We can change the world.
One of the many fascinating temples in Tongren, September 2014
Chances are if you’re reading this, life is pretty great. With the technology we enjoy in today’s world, there’s only so much we can complain about.
After a hard day’s work of manual labor, what do we return to? Cloth comforts and refrigerated sustenance, a monetary system that enables attainment of any desire at a moment’s notice.
We simple apes aren’t doing half bad. We should remember that, and hopefully it pushes us to strive for even better for all.
Walking the walk in Rio de Janeiro, January 2019
I laugh when I think of moving now compared to antiquity. For most of our species’ history, “moving” constituted walking to another place, potentially with some sort of sack or bag .
Today I lumbered up and down stairs carrying boxes of things, back and forth between two bigger boxes. I’m incredibly grateful for my fortune and for where I’m moving, but it was still comical to consider how different the world is that we live in now.
It’s a useful exercise for recognizing how good we have it. Things have become simple, or easy, but we can still experience the same significance as our ancestors long ago.
Walking through the wondrous Antelope Canyon in Arizona in February
We complain about work or the grind, and it’s especially noticeable after a trip or vacation. But after a day or two, we quickly slide back into our routine.
We are habitual creatures, and we also need some type of work, some type of difficult stimulation, in our lives. It helps us attribute meaning to our time here.
It also makes the relaxation or “free time” that much better. It’s our sorrows that make the joys that much more pronounced, and the work that provides balance to our freedom.
The dry and elevated beauty of the Atacama desert, April 2019
Gratitude is an exuberant feeling that rises the tide of all other emotions. When you recognize that whatever you’re experiencing or possessing is never automatic, it shifts how you feel about achieving it.
I often write about how social we are, that we require a tribe to ground us. There’s also the first time you experience a milestone, a feeling that only occurs once.
Establishing one’s home in the modern world is a milestone too few get to achieve. Home is your tribe, but it’s also where you feel safe, the land that is yours.
Two grey kangaroos warily peering back, Australia, January 2020
I was listening to a podcast the other day and they were talking about the lack of rites of passage in today’s society. With trying to buy my first property and getting married this month, I can respectfully disagree with that notion.
Our world is more diverse and connected than it’s ever been before, and our lives are definitely easier now than at any point in our history. Yet with all the diversity and innovation, loneliness and inequality seem to be running rampant around the world.
I guess the point is there will always be problems on this planet, and we will always need up to rise to the challenge. Sure we’ve inherited a more free and fair world; but maybe our rite of passage is to ensure it stays that way.
Saint Petersburg at sunset, September 2019
Memorial Day is a hard day for so many. I consider myself lucky for being so far removed from it.
Yet am I? Are any of us?
We enjoy freedoms because of the sacrifices of many before us. One day we’ll hopefully live without war and violence, but let us not forget the acts of valor that have shaped the world we can live in now.
Passing through Macau in 2016
And then there’s something about coming home. Traveling expands horizons, but there’s nothing like returning to your tribe.
We experience through visiting other places, but family is home. After exploring we want to come back to what’s familiar.
We are social creatures after all. Family is home.
Leaving the Bay Area on Thursday
Being on a trip with true friends just makes me grateful. Companionship doesn’t come cheap, it’s earned and something to be treasured.
We just take so much for granted. The simple things, like friendship, are the most important.
Where would we be without the trust and intimacy of our tribe? We are social creatures, and the connection drives us.
Sunset yesterday while enjoying food and drinks
Waking up to the beach amongst friends changes your perspective. Gosh it’s beautiful out there ya know?
There’s so much to say regarding friendship, but what words can provide justice?
We experience this reality, and company expands what’s possible. We are social creatures whose biology has evolved to work together.
Here in San Diego, with companions, enables a fuller picture. This is life, let’s live it!
The San Diego skyline on a different trip
With international travel still on hiatus, I’ve been doing a lot more shorter domestic trips, and it’s been great to visit different parts of the US. The country is diverse and vast, and there is so much to explore and learn.
This weekend I’ll be enjoying the weather and vibrancy of San Diego with close friends, and I couldn’t be more excited. Even the places we’ve been to many times offer different perspectives opportunities; each visit is a new experience.
Spending all one’s time in one corner of the world seems foolish. To travel—and to visit San Diego—is to truly live, to embrace all Earth has to offer.
Grainy capture of smoggy of 2nd ring road in Beijing at sunset, 2013
I arose to an epiphany today that I think would be good to incorporate into a morning routine: is there any reason this should not be the happiest day of my life? If we begin each day’s journey with such sentiment, what would the implications be?
I’ve recently written about how nature provides a sort of reset against our comfortably conditioned approach to living. What could the daily ritual of asking this question provide?
By all considerable circumstances, we live the lives of royalty in bygone eras. Why not, why cannot this very moment, be an embrace of the present and of life itself?
Basking in glow of Upper Yosemite Falls
The concept of humanism doesn’t get enough attention. Our current society is embroiled in more primitive conversations about identity, and while a step in the right direction, we don’t seem to be going deeper.
We exist in a fantastical universe beyond the scope of our imagination. We’ve been ushered into this complex, ever changing and dynamic world, and we try to make sense of it all.
We must appreciate sheer reality. Then we can empathize with others, and broach complicated topics with learning intention, and truly change the world.
On this Earth, how much can we possibly complain?
A nice meal with family is one of the greatest gifts we can enjoy during our time. How wonderful is it there is wine, and laughter, and good food and the luxury of company.
After camping in the “wilderness,” I seem to appreciate these fine distinctions of a good life. What else can we ask for, besides health and family and opportunity?
When we detach ourselves from the societal web of narratives, we begin to understand the true values in life. There is abundance, and it’s here every day right in front of us, if we’re able to see it.
A nonchalant black bear wandering around the Valley floor yesterday
Back in the hustle and bustle already--it's really incredible how drastic the change is, and how quickly you can be back in it. Every time I get away, it reinforces how much my soul connects with nature.
I can't stop thinking of our encounter with the bear yesterday and the state of awe that entranced us for hours afterward. Viewing wildlife, and experiencing that connection to true life outside of our city fortifications, puts our fortunes into perspective.
In many ways, we are soft and always comfortable, luxuriously enjoying the benefits of generations of hard work. Going out into the woods and seeing a bear is a great remedy against complacency, and offers a brief glimpse into the amazing ecosystem that governs life on this planet.
Greenery, fog, and granite spires, oh my
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.
A nice warm fire to get through sub freezing temperatures
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.
Street art is everywhere in Valparaíso, Chile
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.
Looking down the river in Redding, March 2021
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.
Crossing an old railway bridge outside Spoleto, Italy, September 2019
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.
Watching the mini bus station awaken in Arusha, October 2019
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.