Hi friends.
It’s been three months since I wrote to thank you for your support.
During that time, I’ve had a little bout with pneumonia which reminded me that rest and naps matter. I’ve led two funeral services, taught a couple on-line college courses, started writing new posts at 300wordsaday.com again, started on a couple projects, and read some books.
One of those is the latest book by Jim Collins called What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative (2026). Jim’s previous work has looked at large corporations, understanding what has worked and what hasn’t. In this one, he looks at people, trying to understand how they respond when disruptive things happen, what he calls “cliffs”. Sometime I may unpack more about the three characteristics he describes. The most helpful concept for me has been “fog”.
“Fog,” Collins writes, “is when you go through a phase of immense uncertainty and lack of clarity about the best path forward, perhaps even having no clear idea where you want to go.” He writes, “It can feel more like wandering and stumbling than purposeful strides toward a clear destination.” (156-157) But, “fog is not a defect. Fog is not a character flaw. Fog is normal, natural, common, and highly prevalent.” And his answer? Take the next best step from where you are and look around again.
I realized that coming out of my hospital work for the last decade left me in a bit of fog. Not bad, mind you, not “immense uncertainty”, but real. And this book helped me have a name for it.
And I have the book, in part, thanks to your support. And the coffee I drink and a sense that the words I’m offering are helpful.
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Over at FindingWordsInHardTimes.com today, I’m talking about the book Digital Minimalism (a library read this time). At one point Newport asks, would a person who spent as much time on Facebook as Facebook encourages be able to build Facebook? Whether time or training or concentration or any of the rest of the things that are needed for creation. As I was reading, I realized that all the time I spend scrolling is time that isn’t spent writing or thinking or laughing or resting or talking or recovering.
During this next month, I'll be working more on the writing and less on the scrolling. As long as you read some of what I write, I offer that invitation to you, too.
Thanks for the support. I'm more grateful than you know.
Jon 