You Never Know

Today I met someone at my company during a happy hour who lived in China as well. We spoke Mandarin together briefly and talked about our travels within that country. It was completely happenstance; we both arrived at the bar to get a drink at the same time. I enjoyed a delightful conversation, and think made a new friend. You never know another’s story, history, or ambition. Sometimes it can pleasantly surprise you.

With loved ones

It can be so intense. We focus on legislation and policy and the impact on everyone. It can become overwhelming.

How about the time spent with those you love? Does politics and economics and climate surface within topic of conversation?

Perhaps it does. The time with those we love doesn’t need to be dedicated to solving world problems.

But it can be a listening point. For further direction, and action.

System and Hustle

In American culture, hard work is valued. To hustle, to take what’s yours, is aspirational to millions of Americans across the country. It’s a positive force among the people. But can we also, while harnessing that energy to the maximum, modify our societal structures so they benefit the masses? Can we rig the system for the betterment of all? That’s the more impactful and sustainable way to create change, and it requires awareness and organization.

Back to the South Bay

My best friend texted me today, “you survived another trip huh.” It felt good to catch up with him, to look through photos of the summer. It felt good to be home. The South Bay Area is a place I don’t know I’ll ever truly leave.

Last Day in Mexico

Even after all the days blend together, there’s still that last day feeling. Tomorrow morning we depart for home, and today was to savor one last bit of the different weather, environment and atmosphere. Although far from the west coast, Cancun is worth it. There’s something special about the jungle, the playa, and the people. Until next time.

Starting Point

Upon the verge of death, I think most people want the best for their family, their tribe. Monetary and planetary possessions become meaningless. I’m incredibly thankful for the precious moments I enjoy with mine. Our tribe matters, and I hope in my lifetime we can expand that love and understanding to the entire world. That is the starting point.

Sailing Accordingly

I enjoyed a wonderful boat ride with my tribe tonight. There’s something special about sailing the ocean with others. I’ve said it a lot this week, but there truly is something drawing about the sea. We are insignificant in scale compared to the vastness of our planet. Let’s appreciate that fact and act accordingly.

Call of the Ocean

The call of the ocean doesn’t get old. I hold reverence for the ocean, its vastness and its mystery, and thus can become frightened of it easily when swimming. But there is something simply magnificent about it; the ocean is what defines our planet Earth. In some ways foreign, but in other ways, home.

Taking it in

The grand beauty and majesty of it all is obviously what attracts so many visitors. But it’s the little things about the Yucatán peninsula that make it special. The people are warm and care free, the weather induces a slow easy pace, and there’s always the ocean. Cancun is a unique place, one that offers many things on many levels. It really is a big beautiful amazing world, and we’re so lucky to enjoy it.

Monkeys on Earth

Gosh I was so legitimately happy to see my family today. In an all inclusive resort, in the middle of the jungle, I want to see them. Something to think about, in this grand scheme of things that we call Earth. How small we are, to seek each other’s company. It becomes interesting eh?

Lucky Humans

I was scared to do it, both because of the open ocean and my fear of sharks, but today I got to swim with a whale shark and it was glorious. Throughout the entire excursion, I was struck by how incredible the Earth is—that such magnificent creatures such as whale sharks exist on this planet, that it’s mostly ocean, just so much water…

We inhabit a paradise, and we need to do our part to take care of it. It’s the most wondrous known place in existence. How lucky we humans are.

Morning Departure

And we depart again. Traveling certainly isn’t “fun” right now, but it’s still, as always, exciting to visit a new place. Setting off on an adventure is a luxury for most people in this world, but I believe we should strive to make it possible for everyone. You learn when you travel, and even on a vacation trip, you face the unknown. Traveling builds character through meaningful life experiences. Here we go.

Loosen up in Summer

Is it just me, or is there some sense of normalizing happening? We have significant political and economic disruptions happening, but that has kind of been the norm for the past decade. It might just be because we’re in the peak of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but there’s some semblance of return in the air, some type of exhalation from the continuous heightened anxiety. In many ways, we must push forward—progress doesn’t rest, less the forces of power and corruption tighten their grip on society. But in a personal way, for our sanity and our tribe, this could be a very good thing.

Rising above Despair

I was going to write about union with the universe this morning, and then I got on my train to work. Caltrain is experiencing major delays right now because someone was hit and killed about an hour ago.

In this moment I can’t think of a clearer indication that we need change in this world. Without knowing the details of this particular “incident,” as Caltrain calls them, I mourn for the loss of life, likely unnecessary. It seems the signs around every Caltrain station declaring “there is help” are necessary however.

It’s easy to devolve into cynicism. We’ve come so far as a civilization, and yet for all our technological progress and increased quality of life, we still experience divide, mental health crises, and unneeded suffering. The solution is not despair.

The solution is determination, and focus, and empathy. The solution is to leverage our technology to utilize our tribal nature in a good way, in a grand unified global way. The solution is to reform our political and economic systems, to commit to continuously improving them.

We are capable, if we seek to understand. We will succeed if we can see the bigger picture. We live on one world, together. And we can change it.

Political Public Service

What would be incentivized if politicians were only allowed to work in the public sector after office? Instead of sitting on the boards of defense contractors or telecom giants, they could only serve as a teacher, firefighter, doctor, public defender, etc.? One would hope this would ingrain the notion of public service in politics; once you cross this threshold, you are committing to a life of public service, of bettering humanity for the long haul. There are certainly negative implications for such a rule, but outside-the-box thought experiments can be useful to spur innovation of our political systems, which obviously require reform. We can do this if we keep working at it. We can change the world.

Swim Lessons

Playing in the pool with children is one of the simple joys in life. I’ve been doing it for the past 20 years or so, and have always loved it. Kids have fun naturally and find such joy in being in the water. A special bond develops when a child puts their faith in you while they learn to swim. It’s very intrinsically rewarding as the adult, and dry-land observers can see the serotonin bursting out from the pool. We are social creatures, and children are the future. Simply swimming in a pool together can show you that.

One Large Tribe

Are we any less tribal in 2022 than we were in 22 BC? It seems we still congregate around similar issues of morality and identity. And yet our world is more peaceful and prosperous than ever before: because we have improved our ethics of our groups. We still have bad apples and virtuous people, they simply function within a more effective social system. Of course there is still a long way to go. But participating in the conversation about the larger picture, and deliberating working to better our larger tribe, will continue to yield strong progress. And it starts with considering the perspective that we are all one large tribe.

Wild Ride

Via a lot of house cleaning this weekend I happened to look through many photos from over the years. It always amazes me how much I’ve changed. I’m sure it’s not unique: time affects us all. We grow up, we grow different, we grow together or apart. It’s certainly a wild ride—if it isn’t, are you really doing it right?

Doing Nothing

I think one of the ways you know you’re with the right person is if you want to do nothing with them. When you don’t feel like getting as much done as you could on a day off, do you want to “do that” with that person? When we are done with work and ready to rest, we don’t do it alone, we seek out the people we love.

Meals Matter

I had a really nice dinner tonight with dear friends, and the brochure stated “we have been enjoying good food and good wine together for thousands of years. We are trying to continue that tradition.” I found that particularly meaningful, because it’s simply true. Who we have dinner with each night determines our life. Meals matter.