The File - December 5, 2021

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Opening Statement

A Better Way to Think About “Following Your Bliss”

Joseph Campbell famously said “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” It’s a good quote. But I think the phrase “follow your bliss” has become incredibly overused these days. So much so that many now mistake it for actual advice on how to live a meaningful life. That’s wrong. It isn’t. Bliss is a state of mind. It’s an emotional destination. It’s not a path.

Rather than trying to focus on the hoped for destination, I think a better approach is to focus on the process of getting there. In my opinion rather than “follow your bliss,” better advice would be to focus your life’s efforts on things you find meaningful. If bliss is the destination, spending your lifetime doing meaningful work is the map.

The best way to live a life without regrets is to pursue projects that will have been meaningful and worth your time even if they fail. Projects in an area you find interesting or important, tasks that let you show your competency at something you are good at, or work from which you learn something new even if the project fails. This type of work leaves you better off as a person regardless of whether it is a commercial or critical success. If you work on projects like this it is impossible to waste your time.

That's meaningful work. And meaningful work is the roadmap to true happiness.

Read, Watch or Listen

  • Making Havoc Not the Point of Open Records

    • Read: Poltical groups wasting thousands of government worker hours and resources with an avalanche of spurious open records requests.

  • A Different Hanukkah Story

    • Listen: According to Rabbi James Ponet, Emeritus Howard M. Holtzmann Jewish Chaplain at Yale University, the kid-friendly Hanukkah mythology has obscured the thorny historical details that offer deeper truths about what it means to be a Jew. In his 2005 Slate piece, "Hanukkah as Jewish Civil War," Ponet looked at the often-overlooked Jew-on-Jew violence that under-girds the Hanukkah story. He and Brooke discuss how this civil war lives on in Jewish views on Israel, and how the tension between assimilation and tradition came to define the Jewish people.

  • The Great Escape

    • Read: The pandemic didn’t mark the beginning of exploitative labor practices, but it certainly shined a 10,000-watt spotlight onto the issue. No matter how many exposés one reads of a single company’s draconian practices, though, sometimes it takes a cover-the-waterfront piece like Dayen’s to drive home how ubiquitous the nightmare is. This isn’t a piece that frames The Great Resignation as a rainbow path to greener pastures; rather, it’s a chorus of horror stories from those celebrated as essential workers, only to find themselves so overburdened that they have no choice but to walk away. But change may be on the horizon.

  • Who Is Jellycat Really For?

    • Read: Carla Ciccone’s essay is as soothing as “the coziest and cutest stuffies” that it profiles. The uninitiated may not realize these stuffed toys are made by Jellycat, “a jaunty British soft toy company that’s been around since 1999,” but those in the know are regulars to their online store. These stuffies are not just for kids — adults have realized the “sweet solace” in cuddling a Bashful Puppy or Smudge Elephant.

Things to Do

  • Holiday Lights On The San Antonio River Walk

    • The Holiday Lights on the San Antonio River Walk have been a San Antonio tradition since 1975. Experience a spectacular display of over 100,000 lights draped over the towering bald cypress trees that line the River Walk. The Holiday Lights are free to enjoy and stretch from the downtown portion of the River Walk all the way to the Pearl District one mile north.

  • The Ice Rink at Travis Park

    • The Ice Rink at Travis Park provides a fun and festive recreational activity for the whole family throughout the holiday season.

  • Lightscape At San Antonio Botanical Garden

    • First premiering to sold out crowds in the U.K. and then Chicago, Lightscape will shine throughout the San Antonio Botanical Garden’s 38 acres. Guests will be enchanted by magical light displays set along a beautifully illuminated one-mile path winding through the Botanical Garden. These captivating illuminations will dazzle the senses and the show will proudly include installations unique to Texas created by local and international artists. The trail will feature a one-of-a-kind experience blending new works, including a field of Texas bluebonnets, with guest-favorites, such as the show stopping Cathedral of Light, an impressive towering cathedral arch tunnel sparkling with 100,000 lights.