We can change the world.
Downtown Dallas this morning
Different state, different lifestyle. It truly is a different living in other parts of the country, and that’s part of what makes America great. If we can remember to be the United States, we can genuinely accomplish anything—just look at some of the past. Differences in ways of living don’t have to be unity death sentences. If we start to view ourselves as one, we can influence the rest of the world, and then anything is really achievable.
Locals enjoying Boxing Day outdoors in Dallas, Texas
Travel is just different now. Our infrastructure wasn’t designed for a pandemic, and it shows on the plane and at one’s destination. In a way though, maybe it shows us how we can better improve our world and make it more accessible for all in any scenario. Besides, there’s still something fun about spending Boxing Day somewhere different that’s not your home. It’s one big beautiful amazing world out there.
Not July, but Christmas in a pandemic. Santa Clara, 2020
I think for the first time ever, I had to do a quick grocery store run on Christmas morning. There was no one on the roads, and it made me so happy. People are with their families. Hopefully in smaller groups and within bubbles, but it reinforced to me how incredibly significant this holiday is to Americans. I am not religious, but Christmas has always been the most important day of the year. It’s a day to gather with those we love, to fend off the darkness of winter, and to rejoice in the grace we are privileged to each and every day. Like most things in 2020, this Christmas is different. But because of its differences, it’s all the more powerful. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it.
Some passerby peaks upon entering Torres del Paine, March 2019”
‘Twas Christmas Eve, and we all are a’thinking... what the fuck. Sorry to be so vulgar, but the privileged few of us who can complain about a lack of ceremony this year can only remake on how different this year’s festivities truly are. And yet... do we spend them with our most loved ones? Perhaps we don’t, and that reinforces the need for our tribe. Or maybe we do, and it fortified our familial bonds. Whatever our association with the holidays this year, it’s bound to be different, much like the past 12 months. What do we decide to do, once we reach this conclusion? Do we invigorate our common cause? We are no longer sleeping, we are no longer the mouse... Let’s rise up and create a better world for our children.
The peaceful Esplanade Lagoon in Cairns, Australia
One of the biggest takeaways from this year is our collective realization that uncertainty and fragility are a part of life. We can set all the time schedules we want, we can proliferate magical technology across the globe, and we can fall in love with our soft comfort, but none of it will dent the inevitability of life. This collective realization, whether experienced consciously or not, has been uncomfortable. It has illuminated the deep discrepancies between populations. It’s forced us, whether we wanted to or not, to reflect on the finality of life. But most of all, it’s revealed the importance of the loved ones in our lives, and for that I’m grateful.
Works of art exhibit joy. Saint Peter’s Basilica, 2019
Do you remember the feeling of Christmas almost being here when you were a child? The anticipation, the excitement? Just the deep intuition that what’s to come will be special?
That feeling, that emotion, is almost ever present in children: joy. The proper question for all of us to ask ourselves is... what brings us joy? Whatever the answer for any of us, it’s something that builds, not detracts, and that is our contribution to the rest of the world.
Sunset from Lion’s Head in Cape Town, December 2011
Today marks the Winter Solstice and the beginning of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere. What a weird winter it will be. Walks are still modified to distance from any passerby. We shelter in our homes not due to the cold and the elements but because of a novel virus that has entered our world. Holidays will look different this year, perhaps unlike any we have ever experienced in our civilization's history. The world, in many ways, is strange and different this winter. Maybe we can use this demarcation event today to pledge a commitment to kindness and fortitude. Resilience is necessary every winter and has been encoded in our DNA for hundreds of thousands of years. This year however, we brave the most treacherous season for different reasons. Let us remember to be kind to one another, that we are all human, and let us remember the big picture, when faced with the inevitable difficult decisions that await us. Such resolve will enable us to not merely survive the longest night of the year, but also remind us of the coming dawn.
There are a lot of penguins on this small wondrous world
We are Terran. There isn’t a single one of us who isn’t. When we start from there, it becomes easier. Earth seems a bit less vast and a little bit more singular. It’s a small world after all. What could we accomplish, if we began with that principle?
Bicycle against a wall, Beijing 2014
Do you feel wiser than yesterday? Do you ever think that Italians understand la dolce vita more so than other cultures? Everyday we grow, in one way or another, and it’s completely up to us which direction. With the restrictions in many places now as we look forward to Christmas next week, are we prioritizing simple meals with family? As the wisdom expands, let us not look back with regret, but forward at possibility.
To someone out there, this land is their existence. Alviso, California
I came across the term “tax exile” in my reading and stopped to look it up. I could infer its meaning, but was curious and referenced it on Wikipedia. Scanning the article, through the basics of its meaning and implications to the various legal definitions by nation state, a thought struck me. I considered the scenario if I became a tax exile to the United States. It would mean I could never return home for the rest of my life. What a shuddering thought.
We are tied to the land we come from. Even now, in the age of global exploration at the individual level, we are still bound to the blood of the land of which we are born. We are anchored to the terra firma on which we grow up. This land is your land, this land is my land.
Can we still coexist? Absolutely, we’re a mobile species and have that biological architecture, and more importantly, we must. No matter whatever recent samples from asteroids or the Moon, this is the only rock we’ve got. This is the critical moment in our civilization’s timeline. What next?
Ocean sunsets in the Galapagos are thought-provoking and inspiring
When I skate around the edges of the political zeitgeist rink with colleagues or friends, it’s clear many people want a “return to normal.” This year is an abnormal year—pandemics only come around every 70-100 years or so, after all. The surreal circumstances of the year have highlighted the built up incompetence and corruption of our government though, and a return to “how it was before” would only be a resurrection of the opaque facade from which our political system masqueraded behind. To achieve true representation for all Americans, we cannot passively wait for this to pass, to merely languish until tomorrow. We must demand change, and act on our deepest convictions, of which the vast majority of us actually agree. Freedom, equality, and justice are there for the taking, if we want them. But they must indeed be taken.
Waverley Cemetery on a smokey day in Sydney, Australia
As I considered my goals for the upcoming year, I realized they shouldn’t only be about myself. Given the hardship so many have faced this year and the current political landscape, it seems not just prudent but necessary to think of us as a whole. This has proven to be a frustrating year politically, no matter what “side” you’re on. It’s important for us to remember it is our responsibility as citizens to demand representation in our government. Whether it’s writing our representative, staying more informed, or donating our time, if we each resolve to be more active citizens in 2021 we can create a better community as a country.
Every different view yields different scenery at the Plaza de España in Sevilla
The days get darker earlier and earlier--but there's some good in everything, right? I just had my 'afternoon walk' and it was completely dark. So I got to experience one of those typical scenes in Christmas scenes in movies in which a character drives or walks through a neighborhood and sees the different decorations and each house's Christmas tree in the window. You know, à la Tim Allen on his way home after braving the "traffic" in The Santa Clause. Or Jimmy Stewart admiring the small town beauty of Bedford Falls in It's A Wonderful Life. It was peaceful and enabled me to clear my head a bit ( the cold air helped in that regard quite a bit). Much like everyone else, I can't stop reflecting on this year. It's been hard for everybody, and one way or another, different. It's given us an opportunity to glimpse what was the status quo, and we now have the opportunity to change it. We also have tangible evidence that the world is truly beautiful. We long for its natural beauty from being stuck inside for so long. And 2020 has shown that most people are good. Most people do the right thing, and will step up for others. We see that with our selfless healthcare workers, our educators, and everyone working essential jobs. We have much to be grateful for, much to be eager to return to, and much to want to improve. It's a big beautiful amazing world out there; if you need a reminder, take a walk.
2020 has us be like..
Transitions warp time, making it either flow faster or slower. I try to keep abreast of that fact when working through them. In a way, 2020 has been a microcosm of transition. The question is: what’s it going to look like on the other side?
This life is something powerful beyond what we know
The hell with “international” perspective. Something as simple as your loved ones being involved in a car accident can flip the switch immediately. We enjoy such a precious gift; this experience, this reality we call life. This year hasn’t been the best, but we’re still here breathing, we’re still here living. From that perspective, that’s all that matters, and that’s all the motivation we need for hope and belief moving forward.
A friend’s monastery near Dege Tibet, where perspective abounds
I had the privilege and pleasure of talking with an international friend today. It made me feel grateful, not only for the wonderful technological capability an ordinary citizen like myself can enjoy on an everyday basis, but for the added perspective that diverse friendship can bring. There’s no question it’s been a really hard year, and that America has very serious political problems. But speaking with citizens of other countries around the world is enlightening; other countries have similar problems or ones of their own. As depressing as the situation in the United States can be sometimes, it’s important to remember we are not alone. There are significant challenges elsewhere. We can all address them, in our respective nation states. We can solve our problems, we can be better. We can change the world. It just takes work.
The beautiful American Southwest offers landscapes for introspection
If there’s one thing we’re being forced to come to terms with, whether we’re good at it or not, it’s living with uncertainty. I can tell you without hesitation, I’m not one of those people who are good at it. But we can’t always be in control. Like it or not, life is uncertain. We have to be comfortable with the beautiful ambiguity that this experience offers. This experience being life, being alive. It’s an amazing roller coaster ride, and part of it involves letting go of the lap bar.
A panorama of the Mount Fitz Roy hiking trail summit, 2019
One of the categories on my todo app (I use Things, which I highly recommend) is "community." I realized today when creating a new todo and tagging it that I haven't used the "community" tag in a while. Do we even still view our communities as communities? Or have we moved to viewing our society on a larger level, all negative political and economic implications included? For me at least, when I think about my relationship with the world, I immediately go to the national level. I don't really consider my neighborhood, or my city or region. A lot of this seems to be due to the pandemic--most people don't go out very much anymore and rarely see their friends and neighbors, if at all. The affluent stay inside working remotely and watching Netflix, while the working class serve a community that isn't there. It's a bleak picture, and it appears to have happened without a lot of notice. But perhaps if we focus on community more, we can bring a sense of it back to where we live. After all, changing an aspect of one's community is presumedly a lot less daunting than mounting a campaign to change the nation, or the world. What if we all just tried to make our neighborhoods a little bit cleaner, a little friendlier, a little more understanding? Small tiny improvements, when implemented on a vast scale, can effect grand change. What small thing can you do to help your community?
Ushering in 2020 from the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Gosh it’s a tough world right now. That’s me as a tall, white, blonde-haired blue-eyed, heterosexual American male living in California saying that. I get it’s tough on everybody right now. It’s hard to know what to think, let alone do. My thoughts today are: keep faith in our ability to figure this out, and do what we can to make it the best we can. We can beat this virus, we can overcome our differences. We can change the world.
A view of the magnificent Umbrian countryside from Spoleto, August 2019
A few weeks ago I deduced I was spending too much time on Facebook and Reddit and so decided I would refrain from visiting those sites until after Christmas. I randomly realized today that it’s been almost 3 weeks since then. Both have completely left my sphere of consciousness, in really not that much time. I have no urge to use either site, and my life has been devoid of their influence. I by no means possess exemplary willpower, so this phenomenon better eludicates how quickly our minds adapt to new circumstances. As I have been grappling with how best to declutter my brain moving forward by limiting screen time, this epiphany today has given me more confidence. It’s okay to put the phone down, to keep it in one room all day. Our psyche adjusts. Even locked up during lockdown this holiday season, we don’t need to consume information or entertainment every single second of the day. Will such a drastic change be easy? Certainly not. But if we do make a hard break, it’s amazing how quickly we acclimatize to our new normal. We enjoy effortless access to powerful tools—if we treat them just as that, we’ll lead enjoyable lives as well.