Juggling in Life
It can be difficult to keep all the balls in the air in life. But I think most of us choose the same priorities, regardless of ethnicity, culture or geography: family and love.
Sharing Love
I have to say, one of my favorite adulting activities is sharing good news and love with family. Does that make me old? Perhaps, but it can also signify a life well lived. And if we all focus on living well, we can share this big beautiful amazing world together.
Faraway Friends FTW
I try to reach out to faraway friends fairly frequently. It connects me to my previous lives when I saw those people more often, and it keeps my perspective broad because they live somewhere completely different and's thus have disparate experiences. Because I believe we are all one, but we channel our humanity through the various conditions unique to each of us. Despite varying circumstances, we all want the same things. My faraway friends can attest to that. We all emanate love.
People Bringing Change
I used to be one of those cynical souls who pondered not “bringing in children to this world.” But I realized that’s precisely what it is: cynicism. How can we make the world better if we don’t bring people into it? Will the world change by preventing all future generations? Because I agree it seems unlikely the current people alive with agency will bring about global change. Maybe it’s someone young without influence who will change the world—meaning that person was brought into the world by someone. Maybe it’s you.
Create and Contribute
We’re here to create, to contribute, to do. I try to remember that when I’m feeling lazy or unsure. When we look back, we’ll feel proud if we lived authentically and contributed all of us to the world.
Adults Never Come
I think you’re never an adult. There are always more new experiences in life, and the world is always changing. That’s why so many people behave like children. Gotta keep learning and adapting in order to contribute. And that’s part of what it makes it beautiful.
Summer Closing
You can feel the summer winding down. The temperatures are cooling, school is starting soon (as well as football season!), and the year is on the back half. And so it goes.
Time keeps going.. are we contributing? Are we enjoying it?
Truman Tome Thoughts
I finished a big book today, the first time I've finished reading one in a while: Truman by David McCullough. I was emotionally moved upon completing it. And I can say I learned so much from this biography—incredible history (and the importance of always learning more history), but also insight into how to be good, how to be great, and how to live a life well lived.
Harry Truman may not have been our smartest President, but he worked hard and acted on principle (during his entire political career, not just during his time in the White House), in some of the most consequential times in United States history. I feel lucky he was our President at the close of World War II, the dawn of the Nuclear Age, and the birth of the United Nations. He served, as politicians ought to do—to the best of his ability.
It's been said reading enables us to live many lives. I think that's true. There's a unique feeling you encounter when racing through the final pages, eager to finish, but at the same time, dreading it being over. It can be emotional finishing a book, and it stimulates the mind, but I feel it's also almost a spiritual experience, especially when transversing the barrier of time and communing with the dead.
Thank you for your incredible service President Truman. And thank you David McCullough for writing a wonderful book.
Life with Sweat
Life is better with sweat. We are more sedentary now than ever in our species history. Maybe all the sensed division out there can be solved with regular exercise. When we work out we release endorphins and feel better. What if it is that simple?
Collective Musings
My purpose is to contribute… what is our purpose? Is it to procreate? To spread love into the universe?
We are figuring it out as a species. For thousands of years we weren’t able to break the barriers of tribe and culture. Today, with our technology and knowledge, it’s possible.
Any perceived differences are subtle on this grand stage. Have we evolved enough to understand that, to harness the power we possess?
That is our collective purpose in today’s world: to raise global consciousness on this planet, to unite humanity…and to emanate love.
Ethereal Green
Have you ever paused to admire the translucent green of a leaf in the shining sun? It’s incredibly beautiful, otherworldly even.
Plants possess this amazing ability to use chlorophyll and sustain themselves solely with light. It’s something we can’t do. Their very cells are different from ours.
Sometimes the seemingly smallest things can spark joy. When we’re still, we don’t need to go looking for wonder—we recognize it’s all around us.
Common Wisdom
The great religions, the well known doctrines, and grandmothers’ advice worldwide all share one characteristic in common: consideration. It’s what separates us as a species, the ability to think and see beyond ourselves. It is the only thing that will empower us to continue to evolve.
Animal Living
It’s always different living with animals. When you live with other species like dogs or cats your perspective somehow dehumanizes. You see the weather as it is, conditions at your current place on Earth, rather than how it might affect human activities. You can view the day in terms of work, play, feeding and rest, like they do. It makes you consider how we’re living, and helps ensure you’re valuing the right things in life. It’s an incredible experience, this life on planet Earth.
Feeling Good
I’ve focused on my fitness this year, and I have to say I feel great. Life is better when you’re healthy and in shape.
When we feel our best we can do great things. Part of the whole “look good feel good play good” philosophy I grew up with.
What if improving our world, doing good things for our world, merely comes down to more of us feeling better?
Summer Moment
The heat of summer is always a turning point. The first half of the year has passed, and we either look forward to the back half or live in the moment. We can prepare for what’s to come, but we can’t live in the future.
With children out of school and all the fun events and travel, summer is the easiest time for us to embrace the moment. Can our species see itself while in this moment?
Satisfaction and Fulfillment
One of the challenges of living in the Bay Area is the prevalence of inordinate wealth. You may easily question if you’re “doing well” when surrounded by so much of it.
Which is why fulfillment and satisfaction are better metrics. They’re the real indicators of happiness. Are we satisfied? Are we fulfilled?
Elections 76 Years Apart
In January 1948, nobody thought Harry Truman could win reelection. Almost every single poll counted him out, all the news media counted him out, even his political party counted him out. And yet through determination and a deep belief in what’s right, after touring nearly the entire country, he won.
This is not 1948. And obviously Joe Biden is not Harry Truman. It doesn’t appear a Truman candidate will emerge this election cycle. Most Americans seem unhappy with both major candidates. So what will we do? What will the great citizens of the United States demand of their representatives in 2024? How will we self-govern?
The power lies with us.
These Political Times
And it all changes again. I had a feeling something would happen while away and disconnected in Yosemite. Books will be written about this time in political history. And while everyone seems to have hot takes, the summer succession of the Presidential debate, the Trump assassination attempt, and now Biden's drop out of the election is unprecedented.
It seems like a long time until November, in which a lot can still happen. It's our responsibility as citizens of this country to continue to voice our opinions and to demand change and transparency from our representatives. Information is available to ordinary citizens as never before; the time is now to choose the direction of our country. Who do we want to lead us? Because that's truly our choice, not the Democratic or Republican parties.
We enjoy incredible rights and freedoms in this country. They come with responsibilities. Let's act on behalf of them.
Birthday Observations
Waking up in Yosemite for your birthday’s not a bad way to go. Some observations from the woods:
it’s possible to look graceful setting up a tent
we enjoy just this brief glimpse of time during our lives compared to the geological timescales of this planet
the mountains and woods restore you soul - we should visit them more often
watching children play in the river reinforces they’re the future of our species
driving is hard for humans
it feels really good to shower after camping for three days
Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places on the planet
I go into a new year of life full of hope and with many aspirations. I want to learn to cook more things. I want to keep reading and prioritizing exercise. But most of all, I want to renew my focus of contribution, of giving to the world. I foresee big things coming in 2024-2025 for TAV. Stay tuned.
National Parks for All
When this is published I’ll be hiking a trail or basking in the Merced River.
I implore those who haven’t been to visit Yosemite, to see our national parks. They are one of America’s greatest features.
When we appreciate our open, wild places, we can all come together as one species on one rock.
We are lucky to inhabit such a beautiful place, beyond our wildest imagination.