Happy Friday everyone!
I’ve been reflecting on the nature of time over the past few weeks.
It feels like just yesterday that I was reflecting on driving to Texas. In a few days, I’ll be driving back to California. 3 weeks. Gone. Just like that. I also turn 31 this month. I remember turning 30, thinking it was a milestone and wondering if life might slow down a little. In some ways it has. In others, it hasn’t.
I’m taking all of this as a reminder to slow down every once in a while. To appreciate the small things. To drink it all in and to squeeze every ounce of life out of this ride that I can. Sometimes that means making popcorn and watching a movie on the couch with people you love. Other times that means standing in awe of the natural world.
I’m trying to appreciate all of it.
Speaking of time…
Mark Your Calendars
Our book club will meet on Sunday, August 2nd at 3PM PST. I’ll be using Zoom to facilitate the meeting. I will send the invite link out as we get closer to the meeting.
Here’s what I have for this week.
Thank you for being here.
Potent Quotables
Watch yourself, become conscious, observe your thoughts, your fears, your beliefs, your habits, your actions, and even your inactions. Put yourself under a microscope. Study yourself.
- T. Harv Eker
I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am, also, much more than that. So are we all.
- James Baldwin
Thought-Provoking Finds
Keep Your Identity Small - I’ve been voraciously consuming Paul Graham’s essays lately. His essays are timeless. You could dig through his archives from a few years back and odds are the lessons in them will still apply today. This piece is on why conversations about religion and politics are so often unproductive.
Earth May Be a 1-in-700 Quintillion Kind of Place - One of the first articles I wrote for the Internet was called Your Odds of Being Alive. It was based on the calucations of Dr. Ali Binazir. A recent commenter on my article pointed out a flaw in Dr. Binazir’s calculations. They did not take into account the chances that Earth is even capable of supporting life. This would increase the statistical improbability of our existence. The commenter then shared an article about this with me. This article, linked above, “suggests that there are around 700 quintillion planets in the universe, but only one like Earth.” To put that into perspective, that’s a 7 followed by 20 zeros.
The Best of Enemies (Showtime) - This film is based on the true story of a community summit co-chaired by Ann Atwater, an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis, a local leader of the Ku Klux Klan. The two were asked to be co-chairs of a community summit that met to discuss and vote on the desegregation of schools in Durham. Though the film is not without its problems, it is a powerful meditation on what is possible when we choose to have difficult conversations. It was a moving film that I highly suggest watching.
Balance
I’ll see you next Wednesday for our book club.
Be good to each other.
Until then,
KB