The Wellness Trap

Once we realize that we cannot find lasting happiness through relying on outer things, we might turn to meditation, but now a new problem can arise. Many people today are drawn to meditation practice for enhancing their own well-being: we would all like to achieve “inner happiness,” but again we are back to the search. The very attempt to seek a happy mind becomes endless, with chasing the happiness leading to more chasing. At the same time, our efforts to get rid of stress can seem to create even more stress. Meditation itself now becomes a new kind of hamster wheel upon which we endlessly run—running but not moving. – Lithub

Five Musicians Talk About Diversity In Chicago Orchestras

One solution that all five instrumentalists opposed was changing the orchestral world’s blind audition process in which candidates try out behind curtains or screens. In a July article in the New York Times, music critic Anthony Tommasini argued that such an approach was no longer tenable and that orchestras had to take more “proactive steps” to hiring. – Chicago Sun-Times

Color-Blind Casting Is Not The Solution — We Need Color-Conscious Casting

That’s the argument being made by a growing number of nonwhite actors and observers such as critic Diep Tran: “Color-blind casting is dangerous in the same way the phrase: ‘I don’t see race’ is dangerous. It negates the very real structural hindrances that block actors of color from the same opportunities as white actors — like low pay in the theatre industry, a lack of roles that are ethnically specific that actors of color can play, and unconscious bias on the part of white theatres and casting directors.” – The Guardian

Play About Afghan Dancing Boys Withdrawn By Authors After Anger From Many Sides

“In 2017 [sic], two Americans attempted something unconventional … a musical about a subject even Afghans would consider too sensitive and unsettling — ‘bacha bazi‘ or ‘boy play’.” Turns out it was. When Diversionary Theatre, an LGBTQ company in San Diego, presented The Boy Who Danced on Air onstage, the play was well-received; when the company posted video of it online this summer and people from all over could see it, the response was not so warm. – BBC