Life On A B-I7

by Fredrik Backman

I enjoyed this book a fair bit but I have mixed reactions to it. Backman can write, there’s no question about that, He has a very good translator too. This is my first Backman. He has been published a dozen or more times in too many languages to count. What I had difficulty with was his humor, satire, and irony. It’s not that he didn’t have any, it’s that he has too much. A better description would be that he chooses to use too much (at least for my taste). The story was a good one and the characters, although abnormal compared to most people I know, were still enjoyable.

I was telling a friend about this book and I said that Hemingway would have written the same story in half the number of pages and it would have been just as good. There’s no accounting for taste. That’s one of the things that makes reading fiction enjoyable — you never know quite what you are going to get.

All of that aside. I appreciate Backman’s ability to reach into a topic and pull out some essence of meaning. What he comes up with may or may not be to your liking, but he has the ability to be profound. One of my favorite passages between two of the characters:

That hit me in a big way. Close to home.

There is so much out there to read, and so little time. I don’t know if I will pick up another Backman any time soon, but I haven’t tossed him onto the scrap heap either.

I like the notion that prepositions are often little words. They are also always part of a phrase. (A prepositional phrase…)

Here are some prepositions:

in, with, at, around, of, between, by, down, beside, within, for among, beneath, after.

These are prepositional phrases:

in the box, with my friends, at school, you get the idea.

I won’t mention the fact that if a preposition does not have a noun or pronoun after it, it is generally not a preposition: it is being used as an adverb. Life is never simple is it?

While adjectives are used to describe nouns and pronouns, adverbs are used to describe verbs (get it?) It’s not quite that simple, sometimes they are used to also describe adjectives or other adverbs.

Here’s the crux. Adverbs tell whewre, when, how, or to what extent. Adverbs usually (but not always) end in -ly.

Here are some adverbs that end in -ly.

Quickly, extremely, really, lovely, lonely.

Here are some adverbs that do not end in -ly.

Now, then, soon, very, only, often and not.

Note: often an adverb can be placed in different parts of a sentence — your choice! Here is an example:

I go for a walk in the woods often.

I often go for a walk in the woods.

Danger! Don’t overuse adverbs. It will make your writing clumsy and boring. Not that mine isn’t already for a myriad of other reasons…

Indeed, history wrapped in irony.

Leaders who are truly great give up some of their own comfort to help others—to contribute to the greater good.

I know that sounds odd, maybe old fashioned, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. We all should be willing — the richest among us and the poorest — to give up what we can to comfort others. I don’t mean just our time, I mean our resources as well. Hanging on to wealth to the grave and leaving it behind for those who’s only desire is to accumulate more wealth does not benefit the inheritor or society.

I’m fortunate not to be raising children today. I’ve raised three. They are good people. I’m grateful for that and proud. I don’t know if I could successfully raise children today. The challenges and pressures are an order of magnitude more complex than they were 40 years ago. It will be fascinating to see what primary age children today will be like as adults thirty years from now. I’ll leave that analysis up to you, my younger reader. For the time I have left, I will be watching with no small amount of interest.

The clatter in your mind cannot be suppressed as much as transcended. That means getting above the noise. To do that:

1. Lift your attention to the divine.
2. Look outward and serve others.

It’s as simple as that, only of course, that is not simple. That takes concentrated effort.

Along with the teachings of The Buddha, I would like to read Saint Catherine of Sienna’s, The Dialogue. I have added that to my list.

Yesterday’s Ride

32.5 miles, 11.6 mph average, 2 hr 48 min, elevation gain 925 ft

Tux in meditation, or protecting me… I’m not sure which…

On Monday 4/20 I checked in for my first day of kitchen duty at Shepard’s House. Shepard’s House is a homeless shelter in Redmond Oregon. They serve meals daily, provide shelter and other homeless services. These are good people.

I prepped 20L of broccoli, 20L of cauliflower, 20L of zucchini, and 20L of yellow squash. It took about 2-1/2 hours… and I only cut myself once! Don’t worry, no one noticed. I put on a fresh pair of black neoprene gloves after I cut myself to hide my embarrassment. Don’t worry, it’s all cool, I have my State of Oregon Food Handlers License, so no lives were endangered by my incompetence.

I plan to work in the kitchen every Monday. I met some nice people and I’m looking forward to next week.

If something appears new to you, rest assured, someone has seen it before. This moment has come before and will come again. This understanding is not meant to be discouraging, this is meant to inspire us to action.

When we respect destiny and fate, we give ourselves the grace we need to receive acceptance.

These thoughts would make an excellent focus for meditation. Repeat each of these slowly and ask yourself how aligned are you with each of these.

Our job is to make ourselves better, it is not to make others better. Everyone is on their own journey. As much as you may want to someone else make a change, those efforts will never bring about lasting results.

Both hope and fear are nothing more than projections into the future. Both are the enemy of the present.

We only get upset with things when we view their state as permanent.

Events are simply that, events. How we explain them is on us and is key to whether we are able to grow personally out of acceptance of those events.

Complaining is easy but it gets you nowhere. Explaining your mistakes is a waste of breath. Acknowledge them, yes. Better yet, learn from them.

When you feel distress because of some external thing, it is only your judgement of that thing that is causing you distress. You cannot alter that thing but you can control how it impacts you.

Have we reached the apex of humanity or are we living in an ever changing cauldron of emotions and actions that tend to repeat without our taking particular note? Wise people resist the temptation to think this time things are different.

We should remember the “Ship of Theseus.” Athenians kept the ship battle ready for centuries. Gradually every board being replaced when necessary. In Japan there is a famous Shinto shrine that is completely replaced every 23 years. Our understanding of what something is cannot by definition be more than a snapshot. All is fluid.

We should remember the “Ship of Theseus.” Athenians kept the ship battle ready for centuries. Gradually over time every board was replaced.

In Japan a famous shrine is completely rebuilt every 23 years.

Our understanding of what something is cannot be defined by a snapshot. All is fluid yet permanence must be respected as an ideal, not as a physical reality.

What is duty?

Duty is performing the role that has been handed to you and doing it to the best of your ability.

What you should you trust? Your reputation? Your money? Your position? None of these.

You should trust your judgement. Cultivate solid judgement in all things. What requires sound judgement, the need to conquer the world or conquering the need to conquer the world.

Those that are too proud are eventually brought low. When the gods send evil, no one escapes. Life can change in an instant.