Weather

by Jenny Offill

Young person worry: What if nothing I do matters? Old person worry: What if everything I do does?

I’m old enough now that I sometimes think about how I am making a fool of myself by doing something that would not have attracted notice when I was younger.

Holocene

by starting over life regained its meaning.

His point is that eventually all those who are unnerved by what is falling away will be gone, and after that, there won’t be any more talk of what has been lost, only of what has been gained.

the only reason we think humans are the height of evolution is that we have chosen to privilege certain things above other things.

When three people say you are drunk, go to sleep.

There is a theory that new hate has been unleashed. Another that the amount of hate is exactly the same as it’s always been. Lorraine subscribes to the latter one. The only difference is that more people are noticing it, she says.

Buddhist practice includes the notion that we have all been born many times before and that we have all been each other’s mothers and fathers and children and siblings. Therefore, we should treat each person we encounter as if they are our beloved.

in times of emergency the brain can get stuck on a loop, trying to find a similar situation for comparison. This is why you must make a plan before disaster strikes. In a hotel, study the fire exits. On a ferry, look for the life jackets. On a plane, read the card they tell you to read. Without such a plan, people quickly lose their bearings. Husbands leave behind their wives. Parents flee without their children. You might even repeat to yourself, like a mantra, I have children! I have children!