Worldwide Stew

Reclaiming our Attention (and our Inbox)

In recent news, Meta and YouTube were found guilty of designing addictive products that harmed young people. There’s no doubt of the validity of that claim. However, they aren’t the only organizations responsible for co-opting attention.

My own attention deficit journey began this morning. I had nearly 3,000 unread emails in my inbox. What to do?

I looked at them the way you might look at a crime scene: who were the potential suspects? Sure, there were lots of suspects from a slew of different emails. SO, how to get filter through all these emails? Hmmm? What do many of them have in common?

The patient has the Floor

You’re in a meeting and everyone’s piling in on a new proposal — all at once. You’re only there by chance. Your boss offhandedly told you to come. You don’t have an earned seat at the table.

Then the president stops, waves her hands, and calls for quiet. She turns your way. What do you think, she asks?

It’s a powerful recognition of your authority, your understanding, your agency.

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Go sit in the corner

Time out. Go sit in the corner.

I still feel the sting of hearing my Mom say that.

I don’t need to sit in any corner.

Time out was a punishment. It’s no wonder we try to push through everything: we don’t have time for time out. Time out suggests we’re not in control.

Sitting in the corner is good medicine for the insanity of our lives and world. Our negative reaction to it is a hand-me-down from our past. We never want to be told time out.

The Periodic Table of Birthday Elements

This was for my brother’s Birthday. It was created by Claude.ai based on my original idea. I wanted to share it with readers.

Mindfulness and mindfulness meditation

How much do I need to meditate to be mindful?

This question lies at a modern fallacy: How little can I do something to enjoy it’s benefits? We have become used to getting things for free and as a commodity.

Alas, mindfulness and meditation are inseparable. You have to meditate to be mindful. And, its not a superpower that comes with a purchase, in an app, or available without practice.