Pneuma by Daniel Finneran

Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) was a Polish-English novelist.

He was born in 1857 and died in 1924.

His twenty years spent as a sailor in the British merchant navy inspired many of his literary works, among which Heart of Darkness is most highly acclaimed.

In this episode of “Fall Asleep with Me”, I read this work’s opening scene. It takes place on the tranquil waters of the River Thames.

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Visit my YouTube page @pneumabydanielfinneran.

Email me at [email protected]

And visit my sister project, @finneranswake, where you’ll find endless great conversations.

Sweet dreams!

The inspiration for this episode is a sonnet–a Shakespearean sonnet–with which you’re unlikely to be familiar;

Sonnet 30, you see, isn’t commonly ranked among Shakespeare’s finest works. It’s neither read to romantic lovers, inscribed on elegant tombstones, nor quoted in popular films.

Indeed, you’ll very seldom hear a recitation of its fourteen forgotten lines.

And yet, to our purposes, my dear friend, I think it’s ideally suited.

I hope that you enjoy this meditation on loss, regret, remorse, failure, and–that by which all sadness in life is wiped away–friends.

Do me the honor, my dear friend, of “liking” this episode, subscribing to this channel for daily doses of mindfulness, and sharing it with a friend.

Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888 - 1965) was an Anglo-American poet.

A devout Christian, Eliot was an important figure in the Modernist movement that sprang to life in the first quarter of the 20th century.

"Four Quartets", a uniquely sublime work by which all his other poems are eclipsed, addresses the theme of time.

It's a theme on which, as you doubtless know, so many of our meditations here on Pneuma are based.

I think that you'll enjoy it.

Subscribe, like, leave a five-star rating, and share this with friends. Send me poem recommendations at [email protected]

Thank you!

Daniel

Time Stamps:

0:00 - Burnt Norton

11:35 - East Coker

29:52 - The Dry Salvages

46:45 - Little Gidding

Footfalls echo in the memory

Down the passage which we did not take

Toward the door we never opened

Into the rose-garden.

This is an excerpt from the first poem of TS Eliot’s masterpiece, “Four Quartets”.

It is, in my opinion, the most memorable part of “Burnt Norton”.

In this episode, we’re going to meditate on the theme that Eliot presents: Regret.

Be sure to listen to my prior episode about remorse.

What is the one thing you regret most?

If you care to divulge, send me an email at [email protected] or comment below.

Be sure to visit my sister project, @finneranswake on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. I think you’ll really enjoy it; Finneran’s Wake is where I have deep, probing, provocative conversations with a multitude of extraordinary people from all walks of life.

-Daniel

Skin, hair, and nails--

Collagen is the foundation of them all!

And yet...

It's severely de-emphasized in our diets.

In this episode, we'll cover everything you need to know about this essential protein (including how to consume more of it).

Reach out to me with comments and questions:

Email: [email protected]
X: DanielEFinneran
IG: DanielEthanFinneran