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Moving on from Digital Objects
I have an unholy number of digital objects (mostly movies but some TV series) in my Apple account. When I look at the number, I think of the thousands of dollars spent over the last decade and wince. Not for the favorites, but for all those movies that I haven’t watched a second time and most especially for those I could barely get through the first time.
My partner has been on an expedition of sorts recently. He’d like a few books for reference and digital copies—those that can be annotated and highlighted—are preferable. But, the problem with the digital object is, except for rarities you can buy directly from the publisher, you don’t own them.
As with our movie collection, most eBooks are licensed. Now, Big Tech will use semantics and state that you don’t own physical books either. The copyright remains with the author. Pretending to not understand the question/dilemma is a hallmark of our times, isn’t it? It’s infuriating. So I’ll be clear. I am referring to the object. I can hold a physical object in my hand. I can put it into someone else’s hand when I’m done with it. I might even be able to sell it. If my film collection were physical, there are lots of titles I could part with. Alas, they’ll die with my account.
Because physical object vs. digital object has cropped up in conversation lately, it’s only natural we started to take inventory. What films do we want to keep? We’ve started a list. If our internet goes down and we’re in the middle of a movie night, c’est la vie. We watch on.
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Attention Must be Paid
I’m on day nine of a 30-day yoga practice. The thing about yoga, for me, is it’s essential to my well-being; therefore, I often forget about it. It goes in the column of drinking enough water, staying off screens a couple hours before bed, and flossing between all my teeth, not just the ones I feel like.
Diving back into this practice is challenging because in the beginning, it’s not easy. My limbs are not as flexible. Muscles strain where they once did not. Hands no longer meet as easily behind my back. But, with each session, I can do a little more. I can bend a little more easily. I can stay in a position just a little longer. I can breathe a little more deeply.
My resting heart rate spiked in the weeks leading up to the U.S. election, and it stayed elevated for nearly a month. Like all of us, I, too, am not interested in allowing outside forces out of my control to take such a drastic and unhealthy toll, so I keep an eye on national and world events, but I’m practicing keeping my mind closer to home.
I think about the activities and things that bring with them a sense of dread and have been actively replacing them with more productive and/or peaceful challenges. I think about the people who spike my anxiety and keep them outside my orbit while nurturing those friendships that bring peace and joy (that last bit was really difficult for this aging Xer to write without upchucking a little in my mouth).
My partner and I acquired three jigsaw puzzles recently to see us through the dark winter months when our minds begin to wander. We’ve lost the use of our dining table, but it’s worth it.
Sliding from my workspace to the puzzle to search for a color here, a shape there, allows me to clear my mind of stress and quite literally focus on the little things.
The Garden of Earthly Delights
Hieronymus BoschThis triptych by Hieronymus Bosch, painted between 1490–1500, hangs in the Prado in Madrid.
The current puzzle is a 1,000-piece Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights. I’ve never seen this one in person, but I imagine by the end of the puzzle, I will know it quite well.
