thank you for this and that and these and those as always!
i loved being on your show and recommend everyone see all of josh's shows forever.
ESPECIALLY zach sherwin's crossword show coming up this saturday in NYC. the crossword show is a beautiful work of art and my mind is blown every time i see one of them.
finally, i just wanted to offer a few words to the librarian who wrote in for a pep talk:
you say "I don't know what value I bring to the universe" but then you also say all of these things:
"I do my best; I'm a librarian, and spend my workdays helping folks with all kinds of things, and genuinely enjoy it. I try to be kind, and to be a good friend. I'm polite and friendly and treat other people well." that's unedited. those are valuable things. and i'm assuming you do live in this universe. so that is value you bring to the universe. that is value you ARE in this universe. all i know about you is what you've written here, and i like you. i'll offer you this one question to think about also: if one of your close friends, someone you care about, came to you and shared something like what you shared here with you, how would you respond? i'm guessing it would be with care, support, compassion, reassurance, and kindness, because if someone felt the way that you did, they would deserve it. which means you deserve it. i know josh doesn't give advice but i can't help myself sometimes, so my advice is "think about how you treat yourself compared to how you would treat a beloved friend, and try to treat yourself like you would treat a beloved friend, because you can be a beloved friend to yourself."
thank you for sharing, josh and librarian. much love to all.
Thank you, Myq. (Outing myself as the person who needed the pep talk). I'm generally very good at talking a good game, and genuinely feeling like everyone else is great and worthwhile and awesome, and I am the lone swamp monster stinking up the place. It's no fun! But my brain is very stubborn that way.
i heard this piece of advice once and really liked it: "don't compare your insides to other people's outsides."
my friend gus puts it like this: other people are like planes that we can only see the outside of and we don't know their inner workings, whereas for ourselves, we see the cockpit. we see all the inner workings that we can't see for others. so we can only imagine what goes on inside of other people. (and we can listen to them and believe them, of course, but we'll only have our own direct, subjective experience.)
i think it's both true that there are many people who may be experiencing similar things to you (thinking that everyone else is great, INCLUDING YOU, but feeling swampy on the inside), AND ALSO it is possible to feel better about oneself than you do. (since you said that therapy has been helping some, i would take that as direct evidence that you CAN feel better than you once DID. and that can keep happening.)
is your brain any less stubborn than it once was? is it possible that it could become less stubborn still? the idea that your "brain is stubborn" sounds like a story that may be true the more we tell ourselves things like that. i'm not saying you have to stop telling it. i'm just asking, is it possible that it might not always be as true as it has been in the past? is there room for that?
finally, i'll offer how great it is that you have a happy marriage and the friends you do and the job where you help people and you know all of those things and can name them. even if that's you "talking a good game." sometimes talking a good game is the beginning of PLAYING a good game. of BEING a good game.
thank you for again for sharing! i find what you have offered very valuable to this universe.
Suuper beautifully said. I wholeheartedly believe that even mustard-seed sized conversations of kindness between strangers like this can and will move mountains of pain in this world.
Josh, I’ve also had my teeth filed down, so while I can’t say if this is a procedure that should exist (it almost definitely shouldn’t, if you ask me!), you are at least not alone. I had to endure many years of braces and other orthodontia, too, so you fared better in that regard!
My dentist did this to me WITHOUT ASKING! After 15 seconds of it happening I pulled my face away and was like "What is happening?" And they told me and I got very upset and so now I have one somewhat stubby tooth and one fang like that snake Marc Maron does the voice for in The Bad Guys. They even do it to cartoons!
Also, I went to the CD store to buy Rockin' The Suburbs (and They Might Be Giants' Mink Car) on September 11th. In New Jersey. It was a weird place to go that day. But, I assume, so was anywhere.
I think brands are starting to realize, that while as of few years ago it was advantageous to support various political and social causes to generate brand recognition and increase market capture, the commercial environment now is so volatile (see Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney) that one false step by the 22 year old intern who has access to the social media account, can cause billions of dollars in damage. Being apolitical is now the safest choice.
Personally I don't want to know the politics of my toilet paper or box of cornstarch. Just sell me a good product.
dear josh,
thank you for this and that and these and those as always!
i loved being on your show and recommend everyone see all of josh's shows forever.
ESPECIALLY zach sherwin's crossword show coming up this saturday in NYC. the crossword show is a beautiful work of art and my mind is blown every time i see one of them.
finally, i just wanted to offer a few words to the librarian who wrote in for a pep talk:
you say "I don't know what value I bring to the universe" but then you also say all of these things:
"I do my best; I'm a librarian, and spend my workdays helping folks with all kinds of things, and genuinely enjoy it. I try to be kind, and to be a good friend. I'm polite and friendly and treat other people well." that's unedited. those are valuable things. and i'm assuming you do live in this universe. so that is value you bring to the universe. that is value you ARE in this universe. all i know about you is what you've written here, and i like you. i'll offer you this one question to think about also: if one of your close friends, someone you care about, came to you and shared something like what you shared here with you, how would you respond? i'm guessing it would be with care, support, compassion, reassurance, and kindness, because if someone felt the way that you did, they would deserve it. which means you deserve it. i know josh doesn't give advice but i can't help myself sometimes, so my advice is "think about how you treat yourself compared to how you would treat a beloved friend, and try to treat yourself like you would treat a beloved friend, because you can be a beloved friend to yourself."
thank you for sharing, josh and librarian. much love to all.
love,
myq
<3
Thank you, Myq. (Outing myself as the person who needed the pep talk). I'm generally very good at talking a good game, and genuinely feeling like everyone else is great and worthwhile and awesome, and I am the lone swamp monster stinking up the place. It's no fun! But my brain is very stubborn that way.
thank YOU, Mary Ellen.
i heard this piece of advice once and really liked it: "don't compare your insides to other people's outsides."
my friend gus puts it like this: other people are like planes that we can only see the outside of and we don't know their inner workings, whereas for ourselves, we see the cockpit. we see all the inner workings that we can't see for others. so we can only imagine what goes on inside of other people. (and we can listen to them and believe them, of course, but we'll only have our own direct, subjective experience.)
i think it's both true that there are many people who may be experiencing similar things to you (thinking that everyone else is great, INCLUDING YOU, but feeling swampy on the inside), AND ALSO it is possible to feel better about oneself than you do. (since you said that therapy has been helping some, i would take that as direct evidence that you CAN feel better than you once DID. and that can keep happening.)
is your brain any less stubborn than it once was? is it possible that it could become less stubborn still? the idea that your "brain is stubborn" sounds like a story that may be true the more we tell ourselves things like that. i'm not saying you have to stop telling it. i'm just asking, is it possible that it might not always be as true as it has been in the past? is there room for that?
finally, i'll offer how great it is that you have a happy marriage and the friends you do and the job where you help people and you know all of those things and can name them. even if that's you "talking a good game." sometimes talking a good game is the beginning of PLAYING a good game. of BEING a good game.
thank you for again for sharing! i find what you have offered very valuable to this universe.
love,
myq
Suuper beautifully said. I wholeheartedly believe that even mustard-seed sized conversations of kindness between strangers like this can and will move mountains of pain in this world.
thank you for this, grace!
PS i love the name "grace fierce."
Thank YOU, Myq☺️
Josh, I’ve also had my teeth filed down, so while I can’t say if this is a procedure that should exist (it almost definitely shouldn’t, if you ask me!), you are at least not alone. I had to endure many years of braces and other orthodontia, too, so you fared better in that regard!
Thank you for your solidarity in all things weird teeth, and I am sorry for your orthodontia!
My dentist did this to me WITHOUT ASKING! After 15 seconds of it happening I pulled my face away and was like "What is happening?" And they told me and I got very upset and so now I have one somewhat stubby tooth and one fang like that snake Marc Maron does the voice for in The Bad Guys. They even do it to cartoons!
Also, I went to the CD store to buy Rockin' The Suburbs (and They Might Be Giants' Mink Car) on September 11th. In New Jersey. It was a weird place to go that day. But, I assume, so was anywhere.
The OG photoshop is 🤌🏾
Thanks! :)
Trying to remember if brands ever released statements prior up social media... I don’t think they did; they just kept selling stuff.
Badly belated comment but I just have to tell you that I couldn't help laughing out loud at "Demilitarized P’zone".
Thanks that's all.
“Demilitarized P’zone”
💀 I am dead. Bury me. 💀
Hi Josh,
> It is not up to Pizza Hut to create long-lasting peace in regions of conflict by declaring a Demilitarized P’zone
Surely that would be a Cal-Zone?!
OK, I'll leave the comedy to the pros...
Demilitarized P’zone makes me very happy.
Two music recs for you: Fiddlehead’s Death is Nothing to Us & Citizen’s Calling the Dogs. Hope you enjoy!
I think brands are starting to realize, that while as of few years ago it was advantageous to support various political and social causes to generate brand recognition and increase market capture, the commercial environment now is so volatile (see Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney) that one false step by the 22 year old intern who has access to the social media account, can cause billions of dollars in damage. Being apolitical is now the safest choice.
Personally I don't want to know the politics of my toilet paper or box of cornstarch. Just sell me a good product.
I can't believe I read this piece of garbage writing. Why is it even on my feed to begin with???
I don't know why it was on your feed, but I'm glad it was because I think it's funny that it inconvenienced you!
You've confused inconvenience with annoyance.
Even funnier to me!
If that's why you find humorous.
To each there own 😁.
If this is the worst thing to happen to you today, you're doing pretty well.
Where did I say that it was the worst thing to happen to me???
You sure seem upset about it. Have a good night.
Don't confuse annoyance with being upset.