RRR8: Getting Organized, Inspo Capture Pt.2, Kensington and American Despair, Indian Emission Reduction, and Ant-Man
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Greetings from Philadelphia 🙋🏻♂️. Or, at least as I’m writing this, I am indeed in the birthplace of the U.S. 🐣🐥.
My mother and I traveled here last Tuesday night for a Bruce Springsteen show on Wednesday. Unfortunately, on account of Bruce falling ill, the concert was canceled just a few hours before it was scheduled to begin. Get well soon, boss!
Before we get into “Recent Times”, I wanted to express sincere gratitude for those of you who have taken the time to read my work thus far. It’s truly heart warming to be made aware that even some of the material I’ve published here in Ramblings, Readings, and Rebounds has resonated enough that you continue to tune in! To those who have gone as far as to subscribe, leave comments on the posts, or send personal messages of support, please know that you are an irreplaceable part of what has made my writing journey so special thus far. I can’t thank you enough 🥂.
In Recent Times…
In the introductory notes of RRR7, I, without intention, revealed a major theme in my life right now: I’ve been working on getting myself organized.
I plan on creating some sort of log to store my most weighty thoughts, filled with enough details to recreate the same feelings of hope and excitement that I initially experienced [when I had the thought originally]
Do many of you feel like there has never been more optionality in your life?
I don’t know that there has ever been more stuff in existence at any point in human history.
There are 1.6M apps available in the Apple App store 😲🤯.
There are over 12M products for sale on Amazon.
There are more books in existence now than at any point in human history.
It would take nearly 18 thousand years to watch all the content on YouTube.
There are estimates that say nearly 7% of people ever born in human history are alive today.
I mean, think about all the different varieties of “coffee” you could get nowadays? Coffee, of course, went in quotes because that’s what people call their Frappucino’s from Starbucks 🤦🏻♂️.
With all of this optionality swirling around us, how do we manage to stay sane, not to mention truly organized?
Well, I will not pretend to have an answer for you, my friends. However, what I will pretend to have is a coherent strategy that I’m trying out!
I’ve been logging to-do’s in a few different categories on Google Tasks.
I’ve been keeping notes on potential newsletter topics in Google Keep (I am sort of a Google fanboy with one exception I won’t cover today…).
I’ve been practicing a form of journaling in Daylio.
I’ve been flirting with minimalist ideals, as many of you know from reading prior editions.
Most importantly, though, I am trying to let go on a more frequent basis. The amount of opportunities we have to act are too numerous to count. “If we acted on everything” isn’t even a sensical thought exercise, because it’s impossible.
I am trying to dig deep within myself to find out what truly matters, what I care about, and what will bring me peace of mind. Only when those questions are answered, will I be compelled into action.
Most of the time, I will probably get the wrong answers to those questions! That’s the name of the game of life. Trial and error until you become who you want to be.
Readings of the Week
“When a magical idea comes knocking, you have three options” by Elizabeth Gilbert
A major thanks to my friend Konch, founder of “Reminders”, for leaving a comment on RRR7 that continued the discussion around capturing inspiration when it comes to us. He suggested this blog by Elizabeth Gilbert and it did not disappoint:
I believe that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria and viruses, but also by ideas. Ideas are a disembodied, energetic life-form. They are completely separate from us, but capable of interacting with us – albeit strangely. Ideas have no material body, but they do have consciousness, and they most certainly have will. Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest. And the only way an idea can be made manifest in our world is through collaboration with a human partner. It is only through a human’s efforts that an idea can be escorted out of the ether and into the realm of the actual.
Therefore, ideas spend eternity swirling around us, searching for available and willing human partners. (I'm talking about all ideas here: artistic, scientific, industrial, commercial, ethical, religious, political.)
When an idea thinks it has found somebody – say, you – who might be able to bring it into the world, the idea will pay you a visit. It will try to get your attention. Mostly, you will not notice. This is likely because you’re so consumed by your own dramas, anxieties, distractions, insecurities, and duties that you aren’t receptive to inspiration.
It’s as beautiful as it is hurtful… but wait. There’s good news:
…there comes a day when you’re open and relaxed enough to actually receive something. Your defences might slacken and your anxieties might ease, and then magic can slip through. The idea, sensing your openness, will start to do its work on you. It will send the universal physical and emotional signals of inspiration (the chills up the arms, the hair standing up on the back of the neck, the nervous stomach, the buzzy thoughts, that feeling of falling into love or obsession). The idea will organise coincidences and portents to tumble across your path, to keep your interest keen. You will start to notice all sorts of signs pointing you towards the idea. Everything you see and touch and do will remind you of the idea. The idea will wake you up in the middle of the night and distract you from your everyday routine. The idea will not leave you alone until it has your fullest attention.
She then details the three options you have for responding to the divine intervention of inspiration. I highly suggest checking out the full article. Thanks again, Konch!
“I wrestle with my goodness just like Jean Valjean” by Elle Griffin
When I recently saw the musical Les Miserables at the theater with a friend, she had never seen it. She turned to me during intermission and said “all of this for a loaf of bread?” In her mind, the whole thing was silly, and it kind of is by today’s standards—that someone would be so condemned for their poverty is absurd. And yet we are still condemned by every action we make that is the wrong one and it’s nearly impossible to make the right one. It’s even more impossible for every one of us to make the right one every day, all of the time.
Elle writes the Elysian where she shares thoughtful reflections on how to create utopia and also writes fiction about it.
Her essay on Jean Valjean is extremely relatable, and it occurred to me that this would be a particularly good piece to share with you all. I hope you enjoy!
Junto Club ♣️
Have you lately observed any defect in the laws of your country, of which it would be proper to move the legislature an amendment? Or do you know of any beneficial law that is wanting?
Perhaps, this edition of Junto Club will be just one in a larger series in which we discuss how to deal with the crisis of homelessness, crime, and drug distribution / usage that is occurring in many US cities at this moment. Drug addiction for its part is not really confined to cities, either.
I feel strongly that the lens in which these problems are typically viewed are not entirely comprehensive, and ultimately will not lead to a sustainable solution.
I also believe that the resolution to these issues is inherently complex if we are to reach an agreeable outcome for every party involved. One of my core tenets of problem solving is to keep things simple, but in some cases you just have to embrace some complexity 🤷🏻♂️.
The Philadelphia cohort of our family here at RRR will certainly be familiar with the infamy of Kensington, a neighborhood that lies northeast to center city. I am not prepared to deliver a thoughtful or truly precise history of the neighborhood, but for as long as I have been intimately familiar with Philadelphia, Kensington has carried a deservedly negative reputation.
I don’t think it’s even a mild stretch to say there is a humanitarian crisis happening in Kensington. This weekend, a friend and I drove through to get a first hand look at the current state of affairs in the neighborhood as it had been a long time since I was last there.
I have been struggling to cease thinking about what we saw, and frankly, I don’t think it is particularly worthwhile to recall all of the details here. If you are truly curious and feel as though you can handle the imagery, there is endless material describing what’s happening in Kensington elsewhere on the web. See here, here, and here.
However, aside from my immense sadness, I have been trying to focus on what I think a comprehensive solution could look like for Kensington and other places like it.
Without getting into policy specifics here (which I genuinely would like to explore in a sequel to this edition), could it prove a worthy exercise to at least list out the components that need to be considered as part of a solution? Let’s see.
Crack down on drugs
It doesn’t make sense that U.S. cities need to be filled to the brim with horribly dangerous drugs like heroin, fentanyl, and “tranq”. Fentanyl and other components that stretch out the high have led to increased risk of overdose deaths. In addition, the additional junk mixed in with the drugs has made it so Narcan is not always an effective life saving mechanism in the event of overdose.
Address the mental health crisis
It’s a worthwhile exercise to read the key findings in this report. This is not a drill, people 🚨🚨!
Invest in alleviating if not eliminating cyclical poverty
We need focused investment across the board on ending cyclical poverty. It doesn’t make sense that the rich areas of our country have things like public grass tennis courts, private coastline, and vastly superior schools, while other areas have nothing. I am not even advocating a “take from the rich” approach per say, just a coherent investment strategy and some man power to improve living conditions for our most vulnerable citizens.
Create a state of the art drug addiction treatment playbook
One thing that is apparent when you see someone with severe addiction to hard drugs, is the road to recovery will not be easy. The drug is literally killing them, and they are still using it… let that sink in.
Have enough shelter beds at any given time to meet the needs of the homeless population, and make homeless shelters a safe place to be
While researching more about the conditions in Kensington, I saw the city cite that they had introduced a dozen new shelter beds in an effort to combat the situation on the streets… It was almost offensive to me that they would cite 12 shelter beds as something positive, as it barely begins to make an impact. In addition, not all shelter beds are created equal. We need safe facilities with substance abuse response teams ready to help people where they can.
Create environments where recovering addicts can thrive
Do we have jobs, resources, and enriching programs available for recovering addicts? The answer is not nearly enough.
Have any of you read / heard about meaningful solutions that help make communities safer for residents and businesses while actually helping the people affected by homelessness, violence, and drug use? Please share in the comments, or drop me a note!
India Reduces Emissions 🇮🇳
India's greenhouse emissions rate dropped by a faster-than-expected 33% in 14 years as renewable energy generation rose and forest cover increased, according to two officials privy to latest assessment made for submission to the United Nations.
The report's findings showed India well on the way to meeting a commitment to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to reduce emissions intensity by 45% from the 2005 level by 2030.
India's rate of emissions intensity - the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted for every unit increase of gross domestic product (GDP) - fell by 33% from 2005 to 2019, officials privy to the preparations of the Third National Communication (TNC) report said.
Read more here. More forest cover and more renewables, please 🙏🏼🌳🌲🔋.
Anthony Edwards - Poised To Take Over 🌲🐺🐺
Most people who casually follow the NBA will have at least heard the name Anthony Edwards. However, he’s not yet a household name like LeBron James, Steph Curry, or other megastars. It’s likely he’ll never reach those heights, if not certain, but I feel strongly that we are quickly approaching an era where he will reign as a perennial top-5 player in the league.
I seriously don’t even know what to make of this clip. That’s some of the most explosive athleticism I have ever seen!
This, from Steve Kerr, one of the winningest players and coaches in NBA history:
"He's unquestionably the guy," Kerr said after the game, via ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "You can see he knows it. But now the team knows it, and I think the fans see it. ... He genuinely believes he's the best player in the gym every single night. And he's such a dynamic young player. I think he's taking a leap."
As we get closer to the season I will write some longer pieces about what to watch for, and this will certainly be a component.
Before we go, a quick quote from 50 Cent:
I zone off thinkin' is there really heaven or hell?
If so what happens to a changed man who dies in a cell?
I need no answers to these questions, 'cause time will tell
And one from Bruce Springsteen:
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
I wanna find one face that ain't looking through me
I wanna find one place
Thanks for tuning in 🥂. Have a wonderful week ahead and be on the lookout for more quick hits.