Concentration Reflection

How often do you spend an hour or more in uninterrupted, deep concentration? While listening to Cal Newport detail his work habits, it occurred to me that I rarely spend much time completely focused on one thing. Which means my brain hasn't wired itself to optimally sustain such mental states. I suspect this is fairly common in the world today, with how much we refer to our smartphones and especially social media. What impact does this have? Are Americans distinct in this regard, or is this prevalent all over the world?

A foreboding feeling arises when we consider such questions. Our technology enables astonishing things and lives of convenience. Does it also dampen our global consciousness? Can we manipulate incentives to actually unite humanity and inspire change? Time will tell. Maybe it simply starts with concentration and reflection—who do we want to be as individuals, and as a species.

The Need for Sociology in Today's Technological World

“Sociology is the study of human society… human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture…” so says Wikipedia. It helps us understand social change.

This field of study is often met with derision. But as the exponential acceleration of technological progression continues to dramatically alter our world, it’s clear Sociology is not only necessary but paramount. How our phones affect us shouldn’t just be studied on a neurobiological level, but on the grand stage of society.

Humans have always lived in groups. We are the orcas of the land, and our tools extend the size and reach of our pods. How we organize socially has determined our history and defines our fate. Understanding our sociology can help identify incentives, and ultimately inspire change.

Reese’s Gone

I thought, “what if Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups went out of production, and there would only be a finite amount left?”

It made me unreasonably uneasy. I would buy and hoard them, ration them for as long as I could.

But nothing lasts forever, not even us, our consciousness, our lives, our species.. where do we go from here?

I offer this: we live, as wildly and freely as possible. Together, in this big beautiful amazing world.

Sociological Organization

Sociology is worthless. Waste of a degree and waste of time, I was told.

Yet this is what I do, what has unlocked my unique perspective, whether traveling or in daily life. Our lives will be defined by how we organize.

Artificial Intelligence Considerations

Despite all the chatter, no one knows the outcome of our dance with AI. It's ironic that Dune Part 2 premiered this month, when its source novel provides:

“Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.”

And:

"Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of human mind."

I'm not against development of more capable AI. But we seem too eager to seize value from its capabilities without considering consequences. Everything has consequences in this universe; it's basic physics.

Do we understand the potential consequences of General Artificial Intelligence? Are such repercussions primarily due to the technology itself, or the culture and societal structure within which it grows?

Technology rarely leads to pure salvation or destruction, but the hype feels real that AI could be either. Can we bend it to further raise global consciousness? It's unclear where to go from here, but worth our deliberation.

Perspective in Life

Perspective is everything. It changes how two different people can feel about the same result. There used to be a saying that happiness = expectations – outcome.  I've found that to be very true in my life experience.

It's how you get wildly different takes about the same sports game, or election results, or a new movie. We may be more similar than we are different, but there are still more than eight billion of us, and we're bound to have some variance in opinion.

Should we thus enter any engagement with minimal expectations? I'm not sure this is the correct answer either, as expectations derive from anticipation, from thinking about a given event before it happens, like how athletes visualize scoring before it happens. Preparation, most of the time in life, is worthwhile. Considering the possible range of expectations yields better results. What is the absolute worst-case scenario, and what is the one you dream for? Most likely the result will be somewhere in the middle.

Which is where gratitude comes into play. Practicing gratitude insulates us from disappointment, from resentment festering from misaligned expectations. We can always be grateful when the worst-case possibility doesn't occur. We can always be grateful for the successes and prosperity we do enjoy, no matter how meager they may seem. We can be grateful for the very breath we take right now...

It all, gratitude, and the consideration of possible outcomes, comes from perspective. It's a worthy element to strive for every day.

Dharma over Decades

Respect Responsibility Resolve. Sing Laugh Dance Smile every day. Love, health and time. Over the years I’ve considered creeds and philosophies to embrace in life.

I think it’s natural to experience some variation in approach as we emerge from adolescence and navigate through early adulthood. But my eventual goal has been to develop something to withstand the ebbs and flows of any given decade.

Yet there’s no deadline nor pressure, and I often need to remind myself that. We can simply be the best we can be, and that will be enough in the world. Our best will bring internal satisfaction, and external good for the world.

Voting isn’t fun. We should do it anyway

Voting isn't fun. To vote responsibly you need to understand the issues, be familiar with the candidates, and have an awareness of current events. Voting on propositions requires the ability to decipher sometimes complex language in the bill itself, as well as an understanding of a bill's implications. Where does the money come from? How well is it regulated/apportioned? Are there hidden costs, either financial or otherwise? A 'yes' or 'no' is not always simple.

And then there's voting for a person. I find it incredibly difficult to choose candidates; there's more to it than simply reading and understanding a proposed ballot initiative. These are living, breathing people. Candidates are inherently more complex and variable. Are they qualified? What does it mean to be qualified for a given office? Will they do what they say they're going to do? Are they a person of character? You mostly don't get to meet your representatives in person... but maybe we should make that a higher priority. Voting for a person, at some point, is putting faith into a stranger that they'll serve your best interests.

So why vote, when both propositions and people can be dubious? Because it's the mechanism by which we govern ourselves in a fair, free society. It's the most important thing we can do as citizens of our community, our state, our country, and our planet. Voting is hard, and it isn't fun. That's not why we do it. We vote because it's our responsibility as members of this species. To vote is to seize one's agency for change. By voting, we can change the world.

One Love

I've been thinking about another similarity shared among all humans: love. What culture doesn't celebrate love? Across the entire planet, across the centuries of our species' civilizations, we have always loved. The most prevalent stories we tell revolve around the love between two people. Mythology and legend often centrally feature romance. We go beyond our normal limits for love. We do irrational things for those whom we love. Biological organisms act in their self interest in order to reproduce and pass on their genetic information, yet human beings often act against their self interest because of love. We may completely disagree with another, or not understand one's way of life at all, but do we all love? It defines us, across ethnicity and culture, across geography and space, across generations and time. It defines us as a species. To be human is to love. And when we recognize this shared purpose, we are capable of uniting humanity. As Bob Marley indicated, we are one. One species, together, united by love. One love.

Maybe Consideration

I sometimes wonder about the best strategies for escaping the day-to-day rat race, how to consider the bigger picture of my life experience and my place in the universe. But then I wonder if such escapism simply represents a luxury I enjoy, a luxury billions of others don't have access to. When you're scrounging for dollars a day trying to feed your family, are you even able to conceive of such things beyond your own tribe's survival?  I'm privileged to not know the answer.

Yet I remember Viktor Frankl's book, "Man's Search for Meaning," and his central message: no one can take away meaning in your life; it is the one thing firmly and absolutely within your control. He was subjected to the harshest conditions imaginable—slavery and torture within a Nazi Holocaust concentration camp during World War II. Now, he was educated and established in his profession of psychiatry before his deportation, so perhaps he possessed tools others didn't when dealing with the most extreme diversity possible. But he maintained his self worth, and he maintained hope. It was possible for him to see a bigger picture outside of his daily plight.

Does this mean education is the secret ingredient? Was Frankl better equipped to persevere through horror because he was educated and could think critically? I don't know if this is the definitive answer. I usually attribute a given outcome to a confluence of factors. But it can't hurt. The ability to consider, to think beyond yourself, isn't an innate ability. We are taught to be considerate. Hopefully one's immediate family instills this within a person from a young age, but education expands its context. Education enables people to consider not just others' emotions and perspectives, but also other ideas. With education, one can examine the history of a nation, or the methodology and results of a scientific experiment, with discerning judgement. Education instills the exchange of ideas and measured consideration.

So maybe we start there—maybe we all focus on being considerate, on being aware of the causes and implications of our words and actions. And maybe we all pursue education, in whatever applicable form, regardless of age. Maybe that initiates a cycle of consideration, and maybe that raises our global consciousness. Maybe it enables us to unite humanity, to inspire change. And then maybe, just maybe, we can change the world.

Tribalism this far

We are tribal creatures that have organized in small groups for 99% of our species history. Is it a wonder tribalism is interfering in our nation building? From an evolutionary perspective, it's actually remarkable how far we've transitioned to a state of laws governing such large numbers of people across such vast swathes of continents. We've done well.

And it will continue to be difficult. It's "unnatural," so to say. But we can find solace, and hope, in the fact our species is capable of rising beyond our biology. We are the only life form we know of that can do so. We've come this far. Who says we can't keep going? I've always enjoyed seeing naysayers proved wrong.

Communication in Sedona

I admire the red dust covering my boots for a moment as I lace them up. Small signs of happiness permeate Sedona. My routine in the morning stays the same: coffee and breakfast, then load up the pack with water, sandwiches, and layers. Drive out to a new trailhead. Repeat the next day.

When out on a trail, I feel my soul restoring. The red dirt trail contrasts with the magnificent blue skies, and the surrounding diverse vegetation envelops a sense of serenity. Then you look up, or over yonder, and are met with a towering formulation of brilliant red rock. It's as if Earth speaks to you in Sedona: this is how I am, this is who we are together.

We evolved to roam the Earth. Our eyesight developed to scan horizons, our bipedal locomotion to march through varying landscapes. Our circulatory system is our superpower; forever sweating and never overheating. We are destined to explore and inhabit this most glorious of planets.

Sedona reminds me of this, and that's why I always return. We have been gifted a big beautiful amazing world, full of wonder and majesty. Live within it.

To Enjoy in Life

I often write about the big picture, the serious issues facing society and how "ordinary" people can see the world in order to impact it. It's all very serious stuff. 🙂 And while I do think about these things constantly, and am driven by the mission of TAV, I also partake in good old hedonistic fun. We're not monks after all. We're here to fulfill our purpose, yes, but also to live our life. My urging for a paradigm shift, my plea for any small action on the part of the individual, that has always come within the context of living a "normal" life. The world doesn't need martyrs; it needs considerate people.

And so we arrive at today, a very auspicious day for Bay Area locals. Today is Super Bowl Sunday, and the San Francisco 49ers are playing the Kansas City Chiefs to decide this season's NFL champion. I've been obsessing about this game most of the past two weeks. I'm nervous--the last 2 Super Bowls didn't go very well for the 49ers--but also confident, as I think they are the league's best team this year, and that they'll play well. And while their foe today will certainly be formidable, past performance does not guarantee future success, as they say. Diehard Niner fans like me have been waiting 29 years for another Super Bowl championship. There is a lot of anticipation and emotion pouring into today.

And I've wondered throughout the week if my heart has been misplaced. Should I care this much about a 3 hour football game? How much will this game really impact my life? (I've always argued that cost of living and property values are affected by a big market sports team's fate). If I want to change the world through TAV, is analyzing football really the best use of my time? It's been a sincere struggle. And I'm not writing this to defend myself, or justify my fandom in some grandiose argument. I simply think it's important to indulge in what we enjoy, barring it doesn't hurt anyone or isn't too unhealthy. Of course there is balance, "balance is key," as they also say in life. But I believe one can enjoy hobbies, passions, and good old debauchery that isn't directly tied to one's purpose. We are complex creatures, capable of multiple interests and multiple channels of which to put our energy.

We don't have to be saints. We have to treat others well, and understand our place on this planet, in this universe, and be kind and considerate. And laugh: there should always be lots of laughter. Go Niners, and happy Super Bowl Sunday.

One United Humanity

Every few months my wife and I sit down to talk travel. We love visiting new places, experiencing the Earth's incredible geography and wildlife, and immersing in humanity's diverse cultures.

There might be some confirmation bias, but in my life thus far I can affirm what my father told me when I was young: we all laugh and cry for the same reasons. It's become a fundamental belief of mine--we are more similar than we are different.

The differences between cultures can seem stark at first. There have been countless times in which I've visited a new place and have experienced culture shock; it's a real thing. Language, diet, norms and customs--they can be vastly different than what we're familiar with. But even on my shortest international trips, I've always begun to settle in toward the end. I start to better understand the different perspective of the locals. It's not hard to appreciate someone else's way of life. You just need to spend some time in it, and really not even that much.

The Earth's geography shapes how people live: Tibetans on the roof of the world live very differently than the people on the islands of the Caribbean. Many hot places have a slower pace to life. Mountainous regions at high elevations can create harsh living conditions and hardy people. It's sort of beautiful how our species has adapted across the varying landscapes on the surface of the planet.

But underneath these very real, yet superficial differences in religion, food, governance, geography, and sociology... what we call culture... we are truly the same. We do laugh and cry for the same reasons, no matter what our ancestry. Every culture on the planet gathers to eat on special occasions. We all want the same things: health, happiness, prosperity, and time. We are all capable of great darkness and great beauty. And we all share this one rock, inextricably connected. We are one, whether we realize it or not. It would serve all of us to awaken to this reality now.

Hope in 2024

Does 2024 feel normal yet? I feel February is usually the time we start remembering to write the correct year and the world starts the settling in process. I know it's begun for me in my personal life. But I've also been reflecting on the state of the world in 2024 and our development of global consciousness.

Major wars exist in the Yemen, Ukraine, and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts, among several other ongoing armed conflicts. The world can't agree or act on climate change. Many countries in the world are polarized politically and economically. Technological advancements' impacts on media have created a truth crisis. And it feels like we are (slowly or rapidly, depending on your perception and emotional state) losing our critical thinking skills. Oh, what to do?

There's no panacea, no one solution that will magically wave away these interconnected issues. We'll have to enact several policy changes, and as individuals commit to action on various principles, in order to effect change. But there is one prerequisite; one I've struggled to maintain at times through last year: hope. We can't talk about the problem without hope. We can't brainstorm solutions to our problems without hope. We can't develop global consciousness, or unite humanity, without hope. Inspiring change starts with holding that tiny little spark of inspiration within you: it begins with believing in, and maintaining, hope. By cultivating hope, we can change the world.

Contribution is Sacrifice

Reading about our founding fathers in The American Spirit by David McCullough, it's obvious how much they sacrificed for their country. They were willing to give their lives for the principles they believed in, to the cause of a just and free nation.

I write about contribution a lot, how we should all strive to contribute to the one planet we all call home, regardless of our possible differences. To contribute, at some level, means to sacrifice. To sacrifice one's comfort, convenience, or even one's wishes, so to add value to the greater good. Whatever one's passion, be it their country, the environment, or conservation, in order to truly add substantive value to that cause, they must sacrifice their time and energy in order to devote a part of themselves (or all of themselves) toward that endeavor.

I think it's important we recognize this, and remember it: results come from hard work, from dedication through contribution, from sacrifice. There are no free rides. Our lives, and the greater world, our corner of the universe, becomes what we make of it. McCullough makes a compelling argument that it's never been easy in America, and yet strong and committed individuals have bent the arc of history towards liberty and prosperity. We all know it's certainly not easy right now. Are we willing to contribute? Are we willing to sacrifice, to ensure we move toward a more perfect Union?

Weekly Paradigm Shift

It always amazes me how fickle time can be. Sometimes I look back on a week ago and I feel like a completely different person. Things that seemed important a week ago rarely are. And I think that shows how variable life can be. We may have completely disparate experiences from one week to another. Maybe we were sick last week, and healthy this week; our energy levels would likely be drastically different, and our sense of difficulty would probably change. Milestones, whether big work meetings or fun social events, usually appear different in the rearview mirror. Time creates distance in the 4th dimension, and while it doesn't guarantee perspective change, it enables opportunity for it.

I think this is why having a consistent, inclusive paradigm enables us to find harmony, with all others and our shared circumstance of being here together in this time and place. If we view our life within the greater context of occurring on Earth during the 21st century, our identity doesn't inherently exclude other people or other life. We can recognize our shared conditions: we are stuck here on this planet together, like it or not. An expanded paradigm unlocks this superpower of elevated global consciousness, achievable by literally anyone alive, yet doesn't harm or hinder our daily perspective. I would argue it only enhances your reflection as you look back to one week ago. You see how things have changed, but you place your experiences within the scope of being alive in a wondrous universe, full of miracle and mystery. How extraordinary our lot in life is--and we can all share in it.

Exciting Announcements

I’m excited to share that I was recently featured on a podcast called Step into Success with my friends Darion and Elaina. For their very first episode, they interviewed me to hear what TAV is all about.

I talk about the importance of journaling and written communication, as well as my photography, among other things.

You can watch this podcast on YouTube, or check out a portion of it here:

I had a lot of fun talking to Darion and Elaina!

It’s also available on the following well-known platforms:

• Spotify

• Deeper

• Samsung podcast

• Podcast Index

• Apple (TBA)

• Amazon (TBA)

• Iheart

• Google podcast

Other updates:

There’s a new About page you can check out, which explains my ethos around TAV and what we’re trying to accomplish.

And finally, merch! There are now some t-shirts available for purchase in the store, and many more will be added soon. The goal here is to start a movement—every t-shirt will cost $50, including tax and shipping. (Think Macklemore: “I’m like, ‘Yo, that’s $50 for a t-shirt’”).

Half of the listed price will always go to charity. So when you buy a t-shirt (showcasing a positive message), you’re also supporting important causes to better our world. Look out for more products soon, and happy shopping!

Thank you for your support.

Air for Astronauts

I was looking back at past ideas for blog posts and came across these two:

• We get too caught up in our human bubble. We are part of a larger ecosystem, the Earth, and our focus and awareness needs to expand to that in order to truly change the world and solve our problems

• We are the only known planet with oxygen that can support us. There may be raw materials on Mars or other planets but we’re not there yet. We need to take care of this planet

I think I wrote both these ideas down around the time I watched the first few episodes of One Strange Rock, a 2018 National Geographic miniseries hosted by Will Smith. It features interviews with several different NASA astronauts, who describe their experiences aboard the International Space Station and on spacewalks. Their expression of Earth's beauty deeply moved me. I've been incredibly fortunate to travel across the world, but I've never left it like they have. Viewing the Earth from space is supposed to completely change your worldview and permanently shift your paradigm of life. There have been 656 people who have reached space in the history of our species. You can find anecdotes online of their experiences, but they all seem to align on one thing: the Earth is a precious entity floating in the void of space, and there are no distinctions between 'parts' of it from above. It is all one. It is a harbor for all known life, including humanity. And as far as we know, it is the only possible harbor that exists.

One of the astronauts talked about that in the NatGeo documentary. He reminisced about a spacewalk, and how he had to let go of the ISS (while tied to it with a rope), and how exhilarating it was--he was relinquishing all control, and had to trust in the rope attached to the space station. It was the most alone and isolated he had ever felt. And he talked about how clear it is up in space that there is no oxygen. In fact, there is no oxygen anywhere in the universe--as far as we know--except one place: Earth. Our planet is the only one that contains the necessary environment for us to survive. It's surreal when you actually think about it. And how do we take care of this one precious planet we inhabit?

It really does get down to the hard science of it all: the physics, the chemistry, the biology of what we are and where we exist in the void. As Carl Sagan poetically said in his pale blue dot reflections, every human that has ever existed, regardless of status or birth year, has lived out their existence on this blue planet. We all share that, as does every other single living thing we know of. From this vantage point, it's clear it's time to end our squabbles. That what truly matters is our shared experience of this miracle that is life. And that we are a part of this miracle, with billions of other organisms, on this utterly unique planet; we are not thee miracle. If we recognize that, and raise our global consciousness, we can unite, and inspire each other. Understanding we share this one big beautiful amazing world, we can start to change it.

You are what you think. Can we collectively realize that?

"You are what you eat" is a commonly known phrase. I'd argue just as important, in today's world, is the concept, "You are what you think about." I've written about consumption versus production many times before, but my recent circumstances spurred me to revisit it once again.

If you're consuming content all the time, you're thinking about what the creators of that content are thinking. This pertains to the news, podcasts, reading online, etc.--regardless of medium, consumption is consumption. There are times when I have either listened to podcasts or read online for the majority of my waking hours, meaning I subjected myself to the whims of others. My consciousness on those days was directed, not by me, but by people I've never met. I didn't have any agency; my actual brain's functionality was imposed upon by strangers. It's kind of wild to think about it in this way.

This past week was my first week back to work after being in the Caribbean, an experience I previously wrote about. Every day this week, I didn't consume anything before lunch time--and I didn't even think about it, it wasn't an effort--it was completely unconscious. And I think it's because the Caribbean helped me recapture my independence, because I only listened to music. I didn't consume a single podcast or read online at all. Someone told me about the plane crash in Japan and I had no idea. I didn't even know whether my beloved 49ers beat the Commanders--in fact I didn't even know when the game was. This wasn't some sort of impressive feat--I was completely absorbed in the magic of the Virgin Islands, and being there was so immersive that it pulled me away from my consumption habits. Returning home and to the office, I simply carried on with what I was doing in the Caribbean; my baseline had changed. And this just goes to show how malleable our minds our, how quickly we can shift our operating system.

This can make life challenging for sure. We can continue on a harmful path simply because momentum has built up. But it also makes us powerful. It shows we can change our perspective, shift our paradigm in life, literally rewire the circuitry of our brains. I think it's incredibly important to be mindful of one's consumption habits, because in a zero-sum game for our attention and focus, any consumption inherently takes away from our production, from our ability to contribute. And that is where collectively, through elevating our global consciousness, we can change the world: through our individual contributions, through our will and agency to make the universe a better place. This can unite humanity and further inspire change. It all stems from such a simple concept. You are what you think.