Yes, I'm religious.
Looking Inwards #17: deep work, sacrifice, religion, Spanish, goals, Japanese folktale, Tamil stories, communalization in India, and laughter as inspiration through King Lear.
Hi there!
Thank you for joining me.
I hope you are doing well and your week has been peaceful.
Earlier today I wanted to talk about deep work in this edition. But a conversation with my mother made me want to write about sacrifices.
On some reflection, I realized sacrifice and deep work are related and this interconnection of both is what I present to you now.
The past few weeks I have been reading the book Einstein: a Life in Science by Michael White and John Gribbin. The book discusses not only the theories of relativity and quantum physics but also talk about Einstein’s personal life.
The authors mention many anecdotes about Einstein’s forgetfulness. There were stories about his university once getting a call from someone who wanted Einstein’s address. The university refused to share where the world’s most popular person of the time lived. And then the caller disclosed he was Einstein himself and had forgotten where he lived.
Many said Einstein was often silent and lost in his world even at parties thrown in his honor. People chuckled. Such a renown scientist, the greatest mind of the history, and can’t recall his own street?
I smiled. I am not any Einstein but I have tasted the pleasure of being immersed in work so much so I have lost track of everything else. Most days I don’t see my phone until 5 pm. Disconnecting my Mac from wifi and closing myself in a room to edit the same thousand words from morning till night seems natural to me. When I say I will spend a relaxed Sunday, mostly I am sitting with a book, notebook, and pen reading and writing what I like.
Most importantly — When I was in the corporate world in big companies doing computer science work, I figured I never enjoyed deep work. I didn’t want to dive in beyond the surface. And this realization was one of the biggest reasons I quit my job.
Deep work. Cal Newport was the first person to frame this concept. We do deep work when we switch off all the noises around us or rather switch off ourselves to all the surrounding and internal noises to work on a project. Rather than floating on the surface, we dive in to solve the hardest questions. We aren’t afraid to tear apart the outer layers to know what is happening inside.
I talk about deep work in my article on ditching passions and following curiosity. There I discuss more of Cal Newport’s ideas from his book — So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love.
The notion of Deep work has stayed with me since I read Cal’s book.
When we do deep work we don’t refresh our inbox to see if we have a new mail. We do our thing and return in two hours to check our inbox. In deep work we don’t wait for the day to get over and run to our television and dinner. We sit and practice for hours daily until we think we can present our work to the world. Deep work is done when we aren’t devoted to the salary, we are devoted to the work itself.
Mostly deep work is done when we cannot stop ourselves from doing it.
Most writers, painters, artists, businessmen, polymaths, scientists, botanists know deep work intimately. The painting I have shared above is one example of deep work.
The painting amazes us. I have kept the image of the painting full screen because I want to show how magnificent, detailed, perfect, rich, and real the painting is. But don’t forget, the painting is an artist’s depiction, not the real landscape.
When I look at the frame, I admire the painter. Looking at the shades and brush strokes in the painting, I can only imagine how much time the painter must have spent looking around him. I think we are safe to say Joos de Momper the Younger spent his entire life gazing around him so he could paint. I wonder how many hours, days, and years he must have spent bent over the same frame. What took it to make those beautiful brown and green hills?
If he hadn’t closed himself to all distractions, he would never have been able to observe the world. If he hadn’t made painting his sole obsession, he wouldn’t have been able to paint these larger than life landscapes that till date cheer up our hearts.
The painting is so beautiful because the one who made it understood what he was doing and how to do it.
And when one’s whole life becomes a project of deep focus is when sacrifice comes into picture.
Staring at the vast storm for days can be considered crazy. Not remembering our own assistants’ faces is a laughable matter. Working 48 hours straight to see the rockets we have built fail to launch is madness to others. Writing and writing and writing the same story for twenty years might be blasphemy to some.
But for the doer all of this is just work. The meaning of her life. This is devotion in its purest form.
And along comes sacrifice. Years have to be sacrificed to build one skill, launch one product, paint one sky, tell one story, or find one element. And I am all in for it.
So when my mother asked me what’s happening, if we are thinking about growing our family, and will I always stay in a jungle, all I can say is I am devoted to discovering the beauty of this world, I am devoted to telling stories, I am devoted to loving the art, and I am ready to make the sacrifice.
Yes, I will always stay in a jungle. Yes, I’m religious. My work is my god. And I’m neither ashamed of my faith nor will I apologize for believing.
What are you devoted to? Are you ashamed of sitting for hours in front of your computer because others judge you?
For this week’s letter,
Some of my writing,
quotes I love,
things to read,
things to watch,
and
travel tips.
Past Articles I’ve Just Renewed
Learning Spanish in Chile – A Mind-Numbing Experience
I landed in Chile to stay for six months. But I couldn't even ask for a glass of water in Spanish. This is my heartfelt experience of learning Spanish in Chile.
Click to read how I learned to talk from scratch in Chile. Or Pocket for later.
How to Achieve Your Goals – 12 Principles I’ve Followed Since I’m 15
Here' I’ve shared the 12 principles I've followed to succeed since I'm 15. This experiential and science-driven guide on how to achieve your goals is direct and honest.
Read all the 12 methods now. Or Pocket for later.
Quotes I Love
“To me, every time we exercise self-criticism, every time we let our ideas against the outside world, we are doing science.” — Carl Sagan
“The concern a man has for another man, and an ability to be moved to make sacrifices at the sight of another person’s misery are the true basis of a society and it is immaterial whether a progressive is a believer or non-believer in god, and whether he participates directly in leftist politics or not.” — D. Jayakanthan
“Expecting those people who have looked inside you but only saw what they wanted to see and nothing more, expecting those people to understand what you do and why you do it is more ridiculous than expecting a pigeon to soar in the sky like a golden eagle.” — Yours Truly
What I’ve Been Reading
I’ve been reading short stories, books, articles, and so much more. I can’t possibly list all what I have read in the past week so I’m putting down the things I found most relevant and worthwhile.
Starting with the most beautiful,
The great Tamil writer D. Jayakanthan leaving drops of wisdom - containing the whole ocean of writing and the creative arts - even in this short interview. A must read for all writers and creators.
Everything is antique and delicious about this Japanese folktale and the illustrations involved
Facing the reality of India,
Why the toxic beats of ‘Disc Jockey Hindutva’ are so dangerous for India by Scroll.in — An insightful piece on how the male Hindu youth of India danced on anti-Muslim songs on the festival of Ram Navami, and the consequences.
The appropriation of popular music by Hindutva suggests that common sense is getting communalized. Communalism has become a part of the common culture.
How India’s Silicon Valley risks falling into the swamp of hatred by Barkha Dutt — Here’s how communalism is being spread in the Indian state of Karnataka.
In Karnataka, an assortment of far-right Hindu groups are intimidating consumers into buying meat only from Hindu shopkeepers, pushing for the closure of halal meat shops and, in some instances, using violence and abuse to force their point.
Why Narendra Modi keeps winning elections in India by Barkha Dutt
Free rations with photos of Modi and Adityanath on sacks of oils and grains proved inevitably popular. Though the intelligentsia objected to policy being personalized in this manner, it was an effective and easy way to stay in the minds of voters.
Have you noticed the posters of covid vaccine campaigns, ration distribution schemes, and education initiatives recently?
The photos of the prime minister on every vaccine certificate isn’t the only force behind BJP’s wins. This piece by Barkha Dutt talks why our weak opposition is the main culprit.
Beautiful books from the week,
The Heroine and Other Stories by D. Jayakanthan (The English translation by the author’s daughter) — This collection of short stories by the veteran Tamil writer D.Jayakanthan explores the depth of a human being’s existence. We are much more than what can be seen on the surface, the author proves through the people of his simple stories revolving around the simplest things of life. I recommend to all fiction readers but also to non-fiction readers who want to understand how human beings work.
What I’ve Been Watching/Listening
I watched the live performance of the play King Lear by Rajat Kapur and Vinay Pathak — Rajat Kapur’s depiction of Shakespeare’s original play shows the tragedy of King Lear’s life through the eyes of a clown. I laughed throughout the play. Someone said there is nothing as inspiring as laughter, and I agree. do watch whenever you get a chance.
I saw Ankhon Dekhi, a movie by Rajat Kapur — The film revolves around a small family living in Delhi. Through the eldest member of the family, the movie inspires people to ask questions and understand life for themselves. Of course, the film is entertaining. I recommend it to people who love simple but thought-provoking cinema. (available on Netflix).
And for all my Wanderlusters!
I’m sharing a couple of photos as I have shared much of the travel narrative from this week above. Hope you enjoy.
a Tamil Nadu Hindi temple I saw while cycling through the villages near Pondicherry
a snapshot from the book Animal Stories by my favorite writer James Herriot who never fails in making his readers laugh.
Vinak Pathak, from the King Lear performance
Thank you for reading.
I hope your Sunday is refreshing and restful. Take good care of yourselves :)
Let me know what you think about this newsletter. Just press reply.
Yours,
Priyanka
Some housekeeping… This email may end up up in the Promotions tab of your inbox. If you don’t find the newsletter during the week, go to your Promotion tab and move this email to your Primary inbox. Looking Inwards letter will be in your inbox every week from then on.