We can change the world.
A scene from Australia on.. Australia Day, January 2020
Another trip around the sun for this meat popsicle. It’s a funny thing, our conception of “birthdays.”
I do know that we can grow, no matter our biological change. We can change our perspective, and adapt to new circumstances.
This continual youth is crucial to our development as a society and a species. We are, for lack of a better word, dumb—what can we learn?
Years of history showing itself, Prague, September 2019
Work-life balance is a luxury we enjoy in the modern world because of years of hard work and advocation. There are still many around the globe who have no semblance of it, as the fight for equality continues.
Those of us fortunate to contemplate this elusive balance, are we making the right choice? Do we view time as the ultimate resource?
Economic dynamics have rocked our society this millennium. If we can understand that, we can change the world for all.
Locals walking out on the beach in Zanzibar, November 2019
We take running water for granted in the first world. We turn on the tap and water magically comes forth, in whatever temperature or pressure we decide.
And we’re so accustomed to it that even when experiencing extreme drought we don’t appreciate its preciousness. Yet it is the very thing that most makes our planet so unique.
We can’t live beyond a few days without water; it is life. Climate change remains a buzzword in the zeitgeist, but do we consider Earth’s water to be a part of that?
Half Dome in its glory above the valley floor, Glacier Point, July 2021
Recently I’ve reflected on how happy I am with life right now. The world may be facing troubled times, but there’s still good everywhere, and I have enjoyed much of it.
It just goes to show what the important things are: health and family. When all is right within our tribe, life becomes much easier.
Our biology dictates that we rely on others for survival—we wouldn’t make it on our own. Community also enables us to thrive.
Towering El Cap from the Four Mile Trail, Yosemite Valley 2021
I’m blogging from the Glacier Point above the valley, a magnificent vantage point for Half Dome and the surrounding peaks. It was my first time doing the Four Mile Trail since childhood, and I had forgotten how enchanting its scenery.
From this trail you’re offered glorious views of El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, and Half Dome, the three most famous landmarks in the park. It serves as a reminder to continue to explore, even in places you visit often.
I recognize now in my prime adulthood how much nature is necessary for my psychological health. We belong to the Earth; it’s not the other way around.
Majestic Half Dome, one of the coolest rocks on the planet
I have the privilege to return to one of my favorite places on the planet today, some X hundred miles from my home. That place has some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth, and it is Yosemite Valley.
Work hard play hard right? For me this is the epitome of that sentiment, with the playground here being some of the most beautiful terrain our world offers.
Nature recharges us, it invigorates us; it returns us to our most basic biological and physiological state. I’m grateful to be immersed in it now, to have the opportunity to enjoy one of Earth’s many pleasures.
An iceberg off the coast of Antarctica, March 2019
It can feel like we have no agency when we follow what’s going on in the world. But we have to remember the media is biased, a lens through which much is filtered.
There are serious problems that threaten our species and our planet. But there is also work being done, and good people out there who are trying to do the right thing.
Our agency is our conscientious choice to be one of those people in the world. It is how we will be judged by future generations, and what will comfort us at death’s door.
After a crazy train ride, a beautiful sunset at the Beijing train station, 2015
I’ve been blogging about this a lot recently, but gratitude keeps coming back to my salvation. When having a rough time of it, we can always return to thinking about how good we absolutely have it.
Reminiscing over photos of good times can help, especially if done with loved ones. Remembering what we’ve experienced and the important people in our life provides added perspective.
However irritating a few hours might be, if we step back and examine it all, we realize it could always be worse. After all, it still is a big beautiful amazing world, and we get the opportunity to make the most of our circumstances.
View of the Pacific from Diamond Head, June 2021
Deleting Twitter has been a positive experience for me thus far, and I’ve overall followed the daily news cycle a lot less. I still struggle with the balance of keeping informed while focusing on what matters and living my life.
In this hyper connected world, we oddly enough have to set boundaries. We still haven’t figured out as a species how to distribute attention individually and collectively.
What matters to us? Our news gives an indication, and it’s crucial we determine how best to proceed as a society.
Sunset on the Amazon River, Peru, April 2019
I’ve been considering purchasing a mattress, and at one point I laughed to myself at the ludicrousness of it, from a perspective. We have developed these material rectangles that are literally the softest most comfortable thing possible to sleep on.
What a far cry from how our species has traditionally found rest. We may pick and choose between different firmness or composition when selecting our sleeping option now, but in much of our past is was somewhere warm and dry.
It’s helpful for us modern humans to remember these simple yet profound luxurious we enjoy on a daily basis. With so much comfortability and convenience at our disposal, what will we turn our focus to?
The best fireworks I’ve ever seen, Sydney, January 1, 2020
I look at photos and revel in the previous adventure. They offer a glimpse into our most precious moments.
A normal person living in a first world country today enjoys a lifestyle unimaginable just a short while ago. It’s fantastic progress, but the inequality between it and the other concurrent realities on the planet demonstrates the need for change.
Should not everyone, regardless of birth circumstance, have the opportunity to look back on memorable photos? Let’s make it so, by choosing to contribute our 1% individually.
A disbanded monastery in Kostroma, Russia, September 2019
Can still enjoy the heat right? Today was the first pool day for my tribe in the neighborhood, and it was nice to spend the time together.
It made me reflect on how grateful I should be to have a “weekend.” We’ve made some significant progress as a transcontinental species.
And yes, we still have very far to go, if recent events over the past few years have demonstrated. Can we separate the two facets of our reality, and can we both enjoy and contribute?
Will we get to show our children giraffes? Botswana, August 2010
I walk around my neighborhood and I see new housing developments going up where there were once fields. I see maps online in which the entire Western United States is colored deep red.
Our species is certainly special in many ways, but we also need to figure ourselves out before it’s too late. We not only affect the lives of (the world’s poorest) millions of people, but countless other species as well.
It is the great call to arms for the current generation, all of us alive today, to address climate change. Let us work together and contribute to the solution.
Witnessing some amazing geology right off South Georgia, 2019
What a realization it is when you recognize that we live in a maze. It’s an incredible world, and wow, do we navigate it well?
We cruise around in what we know, and it’s awesome, in the true sense of the word. But we also have the ability to exhibit perhaps the most important characteristic: consideration.
There are so many other people outside the scope of any individual understanding. How do we proceed?
Admiring all that is atop a monastery in Tibet, September 2014
It’s so easy to get caught up in caring about what society wants. I struggle with it often, and it appears to be a common problem across our species.
I’ve found gratitude to be a good antidote. When we consider how spectacular our position in this universe is, striving for what doesn’t matter becomes recognizably foolish.
We enjoy so much abundance of opportunity in the modern world. The world may not be perfect, but that’s only each person’s chance to contribute something unique.
Serenity at the beach, even in troubled times, Waikiki Beach
The pandemic is still evolving, still forcing us to adapt and change. You don’t read about how the 1918 influenza pandemic shaped peoples’ behaviors in 1920 and 1921.
But it did, and SARS-CoV-2 is still altering our perception and psyche in 2021. Despite the breakneck speed onto-the-next-thing culture in which we live in, we need to recognize this simple fact.
Just like other momentous events in history, this one is transforming our time. History will look back on how conscientious we were in our approach to weathering the storm.
Looking to the northeastern side of O’ahu, June 2021
You always get a fresh look at home when you first return after being away. The feel of its culture, the lay of the land, the weather: all are on display after traveling.
Now more than ever, we get to choose where we live. Beyond familiarity, what are the criteria we use to decide?
If we reflect deeply on why we call which place home, we might start to see that the reasons are the same for everyone. And that we all share one home.
Impromptu fireworks on Waikiki beach for Independence Day
Our Founding Fathers, despite being brilliant, we’re not perfect. They devised a system better than any before, but its design was not flawless.
We can strive to have a realistic view of their shortcomings and successes, but we must also recognize our own responsibility.
It is the onus of our generation to improve and build upon the imperfect creations we have inherited. Let us celebrate Independence Day, and reflect, and yearn and commit to be even better.
One small part of Earth’s majesty on display, Waikiki, Hawaii, July 2021
As a lifelong tourist of other places, I struggle with tourism. It’s important to see and learn about the world.
It can also burden the environment. How am I any different than the millions of others?
If the power of perspective is what results, than maybe that justifies our travel. Through a conscientious lens, we can achieve lasting and necessary change.
A lack of boundaries upon Waikiki from Diamond Head on a Friday
Even the semblance of “vacation” is a modern creation. How do we make sense of such a smorgasbord of human flurry in so certainly non-dire circumstances?
There is so much to be learned in this vacuum of society we currently inhabit. Are we learning, are we looking beyond our own faces?
This applies to myself as well, as I navigate what I can conceive as my boundaries, through this tide of meaning. We can do it.