Overnight in Detroit
It’s safe to say that in Detroit at least, it was just another snowstorm. Not really a big deal, but I was put up in a reasonably nice hotel a few blocks from work anyway… which is good, because people still drove like their ass was on fire, and there were accidents on every freeway.
After an early dinner with Melanie and Alex, I hung out in the hotel room watching the first (modern) episode of Dr Who and the first episode of Farscape. It was strange, apparently I’ve seen that episode of Who, heh, because I always associate him with mannequins.
I found a cool meditation app on my ipod which plays relatively random music for a set period of time, and that was a pretty cool way to get ready for bed in a strange room in the wrong town. I woke up feeling pretty refreshed, all things considered, and made it in to work a bit early.
The idea is to get our early today, but of course “News Happens”, so I’m just going with the flow.
I just finished ready a photo essay of a woman who was photographed for 18 years of her life, from a new mother in san fran to her AIDS-related death in Alaska, and it has me pretty quiet and contemplative. Honestly thinking about the heartbreaking fragility of life is pretty terrifying, overall – it takes a brave person to actually see that and accept it gracefully. Grandma used to say “there but for the grace of God go I”, and while God and I aren’t on speaking terms, I know exactly what she meant.
There is so much to do, live, and be, and so little time. Unless, of course, you’re Aubrey De Gray, who thinks we’ll find the key to immortality in his own lifetime. Me, I’m ready for the singularity – I already self-modify my code!
So yeah, this morning I am dwelling a bit on the sheer randomness of life, and the brutality of the Great Big RNG*. I’d say thus far I’ve come out 90th percentile, or 99th percentile if you count the entire world. I’m choosing this moment to be grateful for all of the short, difficult, creative, joyous lives spent making the world a better one before I came along, and I’m thinking about my duty to the human race as a whole, for making life so very easy for me (on the whole).
It is also my duty to discover joyfulness, to let go of grief and pain, and to otherwise make the most of every moment, not just with what I do but who I am. There’s no time for sulking, you know?
What are you thinking about today, the day of the Great Fauxstorm of 2011?
*Random Number Generator
I’m thinking that I miss Fauxstorms, because this one was real as hell over here. *waugh sick of winter*
I’m also thinking of another meditation post, because ever since you brought it up I realized there’s a lot I haven’t said yet that I wanted to. *hmm*
I’m thinking that I miss Fauxstorms, because this one was real as hell over here. *waugh sick of winter*
I’m also thinking of another meditation post, because ever since you brought it up I realized there’s a lot I haven’t said yet that I wanted to. *hmm*