Archive for 2008

• 9.17.08 "Anchored Beauty" is posted in Reflections

I guess it goes without saying that we’re a product of our pasts, and that we take those experiences with us to whatever comes next.  What’s not so obvious is that it’s okay to change course, suddenly.

Then again, nothing really ever happens suddenly, but when we have years of momentum behind us, shifting course just a little can feel sudden, like tossing an anchor with engines at full throttle.  First you drag the anchor and soon you come to a halt.

I think I was dragging for some time, but now I’m stopped.  I’ve been looking around, seeing just how much there is to take in when there’s a view in every direction.  So much to aspire to, so much to observe, so much to avoid.

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• 7.24.08 "Slowing Me Down" is posted in Reflections, Travel

I’m in Iceland just now and my trip is moving slower than I’d like.  But that’s because I move faster than I’d like.

I don’t think I’m going to ever find the elusive and ever-glorified balance, but surrounding myself with other perspectives (less hurried ones) helps to kick me in the knees, which of course slows my  running, at least temporarily.

Through photos and a clip, I offer you slowing down, Iceland style.

A carefree 8-year old Noi.  And when you don’t speak the same language, curiosity is that much more apparent.

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• 6.2.08 "Is Perspective Possible in this Insanely Digital World?" is posted in Rant, Reflections, Work & Career

I’m working on a trip that may turn into a month of foreign travel.  As much as I’m excited to explore, perhaps it’s more that I just feel stale here.  My life is in front of a computer screen and I need to see things that aren’t measured in pixels.  There are people at the other end of the data, but something gets lost in the binary translation.  That something may be my perspective.

I listened to an NPR piece the other day discussing how 20% of Americans don’t use the internet at all.  I’d gamble that fewer than half of those who do sign on are regular readers of blogs.  Right now the common wisdom online is that it’s fewer than 1% of a site’s visitors who participate in the conversation.  Well, that fewer than 1% has become my friends of late–and let me just tell you, that’s not the real world.

It’s actually the fake world.  (more…)