Take the time to remember how to breathe…

how to unplug from the device that sits beside you through the night. We are not here to learn to forget… we are here to remember… to learn from our past mistakes… to learn new coping skills.. to gather new information… to apply ourselves in new situations with new toolsets and complex problem-solving abilities.

Spend time with loved ones. Shut down the phones. Shut down the freaking computer phones. So much is lost in our hunt to chase the information dragon. Meditate. Breathe…. Focus on your thoughts.. build out your empathy… understand that you might not be the one that is to recommend how best to stay woke. Maybe I am crossing a line… maybe the line is something that I need to cross on my own.

Be the change you wish to see in the world… wise words. lost in that old thought… lost in the ideas from previous generations. There are new skills that are required in this new age… and so much of it is different than what our parents had to learn.

We are finding it hard to just break away from the cheap, lazy forms of entertainment… getting sucked into a brainless wave of nothing.. possibly entirely perpetuated by our own, subconscious self-hatred.

Where are we running when we close our eyes? So many of the things that we need to accomplish are the last things on our list… the lowest sense of priority… carrying with it the potential for the biggest possible change. Developed in our minds is the idea that if we aren’t racing, we’re falling behind. And this applies to entertainment… education… consumption… everything. We have hard-wired ourselves to pull levers in a giant casino and now we’re trying to control how much we participate in the games without having the ability to leave the flashing lights. They are just too intoxicating.

Something is starting to give. I wish this conversation wasn’t necessary… it sucks. It feels like I am pretending to be a parent. I swear I’m just in the process of trying to figure this sh*t out on my own. There are so many things in this life worth celebrating… so many incredible experiences that I envision… and I want to surround myself with the people that acknowledge the beauty in this world and help to promote that in all aspects of their lives.

Still, we have a long way to go. I’m not sure that we are going to be able to make much progress until… until there is more pain and suffering experienced at the hands of our own addictions. It is sad. It is infuriating. It is.. not necessary. All I have to do is learn how to change myself if I want to know how to change the world around me. Damn. This is tough.. watching my words… gathering the confidence to press forward… I don’t know where I am going in my own thoughts at times… but the direction is as straight as an arrow when I know that the distractions in my immediate environment are controlled… by me. I choose what information comes in… and I need to discriminate 100% of the time. This is not a lesson in being accepting or learning to filter through everything… it is me trying to figure out how to limit my media consumption to increase my own balance and focus. And I appreciate you coming along for the ride. Got any ideas or suggestions?

I would love it if you would be willing to share your thoughts on any breakthroughs you have found in your own life… what has worked for you? What hasn’t? I look forward to communicating with you.