Summer Reflections
Seven months have passed rapidly this year, and I can’t help but to rest and reflect on what’s unfolded so far. Presently, I am perched on a terrace in South Italy sipping a coffee and contemplating the panoramic view. Other moments this year, I was 36 hours of travel deep, unbathed and dozing off atop my backpack at a bus station– one must trudge through trenches for appreciation of the peaks.
I currently reside in Italy to resume the home renovation project I began two years ago after purchasing my first-ever home. Details on that can be found in this post: From Wanderer to Settler.
My year has been rich with sweetness—wandering through new countries, stepping into a new career, finding love, and savoring the results of long-awaited progress on my home. My sentiment is filled with gratitude. Equally, there is a looming sense of doom which easily creeps in when witnessing the state of the world.
Among thoughts which consume me is the internal discussion of how completely drastic realities may coexist in the world– a shared truth that likely crosses many minds. I switch back and forth into modes of extreme justice, hopelessness, then back to “focusing on myself”, aiming to decipher which camp is best to fall under, all the while, many pose to have it all sorted out for themselves– perhaps in hopes to save face by claiming a firm stance.
With all this ruminating during recent meditations, a truth made itself present for me – deconstruct to understand.
Our perception of the world is shaped—and limited—by our own individual sense of reality. And before the eye roll, or immediate praise surfaces your mind following a statement like this — hear me, then take what you want.
It’s easy to become trapped in the stronghold of our own beliefs—clinging to what’s familiar out of fear of the unknown or habit. At the extreme, this resistance can become so forceful that it generates futile conflict. It could be that extremists fall into this pattern.
Conversely, some find it easier to believe the world is beyond our influence, leading to disengagement—coasting through life without curiosity or conviction, choosing the path of least resistance– those who claim to be apolitical may serve as an example of this.
The list goes on, and I recognize we all are much more intricate and complex than two feeble categories, but these likely cover a large subset.
That said, noting the different archetypes doesn’t necessarily bring us any closer to a one-size-fits-all approach in healing the sickness in the world.
“Is it best to take action, or focus on our own problems? What problems are someone else’s before they become our own. Should we argue with people in the comment section? What does history tell us?”...and the list may go on and on until we curl up into the fetal position and gracefully return to the matrix where we ‘belong’, it's easier there – business as usual.
I don’t know the answers, I come only to share my recent call to deconstruct and reconsider. In practice of reflecting on our views, maybe there we will find a semblance of unity, that our humanity is greater than the sources of division.
Although I myself am keen on a good existential panic, I don’t believe that to be the answer. However, if that’s what it takes to allow an opening of the heart, deconstruction of the mind, and reconsideration of how we may move forward – then so be it.
My point in all of this isn’t to sway anyone on a specific topic one way or the other, but to encourage the act of reconsideration more frequently in the day-to-day.
We might land where we started, but weighing the rationale behind our beliefs may help us to see the bigger picture. If we plan to stand firm on something – would you agree it's best to understand why?
What if we all dedicated time for thought. Delving deeper into what keeps us up at night – not to linger in darkness, but to notice the quiet reasoning beneath each thought and feeling that arises. Dissecting the dirty to release what doesn’t serve. Awareness is a gift—even when it brings discomfort or shows what we prefer to ignore.
“There is only one way to eat an elephant – one bite at a time.”
Thank you for reading .