Join Digital Anthropologist and Author Rahaf Harfoush for a weekly dispatch that covers culture, technology, leadership and creativity. Come for the analysis, and stay for the memes.
Hi, I'm at the farm this week, getting ready to deep-dive into some deep work sprints: researching, reading, and writing. I've been thinking a lot recently about the concept of "emotional granularity"-- a person's ability to differentiate between the specificity of their emotions. Turns out, many of us have a limited emotional vocabulary: happy, sad, angry, anxious, good, bad, etc. Being able to better name what we're feeling (for example: ashamed vs. bad) is hugely helpful in managing and addressing uncomfortable or painful emotions. There are many versions of the framework below, known as a "feeling wheel." How many of these words do you use regularly? Could you expand your vocabulary? For me, right now, I think I've settled on bewildered. Yes, it is a state of being puzzled, but the etymology goes beyond that: first recorded in the 1680s, the word is a combination of "be" (thoroughly) and "wilder" (to be led astray or lured into the wild). So to be bewildered is to feel like you're in the middle of a foreign and unknown place and left to navigate your way out. Naming that emotion settled something inside of me. Because ironically, while I am terrible at real world navigation, I absolutely excel at conceptual way-finding: making plans and executing solutions. It's one of my superpowers. Turns out, I was looking for a familiar way back. Back to a reality that doesn't exist anymore, to a version of myself that doesn't exist anymore. But I can't go back. I can only go forward. And to that I have to chart my own map. Here's the thing: making new paths requires an entirely different mindset than seeking out familiar ones. I'm taking this Sunday to get my bearings. I'm letting go of everything I thought I wanted to happen and I'm starting fresh. What kind of year do I want to have? What goals would align with my heart? If you've been feeling lost lately, I invite you to join me in this exercise. The compass is inside us, we just need to listen closely and trust where it points. In this Dispatch:
1. High Grade Quality GlycineDisclaimer: I don't know if you're going to find this funny, but I am CACKLING about this. There's this Chinese chemical factory called Donghua Jinlong that produces high-quality industrial grade glycine that started advertising their products on Tiktok. Here's the original video:
Now, despite the majority of people not being the target demographic for industrial grade Glycine, these videos started showing up as ads on people's feeds. Suddenly, parody videos started popping up and the whole thing has become a pretty funny meme:
LOL. Come on. That's so random. β
I can't.
Where do I start? First, considering the fear-mongering in the US about the Chinese government using Tiktok to propagandize American citizens, nothing could better capture our unseriousness as a species than a Chinese factory unknowingly going viral for selling industrial grade glycine. Can you imagine poor staffers trying to brief politicians about this? Second, it's also abundantly clear that the poor Chinese company in question has ZERO idea of what's going on. People in the comments keep asking for merch - hoodies and hats - and their social media manager keeps trying (and failing) to understand why anyone would want to wear their logo. Third, this captures the absolute absurdity of Internet humor, but also, the need to be regularly involved in online communities in order to get the joke. For example, many of the memes I posted above are poking fun at influencer videos: calling people Glycine Girlies (hahaha) and talking about not gatekeeping products - this is the classic internet speech used to sell a variety of other products. It made me laugh. It's still in early stages, so I'm sure we'll see more as it spreads. Just remember, if you need industrial grade glycine, Donghua Jinlong is THE ONLY game in town. β 2. AI-Generated CakesI've been playing around with Midjourney for the last several months, and I've enjoyed channeling my creativity in this new digital channel. As someone who has a vivid imagination but terrible drawing skills, it's exhilarating to be able to translate my words into visually complex images. This week, I played around with cakes. I chose animal themed wedding cakes, because, why not? Aren't they so beautiful? There's a lawsuit currently underway against Midjourney after leaked documents revealed the company had used 16,000 artists to train its models without consent or compensation. I'm curious to see how the ruling will change our ability to be able to use tools like this easily. For now though, cake on! 3. Practicing Non-Violence in a Violent WorldOver on Threaded, we're continuing our buddy-read of Zen and the Art of Saving the planet. This week, we're tackling some big issues:
I offer my own thoughts on fractured friendships and navigating differences with compassion. A sneak peak before it goes live, on Friday April 12th: Iβve spent the last few weeks actively practicing compassion towards my anger and my sadness. As I release those feelings and ground myself in the present, it becomes clear that so much of the pain I've experienced in fractured friendships stemmed from my own unprocessed emotions. Trauma in my body, in my heart - from events that happened decades ago. This week, Iβm reflecting on how I let those fiery emotions block me from feeling compassion, how I avoided taking the time to sit with my own suffering. The result was the unraveling of relationships that once mattered deeply to me. You're always welcome to join the conversation. I'm writing Threaded as a part of my learning strategy: to force myself to take the time to reflect on the things that I'm reading and to experiment with actively applying helpful ideas into my own life. Taking notes, answering reflection questions, discussing it with others has enriched my reading of this material and I hope its been helpful to you as well. 4. Content Corner
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** Disclaimer/Rant: One of the reasons I love Korean dramas is because they are only one season. They tell an entire complete story with a conclusion in one-go. Two of the series mentioned above (Dare me & The Society) were not renewed for subsequent seasons and end on cliffhangers. While this doesn't negate the enjoyment in watching the show, it's annoying. Wishing you a restful weekend and a great start to your weeks. |
Rahaf Harfoush New York Times Best Selling Author and Digital Anthropologist
Join Digital Anthropologist and Author Rahaf Harfoush for a weekly dispatch that covers culture, technology, leadership and creativity. Come for the analysis, and stay for the memes.
Hi hi, I've spend the past week in Paris catching up with friends and enjoying city life. I attended a mind-expanding dinner hosted by Institute of Healing Arts in Paris where a group of people came together to have deep heart-centered conversations about the state of the world. It's so easy to feel isolated in these turbulent times, but creating the space to really connect with other people reminds me of how much we are all deeply similar. Over delicious food and wine we discussed everything...
Hi friend, I'm back on the farm after a stretch of travel that included Toronto and Orlando. It's always restorative to slip back into the rhythm of country life, especially at the beginning of spring, with its unfailing promise of renewal, the scent of cherry blossoms and the beautiful melodies of birdsongs. Did you know that birdsongs are good for your brain and your mood? Navigating this season of rebirth alongside the weight of the world's suffering embodies a profound duality. It's a...
Hi Friend, I've spent the last week in Dubai on a research trip and for a family reunion in celebration of my father's 75th birthday. For the first time in over twenty years, my father and his two siblings were able to share the same space. For my sisters and cousins, our reunion was nothing short of miraculous, a seamless reweaving of the fabric of our family. We stayed up until four in the morning, chatting and spending time together - no one wanted to miss a single moment. Yet, this joyous...