Christina Crook - Good Burdens: How to Live Joyfully in the Digital Age

Fully understanding our relationship to technology is a vital question for all of us as humans. Christina is ready to have that conversation.

Tiffany Shlain, Emmy-nominated filmmaker & author of 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week

In a culture barraged by the trends of hustle, tech, and self-improvement crazes, Christina Crook not only reminds us what its like to be humanbut gives us a much-needed road map to feeling like a whole one.

Jess Davis, founder of Folk Rebellion

JOMO isnt a trendits the future for our families, friendships, and communities. The coming decade is going to be all about learning the tools Crook shares here. This book is inspiring for anyone who wants to rememberor learnwhat it feels like to be a whole person. Read it and share it.

Sarah Selecky, Giller Prizenominated author of Radiant Shimmering Light & This Cake is for the Party

Once again Christina Crook shows us that the one thing we shouldnt miss out on is her heartfelt, soulful thoughts on where we can tap into the joy around us.

David Sax, author of The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter

A powerful reckoning for an unchecked technological zeitgeist. Crooks call for a reclamation of effortful living, on and offline, stands to steer our lives toward destinations brimming with joythose of purpose, caring, creativity, and community. Gratefully, the notion of good burdens is already transforming how I show up in my world.

Kelly Riback-Small, bestselling author of The Conscious Creative: Practical Ethics for Purposeful Work

Christina Crook is the perfect mentor in slowing down and savouring the moment. Far from being a call to reject all technology, Christina encourages a life where perfection and comparison take a back seat to connecting with others and sharing in our joyful, messy humanity.

Dr. Jess Perriam, digital sociologist at Open University

Christina Crook is a master of intention and the best possible guide to show you how to step away from the mundane and lean into the meaningful.

Sarah Vermunt, bestselling author of Careergasm & Career Rookie

My whole life is oriented around remaining connected, and for me the value of Christinas voice and the discussion of how to live better is that reminder of where the line is between what matters and what doesnt this is a conversation that matters to me.

Aaron Reynolds, author and founder of Effin Birds

For Michael

Copyright 2021, Christina Crook

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission from the publisher, or, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, permission from Access Copyright, 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1900, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E5.

Nimbus Publishing Limited
3660 Strawberry Hill Street, Halifax, NS, B3K 5A9
(902) 455-4286 nimbus.ca

Edited by Whitney Moran
Designed by Heather Bryan
Cover illustration Sandra Javera
Printed and bound in Canada
NB1580

An earlier version of the chapter Be Amazed first appeared as The School of Wonder: Why we need to keep feeding our curiosity by Christina Crook, for UPPERCASE magazine.

An earlier version of the chapter Be Brave first appeared as Learning trust in the sharing economy in Religious News Service.

An earlier version of the section Ten People, One Shower: We met on Twitter and our families moved in together first appeared on CBC.ca.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: Good burdens : how to live joyfully in the digital age / Christina Crook.

Names: Crook, Christina, author.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20210230363 | Canadiana (ebook) 20210230797 | ISBN 9781771089784 (softcover) | ISBN 9781771089852 (EPUB)

Subjects: LCSH: Goal (Psychology) | LCSH: Intentionalism. | LCSH: Motivation (Psychology) | LCSH: Joy. | LCSH: TechnologyPsychological aspects.

Classification: LCC BF505.G6 C76 2021 | DDC 153.8dc23

Nimbus Publishing acknowledges the financial support for its publishing activities from the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, and from the Province of Nova Scotia. We are pleased to work in partnership with the Province of Nova Scotia to develop and promote our creative industries for the benefit of all Nova Scotians.

This book is for you, the

• city dweller burned out on keeping up with the Joneses
• executive burned out on toxic hustle
• creative exhausted by placing shadow work in front of eyeballs in exchange for likes
• marketing director who cant sleep for all theyre shilling on the internet each day
• parent, educator, or caregiver who has witnessed the diminishing effect of tech on kids
• person seeking a path to meaning and joy in an overwhelmed world

My dearest hope is that this book teaches you to love, to know that caring for your small corner of the world matters, and helps you channel your energies online and off toward good burdens: caring relationships, community, and creative projects that bring joy.

Welcome, friend.

My need for quiet rises in the folds of mid-morning. My hands stack papers sorted then filed. The handwork is a kind of mind-work, decluttering the mess of the early day. Of running up and down stairs seeking mittens and children. Of tending to hot pans and smears of toothpaste. Of walking home in crisp air, tripping over the long-tired lists already running through my head.

I sit on the floor and sort.

I start many workdays this way. Tell myself that if the room is tidy, my mind will tidy; my thoughts will lie out flat, my heart rate slow, my soul quiet.

But the truth is, it doesnt work.

For all the outer order, my inner landscape remains desolate. Shame lurks in corners, assuring me my work is of little worth. I sit at a tidied desk swarmed with fear.

No, the quiet space is farther. Its buried beneath my ribcage, a sharp point in my fleshy centre. I have to get down on the floor, on all fours. Knees bent on hardwood desperate for mopping, elbows jutting down while hands lace up in prayer. My head comes low, all the way down to the floorboards, and I must call out.

I call out for the Great Quiet. I call out to the Star of the Sea. She is the settler of storms. He is the calm for these waters.

I need quiet, yes. A silence within. An empty ark on a Monday, needing to be filled.

Our days are full.

For most of us, from the moment we wake up in the morning our days are ripe with noise, busyness, and rushing. At the end of the day, we are tired. So very exhausted.

Can you relate to any of these feelings?

• Im tired of trying to keep it all together. My team needs me. My spouse needs me. My kids need me. I feel like I am already living with a wall of regret.
• Im exhausted. Im on 24/7. I feel like I cant turn off because if I do, my career will slow down and my boss will think Im lazy and I will miss my dentist appointment and Ill never get my side hustle off the ground.