Holiday R&R

Upon catching up with a friend today, we agreed it’s sometimes necessary to step back from world affairs and narrow one’s scope to their own life. This may seem to counter much of what I routinely write about, but you can’t change the world without a strong frame of mind.

Mental health has risen in prominence over the past decade, but the pandemic has shown its importance: we cannot embrace the wonders of life while living in fear or entrenched with stress. True, considering the world from a perspective of outside-in can enlarge our understanding and awareness, but change emanates from within, from inside to out.

We participate in cyclical periods of slow down such as the upcoming holiday period, when many of us relax and enjoy time with our tribe. For our collective mental health, and to renew our communal vigor for creating a better world, I hope we embrace this time of rest and reflection. 

Meeting the Stakes

Does it feel like the current times hold more weight? As if it was fun and games for the past ten years, but now the stakes are up?

I look at the simple things that truly matter: my present health and well being, my beautiful tribe. We can always review these most important aspects of our lives, and be grateful. 

If we live with such consideration, the world seems less a test and more a gift, an adventure. We have work to do, good to impart, but also wonder to enjoy. 

Generation Reverberations

I enjoyed hearing about ancestors today from my Granny, and the many things I didn’t know. Black and white photographs foretold small hints of their character traits as I listened on. 

Not too far back, we often know so little about those who came before us. And yet, without them, without their living of lives just as long and meaningful, we wouldn’t be here. 

It can be powerful to learn about our tribe several generations back, to understand how our actions now can shape the future. Our decisions matter, and their consequences reverberate onward through time and space, many years beyond us. 

Little Things, Big Universe

There are those little things in life that seem small, but also truly matter. In these difficult times, I’ve become more aware of them. 

We definitely have fallen on hard times as a society, as a species, and I sometimes wonder if it’s an opportunity to get back to the little things. Our technology is wonderful, but as of yet, it can’t replace what makes us human. 

There is nothing to seek; we have what we need, we just need to appreciate it. On the grand scale of the universe, what more could we ask for?

3 called Life

I’ve written before that time, health and love are the most important things in life. When you don’t have one of them, your happiness is deeply affected. 

And they’re all interconnected: poor quality in one most likely determines the quality of the others. Life events can make it clear that these 3 priorities overrule all else.

If we begin to operate from this vantage point, we can change the world for the better, for all. Maximizing these 3 features is called life. 

Time and Miracles

Time seems to behave the opposite of what you’d like: speeding up when you want more of it, and slowing down when you’re eager to get through. It’s the dimension of which we’re the least connected.

It feels as though everyone is stretching towards the holidays, reaching for them. Our world has been full of bad news for a while now, and we’re looking for some respite. 

We will get there, but we must not lose a sense of the moment, for the actions we take in the present are what enable a better future. One day, one step, one breath at a time: if we embrace the miracle, we will get there. 

Fighting Disillusion

I confessed my fear of disillusionment tonight to my father. It just feels as though it’s become increasingly difficult to stay upbeat amid the growing discord in our world. 

He told me to fight it, and my intuition, my deepest of hearts assents. In these moments I reach down to find my stingiest resolve, which is where it lies inside of all of us until needed. 

The world will not right itself if we bow to despair. There is much beauty, and it’s on us to see it, and to change the wounds that afflict us; we can do it. 

Steelin’ before Christmas

I’ve had the song stuck in my head all day, “I say hey…what’s going on?” It just feels we’re collectively in a trance as a species. 

As much of the world heads into the upcoming holidays, what do we decide upon the new year? Do we spend time with our tribe, rejuvenate and redouble our efforts?

It appears unappetizing, according to our institutionalized media and the overall, unsaid but not unfelt consensus. We can look forward to rest and a refocus on what’s most important, and then we must steel ourselves. 

Enjoying the Rain

It’s finally raining again in Northern California and I love hearing it outside. We can take the simple things for granted, like enjoying warmth and shelter every single day. 

The only thing I’ve found to combat this complacency is gratitude. When you focus on the miracle of the moment, the bad doesn’t seem as scary and the good becomes beautiful. 

So I embrace the rain and the perspective it brings. When we open up, we more easily see how wonderful life can be. 

Momentum Fighting

It just keeps going you know? We’ve built up so much stress and resentment and fatigue over the past 2 years. 

And it’s so much worse in other parts of the world; this is coming from someone living in the Bay Area. How can we get ourselves out of this rut, this deflated acceptance of current times?

I think it will take small, slow, consistent effort…it will require bravery and resolve. We can defy momentum and take back our way of life, if we so choose. 

The Presence of Children

I do not have children, but have many friends who do. Attending a birthday party for one today, it struck me how much the presence of children changes our outlook.

We do what we can in life, but a sense of urgency, of meaning, derives from the understanding that our children inherit our work. Whatever difficult life circumstances we’ve had to endure were created by those before us. 

So it goes… will we nurture and strengthen? Our time is limited, but our energy and actions echo into eternity…

Spin & Flow

If I stop and consider at any point while really, doing anything, it overwhelms me how crazy this world is. The thing is, you have to consider, and not get wrapped up in the flow of normalcy.

It’s easy to move from concern to concern, without appreciating the wonder all around us. But splendor there is: humans around the globe engage in all sorts of activities representing a myriad of interests, expertise, and styles. 

And it’s all happening within the most incredible setting imaginable: planet Earth, one unique speck among billions of galaxies. It’s enough to make your head spin. 

Launch Thoughts

The upcoming launch of the Webb telescope ushers in wild thoughts of what could be. What if we launched a space telescope every five years, instead of how we spend our energy and capital now?

How much would we learn, how much would our perspectives change, if we sent every sixth grader up to the International Space Station for a field trip? Would it change the world?

The more we learn about the universe, the greater our understanding, the more powerful our sense of wonder. We are a pod of monkeys drifting on a rock in space—when we recognize this, counterintuitively, we can achieve and enjoy so much more. 

Braving the Now Times

Nearly two years later, and we are still figuring out how to manage the pandemic. Many of us are still learning how to live again. 

How long will we cower in solitude? How much longer will we let our lack of organization hinder our response and our senses?

Comparatively, we wield formidable technology while fixing up dilapidated institutions with prehistoric biology. We have things to examine, to fix, and to strive for better. 

Seeing the Miracle

In a way, a low point can elicit gratitude: it can always be worse right? We could always have less time or more pain. 

This experience we call life, within the setting why name the universe, truly is a miracle. Sometimes adversity can make that all the more clear. 

If we can reach this perspective without hardship or despair, but by being present in “everyday life,” we can change the world. Will we embrace it?

Time Choices

When you appreciate the fact that life is finite, your perspective changes. We all get a certain amount of time, without knowing its full quantity all the while.

What will we do with that time given to us? Will we contribute to the evolution of the universe, or simply exist?

We get to decide if there’s a difference along the way. We can choose to change the world. 

Change and Time

Life can change real fast. It’s so easy to forget our circumstances, and how easily or quickly they might shift. 

We can take solace in that this is universal. We are all bound by the moment. 

This is why our choices matter, because they are measured against the flow of time. Collectively we must make decisions. 

Time with Tribe

How quickly our world can become smaller. From the greatest perspective, our tribe is what matters. 

Who we spend time with dictates so much of our experience. Tonight I share my time with those who raised me, and whom I grew up with. 

I hope, during this holiday season, everyone gets to enjoy such opportunity to spend time with their loved ones. We are who we interact regularly with, which is why we call it “tribe.”

Talking Politics

Politics is difficult to discuss, these days with friends or perceived foe. In some way, maybe the reason is because what we do right now matters.

It matters how we raise our children. It matters how we interact with each other and how we approach our problems, our circumstances, and our lives.

So what are we going to do? Life doesn’t improve on its own; it’s up to us to make our mark on the universe. 

Identifying the Line

We all have different risk thresholds, and we need to be open in receiving them. But we also need to ask ourselves when we will take the step back to normal. 

This virus is here to stay with us; we will be living with it for the rest of our lives. At what point do we start living again?

I say this as a privileged American citizen, fully vaccinated and surrounded by others who are also well protected. If we consider the bigger picture, it will help inform a greater perspective.