NL127 - 17 Syllables and an Idea

Hello from my home in Helsinki! This is NordLetter #127, a weekly newsletter on living and walking in Finland.

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Week in bed,
Felt great to step out.
Strong wind blows.

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There is still a niggle in my throat. There was a mild respite from the wet and gloomy weather of the past week for just a few precious minutes - I could see the blue of the skies from where I’m sitting - but it’s gone now.

I am reading Inside the Box, and like Range before this, there seem to be many new things for me to read about and learn in this book. Also, it’s more approachable. Which is because it is using (not sure if by design) one of the techniques from how to learn effectively - making connections.

Some of the stories from the book are stories that I have read elsewhere, in a different book or an article, and that has helped me make sense of the point being made in the book.

I wrote about this in bounding the new with the familiar, where I wrote about reading how new research gets funded in Abundance. I find this type of reinforcement useful.

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Having constraints is the central theme of this book. It is about how having constraints may give one the freedom to explore new things in the domain they’ve chosen (or are left with).

The constraints-led approach may also take hold simply by accident. Kyrie Irving, one of the greatest finishers in NBA history, grew up playing on a driveway hoop that was missing a piece of the right side of the backboard. As an ESPN article re-counted: “Repairs might have been made but for a peculiar benefit: Kyrie learned how to play strange angles and apply spin just so.” In line with Catrinel Tromp’s Green Eggs and Ham model of creativity, cutting down a physical problem space leads to more active exploration.

Sachin Tendulkar talks about a similar constraint. He used to play in streets where there was no square of the wicket. That meant you play with a straight bat, which led to his classic straight drives on the field.

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Another interesting example that David gave was about haikus. I had read a book of haikus recently This and that by Ryokan and had loved some of the haikus in it, like this one:

Poems? No way
when you see that my
poems aren’t poems,
then we can talk poetry.

And this:

Falling petals
and those left on the branch will soon be
falling petals.

Haikus are written in 5-7-5 syllables. And somehow, I loved the constraint part of it. That this is all it can be. Nothing more, nothing less. Maybe it can be less - thanks to the differences in sounds in Japanese and English.

The point was constraint. Nothing else.

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There were two things that excited me about the idea:

1. It’s short. 17 syllables, three lines. I could do one a day.
2. It’s a creative outlet for me when nothing else has worked till now.

And as I wrote about in writing more, I find that writing begets more writing. And anything I can do to write more, I will do.

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And so, I have been writing haikus every day since the day I decided I would. I’m enjoying the practice. Haikus are usually about a single thing, a moment in your life. I’m trying to observe one thing daily, to craft a haiku out of.

It’s fun.

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Another thing I’ve been trying to do - on and off - is go for the CKA (Certified Kubernetes Administrator) certification. And as with everything else, I find it easier to start a thing than to finish it.

One problem in my mind was always thinking I needed half an hour or so to sit and study. Taking some lessons from Atomic Habits and some from this book, I decided to find the shortest thing I could do - a lesson. And I said, that’s what I would track.

A lesson a day is better than no lessons any day. It is a key lesson from Atomic Habits - that when trying to form new habits, it’s critical that you make them as small as possible, like instead of “I will workout”, make it “I will go to the gym for five minutes”. And, make it specific, so not “I will train”, but rather, “I will do squats”.

That’s what I’m trying to do with re-learning k8s.

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Sky awash in purple. Is it a northern light show? No, it needs darkness.

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If you enjoyed reading this, and know someone else who might, please consider forwarding this to them. It would help this grow and make me happy. 😄

Until next week.