in the details

I have to confess to feeling pretty crushed. Maybe I should turn off the news, close the virtual pages of my online newspapers, close the curtains, close my eyes, tune out completely. Tuning out seems to be the direction I've taken to greater and lesser degrees in most dimensions of my life since returning to Montreal. So when I encounter warmth in something I take comfort.

I recently encountered warmth in details surely selected by their presenters for the quiet impact they offer to anyone attuned to detail — like me. Here are three little things that have recently heartened me:

1. the pendant worn by the EU Home Affairs Commissioner, Ylva Johansson, as she discusses sex trafficking of Ukraine women fleeing to Poland for safety
2. Tracy Chapman’s eponymous 1988 album set on prominent display behind soccer commentator of Men in Blazers fame, Roger Bennet, discussing the horrendous context of the World Cup
3. new UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk’s desk plaque: the future is non-binary

​I don’t know why the adage says, the devil’s in the details. I think I’m going to look for the angels in the details.