Welcome to another edition of Eclectricity. Thanks for reading!
Quote of the Week
Compassion is not a popular virtue, because it demands the laying aside of the ego that we identify with our deepest self; so people often prefer being right to being compassionate.
News Worth Sharing
Here are some items that caught my eye recently that I thought worth sharing:
A Book Recommendation
The Quote of the Week this week comes from Karen Armstrong’s book, The Great Transformation, published in 2007. The book explains how, in the ninth century BCE, events in four regions of the civilized world led to the near-simultaneous rise of four traditions that have endured to the present day: Confucianism and Daoism in China, Hinduism and Buddhism in India, monotheism in Israel, and philosophical rationalism in Greece.
The titular “transformation” is the Axial Age shift, roughly from the 9th to 2nd centuries BCE, when Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Hindu traditions, monotheism in Israel, and Greek philosophical rationalism took shape.
Armstrong, one of our most prominent scholars, examines how these traditions began in response to the violence of their time. Studying figures as diverse as the Buddha and Socrates, Confucius and Jeremiah, Armstrong reveals how these still enduring philosophies can help address our contemporary problems. I learned a lot about the history of these traditions from Armstrong’s book, and found it fascinating how compassion and some form of The Golden Rule arose simultaneously in different parts of the world. She does a good job of explaining how these major religious and philosophical traditions emerged independently during the same broad historical era, and that they share a common ethical core centered on compassion, self-discipline, and resistance to violence. A recurring theme is that spiritual growth often begins with a disciplined rejection of violence and hatred, not with certainty or dogmatic conformity.
Song of the Week
Here is the song I’ve listened to most in the past few weeks: "Sand" by Australian band Swapmeet, from their new album “Mount Zero” coming out July 17, 2026. This song is some beautiful indie rock / jangle pop / shoegaze bliss. It grabbed me thanks to its dreamy, open, relaxed vibe.
Swapmeet is an Adelaide-based Australian indie rock band known for blending jangly guitars, shoegaze haze, and experimental edges into songs that feel both scrappy and expansive. Formed by four friends who met as teenagers, the group has quickly moved from local buzz to a growing international profile, including a recent signing to Los Angeles label Winspear.
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