hospital ID, I was led into an antechamber(ˈan(t)ēˌCHāmbər) where a security guard peered at me through a small circular(ˈsərkyələr) window. From there, he got an okay, and I was shepherded(ˈSHepərd) to a slightly larger room with a single clerk(klərk) who sat behind a desk. She asked for those papers, my health card and for me to lower my mask to confirm my identity. I was momentarily(ˌmōmənˈterəlē) stunned(stənd). I hadn’t willfully shown my face to a stranger since I was in New York city last March. I had this weird feeling of being naked(ˈnākid). She was unfazed(ˌənˈfāzd).

At a small cubicle(ˈkyo͞obək(ə)l), I watched the nurse’s hands move with deft(deft) skill. The ball of cotton(ˈkätn) and the bandage(ˈbandij) were laid(ā) out. A swab(swäb) was soaked(sōkt) with alcohol(ˈalkəˌhôl) and applied(əˈplīd) to my shoulder, the wetness(ˈwetnəs) quickly disappearing into a cool vapour(ˈvāpər). Lastly, into a needle(ˈnēdl), he drew up a fraction of a millilitre(ˈmiləˌlēdər) of clear, iridescent(ˌirəˈdes(ə)nt) liquid(ˈlikwid), flicking(flik) the bubble(ˈbəb(ə)l) of air from its point.

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-i-got-the-covid-19-vaccine-and-i-feel-guilty/