6/16/23
For many, a long weekend is ahead. Take the time and find a moment for yourself. Quiet.
Maybe in that moment, you experience gratitude for the present, the current moment at hand. Then, a moment of gratitude for something beyond this momentary environment. Even if the person, place, or thing in mind is not in front of you - imagine sharing reciprocal appreciation with “…”, or, paying it forward.
If you’re lucky, there may be an opportunity for both.
GROUNDED
Roots - World Perception
I don’t watch the news, and Social Media can be deceptive in pretty much every way, but let’s leave that for another day. This has led to no reliable resource for day-to-day information about current events for me. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been asking different people how they consume “news”, hoping this would lead to a few new avenues for me to explore.
Serendipitously, by the way of the magic of the world, my good friend Tom sent me this article:
https://www.axios.com/2023/06/10/morality-illusion-science-beliefs
The article starts with the foundational stat, “Survey data from 60 countries shows most people around the world believe morality is declining — and they've thought that for at least 70 years.”
The purpose here isn’t to inform on the decline or incline of morality. Ultimately, the article invites us to critically examine our own moral judgments, encouraging us to embrace the humbling notion that morality is a deeply human experience, influenced by the unique tapestry of our beliefs, emotions, and experiences.
Many of us can be overwhelmed by the nonsense that gets reported to us with little to no context. For the sources with context, they often present information in a way that makes you question what’s missing from the context. Information without persuasion is hard to come by in today’s society.
This article shares a tool for the next time you feel like the future of the world is going downhill: Ask yourself where you see this immediately in your own life. Take stock of all of the good, and fact-check yourself as you go to shape your daily view of the world. Then, understand this value and vision of yours may not be what your neighbor holds. This in itself does not make either of you… wrong.
IN THE KLOUDS
Movement - New Songs of the Week
James Blake x Rosalia - Barefoot in the Park (Need I preface James Blake?)
J Hus x Drake - Who Told You (Summer Island Energy)
That Mexican OT x Paul Wall - Johnny Dang (This goes)
ABOVE KLOUDS
Quotes of the Week
“Work hard. Be somebody, and be something more than what you see in the mirror. Let the world be your mirror. Don’t let them judge you, because the mirror can’t judge you. You judge what you see in the mirror.” -Lil Wayne
“Some things are too important to be taken seriously.” -Oscar Wilde
KLOUTY SPOTLIGHT
AXIOS
In response to a question about fake news in 2016, Denzel Washington responded, "If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you do read it, you're misinformed…What is the long-term effect of too much information? One of the effects is the need to be first, not even to be true anymore."
The spotlight this week is on a new source of information for current events in the world, AXIOS. The reason I enjoy this platform is that it takes a “Big Picture” look at current events, and offers multiple perspectives for you to look into. They work to counter the idea that news first is better than true news.
Now, this is a share. Not looking to convince anyone of anything. If you have your own resources or avenues for your lens of the world, feel free to respond to this email and share!
According to a 2022 report out of UC San Diego, the average American consumes about 34 gigabytes of data & information a day. For context, this equates to about 100,000 words - from the radio to the internet and everything in between.**
If you are not responsible for how you consume information, someone else will be. My persuasion for you today is to be curious, explore, read, and look to understand.
