Irish today, Human tomorrow

There is much ado about St. Patrick’s Day in the United States. Like many Americans, I have strong Irish heritage on both sides of my family, but I have never been to Ireland and can’t claim an understanding of “true” Irish culture. 

But for me this day provokes thoughts about diversity and inclusion within our greater human culture. Embracing the relatively small differences between us in a positive way leads to an appreciation for how incredible it is to live on this planet.

We can learn about, and we can celebrate, the different cultures around the world—it’s a valuable endeavor because it promotes larger perspective and exposure to what we don’t know. Let us cherish our differences and assimilate their combined value to improving our shared experience: the human condition. 

Time and This

I just consider my own regard toward the future and I wonder: does our presence (or lack thereof) establish our experience? Are we capable of jettisoning our obsession with time tracking and delving deeper into our biological roots?

Nothing is off the table in today’s technological world, and as average citizens we should remain abreast of that evolving understanding. We can choose to be a part of this. 

“This” being this interlocking ecological interdependence, on the grandest scale our species knows—Earth. We harmonize or face peril; let’s choose the former. 

Movement is Life

Movement is life. It seems it was a struggle for many people (myself included) throughout the beginning of the pandemic, but that as time dragged on, people have recognized the importance of staying active.

We are animals, born to run and jump and swim and climb and throw and bound. I've realized it's the quickest way for me to get out of any sort of funk, be it physical, mental, or emotional.

And it feels natural, like I'm returning to the purpose of living. Life is physical and the Earth has amazing, diverse terrain--we're meant to experience it and explore!

What’s Important

There are many big decisions to make in life, but one of the most important is choosing who you will spend your time with. None of us know how much time we have, but we can at least choose our company. 

As we reflect on the impact of the pandemic and try to identify silver linings, time has become stranger. Hopefully those we love have not become the same.

Our resources on this earth and in this life are precious. We should be sure of them. 

Task One

Our ability to organize beyond our tribal biology will determine our collective fate. We have evolved to thrive in small groups that develop deep trust and rally around protection from “the other,” but we no longer live in such a world. 

Our technology and population demographics have eclipsed such an operating system, even making it detrimental to our collective success. We must now look beyond the horizon that defines our physical boundaries, for there no longer is an edge; we inhabit a floating sphere. 

How we balance an embrace of all our diverse subcultures while still evoking a global identity across our species—that’s our most important task moving forward. It will either hinder, or enable, us to solve the many problems we face. 

Human Paradigm

Every generation of humans has thought itself special, and in a sense, it’s true. But it’s clear that change is accelerating because of the exponential growth of technology and our now global interconnectivity.

We live in a dynamic, synergistic world, and the consequences of our actions are not always clear. What is clear: the acts of one group can affect the rest of the planet. 

For our species to thrive into the future and realize its full potential, we must adopt a one world paradigm. There may be subgroups, but they are insignificant compared to the overall one group that exists—to be human. 

Current Collective Timing

We’re all itching to get back to the semblance of normal that resonates with us. It’s close, you can feel it. 

There’s a little more excitement within your bubble, and you anticipate mass vaccination and dreams of normalcy. We just have to hold on a little bit longer. 

When we look back, this time will be a defining moment in our collective and individual histories. Will we look back retroactively and persist, or will we continue to grow?

Progress and Life

The primary tenet of this blog is to recognize that life is amazing and to celebrate it. Sometimes I focus on our biggest problems because I think it’s valuable to promote thinking about them, but in the end, there is so much good and beauty in our world.

We exist in a universe abundant with phenomena like gravity and magnetism, a floating soup with the necessary ingredients to create the just so right conditions for a fascinating blue marble. On this wondrous planet that we inhabit there are volcanoes and sea slugs and cryptocurrency; kindness and love abound everywhere. 

Life is beautiful. Let us not forget this most simple reality as we push forward on the path of progress. 

Balance Catch-22

Life can be such a delicate balance between looking toward the future and not looking—being present. No matter how smart or accomplished someone is or how much progress we collectively achieve, you still gotta enjoy it—otherwise what’s the point?

It seems many people lean heavily in one direction: the movie caricature of the ever-calculating business tycoon whose personal life is in shambles, or the typical ambition-less partygoer who enjoys but contributes no value. I struggle with maintaining balance myself and sometimes swing heavily to one side or the other.

But if we are to sustain progress and actually revel in that progress, we must strive for balance, and remind each other to push it or ease up. As it’s said, there is a time for rest... but we also must walk the path. 

Mind Power

How incredible is the human mind, that it can be engrossed in its own processing of information for hours upon looking at a small papered rectangle or watching a large electronic rectangle. And now an advanced handheld rectangle, the cell phone, can simultaneously function as both at any given moment for the user’s convenience.

Our species created the systems for harnessing our mind’s ability to think and imagine centuries ago, but we now live in a saturated world in which virtually every human being can participate in the exchange of ideas. Do we choose to apply this power purely for consumption and entertainment purposes, or do we want to apply it to something greater?

We view ourselves as different, and our capacity to think, to escape the present, to imagine the future and reflect on the past, is perhaps the biggest separator. We just have to avoid the rabbit hole, and channel this collective ability according to its original biological intention: living, connecting, and thriving. 

Eternal Sunrise

I used to say you haven’t visited a place until you’ve experienced a sunrise and a sunset there. The former is often overlooked or sacrificed for nighttime adventures.

This morning reminded me to not make such a mistake, that sunrise is a unique phenomenon every single day, and that practically every human who has walked this Earth has witnessed one. It’s an event that we can share across time and space throughout the lineage of our species.

Each new day begins with a communion with the sun. We may not understand eternity, but we can grasp the connection that a sunrise offers to all of us. 

Backyard Spectacle

In exploring Redding today while visiting family, I realized how important it can be to travel to “ordinary” places as well as spectacular. Not that the surrounding nature here isn’t sublime—it is—but we often forget to discover what’s beyond our own backyard. 

When I look in on a new place, I try to find the pulse of the environment and the culture of any people living there. What’s the pace of life, and what are the sunrises and sunsets like?

Being in Redding today has reinforced the majesty of the Earth, but also validated the education that traveling brings. Experience adds new dimensions to our perspective, and travel provides unrepeatable ventures into the new and spectacular. 

Surrendering to Wonder

While enjoying my coffee this morning I read an article my Dad sent me about the last Northern White rhinos on Earth, and besides getting me emotional, it also continued the train of thought I’ve been riding the past few days. One that has only vindicated my strongest of beliefs: we inhabit the most magnificent planet known to exist, and it’s past time we recognize it.

Just spend 15 seconds considering how strange and wonderful rhinos are. What fascinating creatures, amongst the billions of others, that populate this wondrous rock we’re blessed to call home.

We have yet to collectively realize the most important epiphany to our species, and it’s quite simple really: life is literally amazing, and the miracle of its existence in this very special place in space is sacred. Act accordingly. 

Pandemic Education

We proclaim education as important, that schools need to be opened as soon and safely as possible. Yet what percentage of teachers are currently vaccinated?

Our organizational abilities have been in the spotlight throughout this pandemic. Without control groups, we are otherwise seeing a species study playing out in real time. 

Education ensures progress from generation to generation. If there’s one thing to learn from all this, it can be epitomized in this most ancient and critical act, the passing down of knowledge and values to the future. 

Earth Reckoning

Earth is the only habitable planet in the galaxy, perhaps the universe, as far as we know. Can we afford to be so cavalier with our only viable home—the only one known?

I get lost in the shuffle as often as anyone else, but I can’t help but marvel at our collective hubris, our lack of awareness. We are one part of a series of symbiotic mechanisms existing on this mass of rock in the void.

A reckoning with such realities would not only serve us well, but lead to greater synergy within this wondrous home. Are we awake?

Predicament to Path

What a strange predicament we find ourselves in. Our technological prowess grows exponentially, but our ability to organize diminishes. 

We are animals that need to organize; we’ve done that for the absolute entirety of our species’ history. We’ve always been social. 

In an increasingly glocal world, we need to decide: who are we, and who do we want to be? That’s not the solution, that is the path. 

March Questions

How is it already March? What a time warp we’re living in. Our technological capability continually accelerates, but what of our consciousness? There are many forms of progress, innovation being just one. Enlightenment may not dazzle, but its quiet profound abounds. It can start with simple questions: what would the world be like if everyone behaved this way? What small thing can I do consistently to improve the world? Who are we? 

The “Outside World”

Being locked down this past year has reinforced how important nature is to me. I know there are many people who are perfectly happy being inside, and that's totally fine, but I'm not one of them. Shelter is integral to our safety and well being, but ultimately that's all it is: shelter. It's a temporary reprieve from the elements, not a fortress against the "outside world." For millennia our species has had to find food in the natural world, and we've thus evolved to integrate with the Earth. Of course there's danger and risk inherent in roaming the land, but there's also connection. I feel a deep pull, a strong grounding to the Earth, when I am immersed amongst the trees and the insects and the wind. The world is much different now, but we must remember where we came from. We are animals after all. What's more human than being one with the surrounding environment and living in connection with the Earth?

Saying I love you

Perhaps what’s so stressful about the world right now is the illumination of how finite we are. It’s going to end some day. But when I spend time, even virtually, with those I love, it reinforces the magnificence of that limitation. We don’t live forever, but we get to choose who we are with. How wonderful is it to enjoy good times with friends, to have heartfelt family moments? We may not have every opportunity right now, but at least we’re receiving the necessary perspective of how important and valuable that experience is. Our choices in company, perhaps inadvertently, say “I love you. I’m choosing to spend the limited time that I have with you.” There’s a beauty in that, even if it doesn’t continue into eternity. Just something to ponder, as we construct our bubbles and decide our courses. It’s an amazing experience to be human. 

Time, Changes, and Lessons

Do you ever feel like a different person than a year ago, even a week ago? I feel like we have been changing so much, learning so much, since the start of the pandemic. Just think of people’s mindset and perspective back in March of last year—many thought quarantine would last a few weeks, a couple months at most. Here we are almost a year later, and we’ve struggled with the lingering isolation, adapted and changed. How crazy is it going to be when things return to some semblance of normalcy? Do we remember how to interact within large groups, how to mingle at unfamiliar gatherings, how to sit in traffic? There have to be so many implications that are still unknown to us. In a sense, time has become meaningless and perspective impossible to maintain. Are we noting the lessons we’re learning? Will we pass them on to those who come after? I sure as hell hope so, because this has been one crazy ride.