Closing a chapter

Hi all!

Today, we'll step aside from our reading-focused letters and let you in on a new move I've been contemplating for a while.

Last Monday, I pressed 'send' on the last instalment of our reading series, and a few days later, I submitted my edited manuscript to my publisher for the final round of developmental editing. Then, something dropped in me.

It wasn't exhaustion, per se, but it was a mixture of grief and excitement. Grief from knowing that a chapter in my life is coming to an end, and excitement for what's about to come.

For context, I've been writing/talking about reading literature for the last 10 years of my life, and a part of me senses that I've said everything I wanted to say on the topic. Sure, some might say that the whole game of writing/creating is to find something that works and stick to it, but as a fiercely creative person, my mind is already looking for the next thing.

This brings me to another realisation I had recently: the path of lifelong learning always progresses in chapters, and these chapters are opened by problems that we're trying to solve at that point in our lives.

I started my career in teaching reading because I wanted to figure it out for myself. But now, as the insights I've gained from reading have begun to ferment, it's pushing me to learn & acquire different skills beyond just hitting the books.

For instance, I found answers to many of my struggles in martial arts. It has taught me so many lessons around emotional regulation and mastery that cannot be learned from a book. And as I'm writing this, I'm about to compete in my first tournament after 11 months of training.

Also, this morning I woke up with an urge to start filming cinematic videos to tell stories again. I took my camera to my dojo and started documenting the process, and this is when I realised what my next move should be.

From now on, A Mug of Insights will document my journey of learning across multiple fields of interest, and we'll see how they come together.

I'm imagining weekly letters that'll teach you a completely different perspective from an unexpected area of study, and I'm even thinking of getting into the field to investigate an interesting problem via long-form journalism. In fact, as I'm writing this post, I'm registering a completely new YouTube channel just for A Mug of Insights.

So, what does this mean for the subscribers to this newsletter? Nothing will change. I will continue to provide practical frameworks for paid subscribers, and the workshop library will continue to expand. Except, this time, we're going beyond the books to show you the power of a life devoted to learning just for the love of it.

We'll declare war on distractions, and rescue our attention so that we can pour it back into exploring this fascinating universe we're so lucky to live in.

We'll pull on every thread and see how a subject unravels into beautiful clues for how to live a fulfilling life.

And we'll say yes to every instance when curiosity blooms, allowing it to lead us to hidden connections.

The only constant in my life is change, and I'd love to take you along for the ride. On my 25th birthday, I tattooed the Greek Delta symbol on my forearm to remind me that a life without learning and change is a slow crawl towards death. And together, let's use our mental faculties to explore as much of this world as possible.

Until next week

Robin