The Lectio Letter - Issue #86 - 10 Things for Travel & How Technology changes what occurs to us to do

Welcome to Issue #86 of the Lectio Letter. This members-only newsletter is (normally) filled with music, film and food suggestions, links, and an article written by yours truly.

Greetings Faithful Lectio Readers!

...I initially started writing this in Berlin, Where we were concluding a training for 15 fantastic young(ish) human beings who are engaged in leadership in different contexts across the Middle East, South Africa and Europe.

With a desire to honour something of a publishing schedule for those of you who very graciously support the kind of book buying that this very ministry effort is predicated on here is a slightly different version of the Lectio Letter.

I'm going to share some lighter things than normal;

• Some music and book recommendations

• 1 short opinion I'm thinking about…

• 10 travel items that I've appreciated this year

Most of the issues of the Lectio Letter go to the few folks who help me buy books (you can find out why here).

The last one was a long-form book review of An Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, you can read it here.

Before that, I wrote a three-part series here, here and here on mapping the seasons of faith which explored what Christian maturity might look like. You can dive into the archives of the last 80+ articles I’ve written over the last few years here. Quite a few are free to read, and the rest can be unlocked through a free 7-day trial.

Whether you become a paid subscriber or not, I’m very grateful to each of you who read and respond to this newsletter.

I hope you enjoy this Lectio article. Feel free to leave a comment or a question after you’ve read it, I appreciate receiving those.

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Reading

It’s a strange phenomenon that in reading almost constantly to build curriculum and grade essays, reading books cover to cover counterintuitive decreases as I ‘scan for usefulness’ in many books. With that being said, I recently finished or am currently making my way through a few books worth mentioning.

James by Percival Everett

Written as an adaption to the Mark Twain American classic “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Everett re-tells the story from the perspective of the slave character Jim (known here as James) in the original story. This book walks between humour and tragedy in a deeply engaging way. Case in point, I read it in 4 hours on our recent flight!

Keeping Faith: How Organisations Can Stay True to the Way of Jesus by Stephen Judd

I’m considering a fuller review of this book in a Lectio soon. John Swinton one of the co-authors was one of my favourite professors in Aberdeen. What was slightly confusing in the book was the lack of distinction around which author was writing which section. Secondly, there were lots of Australian references which is where the primary author comes from. That being said, I believe the core message of the book is deeply important and worth reflecting on, namely, that organisations often have a secular architecture with Christian wallpaper on the inside rather than being formed structurally around the ways of Jesus.

Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times by Elizabeth Oldfield

Elizabeth Oldfield used to head up Theos Think Tank in the UK and now lives in an intentional Christian community house in London. She connects the dots between the accounts of human flourishing in a secular world with her own Christian faith. It is a work of desire-oriented (as opposed to solely rational) apologetics and it succeeds.

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Music

In my search for instrumental music to read and write to I’ve enjoyed this collaboration. Somehow the downbeat piano in addition to the busier drums hit the spot this month.

This year I’ve listened to Sampha a lot. The composition and its complexity just opens up and up the more you listen. I particularly love the drums on this track which is a collaboration with Little Simz. Full disclosure; there is about a 45-second build at the beginning of this track that I usually skip, the video below should open at about that time.

One of the joys of the last month was getting to be at Wildfires Festival with some friends where this song was launched.

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A Short Opinion: Technology changes what occurs to us to do

I’m trying out this “short opinion” as I think out loud.. Feel free to push me back, this (and any others I post) represents thinking in motion. Maybe your disagreement or agreement will persuade me!

With the global trend of migration moving people towards urban centres most humans are increasingly isolated from the kinds of deep relational connections that characterise more traditional rural networks.

This means that most people are living in denser physical proximity than before but are more disconnected and isolated than before. This is due to the independence of unprecedented wealth, which increases self-dependency.

Secondly and maybe even more important are the movements of our relationships to being mediated by technology (ie. you are much more likely to send a message than go and knock on a door).

In previous generations, somebody in our position (living in South Africa but having strong connection to the UK) would have been locked into the rhythm of sending letters (now affectionately known as snail mail) and waiting for months before hearing reports of joys, births, sickness, death and turmoil.

Now our connection is mediated almost instantly via various messaging platforms and what a gift that can be!

But I'm wondering how technology changes our way of relating to those physically nearby.

Robert Bellah in His book says that technology can often take us away from older modes of mutual help. What does that mean?

Well, when before you might knock on a neighbour’s door and offer them some homemade soup now you are more likely to send them a message and feel that is sufficient.

In fact, you may pat yourself on the back feeling that you have respected their privacy in a moment of vulnerability. While that may in part be true, you have also ex-carnated your friendship. What you used to do by moving your body you have done with your phone.

While technology has connected us, it has also ex-carnted, de-physicalised and de-personalised us. A connected thought is that whereas the generation above me would knock on a friend’s door, my generation would message to make sure someone was in (and didn’t mind being seen), and the generation below me even feels like an unannounced phone call is an intrusion.

The Short reality is that technology is changing our patterns of relating not just enabling them.

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10 Travel Items I’ve appreciated this year

In the last 5 months, we have been in more planes, airports and check-in lines than normal. Here are a few things I’ve come to appreciate and would recommend;

1. HeroClip Small

This is one of those “I never knew I needed it before having it” kind of items. The Hero clip is a weight-bearing hook (up to 22kg for the small) which allows you to hang your bag on a door, table or windowsill. I first got the mini version in Thailand for the Tomtoc sling I mentioned below, but the small one is much more usable because the mini doesn’t hang well on thick tables.

While it looks like a regular carabiner, the hook addition makes it much more versatile. I’ve particularly used it in airport bathrooms to keep the bag off the floor (because while I’m far from a germophobe you don’t want to even begin to imagine what has been on that floor)

2. TomToc Sling

I often want to carry more things than my pockets can handle but never really want to be carrying a backpack. Thankfully the days of ugly bumbags/fanny packs are over and there are some fairly good options. Tomtoc bags seem very well built for the money and this one is a perfect size for a small cable, power bank, phone, wallet, and keys to carry around each day.

The other plus is on a flight when you can take a carryon plus a ‘personal item’, you can put the things you want at your seat in it and store your bag straight away in the overhead locker (and not be the person making everyone wait while you block the aisle resorting your bag…). In addition to a hero clip which can hang on one of the underused coat hangers on the side of the headrest in front of you, it can make a great extra pouch so you don’t lose or leave anything in the seatback pockets.

3. GAN Travel Adapter

A GAN charger is a replacement for the big brick that comes with your laptop. These travel adapters mean you can leave that at home and bring a USB C cable with you instead. In addition to the port that is rated to run a laptop are 4 other ports (2xUSB A and C) plus a female plug socket that something else can be plugged into. In Short, a GAN travel adapter means you can leave all your chargers at home and just bring a few cables instead.

4. Rolling Square InCharge

If you are cutting down on chargers then cutting down on cables is a good idea too. While these rolling square cables are not cheap, they are extremely well built, which if you are relying on them for charging important stuff as you travel is worth it. They have a nylon-reinforced cable with metal housing; one end can be converted between USB A and C and the other side is USB C or Lightning (iPhone). This cable is also rated for the level of watts which means it can charge a laptop.

6. Anker Magnetic Battery

I heavily rely on Google Maps for most of our travel and that kind of GPS action is a big drain on battery life. Before you know it you are down to 20% and suddenly navigating while holding your phone, charging brick and ungainly cable. These QI charging blocks hold magnetically to your phone and charge them wirelessly which is great when you need power but don’t want to sort through and carry cables on the go.

5. Baggu Zip Set

I’m a big proponent of packing with packing cubes. There is nothing more overwhelming than packing hundreds of individual items. Packing cubes organise clothes and let you pack them like bricks and then use one for keeping dirty and clean laundry separate.

These Baggu ones are a particularly nice set that I got for Christmas. They are well built with the kind of shape that fits far more in than you’d expect. The small one I use for stationary, the medium one for toiletries and the large one for shoes. Perfect!

6. Tom Bihn Travel Tray

Similar to packing cubes, this cinchable travel tray is the place to throw all the small stuff you need to keep hold of. On a plane, it hangs off the coat book on the side of the aeroplane seatback and then on a bedside table where ever I’m staying. I throw glasses, pens and any small item I don’t want lying around loose either on the plane or in whatever bedroom I am staying in. The cinching top means that when I pack it quickly, things don’t fall out.

7. Worker Overshirts and Packable Puffer Jackets

Since I’ve owned this workwear style jacket (which admittedly has jumped in price the last couple of years) I’ve flown in it for (almost) every flight. The most useful thing is that it has two huge open pockets for me to throw my passport, and boarding pass when I need my hands free to move luggage (or more specifically Rachel’s ;) It also is just smart enough to make me feel I’m not flying in pyjamas, but also comfy enough to add some warmth in a cold airport terminal.

While I’m not a huge fan of the look of puffer jackets like this (They are a South African G.I. for business types), they are a real travel hack. I have a small packing cube which means I can stuff it into a tiny size and it regulates heat well when you are unexpectedly very cold. While it is not made for it they are also showerproof if all you are otherwise wearing is absorbent and will leave you wet.

8. Plane seat Phone holder

I’m not a fan of in-flight entertainment and tend to do lots of reading and email catch-up in the early hours of a long-haul flight. Recently I ended up with some neck pain after a flight and thought there must be a way to get a phone up to eye level on a plane. Well, there is and they are quite cheap. Another unforeseen plus is that for longer Zoom calls I’ve used this to attach a phone to a desk so I don’t have to prop it up and keep adjusting for when it inevitably slips down.

9. Noise Cancelling Headphones

Noise-cancelling headphones are much more common these days but I can’t exaggerate how much they improve the experience of flying. I have had wired over-ear and in-ear versions from Bose but these days being wire-free with Airpods is a big plus (you can buy Bluetooth adapters for inflight entertainment too).

10. Air Tags

I’ve sometimes joked that Airtags and previous Tiles saved my marriage. But if like me you find yourself skipping a heartbeat when you can’t find something important while travelling airtags are worth every penny.

That’s all for now, back to regular service soon ;)