Great post from Carl Barenbrug that hits very close to my overall feelings on the topic of connectedness (or lack thereof).
We struggle to find worthwhile connections and conversations with those we can learn from and engage meaningfully with. It’s difficult to know why exactly. There’s probably many reasons—work, personal commitments, not knowing where to find them, or too afraid to even seek them out.
I’d make an argument that most of the reasons stem from an oversupply issue. The oversupply of “connection opportunities” has completely eroded the ability to spark, fertilize, incubate and hatch what is a strong connection. Social media, endless scroll and the collective “phone screen as life’s viewfinder” are all to blame.
I’m leaning into older and slower methods. Regular, scheduled and valued phone calls. Long-form letters in the modern convenience of emails. Investing in another human is something that should bring mutual value and growth for both parties.
Twitter/Instagram/etc will make you feel like you can reap dividends by investing time in tiny bits that are equivalent to mere pennies. I’ve come to the conclusion those methods are nothing more than wishing wells.
What a beautiful and peaceful place to contemplate life.
#architecture #destinations
Excellent article sans attribution over at The School of Life
Some of the reason why this continues to feel unreal is that we simply can’t imagine that success, great wealth and a palace wouldn’t in the end do the trick. And that in turn is because too few people who have been blessed with such accoutrements have ever given us an honest account of what it felt like to have them.
Minimalist tendencies lean into eastern sensibilities.
Leo Babauta always has gems to share, but the following really resonated with me:
This is the benefit of living a simple life, this slowness and spaciousness, but it can also be a path to the simple life. Slow down to simplify.
One of my 2022 themes is moving to more “slow apps” that don’t have the goal of engagement or stealing focus. I think I will stretch until I can fit “slow life” into the theme.
#simplify #slowness
Derek Sivers makes some excellent points throughout this piece, but two stuck out to me:
You will outlive these companies. Your writing should outlive you. Depending on companies is not an option.
Damn.
Reliable, flexible, portable, independent, and long-lasting. Plain text files will be readable by future generations, hundreds of years from now.
These qualities should be evaluation criteria for more than just writing.
The hardest part of any endeavor is beginning it. Many would say that seeing things through is the hard part. I disagree. I think the minimum amount of effort is required to start any task, therefore, it is the most critical component of the path to completion. The irony is that many people thrive on the motivation to complete something due to the forward progress. None of that momentum exists without having begun.
When something seems daunting or impossible, just start. Make starting the focus of your thought and energy. Nature supports the theory as well. Watch a bird take flight. The hardest part is the take off. Once it is soaring, it glides and decides when to spend more energy to either remain forward progress or coast. It finds the way forward once flight has been achieved. Treat your goals the same.
Take off.