Roger Bennett On Numbness And Feeling

Sometimes it was more convenient to cope with pain by pretending that it didn’t exist. As I had come to realize, sometimes you become numb because you are unable to feel anything at all. But at times like this one, you can become numb because you feel too much. The bus didn’t come. The rain started to fall.

I have a profound respect and admiration for Roger Bennett’s writing. He’s not just a sports guy, he’s a true “poet/philosopher/scribe” as he likes to describe others.

That quote is from his new book, (Re)Born In The USA. the book’s positioned (by him) as a love letter to America, but it’s as good a coming of age story as you’ll find.

Growing up in England with “a dad who dreamt of soaring and a mom who dreamt of falling,” a best friendship “forged in vomit and casual racism,” and an unwavering fascination with all things American, it’s a delightfully human exploration of the continuum of feeling between the polar sources of numbness.

I’m sharing it today because it’s a reminder to feel. I don’t know if you’re going to start a conversation with this one. But, from the absurd to the beautiful, like Bennett so eloquently describes, it’s a life we are only living when we experience it.

The same sentiment goes for starting that project, following through on that request, or letting your last touch be the finishing touch. Feel and move forward.