Australian Time Perceptions

For a Californian, staying in Sydney is like living in the future. As I write this, it’s well past midday on January 2nd, but still the evening of the 1st back home. When I FaceTime with friends and family on the West Coast, they’re always a day behind. They haven’t experienced the day I’m living yet! It’s pretty wild, and makes you really think about time and the reality of living on a gigantic sphere. As they say, time is relative. What’s today for me might be tomorrow for you. 

This seems especially relevant at this time of year; we reflect on 2019 with nostalgia and rumination. Sometimes a friend’s birthday in March seems more recent than an election in September—our memories and perceptions are subjective and determinant on the meaning we attribute to them. Maybe we’re surprised with how much progress we’ve made on a goal, or startled when we realize how long a particular project took. When we look back on the past year, it’s all relative.

Which thus brings us to the most important quality we can focus on when trying to achieve change: consistency. Those who lost weight in 2019 did so by working at it every single day. People who did well at work weren’t smarter or more privileged or lucky—they consistently worked hard throughout the year. Whatever our goals are for 2020 and beyond, if we want to accomplish them, we must chip away at them consistently. Because when we look back on them a year later, time will warp our conception of the effort involved, of the struggles we pushed through, of the tedious slog we endured. It will all seem different.

We can better ourselves and our world in 2020. We just can’t let our limited sense of time detract from our desires. It only takes resolve, and some consistency. We can change the world.

The Dawn of a New Age

There’s something significant about the first day of the first month of a new year. One-one inclines us to start fresh. It just naturally feels like a clean slate; a new chance, a new opportunity for building and growth. It’s understandable that people make new year’s resolutions and begin them today with gusto.

As I wrote yesterday, people all around the world celebrate the new year. Pretty much everyone has some semblance of this tradition of starting anew. I think it’s the perfect juncture to look at the world as a whole. We can all work on bettering ourselves for 2020, but we can also work on bettering our world.

In 2020 we can reduce, reuse, and recycle throughout the entire year. We can vote in every election, and stay informed about politics and the economy, and have constructive conversations with other citizens about important issues. We can donate our time and our money to causes we believe in. We can be aware of our paradigms and how we view other people. What if 2020 is the year the world came together? What if it’s the year we achieve global consciousness? The recognition that we’re all the same, the year humanity unites? Would that make 2020 a memorable year?

I enjoy seeing people’s resolutions, hearing about their growth over the past year or decade. Everyone has goals. It fills me with that warm fuzzy feeling, that everyone is trying, and we’re all together. But can we shift our perspective a little? Can we do more? Can we work on ourselves and our world? I’ve written about a few of the simple things we can do, every single human being, to make our world better. They might not always be easy, the might sometimes require great effort, but they are simple. 

In 2020 we can think critically about the facts and affairs in the political, economic, and social arenas...and we can think critically about our own beliefs. We can stay informed. We can consistently have conversations with others about what’s important. We can be kind to each other, and considerate of others. We can work hard at whatever it is we do because it supports and adds value to the global system we’ve created. We can be good to each other. 

Let’s make 2020 the year the world changed. Let’s make it the turning point, that first year it all began. Let’s think globally. Let's unite as humans. Let’s inspire change for the years and generations that follow. 2020. A new year, a new decade, a new Earth. Here we go.

New Year’s Celebration

New Year’s Eve is always a special feeling. It’s one big party that’s pretty much celebrated everywhere around the world. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, or this or that country’s Independence Day, but everybody celebrates New Year’s. It’s a commemoration of one more year, of all the good things that have transpired over the past 365 days. And it’s an evening of hope. We all wish for a happy, healthy, prosperous year ahead. We all want good things for ourselves and those we love. To me it reinforces that we all want the same things, all across the globe. 

I’m thrilled to celebrate New Year’s in Sydney; it’s the perfect culmination to an amazing year spent traveling the world. In 2019 I got engaged to my partner, I visited 18 countries on all 7 continents, and I started TAV. What a year. I can’t wait for 2020, for all the surprises and all the good things to come. Here’s to your 2020 being just as spectacular. Cheers. 

The Path of Critical Thinking

When you really boil it down, what is “critical thinking?” It’s to think deeply about facts, and to consider other possibilities. Thinking critically is basically to remain open. To take in new information and weigh it in your mind. “Critical thinking” is often a buzzword in education—we want our students and our children to ‘think critically.’ We want them to consider new information and new ideas, to review the facts of a situation before determining the best solution. Funny, as that’s not what we adults do in our current culture. You don’t see too many Congress members publicly displaying critical thinking. We need to practice what we preach, and it all starts with being open. I’ve written before about the importance of openness, about being considerate. When you really boil it down, these are all the same things, they’re all related. And as ‘easy’ as they are, at times they prove incredibly difficult—just think back to your last political conversation. But these principles, these habits, these actions all make an enormous impact. If we remain open, if we are considerate towards others, and if we think critically about new information, we will build a more conscious world. A better world. We raise our global consciousness and start down the path toward uniting humanity.

Humble Life

I’ve gone back and forth with including the word ‘humble’ in my morning saying. I don’t want my saying to be too long—it’s supposed to set my framework for the day, not serve as a speech—and I always want to focus on the absolutely most important concepts with regards to how I approach life. My saying helps me set a paradigm for living my life, so I want to focus on the critical. After a few weeks without it, it’s time to put ‘humble’ back in.

I believe no one human being is any more important or significant than any other, and that in order to coexist and prosper, it’s crucial we remember that. Maintaining a humble mindset also makes it easier to be kind and considerate to others. When you don’t think you’re better than anyone else, you treat everyone with respect, including yourself. Humbleness enables us to act righteously. Finally, on the greatest scale, being humble means you understand that you’re one single life-form on a hunk of rock floating in the great void. It helps you put your existence into perspective.

If we remind ourselves of our incredibly privileged circumstances (we’re alive, on this amazing planet in the ‘modern’ year of 2019) and our true status (we’re one of 7.5 billion people in the world), it’s easier to be better people. We’ll treat each other better, and that’s the first step towards bettering our world for all. Be humble.

Suburb Ornithology Repercussions

Sydney is hot. I think it was 104 today. But walks around dusk are very pleasant. I did some of my first wildlife viewing as well, albeit in the suburbs: Australian magpie, Sulphur-crested cockatoo, Masked lapwig were all easily spotted. Some pretty exotic birds, seen in people’s yards and on footpaths between streets. It’s as if my simple walk was prepping me for the strangeness on this continent. I’m staying in the burbs, but the insects and spiders and birds are fantastic, numerous, and outlandish. It’s like I’m living in a normal house in a normal neighborhood, but it’s flipped upside down. I’m definitely sampling the different pages of the book. And I’m only in the suburbs, I have yet to visit any of Sydney’s iconic sights. But when you’re surrounded by peaceful stillness, you can pick up a lot. It’s all apparent here: it’s a crazy world. How lucky we are. I want to see as much of it as I can. 

Seeking Truth & Having "those" conversations

I struggled with reading the news today. You see the US impeachment process dragging out with both sides digging into their positions and ruthlessly lashing out at each other, providing the example for American citizens to follow. You see the bushfires in Australia, where I’m currently staying, and the havoc and despair they’ve caused. You see the continued violence in Hong Kong, where I just was, and try to make sense of it despite all the lack of or misinformation. Reading these things felt very real to me because I’ve recently spent time in these places.

Consuming the news can quickly become depressing. Sometimes you might wonder, “what can I do?” You can start with yourself. You can stay informed of the facts the best you can and have conscientious, constructive conversations with other people about what’s happening in the world. You can spread positivity to the humans around you—a quick glance at a newspaper shows we need it. You can focus on you, on being the best version of yourself possible. After all that, you can get directly involved: look up local organizations that are working on the issues you care about and donate your time to the cause most important to you.

I can feel you rolling your eyes. Some people say those things are too insubstantial, that they won’t make any difference. Staying informed and having conversations with people? Being positive? What good will that do? My response: have you tried it? It’s difficult. As I wrote above, sticking with the news isn’t fun. There’s so much negativity in our media and our political systems; it requires a certain kind of perseverance to stay informed week after week, month after month. Even harder is having open, balanced conversations with people about our social, political, and economic problems. How many times has a conversation with a friend or relative devolved into a heated argument or hotly contested shouting match? It’s hard to listen to someone defending something you vehemently disagree with. It’s as Andrew Shepherd says in The American President: 

“America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, ‘You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.’ You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.”

Ignoring the flag burning debate, the rest of that quote sums up how hard it is to talk about important issues with people on the other ‘side.’ So yes, it’s hard to have conversations with people about our species’ problems, and in order to have those conversations you need to remain an informed global citizen, which requires a staunch refusal to give in to negativity. Of course it’s easier said than done.

But if these things are done? Then we have literally billions of people who seek the truth of what’s going on in the world, billions of people who try to understand, who try to learn from each other, billions of people who remain open and think critically about what is best for humankind, billions of people who do good in the world daily. If every adult on this planet does that, change can be achieved.

I believe we are on our way there. It doesn’t look like it right now, but I believe the current economic and political climate is forcing us to choose: we can give in and give up and let our world collapse into chaos. Or we can refuse. We can seek to understand what is happening, and talk about what the best solutions are. We can do what’s right every single day. We can rise up. We can unite. The stakes could not be higher. What will we do?

Boxing Day Down Under

Australia is a strange place to me, much like South Africa when I first visited. Things are done a bit differently, not so drastically that it feels like an entirely distinct culture, but ever so slightly that it feels a bit foreign. I feel like a foreigner in a foreign land. Everyone talks different, and home feels a long way away. It’s fun. Located in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s summer Down Under. People are enjoying their time off in the sun, taking advantage of Boxing Day sales, and going to the beach. It’s such a change from California up north. It’s brought to mind a quote I read not too long ago. Traveling to foreign places helps you appreciate how things are done differently in other countries and helps you realize that that’s okay. The world is diverse and there’s no right way to do everything. As my Momma used to tell me growing up, “it’s good people are different, otherwise the world would be really boring.” I’m not sure why but Australia provokes these thoughts and feelings out of me. Maybe it’s the uber-efficient train system, or the peculiar accents. I guess I really am on the flip side. What a big beautiful amazing world.

Christmas in Hong Kong

Traveling on Christmas is a first for me. And it was interesting being in Hong Kong for the day, where the holiday is not widely celebrated.

What a change from Africa. Hong Kong is, in no particular order: efficient, vertical, crowded, reserved, futuristic, soft spoken, efficient, and divided. Did I mention Hong Kong is efficient? Definitely a surreal experience “celebrating” the most important festival from my culture, but utterly lacking in the most important thing, which only needs one word.

Family. To me Christmas is about family. I was never allowed to hang out with friends or anyone else on Christmas, because it was a day dedicated to family. Yes there’s the gifts and (thankfully not in my family) the singing and the (definitely in my family) drinking, but it all comes down to being with family. 

I FaceTimed with mine today and was overjoyed to see their faces, but of course it wasn’t the same. As our world becomes more connected and more centered around technology and innovation, I think it’s important to remember the old school stuff too, the original face time.

Christmas, in my culture and in my family, is the premier event for such. It’s now popular in our culture to bemoan the chore, the obligation, of seeing your family over the holidays, but don’t fall into that pitfall. Be thankful you have a family to go to. Many don’t. 

Bring your A game to the premier event and exult in that true face time. Christmas has remained a part of our culture for a long time, for many reasons, but the main one is because it delivers on what it promises, if you do the above: joy.

Continental Transitions

It’s off to a whole other world today. “Today” is kind of a loose term, as it will take about 45 hours of traveling to reach Australia. I’ve never been down under, and don’t know what to expect. At least the transfer originates in South Africa, so I imagine the transition will be as minimized as can be from Africa.

Making these long journeys really affirms how big the world truly is. In Sydney it will be back to the Pacific, but the other side. It will be a return to native English speakers—although I’m sure the accent will require some adjusting. And still, even taking these details into account, the fact remains it will be a long long way from home. 

I’ve had Christmas in South Africa before, I’ve had a few in China. I’ve never had Christmas on an airplane. When you travel and explore this big beautiful amazing world you experience new things. I can’t wait for the new, the strange, and the sublime of what lies ahead. Keep moving forward. 

Last Day of TIA

Today is my last in Africa, for how long I’m not sure. Perhaps not what you would envision, but for my last day I had a walk along the beach and enjoyed the stunning natural scenery. Africa is a sacred place. Maybe I’ll be able to put it into words more after I leave and it sinks in more, but there’s something special about this continent. It has its problems, just like everywhere else. But it also has something. It’s indescribable, at least for me right now when tasked with leaving. I will return again someday; it’s the same vow I made last time. The pull of Africa has me. There might not be a more apt phrase for any other place in the world: TIA - This is Africa. 

Gratitude for Christmas

Sometimes epiphanies simply reinforce prior revelations, and today I had such. Gratitude reigns supreme when you’re doing extended traveling. It helps put circumstances in perspective and contextualize the various parts of the world you visit.

I’ve been sitting on the impeachment news, hoping that with time I could analyze further and provide some type of coherent rhetoric about what’s happening. It’s been tough, and I never reached any semblance of the above.

Both sides are vehement in their crusade against the opposition, both drawing on the lack of historical precedence for the situation. It baffles me how one body of congress can be so divided and tell such drastically different stories. It doesn’t encourage, but basically forces the American public to view the impeachment from an extreme vantage point.

And I feel like many people are like me: we don’t know what to think.

So here’s my request for a Christmas miracle. Can we somehow reach out to each other? Can we empathize with others, can we think critically and conscientiously?

It’s unclear what’s to come of this. I’m grateful the United States at least has a solid enough system in place that ensures chaos doesn’t take over.

Maybe if we all go back to gratitude, if we use that as our frame of reference instead of incensed extremism, we can steady ourselves and move forward amicably and reasonably.

Perhaps that’s far-fetched, but I am on the other side of the world. And that’s my Christmas wish. We can overcome our differences, we can solve our problems, and we can unite across our shared principles and beliefs. Starting with gratitude will make it all the easier. 

The Mountain and the Sea

Table Mountain was voted one of the new 7 wonders of nature back in 2011, and although the list is highly controversial, I deem it worthy of such an honor. The mountain, stretching all the way back in its range to Cape Point, with the 12 Apostles hovering over the beach and Lion’s Head and Devil’s Peak framing it perfecting above the city of Cape Town, is nothing short of magnificent. I don’t blame the first European sailors for wanting to stop here; it must have been an alluring and mystical site. It is the bottom of the continent down here, but the geology and topography is simply sublime. It serves as a prime example of Earth being one big beautiful amazing world. 

Fine Distinctions

I did some wine tasting today and the combination of the beautiful scenery and the delicious libations reminded me of something my friend and I recently talked about. You have vigor and vitality and energy when you’re young. As you get older that diminishes. And I think that makes it easier for one to appreciate the subtleties, the fine distinctions of things. Our experiences change as we continue through this experience we call life. We change and it changes us. If looked at in the right life, it’s fascinating and beautiful. 

Amazing Life

I wrote a blog post a while back advocating the adoption of the phrase, “life is amazing.” Today for me was a reinforcement of that sentiment. You keep learning, you keep growing. You’re exposed to new places and new people. And it’s a fucking journey. It’s a satisfying truth. Embrace it and breath it in. 

It Matters

It’s heartening to know friendships truly matter. I met my friend today for the first time in more than 7 years. It was strange to see each other, but invigorating to catch up and spend time together. He reminded me why Cape Town is so special. South Africa is a rainbow country my friend. This is a unique place, and for what it’s worth, I would stay too.

Today reinforced something simple: what you say to people matters. The bonds you forge are strong and lasting. People remember. If we’re good to each other, we’ll positively impact each other, and we’ll meet again. Sometimes there’s no greater reward, because it strengthens our meaning in this world. What we do matters, so let’s do good.

Where water meets land

There are beaches on the cape and then there are beaches. It’s amazing how places as different as Zanzibar and Muizenberg can yield a similar pull. The ocean is the ocean, and the water meeting the land has the same powerful effect on the psyche.

The joke is that Germans love coming down to Cape Town because of the weather and the sun and the beaches. I can’t fault anyone who would do so; there’s a relaxed vibe and non humid conditions.

At the end of the day, the beach is. History and culture can influence and lean it a certain direction, but the base can’t be moved. You’re on the edge of earth, where it meets the ocean. I don’t think it matters who you are, how many years you have, where you hail from. All of that is insignificant to the power of the ocean. In more ways than one, it’s one big beautiful amazing world.

A View of Cape Town

Cape Town is a beautiful place. Nestled between the mountains and the sea, few other cities are built among such stunning geography. There’s so much history here as well; The Dutch, and then the British, had been coming around the continent since the 1600s. It’s all on display at Table View. You feel connected to the rest of the world here, despite being so far south on the end of the African continent. When I was in Ushuaia, on the tip of South America, it felt like the end of the world. Not so here in Cape Town. It feels like the bottom of the world, but there’s a robust connection to the rest of the planet, through culture, the news, and technology. South Africans have a pride in their place in the world. Although not the largest economy on the continent, South Africa is by far the most developed. It all makes for an interesting mix. People’s ancestry, the country’s political history, the incredible geology…Cape Town is a place of wonder. At once you can appreciate how unique the different parts of the world are, as well as the unity of the whole planet. Amazingly different as we are, we are one.

Flame for Thought

I remember studying effervescence in school, the social phenomenon of collective energy enveloping the whole. There are no better examples than the sports stadium. People yell and cheer in unison, and the energy takes on a mind of its own. Add flames into the mix, and you can’t get more rabid human emotion than that. If only we could build up this energy around things that matter. Imagine if we could harness it, if people became excited about political elections and climate change summits and economic conferences. If we had an engaged, motivated populace seeking everyday to live sustainably, to make the world better for our children. We must take from the stadium and use effervescence in the real arena: the world outside. 

Philadelphia

Out in the desert things are simple. The farmlands hold their own history, their own story. Philadelphia sees people when they come, and then quietly continues on. The old town, without judgement, peers warily and in bewilderment at the new town. Apart from the commute to town, the new town enjoys comfortable convenient living. And the roads keep going. Up and down the cape. From Table Mountain to Namibia. Philadelphia watches it go by and enjoys the solitude.