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Category: Archives

The full collection of explorations.

Tomorrow’s Enemies

Published on May 28, 2023

I heard a great piece of advice today: watch carefully how the people around you treat their enemies—because you may very well become one of them down the road.

While this might sound dark or pessimistic—in a world that’s filled with gossip, drama, lust, envy, greed, impatience, deception, miscommunication, frustration, pain, suffering, etc… I’d say it’s an all-too-common (and unfortunate) reality.

…Friends who were once inseparable, plotting for the other’s downfall. Family members who share ancestry, refusing to share a room or word. Lovers who make sacred vows, who later end up tangled in the nastiest of divorces.

The people who are able to stay calm towards their “enemies,” though? The people who learn to disassociate, detach, and move on? The people who can act with grace and kindness even towards the ones who they disagree with or who hurt them?

…Those are the people you want to keep around and form alliances with. And you’ll know—just from that one key observation at the outset… that petty battles can be avoided for grander wars. Wars that affect us all—not just them. Ones that pave paths forward, not continuously pulls both parties back to battles in ruins.

Keep it sharp in your mind: tomorrows “enemies” may very well be today’s allies. Watch carefully how your allies treat their enemies today. And (re)form your alliances accordingly.

The Ripples of Life

Published on May 26, 2023

Today, I attended a wake for the father of a childhood friend.

I never met him, so I’m unable to comment on his life myself. But, how others summarize the life of another—someone dear to them—in the brief time allotted at a remembrance gathering will forever intrigue me.

Some of the themes that were shared of this gentlemen:

  • He was an honest man. Told you how he saw it. Sometimes to a fault.
  • Helped a tremendous number of people via Alcoholics Anonymous, St. Mary’s School for the Deaf, and his big & open heart.
  • Was brought to life by music and nature. If you looked at his face at a live show of a band he liked, he’d look like a child who just witnessed a miracle. And if there is a heaven, he’d be listening to live music near a cool stream of water.

At the end of a life, what we’re left with is legacy—the ripples of influence that flow forever outward as a result of our life actions. And if we’re lucky, some of those ripples carry on in the lives of others and continue to create fresh ripples long after we’re gone.

Today, I hope in hearing about this stranger’s legacy, you’re moved to be more deliberate in how you create ripples. Life is short. Don’t take ripple opportunities for granted.

The Victory In Writing Nothing At All

Published on May 25, 2023

If I sit and stare at a blank page, thinking and conjuring up what I might write, even if I don’t write a single word, I consider it a tremendous success.

Where most people see a waste of time, what I see is a chunk of time dedicated to thinking and conjuring things up. Something that, by definition, takes time and undisrupted focus.

Something that, you must understand, looks precisely like sitting and staring.

Something that, in today’s world, is becoming increasingly rare because it’s uncomfortable and can be instantly avoided with a few taps of the fingers.

But for someone to lean into that uncomfortable feeling… to have the discipline to not submit to passive entertainment… to be proactive enough to silence notifications, close all tabs, and clear the calendar of appointments… all so that they can have some space and time to think… so that they can digest all of the crap that has ceaselessly entered their mind from the second they woke up that morning (not including the backlog of crap from the many mornings prior)… so that they can just settle and move towards clarity… is nothing short of a victory.

And to do so for an hour, several hours, or even half an hour… should be seen as one and nothing less.

Anti-Too-Much-Social-Media

Published on May 24, 2023

Recently, an advisory was issued by the US Surgeon General on the potential dangers of social media for children, highlighting its negative impact on mental health and overall well-being. One key highlight was how:

“Children and adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media face double the risk of mental health problems including experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety. This is concerning as a recent survey showed that teenagers spend an average of 3.5 hours a day on social media.”

Couple this with my post yesterday about how advancements in AI led to a 24% increase in time spent on Instagram in quarter 1 of this year… and how that’s only the beginning of what continued advancements will lead to… and you can see how we’re on the cusp of a worsening crisis.

To be clear, I’m not anti-social-media. But, I’m definitely anti-too-much-social-media.

Self-discipline is a hard earned skill, one that most grown adults haven’t fully developed. Assuming kids and teens will be able to discipline themselves is naive. We need to lead the disciplined charge and help initiate forces that push in the opposite direction of screens.

Having strong screen boundaries set—that’s applicable to the whole family—can help (e.g. family dinner time, 1-hour before bed, while outside, etc).

Getting them involved in reality-based activities that make them forget about social media can help (e.g. martial arts, sports, art classes, etc).

And using your unique influence and access can definitely help (plenty of ideas at the bottom of the advisory here).

My intention writing to you today is to call upon that help so we all can better help our next generation. They already need it.

Tip of the AI Iceberg

Published on May 23, 2023

I recently came across an article where Meta bragged that improvements in their AI recommendations led to a 24% increase in time spent on Instagram in the January – March quarter of this year.

…And we’re just at the tip of the AI Iceberg.

Imagine what continued updates, upgrades, and refinements will do to that number in the very near future…

It’s scary to think how that number may very well only go up.

Which is why, it’s more important than ever to build better habits when it comes to social media use.

If it’s true that soon our feeds are going to be so damn good at showing us content that it keeps us on the platforms 24%, 50%, 150%(?!) longer—we need to become damn better at not logging in at all.

It’s rarely ever that I close out a social media app after having unconsciously binged for way too long and don’t immediately regret opening it in the first place.

And on the flip side, it’s rarely ever that I don’t smile with pride when I see my average daily screen time numbers go down at the end of a week.

To be fair, there is certainly some good that may come from getting better content fed into our timelines. And if we’re mindful and deliberate, we may even be able to curate a feed that’s constructive for our lives.

My only fear is that we’ll become so addicted to them that we won’t be able to digest that content, formulate our own thoughts around it, or free ourselves from the impossible grips of its advanced tailored-specifically-for-you, highly stimulating, dopamine-triggering, never-ending, constantly-refreshing feed of content gold.

Proceed with caution.

Outdoor Screen Time

Published on May 22, 2023

Today, I saw a parent pushing their child along in a stroller on a beautiful day that had a contraption attached to it which kept a screen mounted directly in front of the toddler’s face.

To which my knee-jerk response was something along the lines of BLASPHEMY.

But, it wasn’t long thereafter until I noticed (remembered?) just about every other passerby of every age doing the same. Walking outside on a beautiful day with a screen mounted directly in front of their face—only instead of a stroller mounted contraption holding it, it was being manually held.

…As if we don’t get enough of this when we’re indoors as is.

Being outdoors should be treated as sacred time. Time when we get to breathe fresh air, notice the other living creatures we get to share this space with, feel the weatherly variety from which life on our planet was born… Time when we get to actively utilize our own imagination rather than being constantly spoon-fed by the imaginations of others.

And unless it’s urgent or important, we should make it a personal rule to restrict the use of our screens during life-giving moments like this. Or else I fear screen time will only continue to invade in on any and all time that constitutes our day—regardless of its sacredness or importance.

Question: Do you have any personal rules focused on the restriction of screen time? If so, what are they?

Speaking Space

Published on May 21, 2023

There have been several instances lately where I’ve wanted to say something, taken a deliberate pause instead, ended up not saying or changing what I was going to say, and have felt curiously grateful as a result.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from writing as much as I have, it’s that the thought almost always improves with some space and additional thought. And now I’m learning how real that is for speaking, too.

P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.