Small Miracles

There are little miracles to appreciate and small plans to anticipate all the time. To many others in different circumstances, they might not seem so simple at all. 

We might feel our lives our routine, but every single day there are options, and choices to make. I never look back with regret, but with utter gratitude at how wonderful this whole thing has been. 

Looking forward to reunions with friends, spending time with your tribe.. these are the parts of life that can never be shuddered. Perhaps if we consider this path of empathy, we can create one for all of us. 

Embracing Magnificence

I feel like I’ve wanted to write this for a while: life goes on. It’s just a feeling, but in today’s modern world, there is a decent amount of keeping it going, working hard and pushing through for the next period of relaxation. 

But that’s where the opportunity lies to find the beautiful in the seemingly mundane. Each day, every moment, is a gift—if we’re able to enable the present. 

I’ve been encountering this deep recognition of how wonderful life can be, even if not to an outside observer. It’s there, it’s here…the more we can embrace it, the more magnificent this all can be. 

Cleaning up Home

I’ve spent a mostly quiet weekend cleaning and organizing my residence. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized an orderly environment equals less stress and more mind space. 

All across cultures and time, people have done up their living space; it’s a universal commonality of our species. What we deem home, we take care of. 

The time is upon us to recognize that the Earth as a whole is our home, and the only one we will ever know. This planet, and all its mystery and wonder, can only be cherished if we treat it with the reverence it deserves. 

Varying Perspectives

There are varying perspectives everywhere. I’ve just had a conversation with someone in which we disagreed about almost everything. 

It wasn’t because we are politically misaligned, it was simply a difference in perception. It was refreshing for me, it reinforced the fact I have my own biases. 

There is so much possibility out there. We can change the world; we can make it what we want. 

Planetary Adaptation

When you discuss various topics with others, you can gain perspective. It might be the most important thing each of us can do. 

We live in this vast, complex societal world, on an expansive, diverse planet. Our ability to thrive as a species is determined by each individual’s glocal aptitude. 

We’re past the point of existing on a small tribal level. We share our home, this planet with everyone here—can we adapt?

Island and Connections

Sometimes I recognize how different my perception might be from someone else’s. We all have our own individual experience across space and time.

Disagreements and misunderstandings will naturally arise within this reality. And yet we still form coalitions and alliances, still share communal memories and affiliations. 

We are our own islands in this universe, but also interconnected to every single other thing. How well we accept these circumstances, and interpret their significance, determines what’s possible. 

Balance to Rejuvenate

It seems there’s a balance between turning our awareness to the inner and outer world. Perhaps that’s what true mastery in life entails. 

There are moments in which it’s important to do one or the other. We must support our fellow humans in times of emergency or disaster. 

But it’s also a whole wide world out there, always a crisis occurring in some part of the world. That balance is what enables us to rejuvenate our health and spirit when necessary, and to extend help when we can. 

Working Tech for Change

Meanwhile others are having a different experience all around the globe. Many Americans only catch a glimpse of it on cable news’ triggering coverage of a disaster somewhere far away. 

We now have the technology to bind together as one people: the common people, those who live normal lives in an abnormal world. The majority isn’t necessarily always right, but shouldn’t life conditions suite the masses that experience them?

If we recognize each other, regardless of our location or origin, we can enact true powerful change. If we look up from our keyboards and screens, we can effect change that’s beneficial for all. 

Tribal Expansion

I enjoyed dinner outside today with my wife, sitting amongst the trees on our balcony. A thought occurred to me in that moment, that there was nothing I could ask for more. 

We have faced many horrors as a society over the past 18 months, but some of us, the fortunate ones, can focus on the greatest things life can offer. Spending time with our tribe, enjoying nature, and appreciating the simple things in life. 

How ungrateful, and wasteful, we would be to not embrace gratitude for our fortunes. Only from this vantage point can we then reach out to others and expand our tribe. 

Seeing the Beauty

When I talk with friends now, we almost always discuss sustainability. With climate change and the economy worsening, it’s hard to stay away from the topic. 

Where do we go from here as a civilization? How do we retain and spread hope?

We can start with observation of the tremendous beauty that is our planet. When we witness and truly see how wonderful its existence is, we can find the drive to protect it. 

Community Lives

It’s a curious thing, how we get so wrapped up in our own individual lives. After all, someone not that different could be experiencing something completely different. 

I find myself judging others’ actions sometimes, and in those instances, are their actions so consequential? Probably not; in a community setting, it’s probably simply easier to work something out.

This is all to say, how do we build a global community that functions on such a scale? There are perhaps many engineering feats necessary, but it all starts with consideration. 

Natural Tipping Point

The world is so incredibly diverse and beautiful. I’m fortunate enough not to live in a war torn area, not to be threatened daily. 

I inhabited a social structure absent of such things, while many others face far different circumstances. I enjoy the chance to consider nature, and ponder the Earth, all within a safe environment. 

Perhaps if we enable the masses to subsist with basic quality of life elsewhere established, we can reach a tipping point of nature. One in which we recognize how special and precious this rock is, what all, regardless of any perceived differences, call home. 

Sociability at Scale

I am still much less social than I was before the pandemic, and I still wonder it’s effect. We are social animals, and many of us simply do not interact with as many people anymore. 

As technology enables communication at great speed and distances, we seem to become more and more detached from the ancient social conventions developed over millennia. Can we adapt to these elements of modern living, with billions of us alive simultaneously, before our biological tribalism collapses the system?

These factors are all interconnected, and I’ve learned during this pandemic that physiology and biology dictates more than we give credit. In reestablishing our communities and constructing a global one, we can unlock much of the impossible. 

Living in Change

Change continually comes, and life adapts. How well are adjusting to the circumstances we face?

It can be hard to maintain a sense of agency in this big crazy wild world. But the wildness is also a beauty, from a certain perspective, and we are alive to adapt. 

We are stronger than we believe. The universe, and our time in it, is for us to live. 

Planetary Connection

The U.N. report regarding climate change is disheartening, but it’s no reason to give up hope. We can figure it out as a species. 

Humans have colonized the planet and innovated to make lives of luxury possible. It’s imperative we recognize this as convenience, and not necessity, for our planet. 

I walked through the garden section at a hardware store recently, and felt so at peace amongst the plants. We have a connection to the other life on this planet, and we must remember it. 

Healthy Society

Everything is connected to everything else, and there’s no better example than your health. When you make healthy lifestyle choices, they build up on one another and you feel great, which unlocks your full potential. 

As a society we could use this simple thinking to make improvements to our way of life. If we make good collective decisions… investing in education and healthcare, redesigning our governmental incentives, viewing humanity as one whole… the health of our society will improve, and we can thus effect even greater change. 

It’s never easy to start being healthy when you haven’t been. We have to decide if it’s worth our expenditure of effort to do the same for the world. 

Paradigm Choices

There’s a timelessness to everything, from a certain perspective. Movies from the ‘70’s are old hat, yet there’s recognition when you watch them. 

Same with hanging out with the tribe when there’s no phones or devices to prowl your attention. We haven’t evolved that much yet; we’re still the “same” humans as ancient Egypt. 

I guess it all depends on one’s paradigm while living. We get to decide, so what’ll it be?

Choice Time

What do you do on Saturday? That question can offer insight into one’s current focus in life.

For millennia we have steadily improved the average human’s work-life balance. In today’s age, in many parts of the world, “the weekend” can offer pure opportunity for recreation. 

So what are we collectively deciding to do with the time allotted us? More so than any time in history, we have the ability to decide. 

One Ecosystem

Seeing shots of Tokyo during Olympic coverage make me want to visit so bad, a unique place I’ve never been. The world is so vast and diverse, and there’s so much to explore. 

It also struck me how unbelievably beautiful this planet is: just one large complex system. We are all a part of each other, and we all belong to the Earth, as does all the other life.

It’s one enclosed ecosystem, and anything we do affects everything else; it’s physics. And if we all understand and abide by this paradigm, the ecosystem will flourish. 

Solutions in the Middle

Do we live in a utopian society without wants and needs, or do we inhabit a failed state on a downward spiral of destruction? The truth is probably somewhere in between those realities. 

There are indeed institutional and systemic forces that make the world unfair, unjust, and inhumane. But there is also ample evidence of goodness, awareness and valor.

The answer is not to tear it all down, nor is it to tweak minor problems on the periphery. It’s somewhere in the middle, and it’s up to us to figure it out.