CULTURE EDITION
list, as well as all the others. Secondly, the distracting nature of the news just makes it harder to get around to anything because you’re worrying or doomscrolling instead.” As such, a key message within the book is that, for limited humans with finite time, it makes no sense to wait until things calm down. “You have to take action – and also make time to have fun, which is no less important – right here in the midst of the chaos and the uncertainty.” To aid this, the book’s structure deliberately reflects the need to take action over the course of four weeks. “It’s intended to spur action during the time you’re actually reading it – instead of offering a system you might implement one day when you get a spare moment,” he says. Because, if there’s one thing we all know about modern life, it’s that a spare moment can be a rare and elusive thing. A journey of learning In the process of writing, Oliver comments how this was equally a time of learning for him, as much as it might be for a reader first encountering the book. “Every book is at least partly an exercise in grappling with whatever I’m struggling with the most,” he observes. “I’ve written before about the broader issue of our finite time and limitations, but here I was struck to discover how many of my own struggles in this area are tangled up with issues of self- worth – in other words, the way we feel we aren’t justifying our existence on the planet unless we do more, achieve more and stay on top of more demands. The great irony is that real, meaningful productivity arrives more easily when you realise that you don’t need to get more and more stuff done in order to justify your existence.” In terms of what readers can take away from the book, Oliver hopes they feel a sense of liberation and relaxation. With this comes a new ability to exhale, which hopefully translates into a new energy for getting around to what matters to them. “In that sense, it’s not a ‘motivational’ book; I’m not trying to suggest you need a shove in order to get moving. Instead, I think that when we let go of some of the mistakes and illusions that inhibit us, action tends to flow much more naturally.” Besides, we’re only human after all. You have to take action – and also make time to have fun – right here in the midst of the chaos and the uncertainty
On 17 September, CLF returns to the University Arms for an evening of literary conversations. Elif Shafak and Rob Macfarlane will discuss There Are Rivers in the Sky , while Oliver Burkeman will talk to Catherine Carr about Meditations for Mortals . Buy tickets to both events to receive a 25% discount. Book tickets online at cambridgeliteraryfestival.com Cambridge Literary Festival @ University Arms
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK SEPTEMBER 2024 13
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