One of the bitter realities of being an individual is realizing that the hurt others add into your life are, more often than not, not even meant to to cause you pain. – The repeated suggestions and comments made by loved ones for you to give up a pet animal or a ‘hobby’ or a…
Outsourcing Existence
I had an experience a month ago which did not entirely catch me by surprise. (Well, maybe the context was unexpected. But only that.) In late May/early June, I met with a father and son for an introductory “Are we a good fit?” Zoom call to discuss the potential of his son joining a highschool…
The Nuances of Relating
The connection between AI and its users (and perhaps even its co-creators) appears, to me, reminiscent of how many theistic believers relate to the god they believe in. They strive to understand this external intelligence they cannot entirely grasp or explain; they believe that this “being” is capable of understanding and responding to them; and…
Am I Too Selfish?
In everything around me, I see a reflection of Odelia – who I am in relation to it or them, what I could learn or do in a given situation, why I should care about x, y, and z. It sounds egotistical in a way – I perceive everything through myself and (as much as…
Becoming the Tap
The comparison of one’s mindset to how full one perceives their own “glass” to be — empty, full, half-full, half-empty — is a common metaphor in describing how optimistic, grateful, or realistic (depending on who you ask) one’s approach to life tends to be. Some even prefer to think of the glass as already broken.…
A Curator of Light
When I think about heroes, the chorus of Livingston’s “Fairytale” comes to my mind every now and then: “Then my mother asked me Could you find confidence Beyond Lightning McQueen? ‘Cause stories won’t last once you wake from your dreams I looked her in the eyes and asked her what it all means If my…
A Gnarly Bit of Wood
Following the previous posts on imperfection as beauty and mistakes as negative beauty, there is one more bit of nuance nearly as indistinguishable from the focus of those two posts as the focuses of those posts are from each other. (Confusing and somewhat redundant, no? Bear with me.) That “bit of nuance” is this: Realizing…
Seeing Through a Glass
When you look at something, how do you tell whether you are also looking through something else simultaneously? What if you are looking through so spotless and subtle a substance that you almost cannot tell that it is even there? Answer: You look for a reflection of yourself in the space between yourself and the…
Of Carved Marble Eggs
I was at a local thrift store last week, and came across the carved egg below, made of solid black marble.It was selling for a dollar. $1. A good deal for me, I suppose. My dad could not believe the egg was made of actual marble until he held it, felt its weight and coolness,…
Imperfection as Beauty
In a previous piece, I mentioned the role mistakes play in highlighting the beauty of a certain creation or performance. But what of imperfections being beautiful themselves? Contrast, for a moment, the ancient Japanese’s compassionate perspective towards the deepening of patina on aging silver with the Western polishing of silverware and abhorrence of all flaws/sighs…