Closed loops

The more I read short stories, the more I like them. I didn’t used to like them. Especially if I enjoyed the characters or world building, I always felt disappointed that there wasn’t more of it somewhere. I was trying to pinpoint what I like about them now, and I think it’s because it’s something I can complete in one day. What is the phrase? Closing the loops or something like that meaning I can mentally check something off and not feel it hanging over me.

This also reminds me of being in an interview years ago when the interviewer was making small talk asking what shows I’m watching. I’m often not watching anything trending which I felt mildly embarrassed to admit. But I could happily reveal that the most recent tv I’d been watching was old episodes of Murder She Wrote. When they asked what I liked about it, I gave an answer I don’t even think I’d admitted to myself before- that you know at the end of almost every episode, the mystery will be solved. I never realized how much I dislike loose ends.

Today’s reading:

Poem: Saguaros by Javier Zamora

Essay: Fat Man and Little Boy by Sylvia Baumgartel

Short story: Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

I’ve been trying not to consume as much news as I used to. Hardly any of it is ever good news. Finding the balance between being informed but not depressed is difficult.

Randomly, today’s readings ended up covering immigration, nuclear weapons, free will, depression, and ethics. And that feels a little too current. Even though one was written in the 1840s.

So even though the reading is complete, the contemplation sure is lingering. I could keep this loop open, but in the words of Bartleby “I’d prefer not to”.