Month: August 2019

How we should treat our family, new acquaintances, and even people we just met is something I have been trying to figure out for awhile. My current solution, or default setting, is to treat everyone like royalty.

This does not mean becoming a “yes man” or “doormat”. While it might seem that is what I am saying, read on. If a Queen is talking to you, or you are often in her presence, that means you must be on, or at least close to her social level (and since there is no caste system this is true, you’re royal too! :D).

This means you should act in a way which commands and exudes respect i.e. not being a total jester, in this metaphor. It’s okay of course, to joke around. But read the room, be tasteful.

Pretending someone is royalty also entails that you will consider their needs and wants; on a level at, or above your own. This is because, after all, they could play a pretty big role in your own life. Whether you “vibe” with them or not. So how you treat them today could hurt or help you in the long run.

I’m sure that anyone reading this is already aware that there are people we encounter that we most certainly do not “vibe with”. Even though we may not prefer to interact with these individuals, we must because work, family, or social settings dictate so. Which means the temptation is present to mistreat or throw them under the bus because well, “they’re a toolbag” or “have not been nice to me” or “smells kinda terrible”. These may be valid reasons for spite or malice, but never an excuse to do wrong.

but why shouldn’t we repay annoyance with annoyance?

Well, most of us can point to a corrupted leader or individual with relative power somewhere in recent history. Just as true as Carl Jung’s 12 archetypes, there is always a villain for every hero. What if you were unintentionally manufacturing a villainous threat, the likes of which you would have to face down the road. This is a scary thought, not a fantasy, it is commonly known bullying is a catalyst for suicide and suicidal rampages like columbine.

If you were the advisor to a king, and you misinformed or mistreated that king, it might not only turn out poorly for you, it might turn out poorly for a whole nation.

Again this doesn’t mean kiss booties or place yourself in uncomfortable situations, it means be respectful and be honest to everyone as often as possible. It might turn out good for you!

I write about this not only because I think it’ll help anyone make true friends, but also because it is something I have hard time doing, it’s easy to quickly make assumptions about someone based on trivial things or single sided stories. Gossip is wrong!

Thanks for reading, your Highness

The largest organism in the world is not an apex predator, nor something gone extinct many years ago, but a fungus found in the mountains of Oregon. The “Armillaria ostoyae” is recorded covering about 2,400 acres which is about 4 square miles. “Populus tremuloides” is an aspen found in North America, the special thing about it though; is that many of the trees are actually connected by their roots! Contrast to the t-rex or blue whale, the biggest living organisms are not apex predators. On the contrary, you could almost call them apex protectors! Their exact impact on the environment that these massive plants have is immeasurable, but obviously impactful on the ecosystem.

The point to be made here is this: to become something greater than your current state, it is not necessary to exhaust resources and opportunities for yourself. Working in harmony, not in-sighting chaos, is a highly effective stagey for cultivating growth in all aspects of your life.

I really believe this. How many times has getting tilted at anything actually helped you?

Focusing on negatives will not spur growth, it takes energy to do anything. If that energy is focusing on negative aspects than you’ll get a negative return of energy. If you focus on positives, than you’ll have positive returns!

SO what is the formula for positive growth? Well, lets look at the biggest organisms for guidance. Plants need three things, sunlight, soil and water. Metaphorically we need these things too.

Water. We need to give our body sustenance for success! This means drinking lots and lots of water, if you need some inspiration just check out r/hydrohomies haha. It is also important for you to have a balanced diet! Not too much of anything but remember to get some fiber, protein, and diary for strong bones! (A little exercise and sleep wouldn’t hurt either).

Soil. This is arguably the most important, if there is no soil, how can a seed take roots? The soil for us is our surroundings. This includes friend group and the scenarios we willingly put ourselves in each and every day. Having good friends which make you laugh constantly is an amazing feeling, it is also nice to know you can have people you can depend on for a good opinion about life issues. The opposite is true for toxic people, if you get no enjoyment out of seeing them or talking with them, cut them out. Block, delete, tell their face, or all the above; some people just aren’t worth it. Environment means more than where you like to read or hang out, it refers to focusing on how to enhance positive aspects of your life, and minimize negative ones. This seems obvious but its not always easy to recognize. If you have a bad habit, you cant just say “I’m going to stop _________”. You need to find what your train of thought is before you want to do _______. Then cope with that which is the source.

Light. Ah yes, the sun, the giver of all energy. Light has inherent properties, one of them being, brightness. It’s hard to explain what I mean by needing light in your life, because I’m not really sure what you need in your life. It is easy though to tell if something is wholesome; just imagine your 9 year old self is hanging out with you!

If a tree has these three things, it wont stop growing, and since you’re the main character in your own life, it only makes sense you dont either.

Thanks for reading! 😀