The challenges are down to one, the Stoic 21-day challenge, and they are adding [mental] weight to the challenges as we advance.  Fortunately, there were lots of problems facing us today – great practice for the challenge.

Past the challenge, we provide stories of redemption, the middle class, the global peace index, and where the U.S. sits on the list.  We finish up with pickleballs and canned tomatoes.  Again we ask you to think of another newsletter that can give you that in 7 minutes!

If, at some point, you determine that you are in a hole, stop digging.  Another quote from today’s challenge is from Pericles:

Ryan Holiday follows up with his own lesson; it is a tough challenge.  Marcus Aurelius said, "what injuries the hive injuries the bee.  This means we are all interconnected doesn't matter how independent you want or think you can be, someone is going to call, text, or email you something today that will be a problem.  In the simplest terms, you can contribute to it or stop it.  We are now getting into the easier-said-than-done section of the challenges.

Here’s Ryan talking trash!

Changing the Night Journal post, ask yourself the same three questions, throw your answers into the comments, and we will highlight some of the responses.

Jack Monroe rose to fame as a writer, focused on surviving with little money and feeding himself.  As her popularity grew, so did the spotlight; the brighter the spotlight got, the more pressure she was under and the more whiskey she drank.  It's a good redemption story; Monroe has been in recovery for 18 months and finds the introspection beneficial.

A fascinating part of Monroe's story is how she learned about the middle class based on who she hung out with.  The middle class can mean different things depending on what part of the area you are from. 

After a series of unfortunate events and struggling to work as a single parent, Monroe went to a food bank.  A family friend recognized her at the food bank, and shame set in.

With those broken eggs, Monroe started making omelets, taking the lessons learned from cooking on a strict budget to writing for The Guardian and several other publications, making it all the way up to the 2018 Food Personality award winner. 

The story continues with many ins and outs, ups and downs.  Jack Monroe is an interesting character and, in the best sense, is like the rest of us, trying to do good and make the best of whatever the situation is.

In a piece on a site called Vision of Humanity, The U.S. scored an underwhelming 129th place in the 2022 Global Peace Index.  The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) produces the index, and the top categories include; safety and security – domestic and international conflict – degree of militarization.  Afghanistan has been in last place over the previous five years, with Yemen, Syria, and Russia close behind.

Global peacefulness has also declined to the lowest level in 15 years.  The war in Ukraine is the leading factor in the sharp decline.  Reading through the list to see the counties in the top spots might surprise you.  Being the wealthiest and most powerful country on the planet doesn't give you as much peace as you think it would.

If you are lucky enough to live in an area with a community-access tennis court, does it smell like pickles?  CNBC, a site we don't focus on a lot, has a story about the current Pickleball craze.  CNBC is reporting on it because it's becoming a big money story.  In addition to sharing time with your outdoor tennis court or taking it over completely, pickleball also takes on health clubs.  Lifetime Fitness has built 400 indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, and the number of monthly "pickle ballers” has increased from 16,000 per month to 160,000 across all clubs.

LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes are big names that have bought into professional pickleball teams.  Could it be a sports hedge for retired athletes?  As with most things, it remains to be seen if pickleball is here to stay or another fad; ever heard of Spike Ball?  There is a lot of interest and even more money heading into the sport; tennis courts, beware.

Wirecutter from the NYT did a story on the best-canned tomatoes, and after reading the story, we have yet to learn why Wirecutter would write a story about canned tomatoes.  This quirky story that seems out of place yet harmless is the exact type of story we want to highlight.  If you read this blurb and the Wirecutter piece, you might smile the next time you open a can of tomatoes, and you will open one.

In the piece's opening paragraph, canned tomatoes are described as velvety and full of flavor – also tough and insipid.  That is a large spectrum of flavors from a can.  Half of the article goes through how they tested each can to determine the best.  If you cook with canned tomatoes or are curious about taste testers.

If you want the winner…

Words | Music | Art | Unknown

Swinging.

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Thank you for spending a few minutes with us!

With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.