Working it out

You struggle at the gym, wondering how humanity can be so self-absorbed as you observe someone on the bench press for 45 minutes.

And yet you consider where we were 350 years ago. There was no organized distribution of equipment to “get fit” because we knew it was good for us, regardless of identity or affiliation. There was literal, casual bloodshed in the streets.

That doesn’t exist today. It may happen, but it’s not casual nor common. We’ve built something together. Or rather, our ancestors have.

So when it becomes frustrating in 24 Hour Fitness, it can be helpful to reflect on the progress we benefit from. It’s truly easier than it ever has been before. And there’s more to go. Let’s work on it.

Uniting Now

I find myself dragging conversations to the bigger picture. I’m not quite sure why that is, but I wonder about it a lot. Tonight I thought, “I identify with the human species, as does every other person.” Whether any of us feels affinity or not, I think we all identify with humanity.

And it’s a sense of incredible pride and incredible doubt, perhaps even shame. We can develop complex economic models around the global economy, but in the year 2022, have we organized around kindness and our most universal identification?

I remember how far we’ve come over the decades, the centuries. Timescales I can’t fully comprehend because they’re orders of magnitude beyond my continuous consciousness. How do we balance the acceptance of our slow steady progress and the yearning to do better right now?

This question has only become evident to people like me in the masses very “recently,” and perhaps the exciting new predicament we find ourselves in. Perhaps it’s a rallying point for us all in the 21st century. We’ll only know if we unite.

Vast U.S.

I had a fun conversation with colleagues this week about traveling and the diversity of the United States. It’s such a huge beautiful country, and I was reminded how little I’ve seen of it. In the West I’ve seen many of the national parks, but there are still so many states and regions I have yet to explore. It’s clear in discussions with others that the diversity abounds in all parts of the nation. I look forward to exploring it and better understanding this complex country.

Striving in Transition

I find it important to always keep striving, because once you let up, it’s harder to reengage at the same intensity. Discipline equals freedom, as they say. It can particularly be hard in times of transition. But those are also often the times that matter the most.

Five Years and Autumn

Some days embody transition, and some days feel like a special occasion. It’s rare a given day can do both. Today felt like any other, a further encroachment into Autumn with the cool air and changing leaves. It also was five years with my partner, and thus a wholly significant day for me. Thank you Angel, for always supporting me, and for making this world a better place. Together, we can change the world.

The Tribe’s Role

I realize more and more that the people in my life are the biggest factors of my experience. My joy is determined by those I love. As the years go by, the people we spend time with matter. They set the course of my life. I am so grateful to be human, and to enjoy the social element of our shared existence. We are who we live with, and I wouldn’t trade my tribe for anybody’s.

Three Years

Today marks three years of blogging every day. The purpose of this daily post is to raise global consciousness, unite humanity, and inspire change. And even if I struggle to deliver to that mission each day, this offers a space for me to be intimate and be honest, even if it’s a public submission to the world. I truly believe in the themes that guide my writing: we are more similar than we are different. It’s a huge diverse beautiful amazing world, within this unknown we call the universe. We can be kind to each other, and that truly makes all the difference in our experience together. Respect responsibility and resolve can guide us in our quest to contribute. And no matter how small we may feel at certain times, we can change the world. Even if this is your first time ever reading, thank you. Life is beautiful, and not only can we be grateful for its beauty, we can also add to it.

The Matter of Momentum

Momentum matters in this universe. We grasp the concept and its significance in physics, but we often underestimate its importance with our minds, moods and bodies. Consistency in exercise is key to prevent injury and get stronger, faster, and healthier. We generate literal physical momentum with our bodies when we are consistently active. Meditation practice, regular breath work, and time out each day promotes clarity, focus, and energy. We must routinely engage in such nurturing exercises for the mind for them to be effective; we experience the benefits with momentum. Gratitude and patience and love must be practiced daily to fully feel our emotional baseline improve. Momentum is a powerful phenomenon in this universe, and if we embrace it, we can change the world.

Control and Freedom

This is life. Whatever’s in front of us right now, this is what our lives are. We don’t get to choose; we are so far away from any semblance of control of the universe. But we do have the wonderful opportunity to act with freedom. We can limit that in our global society, or increase it. The future of humanity will judge the decisions we make now. What shall we do?

Flowing Thoughts

It’s a wonder how many thoughts go through our heads on any given day. Even while cleaning up tonight, the thoughts kept flowing by: that the most ornery people can be loved by others (those that possess patience); how the identification and acceptance of liberalism in America has shifted, how easily we forget the way things were with the passage of time; and the fact my time spent writing is one of my most joyous series of moments each day. Perhaps it’s my current refrain from mass media, or conceivably it’s my most recent foray back into meditation. Maybe it’s the simple combination of music and doing dishes. Whatever the confluence of factors (there always is), I welcome the human experience we deem “life.” It sure is one big beautiful amazing universe. How lucky we are.

The Three Elements

We need three elements present in our lives in order to feel fulfillment and hope: time, health, and love. Whenever a significant absence of one of those variables occurs, we experience some level of suffering. Without love, our health and time becomes stale or meaningless; without health we cannot enjoy our time or love, and without time we have no vector of which to exist at all. And when we encounter an abundance of each entity, we are able to achieve synergy with the universe. When we value and strive for all three, we are fully activated as human beings, and can maximize our contribution to the ether.

Universal Reflections

I’ll comment more on this on the 29th, but I want more for this blog. I want to provide longer term vision in my writing, instead of retrospecting on the day-to-day.

That aside, my astonishment continues to deepen each day I’m here. When you step back, it’s humbling to gather we don’t fully understand the extent of this experience. We don’t know the physics of this universe, we don’t know all the species on this planet even… there is so much we don’t know.

Even with how proud of our collective tribe we can be, with our technological advancement, our societal advancement… it’s still just the beginning. There is so much more ahead of us, if we see it and work together. It’s truly a big beautiful amazing world, and universe, and if we rejoice in that most basic of facts together, we prosper.

Fall in the Air

There’s something about fall days and autumn nights that’s cozy. The cold is coming, and it’s darker for more of the day, and when you’re happy and with your loved ones, all warm inside, there’s a completeness to it. These little things are what make our life experience so special, and the act of recognizing that is bliss of itself. Bring on the fall nights.

Another One

And here we are in another day. Does life ever feel like that? Yet every new day brings something new! We can shake off these pandemic blues, and get back to what makes us few.

There is much to despair over in today’s world. But there is also so much to celebrate, if we see it. The world is better now, than it was 50 years ago. Better than it was 1000 years ago. For all the better that we can be, we can also pause to smile.

Talk is cheap

It’s always easy to talk. It’s a different thing to interpret another one’s experience.

Isn’t that what makes us special? To be able to actively listen to the sounds, the tone, and the context… and then to deductively interpret what is a shared experience?

Excerpt now, more than ever in human history, there is an incomprehensible amount of noise. Which makes it easier than ever to talk.

How do we navigate this? Through our ubiquitous means of communication, or through another pathway? I believe we can find the solution.

Earnest for Change

Earnest is an important habit to practice. We can preach about whatever values or philosophies we want to hold in our society, but without earnest, they don’t translate into anything tangible in the world. We can ask ourselves, whatever our orientation to the universe: did I pursue an aim with earnest today? Simple, but powerful. And those seem to be the most effective mechanisms for change.

Using Time

Our perception of time can be so subjective sometimes: certain days whirl by, and others progress slowly. The fact is, time is a limited resource of which each of us has an indeterminate amount. We don’t know how much we have left. We can only choose to use it in the way we sit fit. Will we waste it away… or will we contribute to the universe… will we change the world?

Adapting Attention

We’re such adaptable creatures, and that applies to the level of the brain. We become accustomed to the amount of stimuli we receive regularly, and when it changes it can be difficult to adjust. This is why it can be hard to remove one’s self from consumption of mass media, because it’s everywhere around us all the time now with our phones and the internet. And this malleability of attention affects how we interact with each other and the world. That is why it’s important to keep our consumption in check, in perspective. So that we can see what truly matters in this world: the life and love that surrounds it.

Return to Hobbies

I’ve realized I’ve fallen away from my hobbies over the years. I’m not sure if it’s the pandemic or something else, but I don’t run or play basketball or play pool as much as I used to. Running has become more routine, despite my transition to minimalist footwear, and it feels great. When we have habitual activities we can retreat to, the world seems saner. Perhaps we should all pursue our hobbies to help everyone, not just ourselves.

Tribe and Transition

I still maintain there’s a fall feeling in the air, despite the heat wave recently. And recently, I’ve spent so much time with my family. Do we enjoy the change of seasons more when we’re comfortable with our tribe? It’s how we’ve always adapted to transition. I feel honored to be a part of it all.