Big Thought Space

To  most people, the thought of taking a cold shower is anything but appealing. The shower or its sister the bath are places of comfort and warmth. True, they serve as a tool to clean oneself and perhaps in years past this trait was the primary focus, but today they are so much more. A place of solitude and free from the distractions of the modern world, the shower is a daily retreat from outside connection. Internet culture has even coined a phrase for the ideas that only come when the sea of chaos quiets in the mind: shower thoughts. As with most of these internet phenomena, reddit has formed an entire community based on the concept . Essential to this view and enjoyment of the shower is comfort. If the shower was not enjoyable, the individual would be incapable of slowing down or sticking around long enough to enter their social retreat. The shower would be fled from instead of fled towards. These benefits set aside, consider for a moment the benefits of a cold shower.  Sel...

The popular Apple TV show, Ted Lasso, took the lighthearted comedy genre by storm in 2020 with its lovable characters and underdog story. After having the show recommended to me so many times, I sat down to watch the first season. While I am perhaps not the biggest fan of the show (its constant building to wholesome moments made the plot feel a bit formulaic for my taste), I did find one scene particularly compelling. While participating in a high stakes darts game with a rival, the main character offers some free life advice that gives the audience a peek into his true thoughtful and insightful nature, an apparent contradiction to his bumbling, “aw shucks”, Texas demeanor. He utters the phrase “be curious, not judgmental ” to highlight why those around him often underestimate his abilities. Lasso misattributes the quote to Walt Wittman , but the true author is not important. Like many big thoughts, this one seemed unremarkable at first listen, but took up residence in my skull for lon...