Intellectual Humility, Smoky Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup, Ha Jin, Forest Sound Baths and Meditations on Place
Let's find some comfort.
So many apologies. This turned out to be a longish post. That’s because the Greater Good at Berkeley has a piece about intellectual humility, which I found sort of comforting this week.
They define it as “the degree to which people recognize that their beliefs might be wrong.”
What?
Why would be being wrong be comforting? That seems weird, right? Well, I am weird. There’s no secret there.
This concept comforted me because I’ve spent a lot of my life being okay with being wrong. Sometimes, this feels a bit lonely as a way to be, right? But this post made me realize that it’s okay to be this way and there’s a name for it that sounds pretty fancy: intellectual humility
“Of course, it rarely feels like our beliefs are wrong, and we must usually behave as if our beliefs are true or else we’ll be paralyzed by uncertainty,” says researcher Mark Leary via that piece. “But people who are high in intellectual humility keep in mind that whatever they believe to be true could be wrong and, thus, they might need to revise their views at any time.”
The problem with having a lot of intellectual humility is that you can become super anxious about that same uncertainty. It can make you more anxious. You should see me trying to order at a restaurant when I actually get to go to a restaurant. It’s sad.
It’s more good news than bad, though.
Researcher Daryl Van Tongeren believes, Greater Good writes, “that cultivating intellectual humility involves developing tolerance for uncertainty as ‘a natural part of being alive.’”
There are some good things about it too.
So, how do you cultivate it?
I’m so sorry that’s so long. I just wanted to get you all the information.
The one that strikes me right now, that I find comfort in is “seeking out awe.”
Do you do that? Do you look for places that make you gasp in a good way? That make you feel more connected to the good of the world?
What a cool thing that is when you feel it. I usually feel it when I hug trees. I know! I know! I’m a goof.
A POEM
The poem this week is from Ha Jin who was born in Liaoning Province, China. He was in the army there and attained a BA and MA before heading to Brandeis and earning his PhD. He stayed in the U.S. after watching the events of Tiananmen Square. His wife stayed, too. He writes poems and novels and short stories.
Jin said once, “Because I failed to do something else, writing in English became my means of survival, of spending or wasting my life, of retrieving losses, mine and those of others.”
And in the struggle of his life he creates comfort and beauty and questioning and response in the experience of word on the page (or screen). What a wonderful thing that is.
A Center
By Ha Jin
You must hold your quiet center,
where you do what only you can do.
If others call you a maniac or a fool,
just let them wag their tongues.
If some praise your perseverance,
don't feel too happy about it—
only solitude is a lasting friend.
You must hold your distant center.
Don't move even if earth and heaven quake.
If others think you are insignificant,
that's because you haven't held on long enough.
As long as you stay put year after year,
eventually you will find a world
beginning to revolve around you.
THE SOUP!
Smoky Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup
This comes from She Loves Food and I learned about that site from a very cool local human. Thank you, Angie! Angie posted about this recipe last week and I immediately wanted it so badly.
Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small white or yellow onion, diced
2–3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups peeled and diced sweet potato, 1/4 inch diced
1 (15 oz) can petite diced fire roasted tomatoes
3 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed (divided)
3 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (optional, if you want some heat)
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
3–4 cups vegetable stock, depending on how thick you want your soup
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Topping ideas: tortilla strips, crackers, cheese, sour cream, salsa, hot sauce, avocado, pico de Gallo, fresh cilantro.
Instructions
Start by placing a large pot over medium heat and adding olive oil. Next, add your diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cook onion for about 2 minutes, until translucent, and then add in the diced sweet potato. Cook another 3-4 minutes, add the garlic and stir well. Garlic only needs about 30 seconds to heat through.
Add all the spices and mix well. I like to let this sit for just a minute or two and then add in the canned tomatoes and ONLY 2 cans of the black beans. Stir together and let mixture come to a low simmer. Add the vegetable broth, give another mix and place the lid on the pot. Let soup simmer, with lid on, on low heat until sweet potato is fork tender, about 20 minutes.
Carefully add half of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth, about 45 seconds. Next, add in the remaining half of the soup and give a really quick blend, just a few seconds, you want some small chunks. Pour soup back into the pot and add the remaining can of black beans. Mix everything together and season with extra salt and pepper, to taste.
Add your favorite garnishes and enjoy this hearty vegan black bean soup!
BONUS COOLNESS
I have become vaguely obsessed with the understanding of place and what place means this week as Em (my daughter) prepares to head out of the country for months and months.
Why this obsession?
That’s a really good question that I don’t currently have the answer to.
But I found this meditation on place produced by Boston Museum of Fine Arts which features Artist Rana Begum and it took me to a bit more comforting state of mind that I was in.
And then there is this. It’s a bit lovely, honestly, and in mid winter it’s nice to be bathed in the calming sounds of forest, I think!
I hope you can find some comfort this week and some strength within that comfort. Please know that I am absolutely cheering you on.
LINKS
The poem comes from here: Ha Jin, "A Center" from A Distant Center. Copyright © 2018 by Ha Jin. www.coppercanyonpress.org. Source: A Distant Center
Greater Good piece on intellectual humility. There are a lot of great links in there if you’re into learning more.
While living in Japan I discovered shinrin-yoku - forest bathing truly is a way of grounding the soul. This is why I cherish my small piece of 100 acre woods.