The Lantern is a thoughtfully curated weekly email from Mike Vardy designed to help you craft a better relationship with time. Each edition brings you insights, inspiration, and practical tools through a simple yet powerful framework: Look (a thought-provoking video or visual), Listen (a compelling podcast or audio insight), and Learn (a deep dive into a key concept, article, or book). Designed to inform, inspire, and illuminate, The Lantern helps you navigate time with clarity and intention—without the overwhelm.
How I’ve started listening differently
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Hello Reader, For most of my adult life, I convinced myself that music had to take a back seat. Podcasts, audiobooks, silence. Those became my companions for focus, for learning, for “productive” listening. But something shifted recently. I found myself craving sound again—not just any sound, but music. Not noise to fill the air, but intentional listening that stirred something deeper. And right around that same time, I started using a tool that didn’t just play audio, but helped me shape it. That return to music made me realize something: I wasn’t just enjoying songs. I was remembering moments. A summer road trip. My childhood living room. The emotions, the atmosphere, the version of me that existed back then. Music wasn’t background anymore—it was a bridge. And I started crossing it more often. Eventually, I began building playlists not just to listen to… but to remember with. Seasonal soundtracks. Milestone moments. Songs that marked transitions in my life. The result? A deeper connection to the past... and a surprising clarity in the present. I wrote more about this journey, the science behind music and memory, and how to create your own memory-based playlists in a recent post. Click on the link below to give it a read. Rediscovering My Musical Memory: A Journey Through Time and Sound There you’ll also find the playlist I’ve been building. It's filled with songs that take me back and help me feel more grounded in who I am. Give it a listen. And maybe start building your own. — Mike |
The Lantern: A Weekly Guide to Navigating Time with Intention
The Lantern is a thoughtfully curated weekly email from Mike Vardy designed to help you craft a better relationship with time. Each edition brings you insights, inspiration, and practical tools through a simple yet powerful framework: Look (a thought-provoking video or visual), Listen (a compelling podcast or audio insight), and Learn (a deep dive into a key concept, article, or book). Designed to inform, inspire, and illuminate, The Lantern helps you navigate time with clarity and intention—without the overwhelm.
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 24 | August 9, 2025 Hello Reader, I was listening to “Cruel to Be Kind” the other day — a song that once felt playful and clever now lands… differently. Nick Lowe’s biggest hit from 1979 still plays on classic rock radio. The chorus is catchy, the vibe upbeat. But that phrase — cruel to be kind — doesn't sit the same anymore. Even with the qualifier “in the right measure,” it feels out of step with where we are now. Not because the song changed — but...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 23 | August 5, 2025 Hello Reader, This issue’s arriving a few days later than planned—and that’s no accident. My usual rhythm was interrupted. At first, I thought I didn’t have anything to say. Then I realized: I did. I was just saying it elsewhere, dedicating my attention to other places, other people. And today—on a day themed around Connection—I felt the resonance of sending this out now, not waiting. We often talk about Routine and Ritual,...
The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 22 | July 26, 2025 Hello Reader, It starts with a moment: you're in a grocery store, navigating your cart like it's a bumper car. You stop. You look around. And you realize—no one else seems to be aware of where they are, either. Spatial awareness used to be instinctual. You’d step aside when someone approached, feel the rhythm of shared space, make micro-adjustments without thinking. But now? It's like everyone is moving through fog—detached from the...