"Listening to the Essence of Things": The quest for meaning in dark times

This is a podcast of my Substack post of the same name. Please visit my Substack site or my personal website to find out more about my publications and research."'Listening to the Essence of Things': Musings on Life" is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. All my posts are free to read for the first four weeks, after which only paid subscribers have access to the archive. The podcasts are all free for the time being, but for copyright reasons they do not include some of the poems. Get full access to "'Listening to the Essence of Things': Musings on Life" at tinabeattie.substack.com/subscribe

A reflection on the dehumanising effect of AI on language: To resist becoming a robotic slave of technology is, for a writer, to lay words down on the page the way one might create a rugged path through a forest by fitting together random pieces of ill-shapen wood and stone, so that life’s lost wanderers might discern a path towards meaning amidst the lostness. Get full access to "'Listening to the Essence of Things': Musings on Life" at tinabeattie.substack.com/subscribe

This is a podcast of my Substack post of the same name, available to read on my Substack site."‘Listening to the Essence of Things’: musings on life” is a reader-supported publication. Please go to the link below to subscribe free or to take out a paid subscription. Income from my writing supports my work, but I am happy to give free subscriptions to those who cannot afford a paid subscription and would like access to all my Substack posts and podcasts. Please contact me through my website: www.tinabeattie.com. Get full access to "'Listening to the Essence of Things': Musings on Life" at tinabeattie.substack.com/subscribe

I wake up feeling sad. I often do. Sadness is life’s mixed blessing for those of us born to write. This has nothing to do with publications, publicity, and success, and everything to do with the restless, futile quest to find words that will communicate the wordless depths of the soul to another who will read, listen, and understand. How could one possibly be happy with such a vocation?Read the Substack post here: Get full access to "'Listening to the Essence of Things': Musings on Life" at tinabeattie.substack.com/subscribe

This is a recording of a post in my Substack site, “Listening to the Essence of Things”. Please visit that site for more information: Get full access to "'Listening to the Essence of Things': Musings on Life" at tinabeattie.substack.com/subscribe

Durham-based sculptor Fenwick Lawson died peacefully on 23rd January at the age of 93. In 2008, I interviewed Fenwick in his cottage high above the banks of the River Wear in the centre of Durham. This is an edited version of my article based on that interview, which was published in Art & Christianity Journal in Spring 2009. Get full access to "'Listening to the Essence of Things': Musings on Life" at tinabeattie.substack.com/subscribe

This is the first of many podcasts of Tina Beattie's posts on her Substack site, "Listening to the Essence of Things", where she shares her reflections on the quest for meaning and the possibilities and limits of language in these troubled times. To read this and other posts, please visit Tina's Substack site at tinabeattie.substack.com and consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. https://tinabeattie.substack.com/ Get full access to "'Listening to the Essence of Things': Musings on Life" at tinabeattie.substack.com/subscribe