Valley Loop Trail

The sore feet are always worth it. The Valley offers some of the most spectacular hiking in North America, and the top trailheads are all within 10 miles of each other. 

It rained on and off throughout the day today, which meant the poncho went on and off, but it also meant few people. A bear sighting and lots of waterfall views later, there’s not too much to complain about. 

They say hiking or walking is good for the brain because it’s just enough stimulus to keep us interested while also being relaxing and tranquil. After the Valley Loop Trail today, I couldn’t agree more. 

Yosemite Arrival

Even after a hellish drive, arriving in Yosemite National Park never gets old. Even with night quickly consuming the walls of granite and shadow, the valley still evokes awe and wonder. 

There’s been a lot of backlash against California recently, as well as an exodus of people. But the state still has the best weather in the world, and some utterly spectacular scenery. 

Adventure abounds around every trail in Yosemite, but the meadows, the views... they offer peace. What an amazing park, an incredible state, and a wondrous world. 

Life with a Partner

There’s no doubt we are social creatures, and it feels natural to form an alliance with a partner. Life is easier and more meaningful when we spend it with someone special. 

Are we monogamous? I don’t know if we are, or if it matters. 

When we choose to be with someone, to live with someone, it changes our trajectory. What a beautiful life this can be. 

Relationships in Thought

Do you ever think about the concept of friends? It’s a significant social choice in our world, the internal commitment to a tribe that you choose. 

Fabulous that we’re in the position to consider such a relationship, but it’s nevertheless a decision we’re all tasked with. What alliances do we draw in this present moment?

We’re all not sure, but if anything there’s lots of evidence to suggest that the relationship itself is a starting point. Connection is a beginning, an opportunity to explore. 

One Step at a Time

I’ve been slowly getting back into running, and I feel it’s improved my mental health as much as anything physical. When you’re out for a jog, you exert yourself just the right amount to carry on a semi-coherent internal conversation. 

Mostly I work out my emotions, try to tell myself everything will be alright. Don’t we all need reassurance it’s all heading in the right direction?

Doubt and skepticism are certainly part of life, and necessary for survival. But I’ve found the steady rhythm of one step after the other the best way to keep moving forward. 

Seeing Beyond What is Now

So much of reality is how we look at it, and it’s easy to have a warped view when wrapped up in the mainstream perspective. We’re encouraged and incentivized to value things less important than what can truly make the world better. 

This vigilance during the day can be the noble fight, without any grand gestures towards eureka. Sometimes remaining open in small circumstances can make all the difference. 

We’re capable of creating a harmonious civilization, of nurturing a sustainable ecology. We can integrate with the rest of the planet...if we want to see it. 

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?