Deep Life Reflections: Friday Five
Issue 24 - Searching for Comets
Hello and welcome to my weekly email newsletter, Deep Life Reflections: Friday Five, where I share five things I’m enjoying, thinking about, and find interesting.
Six months have passed since I wrote the first issue of Deep Life Reflections. Thank you for the continued support and a warm welcome to new readers and subscribers. Enjoy issue number 24. This week we go in search of comets.
Here’s my Friday Five.
1. What I’m Reading
How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christensen, James Allworth and Karen Dillon.
Clayton Christensen survived a heart attack, advanced-stage cancer, and a stroke in three successive years. These experiences inspired him to deliver a powerful speech to graduates at Harvard Business School. This later became the book, How Will You Measure Your Life?, where Christensen shares personal guidelines that helped him find meaning and happiness in his life.
Taking a holistic approach, Christensen and his contributors present a key message: don't reserve your best business thinking solely for your career. Drawing from this insight, he aided others who came to him for help in various areas of their lives. Instead of merely giving them answers, he taught them how to think critically using different processes, leading to more insightful responses than he ever imagined.
The book addresses two crucial questions: How can one ensure career happiness? And how can family relationships provide enduring happiness? Christensen highlights the importance of motivation beyond money, emphasising learning, growth, contribution, and recognition as key factors in career satisfaction. He shares an anecdote about building a playhouse with his children, where the true reward lay not in the finished product but in the journey of working together, fostering accomplishment and growth.
For the question about family, the book advocates for a life strategy, carefully deploying limited resources—time, energy, and talent—that are constantly in demand. A clear life purpose and the cultivation of relationships, including friendships, are vital components.
How Will You Measure Your Life? reminds us that true fulfilment transcends material wealth and societal status. It lies in living a life guided by our values, nurturing meaningful relationships, and making purposeful decisions. It encourages us to reflect on our life's trajectory, pondering our own responses to those two crucial questions.
2. What I’m Watching
Local Hero (1983). Directed by Bill Forsyth.
Local Hero is a Scottish film I first watched in school as part of our learning curriculum. Like any book or film you’re made to watch in school, there’s a danger it becomes synonymous with the struggles of adolescence and studying. But I loved Local Hero then, and I still do thirty years later. It’s a film I love recommending, especially to those beyond Scotland who may not have heard of it.
This classic ‘fish out of water’ comedy riffs on popular representations of Scottish life and folklore. The story follows Mac, an ambitious Texas oil executive sent to a remote Scottish village with orders from his eccentric boss (Burt Lancaster) to buy out the town for an oil refinery. However, as business mixes with the pleasures of village life, Mac becomes captivated by the picturesque community, the beauty of Scottish nature, and the simplicity of the town’s colourful characters and their bonds.
Throughout the film, we witness Mac's transformation from a deal-maker to a happy wanderer. At the same time, the townspeople dream of the American riches coming their way and we see how these aspirations cast a dark spell over their motives. Local Hero subtly comments on the corrupting influence of money and prompts viewers to question the legacies we leave behind, advocating the value of simplicity and a grounded approach to living. The film also raises awareness about the impact of industrialisation on pristine landscapes, urging the need to protect our natural environment for future generations, a theme that has only become more relevant in the four decades since its release.
Local Hero is also notable for a beautiful soundtrack by Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler, featuring the famous title song, “Going Home,” which still retains the power to transport you to a simpler place and time.
Mac: Do you know about the stars, Ben?
Ben: Well, I know my way around this sky.
Mac: What about comets? Any around?
Ben: Did you want to buy a comet, as well?
Mac: Maybe.
Ben: If you want to find a comet, you just have to look long enough in the right place.
3. What I’m Contemplating
I’ve spent the last five weeks in the Lake District area of England, where my mum, sister, and nieces live. This has been an important time with family. Despite the rain, the Lake District’s rugged beauty, with its mountains, lakes, and coastal scenery, is inspiring. One only has to look at its impact and association with poets and writers like William Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who found great allure in the natural beauty and romanticism of the region.
Similar to Mac in Local Hero, there is much pleasure to be found in the beauty of nature, taking simple walks on quiet country lanes, even in the rain. The timeless landscapes of the Lake District evoke a sense of permanence and continuity, providing a connection to the past and an opportunity to reflect on universal themes and emotions.
During a recent walk, I didn’t pass another soul, just a few sheep and cows, going about their business. Last weekend, while hiking with a friend on Farleton Knott, a limestone hill, gazing down at the patchwork of fields, villages, and the sea, I felt connected to our place in time—the fleeting window of now. Though that window will eventually close, it reminds us to seek out the extraordinary within the ordinary, like comets in the night sky, during our time here.
We just need to look long enough in the right place.
4. A Quote to note
“The greatest gifts in life are not things.”
- Reverend Henry James Lee, 1931.
5. A Question for you
What are the top three things that bring you happiness and fulfilment in life, beyond material possessions?
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Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.
James