The Interembedded Universe
The Interembedded Universe
I've been thinking about beginnings
One of my favorite quotes comes from the book Mindfulness for Beginners, by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Stumbling across it for the first time felt like reality itself was winking at me. In a work filled with pithy wisdoms on living the mindful life, the quote waits out beyond the end, past the epilogue, in a section titled “Recommended Reading”:
“You can begin anywhere in an interembedded universe. Anything can lead to anything else, and it is good to trust your instincts and choices.”
I've thought about this quote a lot in the six years since I first read it. The author was directly addressing where to begin further reading on the topic of mindfulness, but I've found his words to be true on a deeper level, and comforting to ponder whenever I’m starting something new. Say, for example, when launching a newsletter for which there is no demand, with no discernibly coherent theme, in an era where anything difficult to categorize is doomed to fail.
At one point in my life I would have stopped right there, with the previous sentence, convinced by the unassailable logic of my own self-doubt. I would have tucked this whole ridiculous endeavor away in a drawer, certain that the surface truth is the entire truth. That there is no reason for this thing to exist, beyond my own ‘instincts and choices,’ and it might be best to just let it go on not existing at all.
But six years of meditation on this quote have done their work. I really have come to believe in the interembedded universe, where anything might contain the seed of anything else, and where everything is a beginning of some kind — of many kinds, perhaps — if only we will let it be.
While in college I got accepted to a theater program at a different university, one I had been pursuing for some months. When I finally opened the envelope I had been waiting for, hoping for, wishing for, I thought, quite forcefully, “Nah.” I casually tore the acceptance letter in half and went to make a snack. My roommates looked at me as if I had lost my mind. I could not have been more content with my split-second, life-altering decision.
The next semester, I fell in love with Petra.
I once entered a pet supply store on a whim, having no actual pet to supply, which lead to a conversation, which lead to a drive, which lead to an empty checking account, a back seat filled with puppy gear, a front seat filled with energetic puppy, and ultimately to the two richest and most profound animal friendships of our lives.
I once wrote a novel with Petra, for which I laid out the e-book, which got me thinking I might enjoy writing code, which lead to a tutorial, which lead on, step-by-strange-step, to a whole new, unexpected, decade-plus career as a software engineer.
And just this year Petra listened to a podcast on a whim, which mentioned a book called The Compound Effect, which I read, which left me wanting more self-improvement audiobooks for my morning workout. Wishing to avoid my usual analysis paralysis, I simply grabbed the first item from the category in my local library's Libby account — a book called Mindset. Then some blog said “if you liked Mindset you'll love Grit.” And reading those three books, in that very specific and completely unplanned order, helped me let go of a fistful of self-doubt I'd been gripping like a precious stone since childhood, which gave me the capacity to think I might finally like to start the blog I've been imagining for years, which lead directly to the lines you're reading now.
The funny thing about all these gossamer threads of cause and effect stretching out behind me? As I look back over my life, they almost never exist in the planned places. Instead, they're nearly always in the places where I trusted my instincts and made improvisational choices. They’re threaded all throughout the most precious, impactful, soul-shaping parts of my life, weaving the most exquisite tapestry.
“You can begin anywhere in an interembedded universe. Anything can lead to anything else, and it is good to trust your instincts and choices.”
~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
I think about this a lot, the way one thing contains the seed of a completely different thing, sometimes many different things. The way literally everything is the beginning of something else, if only we let it be. I'm thinking about it now, as I type these words — about how perhaps writing this newsletter will again carry me somewhere unexpected and beautiful. I'm thinking about how much I hope reading it will be like that for you.
So thank you for being here with me, in our interembedded universe, at this beginning.
Chat again soon,
— A
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Books mentioned:
Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment—and Your Life, by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Manly Hero, by Petra Hernandez & Adam Lombard (currently published under the pen name Adrastus Rood)
The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success, by Darren Hardy
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S. Dweck
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, by Angela Duckworth