We can change the world.
Taking in a wild majestic morning in Parachute, Colorado earlier this year
What a wild amazing world we live in. Upon hearing stories from friends’ online interactions today, that’s what I thought. What else can you say? There are so many people, and living things on this planet, and it’s incredible how we all interface with each other on this planet. Can we pause and appreciate the majesty of it all?
Admiring the St. Charles bridge in Prague, September 2019
How are you making life better for your tribe? I think that’s the question we can all ask ourselves, because our tribe goes beyond our immediate family. If we focus on the betterment of others’ experience, collectively, we’ll recognize we all want the same things. And perhaps then we connect our tribes in a meaningful, powerful way, that truly enables us to change the world.
Visiting humpback whales off the coast of Antarctica, March 2019
When I think of life as communion with the universe, I am no longer disheartened by negativity in the world. We interact with all other living things on this planet, all the inanimate matter in the universe. We’re part of the soup of particles, and we all mix in with each other and everything. We are the universe. With such a perspective, it becomes easy to want to contribute to its continued evolution in a positive way that makes the universe better. We can change the world.
Sunset on a rooftop in a different time, Cape Town, South Africa, August 2011
Spending time with my three most important people tonight, I had an opportunity to reflect on the situation. The fortune with having a family, of being born during this time period with the curse of excessive leisure time… all of it.
Anyone alive today has been given an incredible gift: we enjoy the least tumultuous time, both naturally and socially, ever known in our species’ existence. Can we acknowledge that together? Can we accept that as our baseline, and then exchange ideas to work towards something even greater?
Chasing kangaroo sightings outside of Sydney, Australia, January 2020
I reminisce about my childhood memories, enjoying movies with my grandparents and being so excited to go play and wondering how I would survive without something for three hours.
It’s amazing how much our perspective shifts into adulthood, how much we develop and grow. I don’t yearn to return to childhood, but I hope beyond measure I can retain its memory, the feeling of freedom and visceral joy.
We can satisfy such sentiments if we see this long picture of our lives, and our place on this planet.
Out in the sun, Thailand, February 2020
There are babies and children everywhere! At least in my friend group. That was supposed to imitate a Star Wars intro.
But it’s another layer of crazy reality for me; we enjoy the same conversations, they’re just punctuated by screaming and loud noises.
I welcome the chaos. How many humans have experienced the same as me, over the centuries, over the millennia? And that is a universal experience, that makes one think even more..
Relishing the natural beauty and wonder in Zion National Park, Utah, April 2021
The United States is a vast, diverse country. I’ve been to more parts of the world than I have states, and it’s something I’d like to remedy. Because I think the best thing we can do as Americans is visit other parts of the country. Traveling to states completely different than our own will sow understanding. We are one people, but we are manifold in our backgrounds and way of life. Travel can bridge the gaps, and when we see that although we may live differently, we want the same things, we will insist on uniting together to form a more prosperous union.
Browsing the morning market in Arusha, Tanzania, November 2019
There’s a lot of fear and fatalism present when people discuss the world’s outlook. It’s as if our society has resigned itself to what it deems the inevitable: decline, destruction, and ultimately demise.
I reject such notions of doom. We can change the world collectively through common action. We can reverse any wrong course we’ve started down. And we can impact the future through a belief that we are more similar than different; that together, whilst pursuing love and prosperity, we can contribute to the universe.
Watching water and time go by, Iguazu Falls, Argentina, February 2019
None of us know how much time we have left, which is why our decisions regarding time are so indicative of our connection to the universe. We can choose our time working or relaxing, spending it with members of our tribe or in solitude. Our time, in many ways, is our last freedom, our most personal manifestation of the universe. How will we each use it?
Peering through the trees to the horizon, Maui, February 2021
I believe we can build a coalition of people that believe in the goodness in the world. We can rally around common values like humanism, equity, and sustainability. There are more of us than not. We can unite and spread positivity. We can change the world.
Seeing the sky at a stoplight today
I stood and stared at the sky today and it was glorious. We inhabit a wondrous world. When we stop to see it, we can see a whole lot more.
Looking down upon my third home, visiting again, December 2019
Foolishly, I didn’t realize how much I would miss my Granny today. This was her day. She would cook for her entire tribe and treat us to the best evening of the year. It’s simply not the same without her at the table. And I guess that’s okay; life changes and we change with it. But it doesn’t mean I have to forget. It doesn’t mean there’s nothing lingering in the forging of new traditions. My emotion today reinforces the fact that our time together was meaningful. Her legacy lives on in her children and grandchildren preparing the same meals, gathering together to give thanks to all our family enjoys. I love you so much Granny, and I’m thankful for everything you provided for our tribe. We carry it onward, in your honor, and to honor the future generations that come after us.
Walking past thousands of homes on Christmas, Hong Kong, December 2019
Maybe it’s very American of me to state this, because my country and culture is so young, but I’ve realized that a huge part of tradition is gathering together with your loved ones. Making the ceremony is obviously the function of the tradition, the occasion, but the gathering is the essence. It’s what we’re meant to do as humans.
Looking down on a monastery from the hillside, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, August 2014
Some day each of us will be gone, no longer. So doesn’t it make sense to be kind to others while we are here? If we’re going to be gone some day, might we as well be good to each other? Is kindness such an inconvenience? I don’t see the logic of nihilism on this larger timescale. If I can afford one small kindness to a stranger while here on this Earth, I would sooner offer it then contribute to the cold hard omnipresent entropy. Flames should dance while lit.
Soaking in the legacy of Calle Ocho, Miami, June 2022
What happens to your life’s work when you die? I think we don’t think about this, on the longest timescale, as much as necessary, myself included. Will your work be passed to your children or some other heir? Will someone inherit it with the same vigor and sense of purpose to carry it forward? Will they be aligned to your principles and raison d’etre, so that even if they evolve the work, it would change to something you’d approve? We can contribute to meaningful pursuits that matter over hundreds of years, if we so choose. Can we see past the time horizon of our own lives?
Walking through the Moscow subway, September 2019
Sometimes it really does feel as though the weekends are for doing nothing. For rest and for rejuvenation for the week ahead. And that works if you do what you love. I’ve come to realize that as I’ve grown older: health time and happiness might be the most important things in life, but next comes purpose and passion through a lifelong mission. I want to work toward TAV being mine.
Observing the San Francisco Bay in silence, October 2018
Outlook can change so quickly, or at least it seems like it in retrospect. And that change is found in the silence, not in sociability with others or heads down work or even in music. But I’ve found the silence to also be the toughest test of tutelage for the outlook we all wish we had all the time. It’s a fleeting and delicate thing. But I guess that’s just life.
We’re on a planet with cheetahs! Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, October 2019
Our planet is so incredibly beautiful and precious. It’s there for us to see every single day, if we can and choose to see it. There are millions of species of living things that have evolved to work together in harmony. We inhabit this wondrous place together. Can we see it? Can we contribute to it together?
Observing both worlds in Laos, March 2019
It’s amazing how entrapped we can become in the internal world. We may move about through the external world, but if our mind stays entrenched, we don’t fully join it. Our two worlds remain separated. And it prevents true actualization of us as human beings. We must allow the two worlds to flow freely between one another. It’s the only way for us to truly share the experience.
Admiring the scenery in the South Bay this past weekend
As the days go by, you start to see the big three: health, love and time. Without some semblance of all three of these, there can be little life. We all need all three, and in a way, we’re searching for all three.