500 Words — Day Forty-Five: Reality

I noticed over the past couple of months or so while I’ve been embarking on this transition between jobs and dealing with all of the work that is coming with it, is that the rest of the world seems to have disappeared. For the last four or five days, I have paid very little attention to the news and haven’t been caught in the drama of the whatever thing people are complaining about on the internet. It’s honestly real nice to invest close to 100% of my time in base reality. Internet reality and the metaverse couldn’t be further away at the moment. And even though I’m tired and treading in unknown territory outside my comfort zone, I can’t say that I have really found myself feeling any strong negative feelings. Maybe I’m turning into an optimist. Or maybe the internet sours one into being a pessimist cynic? I’m not sure, but so far, so good.

There’s so much to learn and so much opportunity to really make a mark as a pioneer in my new job. Sure, there’s a lot of things that are disorganized and messy and need structure, but that will come after time. But the organization doesn’t feel bounded and focused on the bottom line. While scope and staying in financial state are important, being able to work with people willing to push the boundaries is a breath of fresh air and I have been really excited to really focus and learn as much as possible so I can not only become a contributor, but also be someone to help push those bounds and drive innovation.

I think it is really important to focus on those things that do matter and can make things better. One of the reasons I changed jobs is that I wanted to make more of an impact in the world and I didn’t feel like I was in an organization that really empowered that. We’ll see how the next couple of weeks goes at the new place, but I’m optimistic so far and that why my focus has been pretty dedicated to the job as well as trying to maintain a lifestyle where I can build on that optimism moving forward. I feel like in the past, I’ve tended to focus on things that are simply out of my control. While I can bring attention to issues to whatever microscopic audience I have, I think focusing on the things we can change and then attempting to change them goes so much further than just complaining. Why talk about the future being bright when you could just go ahead and life it?

Rather than get caught in the narratives out of your control within realities that are manufactured to make you feel unhappy or angry, maybe there is something to be said about giving yourself up to some cause that is real. The nice thing about base reality is that it is real. Nobody is changing the laws of physics. The problems that exist out here are real and when solved lead to real change. Rather than sit around while the world burns, let’s get out there and put out some fires.