Grow your abilities.
Implement those skills to accomplish great things.
Enable others to utilize their skills.
Counsel rising enablers as you sail off into the sunset.
The extinction of darkness
Thanks to advances in lighting technology, we are on a crusade to perpetually light the world – but at what cost?
What nocturnal systems will cease operating once we’ve rid the world of darkness?
Grow more. Fence less.
As another growing season comes to a close, I lament the loss of the vegetable plants consumed by the animals with whom I share a yard. Carrots, kale, spinach, and lettuce, all wiped out in a matter of days early on in the season, unable to regenerate because animals typically consume the entire plant.
Consequently, I’ve identified a new strategy for next year: grow more.
I reject the notion that I must create secure, impenetrable garden beds for the food I eat while leaving the majority of my open space meticulously manicured (and useless).
Animals are hungry, just like us, and given the lack of groundhog grocery stores in the immediate area, I can take the hit, devote a larger percentage of my yard to growing more, and give back to my roommates.
It’s your choice
Choose kindness.
Choose laughter.
Choose calm.
Choose less.
Choose peace.
Choose joy.
Choose hope.
Nature can thrive “over there”
Our greatest challenge as a society is to convince ourselves that undeveloped land provides more value when left alone.
In pursuit of perpetual growth we continue to reshape the natural world, operating under the errant assumption that undisturbed nature can simply exist “over there.” What we fail to realize is that people “over there” are behaving similarly.
Foolhardy Farm Practices
As farms are intentionally set ablaze during conflict, I can’t help but wonder if any other species is so foolish as to knowingly destroy its own food supply…
Expect to Forget. Forget to Expect
Expect to forget.
It’s inevitable. We can’t remember everything – humans have a 0% success rate when it comes to making it through life remembering everything.
We’re human – we’re bound to forget something. We’ll naturally prioritize and maintain in our minds that which is most important, and the other stuff consequently falls off the plate.
So forget your expectations of perfection. Stop convincing yourself that you can get it all – that you can keep track of everything. You will forget. You will fail. And you will be better off for it.
So adjust the bar. Cut yourself some slack. Expect to forget.
Happiness is…
…harvesting ingredients from the back yard when preparing a meal
My initial experience with gamification
Did anyone else try increasing their Flesch-Kincaid grade level as high as possible when writing a word document?
That was always my mission in school!
Are you taking the right angle?
I awoke in the middle of the night to find a unique sight through my skylight. The moon was full and the frost on the window was illuminated in such a way that I felt compelled to take a photo. I took my first shot and wasn’t happy with the outcome:
I thought nothing of it, accepted my failure, and proceeded to walk under the skylight and went about my business. Then I looked up from this opposite angle and found a shot worth taking – a faint path leading to the light at the end of the tunnel…
Always look for additional perspectives. You’ll never know what you’ll find.
Roots through a walkway
The quintessential representation of mankind versus nature: Roots from a tree incessantly pushing through mankind’s pristine paved surfaces.
Mother nature’s victory is inevitable, for we may attempt to retaliate with repair and maintenance, but our efforts are futile and we will tire from the fight.
A human lifetime is merely a speck on mother nature’s timeline. As our resolve to continuously support our artificial creations dwindles, mother nature will remain resolute.
The Human Ingenuity Cycle
Human ingenuity is constantly being used to save us from problems originally caused by human ingenuity.
Who calls the shots with your food?
Beat your taste buds, fuel your body properly
Your tongue is very adept at tricking your brain into telling you what it thinks you should be eating, and certain food products are designed to take advantage of this internal circuitry.
Your tongue can provide its opinion on your food intake – I certainly don’t voluntarily eat poor-tasting food – but it shouldn’t make the final call.
Craving something specific to eat right now? That’s fine, just investigate the source of this impulse first before indulging.
Say Please.
I’m always polite when asking something of AI (e.g., “Please” , “Thank you”).
It’s about having integrity and being consistent in your actions, regardless of the recipient…
…I’m also being kind in case the machines ever take over…
The best (imperfect) week ever
In the past week I:
- Tried to show up virtually to an in-person business meeting
- Was outrun in my HIIT class when I’m typically the fastest
- I was completely demolished on the tennis court during an event that I’m typically one of the strongest players
- Found my car out in the road because I didn’t fully engage my parking brake
In spite of – or perhaps because of – all that imperfection, it was actually a great week.
Christmas Markets
If you’ve never experienced a Christmas market in Germany, or anywhere in Europe for that matter, you’re missing out.
The road less traveled
Today I took a new route to a familiar destination, without using a GPS.
- Did I take the fastest route? Probably not.
- Did I use my intrinsic sense of navigation for the first time in a decade? I’d say so.
- Did I view, for the first time, a previously unknown part of a local neighborhood? Yes.
Funny how GPS has turned the road trip into a video game, following a guided path on a screen to a destination (and if you’re like me you try to beat the time by arriving at the destination sooner than predicted).
Your brain knows the way. Look up and enjoy the trip.
How to reach Infinity
You don’t.
No matter what number you choose, it will always be closer to zero than it is to infinity.
unknown
Human beings invented numbers in an attempt to quantify their surrounding environment, and we’ll keep increasing them as needed in order to make sense of life.
There is no end.
The grass may be greener…but does that make it better?
The answer to this question depends on your perspective.
Driving through a neighborhood today, I came across two adjacent lawns. The first was a pristine, verdant lawn that was worthy of a magazine cover. The second lawn was left to grow naturally.
The former may be appealing to the human senses (not mine), but the latter had the birds. So many birds, in fact, that the lawn appeared black at first glance. What was even more intriguing was the dividing line between the two lawns, drawn not by a fence, but by the abrupt end to the birds at the edge of the natural lawn.
They wouldn’t venture into the green grass. There is nothing for them there.
The key fob for my front door
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve walked up to my front door and hit the ‘unlock’ button on the key fob for my car…
…it’ll work one day…
brainsbri 