When Things Fall Apart | By Pema Chödrön | Issue 258 | The Sun Magazine

When Things Fall Apart

This selection is available to active subscribers only.

Already a subscriber? Sign in.

Correspondence

I was reading the June issue of The Sun in bed when I realized that the magazine wasn’t as warm as it used to be. The stories were still full of heart, but the magazine itself seemed cold. Then I read a sentence that caused me to pause and reflect, and I laid the open magazine across my chest. It was then I discovered the magazine really was cold; you had switched to a glossy paper. (Is Belle Matte Latin for “chilly paper”?) The Sun no longer felt like a warm flannel blanket, but a cold, slippery piece of ice ready to slide off my body. I began feeling hurt and angry about the switch.

Fortunately, I was reading Pema Chödrön’s “When Things Fall Apart” at the time, and was able to see the experience as a small but perfect lesson in breaking away from attachment. A vision crossed my mind of a touristy T-shirt I’d once seen: “Wisconsin — Cold Noses, Warm Hearts.” I immediately amended that to “The Sun — Cold Pages, Warm Hearts,” and I knew then that everything would be all right.

You can change your paper as often as you want, just don’t stop printing such warm and wonderful stories.

Vernon Stoltz Lorton, Virginia
More Letters
Free Trial Issue Are you ready for a closer look at The Sun?

Request a free trial, and we’ll mail you a print copy of this month’s issue. Plus you’ll get full online access — including 50 years of archives.
Request A Free Issue