We can change the world.
Perspective on the outskirts of Beijing, December 2012
It can be difficult to parse our way through the universe, don’t you think? We encounter ever changing circumstances during this experience. We must make decisions on a minute by minute basis. Can we not be kind and considerate along the way?
Deep in the Wave. April 2021
Waves of presence roll over us intermittently—at least that’s how it seems. We have these little moments every day to feel alive: riding a longboard through a tunnel, the cool air brushing across your face.. bonding with your dog on a spring afternoon on fresh green grass. I’m reminded in these little moments that I’m alive. We have this one life afforded to us; what will we do with it?
Finding perspective in the desert. Bolivia - April 2019
I’ve accumulated a lot of thinking space regularly: with family events I haven’t had the bandwidth to listen to my news podcast (I’m completely out of the loop on Ukraine or inflation), my news app has discontinued its service, and I haven’t been reading or watching a lot of tv. Most of my consumption has been listening to music.
It feels nice. I’ve long struggled with the balance of staying informed versus focusing on being the best human I can be. Over the past two weeks, I’ve successfully centered my attention on myself and my tribe—and this is crucial to being able to contribute to the world.
We each can offer something unique to society, and it requires thinking space to develop it. Thinking space can sometimes be painful, or feel foreign. But the dividends are worth putting everything down and honing in on our humanity and the well being of our tribe.
Looking across the water underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Dawe’s Point, January 2020
Our species has come so far over the last few hundred years. Despite how wretched the world may look in today’s news landscape, it’s much better than it was in the 1700’s, or 1000 AD, or 5000 BC.
That doesn’t mean we don’t have significant challenges before us, or that there is much to improve. Any middle class person living in the first world can point them out to you.
But to acknowledge both truths is to see balance, and provides the most level perspective. Can we unite around this paradigm, and collectively push for greater?
Enjoying a picnic at Parco Regionale del Lago Trasimeno in Umbria, Italy, September 2019
I often think about how important family dinners are, and how lucky I am to enjoy them fairly regularly. A family dinner can be between as few as two people. It occurs when members of one tribe sit down for a meal without distraction, and enjoy each other’s company over food. It’s so simple: we use it for first dates, us fortunate ones eat every single day, and yet it’s one of the most powerful acts people can perform together, something our ancestors have been doing for thousands of years. To break bread with your tribe; it’s one of the fundamental elements of being human.
Seeing the beauty of Kirstenbosch in South Africa, December 2019
And then, when you settle enough, you regain that appreciation for Earth’s beauty. Driving to the Sacramento area today, I was able to see through the smog and admire the scenery unfurling in front of me. While I may be fortunate to reside in California, most of the planet is incredibly beautiful. We just have to stop and see it.
Two baby fur seals testing their mettle, South Georgia, March 2019
Coming to terms with a major live event is important. We experience such things only a finite number of times during our lives, so we don’t necessarily get much practice. Which means it’s sort of a clutch thing: you decide, you choose how you will move forward. We can face these moments with family, but in a certain way, we face them alone. Each of us has agency, and we can all decide our other forward. What will it be?
Flowers for Granny on the last day of March, 2022
Days pass one way another, whether you’re upset or sad or recovering or happy. It’s good to spend these days with family while you’re figuring it all out.
Speaking of, you have to hand it to us clever monkeys: we have figured a lot of things out. What’s struck me recently is this balance—we rest on the shoulders of giants, and we too often take that for granted, but we also have so much more to determine and discover, and know so incredibly little.
It’s living in this balance that can be so difficult as we navigate through life. While we keep loved ones close, we can pursue that beautiful balance.
Crossing under the Bay Bridge with the person I love, October 2021
It’s fascinating to see a lifetime of memories in pictures. We’ve greatly changed the circumstances of photography over the years. We used to only have the ability to take them for special occasions, and candid photos were rare. Now we snap away with our phones, even through our watches or on sky faring drones.
I’ve always had a connection to photography, because it sparks emotion. I’ve mostly practiced landscape, street, and wildlife photography, because that’s the kind of traveling I do. But looking through family photos today, I realized the incredible importance of capturing moments with those you love.
One of my favorite places in Beijing, 天坛 in July 2012
And then there are the after days. Soon I will construct an image of my tribe’s matriarch. But until then, I will recoup and live. Our time here really is so precious, and that’s been incredibly evident over the past few days. I want to fully live with my tribe. Blood is blood, and the rest is choice. This is the reality of our existence, and we act accordingly.
Hands passing energy and strength yesterday in the Bay Area
We are not alone while we are here. I don’t know what lies beyond, but I want to guide the members of my tribe there, and I hope when it’s my time I will have someone to guide me. I’m learning it is one of the greatest acts of love and honor we can provide one another. It’s sometimes difficult to be human, but it doesn’t make it any less beautiful. Life is meaningful, and I’m grateful to experience it.
Looking at icebergs and glaciers and mountains off the coast of Antarctica, March 2019
Tribe matters, and moments matter with your tribe. You get to choose what you say to those you love. I don’t know if I executed properly today, but I gave my best in saying what was important, and what was necessary.
We learn from our elders, and that’s truly something special. It’s an unspoken agreement that we pass on the wisdom to those that come after us. It is one of the most basic covenants within our biology. Pass it on, give to the next. And be genuinely grateful for those who have provided before you.
Observing a temple in Bali, February 2020
Sometimes life makes priorities very clear. We have our time allotted to us on this planet, and get to choose who to spend it with. How wonderful that our species gets to emanate love into the universe. Let’s do that together.
Enjoying a minute in the city, February 2022
When you live minute by minute or hour by hour, your perspective on life changes. We have an incredible situation; we really do have it all. Do we recognize it?
Sunshine on church and square in Recife, Brazil, February 2019
What do you say to a family member?
Your family is all here because we love you. You have impacted my life. I will take what I’ve learned from you and pass it on to others. Your life is meaningful. I love you.
Is there anything more?
Learning about aboriginal culture from the sails of the Sydney Opera House, January 2020
In listening to the news about the world’s sanctions on Russia and their repercussions, I keep thinking to myself: we live in one world. I do not condone what’s happening in Ukraine, but the reality is we live within one closed system, planet Earth. The effects of this war will reverberate around the globe, and indeed are already being felt in the global economy. We as a species must recognize the current year and what we’ve learned over the centuries. The injustices we impart on one another hold weight and memories. Let’s be good to each other.
Looking down upon the city of Prague in Czechia, September 2019
What if we had playgrounds and parks for adults? I ran by an elementary school’s yard yesterday during its recess, and there were children doing all kinds of things. Kids were playing on the jungle gym, running around in the field, shooting basketballs, playing handball, talking in groups, picking flowers, engaging in tag, and racing each other. Why don’t we do that as adults? Sure we play still, but we don’t necessary have a one-for-all spot like a school yard. Plus there’s something primal about chasing another human in jest. There’s a completeness in freedom from unorganized play, just for the sake of play. As adults, let’s remember to play.
Our campsite during our stay in the Serengeti, November 2019
You still have to live. I remind myself that when feeling sad about upsetting circumstances. It’s okay to be sad about something, to resonate with the true feelings of a situation. But it shouldn’t rob us of our overall vivacity, the miracle that is life in this universe. We still enjoy an amazing experience being alive, one that is exhilarating and meaningful. Seeing the big picture, on the biggest possible scale of time and space, helps buoy our spirit. There’s sorrow in this existence, but also joy and excitement. It’s all part of our human experience, and in totality, it’s a pretty wonderful thing. Embrace it wholly, with your tribe, for the limited amount of time we have together. Together we live.
Steering toward the (for now) frozen continent. Antarctica, March 2019
What if we had a ranking system for our top issues and problems, metered by the amount of life impacted and the depth of implications on the future? This could be applied at the international, regional, and local level.
On the global stage, climate change would receive the attention it deserves, the atrocities in Yemen would be featured just as much if not more than those in Ukraine, and our food and energy problems would generate significantly more discussion and action.
There’s a potential for nuclear conflict and a war between superpowers through the crisis in Ukraine, no doubt. The world should be aware of the events in that country and the possible ramifications. But do we thus ignore any and all of our other serious problems?
Attention is a zero sum game. As a species we must learn how to allocate our focus. Our ability to collectively organize on a planetary level will determine our future.
Enjoying an evening stroll around the Forbidden City, a favorite weekend pastime another lifetime ago. Beijing, China - August 2013
I used to love Bill Watterson’s comments about the weekend, how its purpose is to lazily pass the time, to do nothing. That hasn’t exactly been my day today, but there is something sacred about the weekend, when, in the white collar modern world at least, you don’t have to earn your living. Things slow down, and there’s more space for thought. It’s almost possible to enter a trance-like state. And it’s important for us to experience down time. It enables us to recharge, to expend our focus and energy on other moments that require our full effort. There are times for activity, and there are times for rest. Long live the weekend.