Marlow's Musings 6/8/25
Insights, adventures and fun stuff from this week.
Audio narration by David Marlow
For years I’ve gathered ideas, insights, interesting tidbits, and quotes that you won’t read anywhere else.
I save them in my Thought Library.
Watching the French Open tennis tournament this weekend reminded me of one of my all-time favorite entries in the thought library.
In 2010, a little-known player named Francesca Schiavone managed to become the first Italian woman ever to make it to a Grand Slam tennis final.
I recall the announcers giving her little chance against the same opponent who had easily beaten Schiavone in the first round of the exact tournament the year before and who had just beaten Serena Williams, then the number one player in the world, to make it to the finals.
In one of the great upsets in sports history, Francesca Schiavone beat the odds and Samantha Stosur to win her first-ever Grand Slam tournament.
That's very cool and all, but that's not why she's in my thought library. It's what she said after her surprise French Open victory.
Schiavone was asked about having expectations of more Grand Slam wins. Here’s what she said…
"Expectations?…No…Dreams?…Always."
Francesca Schiavone
I was struck by the beauty and hopefulness of the comment without the usual baloney of athletes after a victory.
Played the recording over and over to capture what she said. Then it went immediately into the thought library.
It’s not a quote you will likely read anywhere else.
Though she continued to play and ultimately made one more final, it became her only grand slam victory, retiring from competitive tennis in 2018.
For all of us, however, this serves as a marvelous Ikigai model.
"Expectations? No. Dreams?Always."
Word of the Week
Frisson (n.)
/friˈsɔ̃/
1: A sudden strong feeling of excitement or fear; a thrill
2: A brief moment of emotional excitement; a shudder of emotion
From French frisson (free sōn) meaning “shiver, thrill,” derived from Latin frigere “to be cold,” this word represents the literal shivers that run down your spine when experiencing something deeply moving—whether beauty, fear, awe, or recognition.
In case you missed it…
This week’s Ikigai Thoughts for Today…
The first…Fall in Love
If you want to live your Ikigai, fall in love with these three things…
The second…Clues to Ikigai
There are clues to your Ikigai revealed every day.
Ikiquest+
This week, there were two Coffee Contemplations…
The first…Now and Next year
If you think about it, everything was different at this time last year. This time next year, everything will likely be different again. In this contemplation, I invite you to create a positive mental framework by considering two things…
That contemplation is available to everyone in audio narration, or you can read the transcription.
The second is…Our Reactions
Something came to me as the shower head fell and blasted me with water.
Ikiquest+ subscribers can listen to the audio narration or read the transcription.
If you aren’t yet an Ikiquest+ Subscriber, you can give it a try for free by clicking the box here. The choice is yours.
Comments of the Week:
I’m sharing two this week because they reinforce a central idea of this newsletter from a different angle.
Federica replied to one of my puns in Notes with…
The Internet is full of people taking themselves too seriously, so I love how you show that one can be a competent and professional person but at the same time being silly with words and have a good time. Lovely.
Curtis, who shared that he was reading my book while relaxing on a beach in Turkey, also noted…
Brilliant as always David—made me laugh aloud, and yet a real reflection lies hidden behind the puns. Like your book hidden behind the orange and OJ. Excellent - that's for making me laugh today.
Life is like that. In the fun, there is deeper meaning, and in the deepest moments, there is joy and fun. That is how I like to share ideas as well. So glad this hit home for Federica and Curtis, and I hope all of you.
Quote I’m Pondering
This thought is from artist Tyrus Wong1…
“I love to paint. Anything else, I’m no good at all.”
Tyrus Wong (1910–2016) is perhaps best known for shaping the visual style of Disney’s Bambi (1942). He also contributed to classic films at Warner Bros., designed greeting cards for Hallmark, and created remarkable kites and ceramics.
Overcoming early hardships as an immigrant, he became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, leaving a lasting impact on both fine art and popular culture. All from finding out he liked to draw and paint, and not much else.
Final Thoughts:
Expectations versus dreams. Demands versus gifts of grace. I’ll take the ones that give me the most opportunities to experience the good kind of shivers.
Quest well!
PBS. American Masters: Tyrus. Season 31, episode 2. Directed by Pamela Tom. Aired September 8, 2017. New York: WNET, 2017
Savor those brief moments, because we cannot expect more of the same will come. Only new ones from the dreams we've added.
Be open to transformative change and dreams! Most importantly as it is Sunday going to Catholic Mass to hear the Word and receive Jesus is life itself!