11 Comments

Love this line: "Learning what NOT to do is timeless wisdom."

I can relate to this deeply... most of my mistakes and missteps could have been corrected if I knew what not to do. Less is more. Congrats on getting this out! Was a pleasure to be part of the editing process.

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Less is more. That's the truth!

Thank you for the encouragement and being such a HUGE help Jack.

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“You can never hurt the other person by going slower, but you can blow it up by going too fast."

Timeless advice! Loved how this turned out Anthony. Awesome work :) this is one to celebrate

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Shoutout to my dad!

Thank you Tommy. I appreciate you!

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Hey Anthony, this essay is an excellent example of your shiny dime itself! By unfolding the idea slowly, giving us your experience of receiving that one sentence from the conversation with your dad, my own imagination blossoms out around your words, feeling and remembering the potency of going slowly in a new relationship, in a learning process, in a moment of intimate contact. And yes, there's more love in that knowing, more fullness, warmth. How do you hold that rising intensity? I believe this is how we build our capacity for love, by allowing the experience to grow in the moment by just being present within it, riding the wave gently to threshold, and then savoring the relaxation and integration before the next wave begins to form, slowly... Easy does it.

For me, this idea of going slower is so applicable to writing practice. It's so easy in the first thrill of a good idea to hurl out associative links that support it, and then embroider on those as I go along. I'm doing it right now! And in this WoP/Substack community, it's so easy to thrill to the good ideas of other writers, and explore their offerings, rather than editing my own essays, settling down with excavating and polishing the shiny dime. One dime at a time. A corollary to 'Slow is Fast' could be 'Less is More.'

Thanks for your note, and for this timely and precise encouragement to us all.

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Beautifully said.

I will be marinating on the question you posed as well: “How do you hold that rising intensity?” Such a good question.

Being more present.

Saying no to those things that don’t serve me as I want.

Giving space for growth.

Thanks to your entire comment above, I extend a BIG thanks to you for giving me a perspective to think more deeply on this topic. I needed it.

🙏🏻🙌🏻

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Anthony - a quintessential question if there ever was one. I love this piece of yours. You, your dad, your heart, his heart, the hearts at the other end of your relationships, and HIS heart, all coming together in a vignette of love and wisdom 👏🙏❤️

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Thank you James! I love the way you said this 🙏🏻

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"If I go slower in the short-term, I will get the benefits of the long-term." What a powerful line!

Great piece, Anthony!

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Thank you Sandra!

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Anthony! Let’s go! I loved how this turned out brother. Excited to read more in the future.

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