In the Mind of Another

It’s incredible how different all our internal environments are. At this point in time, we still don’t fully understand what’s going on inside the head of any other human being.

Our knowledge gains in the realm of psychology can provide insight and direction to the causes and characteristics of our dispositions, but they serve as markers at best. The mind remains a mystery that we have yet to deeply comprehend.

Recognizing these limits, and how diverse each person’s perspective of reality can be, enables the closest we can achieve to a shared experience and a collective paradigm. When we ground ourselves within this reality, and consider another’s vantage point, we contribute to the betterment of our species and our world. 

Building Upon Us

I find myself in this cycle of discussion and reflection, and it’s encouraging. I declare this earnestly, with optimism. 

I genuinely believe we can substantially better our world through conscientious conversation and critical thinking. “We” meaning the ordinary working class, not the wealthy or those in power.

We inhabit a world with many problems, but also one in which change is possible. If we believe in our collective power and collective effort, reality is what we make of it. 

Starting Point

I was having a good talk with a friend today and we were discussing the concept of consideration. It was said that consideration is the action of empathy.

That might completely be the case, but I wonder now: is there an origin before empathy? Does perhaps awareness, or openness, precede the notion of empathy?

These concepts blend together, and in some ways we’re merely parsing words, but this line of thought does prove interesting. What is the singular conceptualization that leveraged will benefit us most as a species?

Planet Solace

I went to the mall today for the first time in years, which was a strange experience in and of itself. But I walked past a huge North Face poster of hikers in the mountains and it caught my eye. 

Many of us have not left our homes much since late 2019, let alone traveled to different parts of the world. Seeing such natural beauty depicted on that poster made me gush with affection for this wonderful planet we live on. 

The world is beautiful. It truly is, and despite everything that’s going on right now, remembering that simple fact can bring solace. 

To Transform

It’s hard to remember how good we have it. On our most stressful days, there isn’t a reference to the suffering that others are experiencing. 

Easy to write and easy to read, but to actually embrace it on a daily basis—perhaps this is the most significant thing an “ordinary” person from a rich country can do. There are interrelated and complicated issues that affect the people of richer countries, but empathizing with the current situation around the globe helps ground our perspective. 

There is so much to be grateful for, if you’re reading this. It’s not easy to start from there, but it’s powerful, and it can transform reality as we know it. 

Seeing and Deciding

We evolved to live and work together in small groups, and in doing so we conquered the planet. But as time has gone on, our associations and communities have grown larger and more difficult to influence and control.

It can often feel like we have no agency now, within the largest collectives we identify with currently—nation states. Or how about on a planetary scale, with the whole of our species and its place amongst all the other forms of life?

It is the great charge of our generation to reckon with such thoughts, to understand and predict the ramifications of our associations, and to build a better future for those after. We are human, and we can be one, if we can see it and decide. 

Adjusting and Crafting

I’ve never subscribed to the maxim “you can sleep when you’re dead,” and find sleep incredibly important as I’ve gotten older, but it’s amazing how much you can adjust to circumstances. Getting up early becomes simple and easy if done consistently (which is of course the hard part initially).

We also adjust to our pace and work output in life; productivity breeds more productivity, and our brains become accustomed to idea creation and value contribution just like anything else. If we hold ourselves to high standards, after a while that benchmark doesn’t feel so lofty. 

It can work in the reverse, and it can also be applied to community and culture. We can make the world what we wish it to be—what type of life will our children inherit?

A Day for Them

Mother’s Day doesn’t seem to get a lot of cred: buy your mom some flowers, show up and spend the day with her. But it is actually a reason to celebrate one of the most important groups of people in the world. 

Imagining a world without mothers is asinine , it’s inconsiderable. I owe everything I am to my mother, and for the most part, every single other person does too. 

It might evoke Hallmark machinations but it’s a day that genuinely means something as well. Thank you Mom, and I love you. 

Conversations Build

Having political conversations with those you disagree with can be so valuable, because it increases your understanding of the issues and also broadens your perspective. Don’t get me wrong, it can be difficult and I struggle with it, but when I’m able to do it, I always feel I benefit. 

Chances are, I don’t have all the answers, and hearing from others will only improve my knowledge and understanding. When we listen to each other, we can better appreciate individual paradigms and then cultivate collective progress. 

We are all very different, and yet we all want the same things: health, time and happiness, for ourselves and our loved ones. Through one conversation at a time, we can build a world where that’s possible for everyone. 

Life and Intelligence

I had a thought while driving today about our perceived intelligence superiority. We consider ourselves the smartest species on this planet, in large part because of the shiny objects we covet. 

But when passing by a tree I thought: at the end of it all, we propagate and pass on to the next generation. What other living thing on Earth does not do that?

Sure, we also have developed the ability to improve our living conditions during our lifespan, and very few other organisms have shown the ability to do so. But in the grand scheme, we do what every other living thing does; we are more interconnected with all other life on this planet than we know. 

Global Cooperation Example

The willingness of the United States and European Union to lift IP patents for the coronavirus vaccines is a welcome surprise. We may not be ready to dissolve our nation states, but these announcements demonstrate an understanding that all of humanity resides in one place, not multiple. 

Solving our most pressing problems will require such globalist thinking, because much like the coronavirus, they do not adhere to our perceived borders. The sea will not rise in one place and remain the same in another simply due to jurisdiction.

Organization as a species is the key to our success and survival. Looking back far enough into the past, we are all descendants of the same common ancestors... will we be good stewards of this planet for future generations?

Reeling in Perspective

Life has been pretty hectic for me lately, and the craziness has made the big picture ever more elusive. When we have a lot going on, world peace and climate change can seem so far removed from our individual reality.

The way we organize will determine the fate of our species, and optimizing it is a very tall task, and a complex one. Me, you, or anyone else isn’t going to fix the world’s problem overnight, especially when life is putting you through it—like in a global pandemic. 

But we can each do a little bit: we can be kind and considerate to one another, and we can be conscientious of our lifestyle choices. If we all do a little every day, and keep in mind that we all want the same things, that we all live on the same planet... that big picture becomes clearer and closer. 

Post Pandemic Perspective

A promising summer is ahead of us and we have much to be grateful for. We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’ve made substantial progress this past year. 

Tragedy has struck so many families, but the pandemic has also accelerated medical and technological innovation, and forced us to work together across borders. Greed and bureaucracy and xenophobia have certainly hindered us at points, but we’ve also demonstrated great determination and empathy. 

There can be both, there can be nuance; room for improvement and cause for celebration. Do we look at it with balanced perspective?

Always Forward

Life can change very quickly. That’s part of what makes it so worth living. 

There are factors outside our control, and I struggle with them often, but I’ve been learning: you handle yourself, and that’s really it. Good things and bad things both come, and we have to take them in stride, for what’s the alternative?

We keep moving forward; it’s our biology, in our DNA, to keep going. The million dollar question is, where will life take us?

Love and Support

It’s amazing how fast life can change, and it seems it goes the fastest when you’re least expecting it. I don’t know if it ever gets easier to roll with it; it might be a journey every time. 

I’ve been fortunate to have an incredible support system throughout the big things in life, and I can’t imagine facing them without my loved ones. We are social creatures and we all love—life makes that clear. 

No matter how things turn out, if we have that community, it will be okay. I’ve learned that as I’ve grown, and I strive to offer the same support to my tribe. 

Phone Conundrum

It’s so simple, and yet so difficult, to put the phone down and focus on what matters in your life. We all have different interests and passions, ways in which we want to contribute to the world, and the computer in our hand is hindering us. 

Our phones are incredible tools that enable us to access the world’s database of information, but they are not programmed to facilitate our lives in the way we see fit. They are designed to ping us, to hold our attention, to maintain a near constant use, simply so they can be sold.

We will do better if we turn off the notifications and conscientiously utilize our devices’ capabilities while being wary of their pull. Telecommunications and social media and apps and widgets can enhance our collective experience—is that how we are using them?

Common Guiding Light

We are all in this together, and in the most important way, we all want the same thing. Every human being alive, no matter their country or culture, wants to be happy, wants to be free, and wants to be healthy.

It’s easy to get away from that, to get wrapped up in the smaller, less important differences between us: gender identity, or skin or hair or eye color, or likes and dislikes. But if we look at it from this broader perspective, it becomes easy to see us as one global species living on one beautiful planet.

Circumstances may be dire, now or in the future, but it’s uplifting to realize that our universal desires, our most significant similarities, will not change or diverge. We are one people, diverse and beautiful; we are human. 

The Travel Bug

Do you have the bug? How long is it supposed to take post-trip to start dreaming about the next one?

I sometimes wonder if humans will become more nomadic again in the future. With surplus, sustainability, automation, and a more welcoming world, wouldn’t people want to move around and explore?

I’ve written many posts about the benefits of traveling. At the core though, it starts with an urge to explore and discover the unknown. 

Earth Organization

Even with how boring politics has become again, there’s still a lot going on. Important decisions are being made (and criticized by the news cycle) that significantly affect the world. 

How much are we tuned into it? How much do we need to be?

The sooner we can collectively answer these questions, and the sooner we can develop a healthy global information system, the sooner we can heal as a species. Likely every single human being alive will live out their existence on this one beautiful rock... we’re in this together, whether we like it or not... so let’s do this, together. 

Bootstrap Up

Do you ever have those pull yourself up by your bootstraps moments that seem out of place with the reality you’ve been experiencing? Those moments of clarity that stay with you?

Part of life is to find the patterns in those instances and what they’re about. It’s been difficult to maintain any sort of normalcy during the pandemic, but maybe it’s one of those moments for our species. 

We have made the world better over time, for sure. But it’s also necessary to pull ourselves out of this funk—do we know the clarity of the moment?