✏️ So Live Your Life
So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about their religion;
respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours.Love your life,
perfect your life,
beautify all things in your life.Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.
Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend,
even a stranger, when in a lonely place.Show respect to all people and grovel to none.
When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.
Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.When it comes your time to die,
be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death,
so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
Chief Tecumseh (1768-1813)
📸 Photo of the Week
My Euro-trip will consist of two things: churches and coffee shops.
& jazz lounges.
📖 Book of the Week — The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy
I bought a compilation of short stories by Leo Tolstoy some weeks ago, and it has been the gift that keeps on giving; it’s where I encountered The Death Of Ivan Ilyich from last week’s newsletter and found this short story, The Kreutzer Sonata. It’s hard to put into words how good this novel is, but I will try.
The story starts off on a train, in typical Tolstoyan fashion. The main character, Pozdnyshev, overhears a conversation on the train about marriage and divorce, and subsequently begins to tell his marital experience to a fellow passenger. Without spoiling it for you, it doesn’t end well — but along the way, the author is able to discuss a wide range of topics including lust, birth control, the duality of the sexes, and more.
It’s an absolute masterpiece, with a blockbuster ending.
10/10.
💭 Quote of the Week
Trust the timing of your life. Keep focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, be kind, and follow your heart. Doors will open effortlessly, but first you have to be ready to walk through.
Brittany Burgunder
🔭 Sunday Best
13 Truths by Ayesha Siddiqi — #6: how you treat people is who you are.
The safety and accuracy of robot-assisted pedicle screw internal fixation for spine disease by Li et al. (2020) — a meta-analysis.
When God Shoots Down Your Plan — a sermon by Ben Stuart (who is my favourite pastor at the moment!)
💡 Food for Thought
Some lessons cannot be taught through books or words — they must be experienced.
Grace and peace,
AT