Reflections on life, death and what matters in between
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Latest Thoughts
Stop Pursuing Happiness
The pursuit of happiness is a stupid, cheap trick.
Not too long ago, after a couple beers at the bar with a fellow patron, I brought up this familiar phrase, "The pursuit of happiness". Almost immediately, the gentleman I was sharing this conversation with myth-busted the happiness pursuit idea, and told me something that has stuck with me ever since:
"Sadness is just as important as happiness, and perhaps even more important. To me, life isn't about the pursuit of happiness. It's about the pursuit of experience."
He's right. I think the pursuit of happiness is a cheap trick. What about sadness, and all other emotions in between? Not to say that you should pursue sadness, but to choose only happiness - out the entire spectrum of emotion that we humans can experience - as the end-all-be-all in terms of life fulfillment, is stupid. I mean, how would you even know what happiness is, without taking the time to know sadness?
We're human. The fact that we can feel anything at all is a gift. Even if a feeling seems negative at the time, don't ignore it just because it isn't the feeling that you're after. Explore it. Appreciate it. Learn from it.
So, since I don't have a couple beers in me at this time, I'd like to improvise a bit on the thought that my fellow patron originally shared:
Pursue experiences that make you feel something, embrace and explore that something (even if it isn't happiness), and adjust your pursuits accordingly.
15 (Really) Short Stories to Make You Think (and/or Softly Chuckle)
I was tasked with submitting a 30-page sketchbook to the Brooklyn Art Library. Here's what I came up with.
What fun it is to doodle!
My Mom and Dad bought me a sketchbook as part of a large-scale project being produced by the Brooklyn Art Library. Appropriately titled "The Sketchbook Project", it allows for anyone to register and submit a 30-page sketchbook about anything, which would then be archived as part of their growing library in both hard copy and digital form.
So, I decided to revisit my childish roots and create a series of one-page stories. Each is accompanied by an extremely amateur illustration, rendered by me via colored pencils (this is why I stick to writing).
Of course, this collection is dedicated to my parents, who continue to support my creativity, and who always inspire me to be thoughtful.
Enjoy!
"Love"
Giraffe: You're the reason I breathe!
Tree: I've fallen for you!
Giraffe: Wait I can't breathe now.
"The Catstronauts"
Let's go be curious eight times.
"Math is Hard"
Teacher: Can you solve this problem?
Student: Sure, why not?
Teacher: Oh.
"Quantum Physics Explained in One Sentence"
The period located at the end of this sentence can be everything, nothing, everywhere and nowhere all at the same time, and is only a period located at the end of this sentence when you see it as such .
"Finding the Right Balance"
Yes: Does this thing look balanced to you?
No: Maybe.
"Pluto"
Pluto: Your honor, I believe that I'm a planet.
Judge: Well, then I guess you are.
The Broken Record
Person 1: I can't figure out how to make this work.
Person 2: We'll just have to play it by ear.
The Genie
Genie: I shall now grant you one wish!
Girl: I wish to feel like I never need to wish for things.
Genie: I'll just go back in my lamp.
Girl: Sounds good.
"Locked Out"
Knight: I will tear down your walls!
Emperor: It'd probably be easier if you just convinced me to open up my doors.
"Journey"
Co-pilot: Let's go there.
Pilot: No, let's be here.
"States of Water"
River: I want to be cooler.
Icicle: I want to go with the flow more.
Cloud: I'm so confused, I think I just want to cry.
"Best Friends"
Boy: Stay.
Dog: When have I ever left?
"The Pillow"
Old Man 1: Do you remember what goes here?
Old Man 2: Not sure. Let's sleep on it and revisit tomorrow.
Old Man 1: I like that you're thinking ahead.
"Change"
There is the decision to and the act of. But first, there is the knowing that you can.
"The Alien"
Alien: Hey. I just came by to tell you that you're not alone.
Asking the Right Question
In order to come up with an answer for something, you have to know what you're asking.
"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special." - Stephen Hawking
How does the universe work?
The smartest people in the world have been working on this question for centuries. Some say we've made progress, though I'm not so sure. See, when it comes to big questions like this, there are many factors to consider before even attempting to come up with an answer.
First of all, in order to come up with an answer for something, you have to know what you're asking. More on that later.
Another important factor to consider when approaching a big question is the method by which you plan to answer it. With a complex problem such as the mystery of the universe, you’re not going to get very far in solving it unless you have some sort of system; some sort of organized method by which you can track your progress and begin to comprehend this complex subject that you are choosing to explore.
A system is also important because it will help you not only organize and understand things for yourself, but it will help others understand as well. In helping others understand your way of thinking and your system, you can then start to build credibility, and perhaps community, around it. This brings us to yet another factor to consider: belief.
Any progress we’ve ever made in understanding things, like the true nature of the universe, is built upon a belief system. Religion, philosophy, spirituality, science, astrology, politics. These are all belief systems. Some systems use sense. Some use logic. Some use a little bit of both. Regardless, they all help establish a general consensus about things, and help keep us in check when we go off to explore the big stuff.
So, if you have a big question, there may already be an established belief system in place that can help you answer it. If not, you could always form your own belief system. Ah. Yet again, we’ve arrived at another - and perhaps the most significant - factor to consider when approaching any big question: you.
The universe is everything. You, a human, act merely as part of it - an origin point from which you can observe the universe - everything - around you. And not only can you observe it, you also have the ability to perceive it however you see fit. This ability forms your own, personal perspective about the nature of the universe and your place as part of it. It is your consciousness, and it is responsible for any question that you have ever asked.
So, back to my first point about knowing what you're asking - do the smartest people in the world want to know how the universe works? Or, do they want to know how the universe works as it relates to their own human experience of it? Logic or sense?
Who are you?
Everything is Cooking - A piece by Rashad Daoudi
A piece (or recipe, I should say) by author, consultant and business owner Rashad Daoudi.
Welcome my son, to Cooking in the Machine
Today we're featuring the business development region
Mmmmh, I love biz dev food
I know your boss sure does
Ha ha oh stop it
Today we’ll be making a Bad Salesman
Easy to be yet complicated to understand
But what did you dream?
Never mind that, to get started you’ll need:
2 pounds fear
1 pound shame
1-cup excuses
1-cup doubt
1/2-cup cowardice
1/4-cup tension
2 tbsp. of being real
Lots of salt
A lifetime of inadequacy
Future doubt
Past successes
A dash of pity, contempt, and idealism
Mix ingredients by hand in a glass bowl
Wrap in foil
Bake at 420 degrees for 15 years
To best enjoy, throw away
Garret, Part 2
Here's a story about this scumbag I know, named Garret.
Fucking Garret.
As you might’ve gathered, there had been a bit of history between me and this oversized, always awkward SOB. See, Garret was the guy who always seemed to mysteriously show up at the most inopportune time; the guy nobody wanted showing up in the first place. Yet, somehow, he'd always be there, lingering like the smell of night-before beer on the morning after. Always there.
“Back here again, I see,” muffled Garret after a long drag from his menthol cigarette. As predicted, his first remarks were pointed and with malice intent. Given the occasion, I almost thought we might’ve shot the shit first. Nope. He came out swinging, and so be it.
“I just missed you, is all. Aren’t you happy to see me?” Taking this type of sarcastic, confident stance was a risky move with this bozo. But the odds were stacked against me from the get-go and, if I was going to make it out of this one, I needed to try and stand my ground.
“I’m always happy to see you,” prodded Garret. “I just thought you might’ve learned your lesson after last time. Guess not. Whatcha drinkin’? Wait - let me guess - bad attitude, lit cigarette, this bar... whiskey?” As if he needed to ask.
Out of everything that went down that night, it was this moment that I remember most vividly. I remember sensing his permeating excitement, as he prematurely assumed victory. I remember how contagious it was. It hit me like an angry fog. I suddenly felt something I hadn’t before - something that had been eluding me ever since the first time I met Garret.
Control.
My flicked cigarette sparked as it struck the cement. My eyes sparked just the same, as I violently flared them at Garret’s off-guard smirk. I had him shook, and so I decided to take advantage. It was time to stop talking, and start walking.
“You know how much I like a good whiskey. Speaking of, isn’t it your turn to buy?” Just like I had taken his bait before, I knew he had no choice but to take mine. I turned to head back into the bar. Garret followed.
At last, it was time to settle this once and for all.
Tense: a poem on the subject of time
A poem about time. Who can count all the puns??
Tense
I wear it as if it were mine
Flying by, violent ticks deride me
Used myself unwisely
I find here what I lose there
Gearing up to re-wind and re-watch on repeat
Yet somehow I counter myself and move backwards
Tense, fractiously laughing in my big picture's background
While fractions of moments scatter-brain by like migraines
I lose track,
As I run out of space to save all that slipped away
I travel past all that might've lasted
Inured to the vivid blur of my future
Holding another stupor, wasted
Bending to the once mentor, turned user,
Turned "never learned" loser
As bright as a sundial at midnight,
The line is tight, so I run,
While standing still to watch it strike
But it stops, right when I would have been present
A reminder about probably the coolest thing that we humans have ever done
We sent two spaceships into outer space in search of something. As it turns out, what we were looking for was here all along.
The Golden Record. Credit: NASA
"4 billion years from now, when our sun turns into a red giant, Voyager is still going to be trucking out there through the stars. We'll still be out there." - Candy Hansen-Koharcheck
One time, we put a golden record on a spaceship and sent it off to interstellar space. This was part of a bigger mission, originally called the Voyager program.
Long after our sun burns out and we all perish, this golden record - which serves as the soundtrack of humankind - will be the last surviving evidence of our existence.
Some quick facts about the Voyager program:
In 1977, we sent two spacecraft, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, out into space on a mission to explore Jupiter and Saturn. The spacecraft were built to last five years.
They did a really good job with the Jupiter and Saturn thing, so the mission was extended. Voyager 1 was sent on a direct trajectory to the outer limits of our solar system and eventually interstellar space, while Voyager 2 was tasked with making a couple pitstops to both Uranus and Neptune, before following suit with Voyager 1.
Between the two of them, they were able to capture and transmit countless data regarding our systems's largest planets and their respective moons. They were also able to send back some super snazzy photos.
Before leaving our solar system, Voyager 1 turned around to take a portrait of us and our neighbors. Scientifically, there was no reasoning behind this detour, but Carl Sagan insisted that it be done. Now we have these:
Credit: NASA
And this:
After 40 years, both Voyager spacecraft are still out there, traveling farther than any man-made object ever has, exploring the unknown beyond our Sun's domain.
I haven't gotten to the best part.
The Golden Record
The Voyager program was designed to be more than a mission of exploration. In the unlikely event that either of these spacecraft were to encounter intelligent, extraterrestrial life, we included a golden phonograph record on each. Here's what the records contain:
115 images of our world and its various inhabitants
90 minutes of music from different times and cultures, including "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry
A selection of natural sounds, such as wind, thunder, waves and birds
Printed messages from President Carter and U.N. Secretary General Waldheim
Spoken greetings in 55 languages
The English greeting was recorded by a group of children, who simply and innocently stated, "Hello from the children of planet Earth."
What was the point of all this?
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 set out to explore, and to help us better understand our place in this endless arrangement of everything. And with them, encapsulated in these golden records, is the story of who we are, and what it means to be human.
To me, this incredible, ongoing Voyager mission is an extension of the same mission that we all embark on within ourselves every day. And the golden record? It wasn't made for some alien to randomly discover in a couple billion years from now. We made it for ourselves, to serve as a reminder of how special we are, and what's possible when we all work together toward something big.
Just like these spacecraft, we are all explorers lost in space - all in search of, well, something.
"I can honestly say that art has saved my life."
A short story about the healing power of art, by ATX artist Brittany Robinson
A story by artist Brittany Robinson
This past year has been one of the toughest I’ve gone through. A DWI and other financial burdens, along with severe depression and generalized anxiety can take a toll on anyone. And for me, it absolutely did. For months, I subjected myself to escapism, using alcohol, opioids, or marijuana to cope with the pain. I chose to isolate myself from the outside world, and drown myself in chemicals that would only ever mask the pain (or occasionally make it worse). I didn’t know how to get myself out of this slump. My life became mundane and predictable - I would wake up, go to work, come home, drink/smoke until I was fucked up, then going to bed only to repeat the same thing the next day. I was wasting my life, because I thought I was a waste of life.
Amongst all of this pain, I really felt like something was missing. I couldn’t explain it. There were plenty of things in my life that could’ve used a change. I kept asking myself, “What do I need?” And to be honest, I didn’t know the answer. Maybe it was the prospect of a new job? Maybe I needed to start dating again? Whatever it was, I knew I needed to socialize and put myself out there somehow.
I needed to break the chain of predictability. I needed to break the chain of my mediocre life. But how would I do it?
Then one day, something clicked. Months prior, I had bought a small easel and a few canvases to paint, but they sat in my room untouched for the longest time. Before I moved to Austin, I would spend a lot of time painting in my room, but I’d never let anyone other than family see what I came up with. I’d just hang them around my room.
I actually found myself intimidated at the idea of getting back into painting. But I gave it a shot. My first attempt at it was a meditating man with the color of the seven chakras going through his body. It didn’t come out the way I wanted it to, so I repainted it a few times with different themes. It took months to finally complete but, during that time, I discovered something.
Art and expression were missing from my life. Being able to create something - a picture, an emotion - has become so fulfilling to me. Sometimes I have trouble expressing my true feelings verbally, so what better way than to show them visually? Whenever I paint, my negative thoughts disappear. I can let go and do what I want. I’m finally in control.
When you suffer with depression and anxiety, you understand how tough it is to feel like you’re in control of anything. Art has become me taking control of myself. Taking control of my depression and fighting my anxiety when I was too scared to show anyone my work. I even took a major leap by submitting a painting into my first ever art show.
Since that show, I’ve been painting on a regular basis. My small studio apartment is slowly overflowing with paintings I’ve created and, quite frankly, I love it. I’m still hard on myself and my work. I always feel like there’s room for improvement, and there always will be as long as I keep working toward bettering myself as an artist.
I have great people in my life that encourage me everyday to keep striving. I can honestly say that art has saved my life. I was born to create, to express, and to live the best life possible. And, as long as art is a part of my life, I’ll never feel like a waste again.
Each of Brittany's brilliant paintings, displayed above, are now available for purchase in the shop.
Garret, Part 1
Here's a story about this scumbag I know, named Garret.
It was late at night. I found myself outside of a bar, smoking a cigarette, when I ran into this douchebag I know named Garret.
Before Garret's unwavering perma-scowl could even attempt to form a word, I knew exactly what he was about to say, and why he had even shown up in the first place.
"Well, well, well. What in the absolute fuck, Garret?" I asked with commanding, sarcastic impatience.
"Bum a light?" replied Garret, barely.
Right then, I could've clocked Garret square in his big, round nose. But it was late, and I wasn't in the mood for a fist fight. Plus, I knew what we were in for. It was a different kind of fight that Garret was fixin' for, and maybe I was fixin' for the same.
Now, don't get me wrong. If it was any other night, I wouldn't bat a lazy eye at Garret and his always obnoxious, pot-stirring presence. But this wasn't any other night. And unfortunately for him, he caught me with just enough whiskey in my system to give a shit. So I took the bait.
"Yea, sure. I got a light."
And there, outside of the bar, with the sudden flick of a zippo and two bitter stares, it began.
To be continued...