On being a good human in the 21st century
I was listening to the new Digital Poet podcast by CJ Casciotta, author of Get Weird and founder of Ringbeller online learning. I don’t remember exactly why I followed him initially, probably because of his book as I’m especially interested in the concept of strange attractors and weirdness. I didn’t recall that he was a poet, so I was curious about this idea of a Digital Poet.
He almost immediately concedes that you don’t have to be Shakespeare. At its essence, the poetic is about feelings and ideas, it’s about making meaning via the imagination. To make sense of data and raw input.
As human beings in the 21st century, we’ve become a mix of people who have adapted to technology and people who have been born into a technologically advanced world. The idea of Digital Poets is to advance digital culture, to contemplate what it means to be human. To evolve our ability to communicate beyond the divisive sound bites of the current digital world.
In my opinion, this takes introspection.
In the time of Covid-19 and in the midst of massive change and upheaval, there is a general sense of dread at facing the unknown. I feel it too, even as I recognize the opportunity in chaos and the excitement of exploration and discovery. If there’s something we all can relate to right now, I suspect it’s a sense of longing. An emptiness that stands where the foundations of the past have crumbled. An emptiness that is all too human to feel.
Here’s the full text of the blessing and poem CJ offers us at the end of the episode. May it speak to your empty places.
For Longing by John O’Donohue
Blessed be the longing that brought you here
And quickens your soul with wonder.
May you have the courage to listen to the voice of desire
That disturbs you when you have settled for something safe.
May you have the wisdom to enter generously into your own unease
To discover the new direction your longing wants you to take.
May the forms of your belonging – in love, creativity, and friendship –
Be equal to the grandeur and call of your soul.
May the one you long for long for you.
May your dreams gradually reveal the destination of your desire.
May a secret providence guide your thought and nurture your feeling,
May your mind inhabit your life with which your body inhabits the world.
May your heart never be haunted by ghost structures of old damage.
May you come to accept your longing as divine urgency.
May you know the urgency with which God longs for you.
One of the key distinctions between humanity and artificial intelligence, CJ points out, is the imagination and ability to think creatively. As he puts it, both poets and coders make meaning out of language. Don’t settle for emojis, when you should be crafting poetry. I couldn’t agree more.
It is my intention to help spark your meaning making writing practice with my premium monthly newsletter. Here’s the link to get started:
jennysjolund.com/wordsthatheal
xo,
Jenny
PS I really enjoyed the inaugural Digital Poets episode, give it a listen:
