My 2022 in review

Some things I learned:

• working at a corporate is not a good fit for me, but/and it’s a good opportunity for me to keeping bringing things back to the human, to advocate for incremental and iterative approaches, and for using the carrot not the stick;
• taking holidays is more important than I think, but/and the details are less important than I think;
• I am (still) very conflict-avoidant, but/and I’ve learned to speak up more when I’m unhappy;
• I’m regularly grateful for my (meditation and mindfulness) practice;
• Daoism is very much my jam (see my notes, thinking, and doing).

My favourite new place this year was New Plymouth. It’s a lot like Wellington (where I live), but… smaller and a little cuter.

Overall, this has been a quite a quiet year, but/and things are good.

(If you’re wondering about “but/and”: I’m borrowing it from (the very excellent) Robin Sloan)

Media

I read some great books and played some great games in 2022. Here are my top 5s, in no particular order.

Books: fiction

• A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers. Short, beautiful, wonder-full.
• Spear by Nicola Griffith. Chunky, deep, lyrical.
• The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. Silly, funny, fast.
• A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine. Creative, amazing, expansive.
• Flights by Olga Tokarczuk, Jennifer Croft. Subtle, graceful, glancing.

Books: non-fiction

• Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach. Practical, useful, but/and beautiful book that gives me help where I really need it.
• Supersense by John Downer. Really brings home the idea that perception is particpation.
• The Matter With Things by Iain McGilchrist. A gargantuan beast that brings together lots of things into one epic journey.
• Losing Ourselves by Jay L. Garfield. Very thought-provoking discussion of the nature of self as a series of overlapping processes.
• Li: Dynamic Form in Nature by David G. Wade. Beautiful little book highlighting the patterns on, in, and under everything.
• Crystal and Dragon by David G. Wade. A thoughtful, scientific, mystical, look at form and energy.

Games

• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on Switch. Massive, beautiful, JRPG.
• Neon White on Switch. Speed-running, but fun. Perfectly pitched learning curve.
• Paradise Killer on Switch. 90s-flavoured murder mystery with amazing music.
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus on Switch. Open world, open-handed, at last!
• Elden Ring on PS4. Just wow. Massive, deep, light-touch, difficult open world. A Fromsoftware game that I can actually play!