Chase a child around a tree. Build the blocks, knock the tower down, and build again. Pick a kid up, throw them in the pool, and watch them climb out to come and ask for more. This is what they love doing. Their favorite word is “again.”
The same is true of us. We’re creatures of habit and pattern, rhythm and repetition. Why? Because it’s easier to find meaning and purpose in things we understand. The rules of the game (build, knock down, build again) or an ordering we can comprehend (hours, days, weeks, and months) help us make sense of things.
The car accident, the natural disaster, the unexpected death, even the wrong coffee order. They seem random. They seem uncertain. They force us to reconcile the fact that something is happening that we don’t fully understand.
But is it possible that everything that happens, no matter how random it may seem, is understood by someone?
To some, morse code is just a bunch of dots on paper. To others, morse code is letters that spell out words that mean something. To some, the strings on a guitar appear varied and disproportionate. To others, they know exactly where to put a finger to make a note, a sound, a song.
What’s random to one person may not be random to someone else. Everything means something to someone. So, can someone read the morse code of my life? Do my dots and dashes—as random and disorganized as they may seem to me—actually mean something?
I think yes. Because oftentimes what seems random today actually makes sense over time. It comes down to a broadening of our perspective to see that the big picture may not be clear now but the small pieces of today are working toward a larger whole.
If that’s true. Then clarity around the purpose and meaning of our lives can be found in the mundane. The alarm clock, the coffee, the meetings, the commute, the nights out, the nights in, the sleep, the starting again.
These are the things that go in circles. These are the dots and dashes that make a letter, a word, a story. These are the things that happen again and again, small pieces building toward a larger whole.
We were made for that. After all, we’ve been doing this since we were kids.
Thanks for reading this far.
- jd
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What I’m Reading
Harry Potter and Dune. Dove deep into the fantasy world over the holidays and am still in it as the Triwizard Tournament begins. Cold weather is the best weather for falling into a book that takes you far away. I’ve particularly enjoyed reading these two side-by-side because of how different each author approaches their writing.
Rowling is a master. She’s in complete control of her prose, always writing clear and precise language that communicates exactly what she’s saying. Herbert is almost the opposite. He’s sprawling and vague as he bounces between perspectives on the very same page. But the lack of clarity almost seems intentional, as if he wants you to feel a little confused and overwhelmed by his world.
In addition to these novels, I’m back into The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. I simply can’t stop reading it. That last chapter I read, in fact, covered technology, which led to this…
What I’m Writing
A Technology Type of Person is the title I gave to a series of essays I wrote and shared across social media. You can read the combined writings at that link, but I separated them out as such.
Part 1 - 75% of people have their iPhones within reach 24-hours a day. We are not unaware of how we relate to technology, just indifferent. I’m not sure which is worse.
Part 2 - What type of person is technology turning me into? Our devices are character formation accelerators. Every day you become a certain type of person. What decisions are you making and who are you becoming?
Part 3 - We may think we’re victims to the whims of our environment, but autonomy still rests in our hands. That’s true of more than just technology.
What I’m Drinking
Ice cold Coors Light. Just kidding. I’m drinking pukka ginger and honey tea. It’s the feeling of warming your feet by the fire boiled into a mug. That’s not to say it tastes like feet. It tastes like the feeling of when your feet…never mind.
I’ve been writing these emails for over a year and a half, and for whatever reason, they’re not getting any easier. I don’t know why that is. I thought this is the part of habit formation where the feeling of resistance would decrease, but I’m experiencing the opposite. Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever moved steadily toward a goal or objective only to suddenly find yourself up against a brick wall you can’t seem to get over, under, or through? If so, what’d you do next? And for those of you who hate these vague open-ended questions and feel pressure to respond with well-formed thoughts (despite knowing that any response at all is more than welcome), what’s your starting word for Wordle? Mine is media.