Merry Christmas! and Best of 2021

If you were expecting another poem this year, I’m sorry to disappoint. I didn’t have it in me. Instead, I’ve gone through every link from this newsletter in 2021 and picked the best of the best, which are listed below. But first, a word about Christmas.

When I was younger, Christmas was nuts. My family would open presents in the morning and then head to my grandparents’ house, where another pile of gifts with my name on them waited for me under the tree. It was literally a pile – that’s how spoiled we were – that I would tear through alongside my sister and two cousins, each with their own heap just as big as mine.

We spent most of the day shuffling around the TV room on our knees, unwilling to part with our new gifts and wearing holes in our stuffy Christmas corduroys. We would take a short break to eat mac and cheese and pumpkin pie, and then it was back to our piles of loot to see if there was anything cool we’d overlooked. It was paradise.

Of course, I had no idea how good we had it. I was still in the single-digits, and too young to compare myself to others. I just knew Christmas was f*cking awesome, with no appreciation of the hard work and good fortune required for it to be that way.

As I got older, the magic started to wane. Unless I wanted to change into my new Ravens jersey or caress my Best Buy gift cards, my presents had no Christmas Day utility. The rush of opening was followed by the comedown of wondering what came next, and my cousins and I spent less time on the floor and more time on the couch, watching TV and asking what time we were eating. The hard work and good fortune on the part of all the adults in my life remained, but with less shrieking from us kids.

One other thing changed: I was now perfectly capable of comparing myself to others. In 5th grade I got a PlayStation 2, my first video game console and a watershed victory against my parents. They had caved. I had won. But that same year, another friend got a PlayStation and an Xbox, and a stack of games to go with it. It was a similar story with my cousins. Suddenly life – which had just bestowed upon me the world’s best video game system – didn’t seem all that fair.

At some point, I stopped measuring my present pile against other present piles. I imagine most of us do eventually. But it can still be tempting to compare Christmases – to our own that have past, and to others we see or imagine. Maybe we wish our family fought less, had more fun, or was bigger. Maybe we wish our kids came to our Christmas, instead of their in-laws. Maybe we wish a cherished relative were still at the dinner table, or that there was snow on the ground, or that we didn’t burn the damn roast again this year. The list goes on and on.

For some reason, we’re quick to let all this stuff distract us from what Christmas is really about: warmth and joy. And I’d bet a rainbow cookie that, in almost every case, there’s warmth and joy to be found, if only we take the time to step back and look at all that we have. Thanksgiving might be the holiday of gratitude, but there’s just as much, if not more, to be thankful for around Christmas.

I hope that each of you had a warm and joyful day yesterday and looking forward to connecting with all of you in the New Year!

– Emmett

p.s. – One quick picture of the Statsraad Lehmkuhl, docked in Brooklyn Bridge Park on Sunday night:

2021 Best of the Best

Best Podcast Guest – Hugh Jackman
I started indoor rowing this past summer and Hugh Jackman was the single reason why. He and his wife read to each other each morning, and he’s an amazing singer. Both his Tim Ferriss interview from 2020 and his Peter Atia interview from 2021 are excellent.

Best Essay: This Is Water, David Foster Wallace (essay, audio)
If I keep finding reasons to link to this piece in my newsletter, I’m not sure it’ll ever lose its top spot. The most compelling explanation of the Marcus Aurelius quote: “Our life is what our thoughts make it.”

Best Show – 9/11 One Day in America (Free on Nat Geo, Hulu)
Anyone who was not yet an adult on 9/11 should watch this. I thought I knew what the day was like but I had no idea. It’s dark, disturbing and beautiful in the way it captures all the courage and selflessness from that day.

Best Quote: William Zinsser
“If you poke down enough roads and keep believing in yourself, sooner or later a circle will connect. You make your own luck.”

Best Song: O Mio Babino Caro, Amira Willighagen (Youtube)
There are many versions of this opera song, but none sung so unbelievably by a 9-year old girl. 42 million views if you don’t believe me.

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Semi-regular thoughts on the good life and personal growth.