Category: post

Henry David Thoreau, in his journals, places a hyphen between such words as to-day or to-morrow. Was this an affectation of his? Of the place or the time? No matter. I find it a delight. Perhaps something I should adopt. A simple hyphen gives such words added action. Forward movement. Makes one feel like they are going into a day or morrow with intention and purpose.

Lately, I’ve been seeing and hearing from lots of new folks coming here thanks to my appearance in the Minimalism documentary which recently started running on Netflix. Very cool and humbling, to say the least. So, this is a post to help folks find what they may be looking for and where to dig in to find more.
Posts here generally run on a “when I have something to say that belongs here” schedule. I post far more frequently right now at Rhoneisms. That’s my place for shorter essays and thoughts.
Go here if you’d like to buy the book enough which was mentioned in the film.
All of my books are available for purchase here.
I have also posted many things here around the subject of enough. You may enjoy reading how I increasingly subscribe to an Amish approach to technology, a great way to make your Twitter timeline more sane, or how we are better off when we choose tools and methods that are proven. All of these and more are about the choices that lead to a more simple and meaningful life.
I also have a free newsletter that has been warmly received. The schedule, format, and topics are irregular but I’m confident that those that subscribe find something helpful show up in their email inboxes every once in a while. Take a look at the archive if you’d like to get a sense of what I write about there.
Finally, I love being a guest on podcasts, email interviews, and any other engagement where I can reach and help more people. My info page tells you everything you need about me and how to get in touch. Please do.

---

I’m a writer. Writing is how I make this world a better, friendlier, stronger place. If these words improved your day, please let me know by contributing here.

I’ll tell you how the Sun rose —
A Ribbon at a time —
The Steeples swam in Amethyst —
The news, like Squirrels, ran —
The Hills untied their Bonnets —
The Bobolinks — begun —
Then I said softly to myself —
“That must have been the Sun”!
But how he set — I know not —
There seemed a purple stile
That little Yellow boys and girls
Were climbing all the while —
Till when they reached the other side,
A Dominie in Gray —
Put gently up the evening Bars —
And led the flock away —

by Emily Dickinson

Here, presented in no particular order, are the online writers whose posts and newsletters almost always make my day a bit better and leave me feeling smarter by giving me things worth pondering, enjoying, and sharing.

• Nicholas Bate — Straight shooting and hard hitting. Always inspirational and never not practical.
• Seth Godin — Operational wisdom for those who want to leave a mark and make work that matters.
• Kurt Harden — Music and musings for the enrichment of your soul.
• Matthew Lang — A trusted friend, smart fellow, Scottish Gentleman, and developer of one of the essential tools that also makes my day better — Daily Muse.
• Michael Wade — Good things for smart people.
• Austin Kleon — Blackout Poet, Thieving Artist, Reader, and writer of an equally essential weekly newsletter. No boxes can contain him.
• Dave Pell — Writer of NextDraft. The only news you need.
• CJ Chilvers — The only photography lessons you need.
• Julian Summerhayes — A fellow soul traveller. Destination: Within.
• Daniel Nesbit — If we were both monastics in the mountains, we’d share the same cave.

Disclaimer: I’m sure there’s some I’m forgetting. Once remembered, they will be added.

Like many young teenage writers, I was into poetry when I was young. I even self-published a poetry book of my own, when I was 16. Long before self-publishing was a “thing”. It was horrible, of course. Short, shallow, overwrought, emotional, crap. Don’t worry, the only sole remaining copy of which I’m aware of is tucked safely away in my basement.

I largely ignored poetry after my teens. Too interested in reading other things. Non-fiction, mostly. My brain was hungry for learning facts and truths. I’d read the occasional fiction book but it was rare. I didn’t write fiction either. It was the early pre-internet days of the online publishing revolution. I published my writing in neo-punk political zines and local BBS boards. The rantings of a young ideallist. Before my world fell apart…

A divorce, loss, single-fatherhood, loneliness, and deep depression. The poetry returned. Both the reading and the writing. This time, it was dark, jaded, angry. Was it any good? No and no matter. It was a reflection of where I was and how I’d grown in ways good and bad. The pain I was in and, if you looked long enough, a glimmer of hope in the idea of new beginnings.

Then, life got better. New wife, new child, new life. I was back to writing what I seemed best at. Things that help. I also began to read and enjoy more fiction. Go figure. But, I also began reading more poetry. Good stuff. I began to write more too. Better stuff. Stuff I was willing to share.

Now, as I’ve entered my 50th year, I’ve found deep connection and appreciation for good poetry. I can read whole books of it. I copy down my favorites by hand in my commonplace book. I’ve found a desire to both read and write more of it. To truly understand how and why it works. I’ve found that poetry, at its best, gets inside you like a virus and changes the way your eyes see the world. The world and the way you dwell within it becomes a kind of poetry too.

Perhaps, like me, you’ve found it it hard to “get” poetry. You’ve tried off and on — and maybe have even tried your own hand at it. I could point you to some of my favorites — ones that speak to me deeply — but it likely won’t help. You need to be in the right time, place, and headspace to be infected with it. You need to encounter the ones that speak to you. All I can tell you is that one day, if you keep giving it a chance, it will return. Your eyes will see the world differently then too.

They no longer sleep quite as well as they did
when they were younger. He lies awake thinking
of things that happened years ago, turning
uncomfortably from time to time, pulling on the
blankets. She worries about money. First one
and then the other is awake during the night,
in shifts as if keeping watch, though they can’t
see very much in the dark and it’s quiet. They
are sentries at some outpost, an abandoned fort
somewhere in the middle of the Great Plains
where only the wind is a regular visitor. Each
stands guard in the wilderness of an imagined
life in which the other sleeps untroubled.

(via today’s Writer’s Almanac)

Did you know that you can get any of my printed books personally signed with a nice message just for you? Well, you can! I recently restocked and once again have a full shelf of books for people to order. Only gets you the signed book and first-class shipping…
But wait! There’s more!
If you order in the next week, you can get $5 off by using the offer code ‘random’. Why “random”? Well, because I’ll also throw something random into the package along with your book. Perhaps it’ll be an extra book of mine or by one of my friends. Maybe, one of my favorite paper notebooks. It could be just about anything I think is great. You won’t know until you get it. How fun is that?
So, don’t wait! Get your signed copy below:

• This Could Help (sold out)
• enough (sold out)

• Minimal Mac: What We Believe In (sold out)

Update: Sorry but all copies have been sold. I won’t be able to replenish my stock until after the new year. I very much appreciate all those folks (wow!) who purchased.
Non-signed versions are always available in a variety of formats (including paperback) at http://patrickrhone.com/books/

Fact: The Clock in Elizabeth Tower, often referred to mistakenly as “Big Ben” (which, by the way, is the nickname of the hour bell and not the clock or tower), is kept accurate by using pennies placed on the pendulum.  According to Wikipedia, “Adding a coin has the effect of minutely lifting the position of the pendulum’s centre of mass, reducing the effective length of the pendulum rod and hence increasing the rate at which the pendulum swings. Adding or removing a penny will change the clock’s speed by 0.4 seconds per day.”

I love the idea — both realistically and metaphorically — that one of the most important clocks in the world, one which is relied on and trusted, is kept trustworthy and true by small change.

I would like to think that, for many of us and our lives, the same might be true.

This is more of a note to self. It’s something I’ve not been doing well enough of late. I’ve been suffering from foot-in-mouth disease. I’ve been talking, prognosticating, having the answers. Noticing without observing. I can be better than this.

This seems the season of noise. A million voices shouting at us. Demanding our attention. Of course, it seems natural to respond by shouting even louder, just to be heard among the clamor. But, we have another choice. To mindfully tune out the noise and tune in to that which really matters. To do that, we must be still, present, and listen.

To be in silence is to be present. To be in silence with another and feel comfort and peace is to have true companionship. The gift of presence is the greatest of gifts. For one is giving the most finite and precious of resources — time and attention. Things that are priceless.

The wise listen. They know it is the only true path to knowledge. The humble listen. They know there is greater wealth and deeper riches in silence. The compassionate listen. They know that it is the simplest kindness.

I wish to be kind, compassionate, and wise. And the best way to do that is to listen.