Finding Purpose

Finding purpose is challenging in our society—should it be?

The bottom line: we get to choose how we earn a living and who we spend our time with. Everything else.. how much money we make, who we run into and what happens to us.. seems largely circumstantial.

So we can choose. Will we be a force of good? Will we contribute to the universe? In this deepest sense, our fate is negotiable.

I’m asking for more

I’m asking for more.

We all want the same things: to spend lots of quality time with loved ones, to put food on the table for our family, to raise children, to find fulfilling work, to own a home, to have fun. Freedom, equity, and togetherness.

I believe everyone has a right to pursue these basic human desires.

But I also believe we should all do more, beyond those common goals. We can all elevate global consciousness, a true recognition of humanism beyond our smaller national, regional, communal, or familial tribes.

We can all regularly engage in civic participation, not just voting in every election but advocating for what we believe and truly self-governing.

And we can all give—to those outside our normalized group, to others without thought of reward. We can all volunteer our time or money and provide community service to make our world stronger.

This can all be achieved in mere minutes a week. Am I too demanding to ask for more?

Listening to Intuition

I'm not sure if we all have a path before us. But I believe intuition. I think we can know things instrinsically, when we listen. Sometime in the future Science will determine whether such sentiment belongs in the realm of mysticism or consensus reality.

But I think we know when we're moving in the right direction, that we recognize good from evil, and we can feel our connection to the universe. As I tell myself when I recite my Morning Saying, we are the universe. We are atoms and cells. We are life, interacting with the other fragments of this particle soup.

From this basic skill of listening, we can grow global consciousness, unite humanity, and inspire change.

Slow Thinking and Slow Living

I only know my time, but wow does the world move quickly. Our technology brings us incredible speeds of communication and computation. And the advent of machine learning may contribute to an even greater acceleration of change in our society.

And yet, are we more connected now than 20, 50, 100 years ago? Or do we just know more things faster? Another way to think about it: if we are more connected in today’s world, does our biology enable us to benefit from that increased connection? Or do we suffer?

There are many difficult questions to answer. The only way we can approach solutions is if we slow down to think about their repercussions. Instead of reacting constantly, we can employ slow thinking and slow living.

Mother’s Day 2024

And then there’s Momma. Twenty-one inches I was apparently; now as an adult you wouldn’t believe it.

There’re a group of people in the world who give birth to other humans, who further our species, literally. These humans, we call mothers, raise and teach our young how to behave and how to live.

Everything we know, all the art and science, all the innovation that’s taken us to the moon and back, all begins with our mothers.

I know I can credit anything I contribute to my mother. I love you Mom, Happy Mother’s Day.

Guardians and Beauty

I think about how important it is for children to have positive adult influences (besides their parents) in life. There’s a reason we call them guardians.

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have fantastic grandparents, aunts and uncles, great coaches and teachers…all whom have contributed to my psychology today.

I relished the opportunity to do that with my niece today, who is shaping into a kind, compassionate young woman.

We’re only as beautiful as we want to be, together.

Onset of Summer

As the temperature heats up, molecules move faster, and that includes us. Summer is in the air in California, and its residents can’t withhold their excitement.

We’re at the precipice of one of my favorite times of the year: Mother’s and Father’s Day, the end of the school year, and the launch of summer. The year feels full of possibility, as we’re still not half way through.

How can we make this summer enjoyable, not just for ourselves, but for the world? How can we contribute just a little bit of ourselves to the larger global ecosystem?

Such considerations will enable future summers to remain enjoyable.

Wonder in 2024

It can be hard to see the beauty with all the increased prices for everything, the red lights run, the online negativity…

I find it easiest to go back to the most basic things—the flowers blooming all over the Northern Hemisphere, the fact we’re all here together in this magical moment, the breath.

When we step back, figuratively and literally, we see can see the wonder of living on Earth in the year 2024. It’s important for us to see it.

Reflecting in the Wrap

Some days just wrap you up and spit you out. It can be hard to keep the bigger picture in perspective when life is “hitting you fast.”

But that’s also kind of the twist. We have to roll with whatever’s presented to us, keep going, and hopefully, find some time to reflect on it all.

Because it truly is one big beautiful amazing world.

Contemplating Consciousness

I can’t overstate the importance of my tribe. They are the dearest elements of my experience.

I imagine most of the other eight billion people on this planet feel the same.

And that’s the point. We all care for our loved ones. We’re all here together. Can we elevate our circle of care to the entirety of our species? Can we raise our consciousness to be global?

Connection Level

We claim to be more connected than ever before. Our technology certainly enables forms of communication across great distance.

But it’s ironic: we’re less connected than maybe any point in our species’ history.

Because on a fundamental level, in this particle soup we call the universe, we are already inherently connected to everyone and everything; to the Earth and its top soil and plate tectonics and water cycle; to all the organisms on this planet as part of the biological ecosystem and the food of our food and the bacteria in our gut; to the people of every corner and culture and to the memories of our ancestors; to the very elemental particles coming from space that interact with the magnetic field of our planet. We are connected to all of it, a part of it. It simply is.

Can we feel it?

Decisions to Contribute

Decisions before us can fractal our world view. Should I pursue this career tract? Do I go back to school? Would I be happy if I moved here?

As I’ve grown older I’ve realized these questions never go away. There will always be hard choices in life.

But we can’t remain transfixed by the prospect of consequences, or continually look back into the past. We are who we are because of the journey we are on, the route we did take.

And to live well is to show up daily, understanding but not overthinking decisions, trying our absolute best to contribute to the world.