Personal
Life looks like this:
Winter in Baja is chilly. Many windy days are interspersed with warmth and sunshine. One minute I’m doubling up on socks, the next I’m sweating. I spend time loving, noticing, and studying the details of this place. It’s a beautifully rugged landscape of many colors and contrasts. I take it ALL in. The humanity here…daily life. The good and bad. My interaction with all of it.
Sometimes I pinch myself. Am I really here? It’s a joy to live on this fascinating planet.
We usually get up early and go to bed the same. We watch old movies at night. (new movies seem a waste of time). We’re eating well. Fruits, vegetables, and meat taste like they did when I was a child. We shop in small, local stores. We say “Hola” a lot. And “Gracias”. Learning Spanish is happening, but so slowly. It’s helpful to hear it spoken daily, but listening to native speakers is often a blur of sound. I think to myself, how will I ever understand? I can’t even tell where one word starts or ends. Estoy aprendiendo lentamente. I need to study more. At the moment, I must be honest, my time invested is pitiful and no one else but me can solve that.
Dave and I are outside a lot. We have a nice porch and yard. There are fruit trees and squash. I go outside and walk in my bare feet, looking up at lemons, guavas, bananas, and papaya. There are two doves and a covey of quail that come to drink from the drip irrigation. I stand very still and watch them. I can hear the neighbor’s chickens and osprey that nest nearby.
Usually, in the afternoons we either walk or bike for an hour give or take. Much depends on how Dave feels. We’re both grateful for every moment he has that is better rather than worse.
The most human thing in the world is this: Our life is a mixed bag of both good and bad. We work to make the most of the good and do our best with the rest. Never give up.
I think life is interesting full of possibilities. The way of the world these last few years has brought this home to me like never before. It’s not easy, but it’s amazing to be alive.
I document parts of my life in video HERE. And in photos HERE.
Clothing & Minimalism
Four months of living in Mexico and I’ve been using the fewest clothes I ever have. It’s an experiment to see how it affects life.
Here are my observations so far:
I DIE HARD wear a few kinds of clothes. Anything outside my parameters in this regard is a waste of time.
What works for me is this: Basics that never go out of style in colors I like, that all mix and match simplifying what to wear. My life is active and outdoorsy. Practical clothes that hold up to rugged use make sense. I don’t like obvious logos or loud prints. I prefer natural fibers.
To Mexico, I didn’t bring anything fancy or feminine for dressing up. I don’t often “dress up”, but I would like to have a few nice things that fit this category.
While the number of things I have is doable, it feels a bit restricted. I’d be happier with more clothing than the amount I brought with me on this trip.
Laundry: I’m currently washing my clothes by hand and a low number of things make this easier. I need to wash more often, but it takes less time due to small piles instead of BIG piles of laundry. (Even with a machine washer, I think laundry is easier with fewer items.)
Other Thoughts:
I admire the fashion sense of others. I’m a creative person and visual arts appeal to me. Some people get tremendous joy out of playing with fashion. But, if I’m honest with myself, I prefer clothing to be less time-consuming and easy as possible. I do value looking good and presenting an image I’m comfortable with.
Having fewer clothes, if well thought out, makes this part of my existing a more positive thing. Figuring out how to do the “clothing” better is taking effort but it feels good to sort it out for myself.
Legacy Media – Joe Rogan podcast – links
Legacy media isn’t a sufficient information source. If you’re Listening to only one or two of these sources for most of your information, you’re missing out.
I’ve learned more than I ever thought I’d know about what media is. The history. How it’s set up and how it works. The role of psychology. If you’ve never heard of Edward Bernays, he’s a good place to start your research. Read his book PROPAGANDA. Then check out his uncle, Sigmund Freud.
It’s a lot of work to figure out where and how to attain better data. It’s crucial to get information from varied sources. If a person refuses to take advantage of the plethora of data the internet brings to your fingertips….then I can’t think you’re sincerely interested in gaining advantages.
I get valued data from Joe Rogan’s podcast. Some episodes are solid gold.
I’ve linked two recent important Rogan episodes below.
Joe Rogan Podcast – #1757 Dr. Rober Malone, MD
The Rise of Censorship & Cancel Culture
I’m not liking watching censorship increase. It’s nefarious and scary. Censorship should be very high on the “Things to Avoid” list. We can’t have Big Entities ruling over what we can say. That’s a tool for tyrannical thought control. Our chances for improvement require freedom of ideas.
It’s getting tense for humanity. I expect volatility to continue to grow exponentially. Think wars, plagues, famines. Fear, desperation, and tyranny. Maybe it had to come to this. Does our potential to do better arise from the pain of consequences of our actions? Are we learning from our mistakes? Is this a chance to be better?
I have hope that in hard times, better qualities can and do also emerge.
“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.”
Antonio Gramsci
YouTube Video: Chris Hedges: Clip of talk in which he discusses the Collapsing. I think “collapse” is a good term to describe what is happening in society. He hits the nail on the head when he speaks to the fact that Corporations are now the (visible) controlling power. They are not a virtuous, healthy influence.
I’m interested in politics. By that I mean I seek knowledge and understanding about what is going on so I can make sense of how I’m being affected. Hopefully, I can make better choices. I read. I keep up with who is in the government. I keep up with legislation. I watch speeches. I get my info from many sources. I want a realistic view…for better or worse. My life has been impacted in big ways by things happening in politics and so has yours.
The state of the politics? Not good. Not good at all.
Many years ago I read this book: The Politics of Experience by R.D. Laing. It got me thinking about politics in interesting ways. How intrinsic it is to life. It doesn’t matter how much you are or aren’t aware of this. There are those people who benefit from a population apathetic towards politics. Our lives take place in a sea of politics. Knowing about these things is situational awareness and I am interested in that. It matters to me. I see a lot of people saying they are “not interested in politics”…..or they “don’t like politics”. I think the world needs less of that attitude.
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave – links to Book 7 of Plato’s Republic – this allegory. The link is through Yale University.
MY THOUGHTS
I appreciate how this story explains the nature of ignorance and the power of belief. How it’s incredibly easy to assume we are not as ignorant as we surely are. How our reality is dramatically affected by the quality of our information. And finally, the strong reactions when our assumptions of reality are threatened.
Literally, there’s a variety of perceived realities that people are living in. This can be subtle or intense depending on the circumstances.
I also have this to say:
I think we’re born and raised in a cave of ignorance. This system of civilization is invested in and reliant on keeping us chained in the dark our entire life. There are forces working diligently to keep people in the dark. They do it because they benefit from us being that way.
Continue to seek knowledge. Remain curious and seek the truth. Never forget that there is always more to learn. Stay open to the possibility that what you think you know may not be the truth. Realize there are forces in the world that prefer to keep you ignorant. Don’t give them what they want.
Nothing happens until the pain of remaining the same outweighs the pain of change.
Arthur Burt