Timothy Ferris is Back and the World's Still Turnin'

Experiments in Lifestyle By Design


Tim's back from his "mini retirement" through London, Scotland, Sardinia, Slovak Republic, Austria, Amsterdam, and Japan.

Some unpleasant surprises awaited him when he checked in on the evil e-mail inbox.~~ Why?~~~ He let them happen.

He always does.(and so do I)

He met with his Japanese publisher, Seishisha (Tel: 03-5574-8511) and had media interviews in Tokyo, where the 4HWW is now #1 in several of the largest chains.

He took a complete 10-day media fast and felt like he’d had a two-year vacation from computers.

-He attended the Tokyo International Film Festival and hung out with one of his heroes, the producer of the Planet Earth television series.

Tim says;

"Once you realize that you can turn off the noise without the world ending, you’re liberated in a way that few people ever know."

"Just remember: if you don’t have attention, you don’t have time. Did I have time to check e-mail and voicemail? Sure. It might take 10 minutes. Did I have the attention to risk fishing for crises in those 10 minutes? Not at all."

"As tempting as it is to “just check e-mail for one minute,” I didn’t do it. I know from experience that any problem found in the inbox will linger on the brain for hours or days after you shut-down the computer, rendering “free time” useless with preoccupation. It’s the worst of states, where you experience neither relaxation nor productivity. Be focused on work or focused on something else, never in-between."

"Time without attention is worthless, so value attention over time."

Timothy Ferris is a genius and the inspiration for this blog.
You must read the rest of this article here!
...The Art of Letting Bad Things Happen

Quit Flapping and Ride Your Thermals

This is an excerpt from a great article by...Dewitt Jones

.....Wait, it’s not an apparition, it’s real. A Frigate bird, huge with black wings motionless, rising like a Harrier jet straight up from below the cliff edge, levitating into my vision and consciousness. For one breathless moment his gaze meets my own. Then the wind sweeps him higher. Another takes his place, then another, and another until eleven have soared past me. All in silence. All without a beat of their wings. All without effort, rising on the invisible turbulence beneath them.

Higher and higher they soar on that indiscernible funnel of air. Did I say indiscernible? Not for them. I watch the subtle movements of their wings. Never a full stroke, simply tiny adjustments to bring them back to the place of maximum lift. Higher and higher… without struggle.

Finally they are just sable specks among the clouds. Then as if to some inaudible command, they trim their wings, break their upward spiral, and set a course for the island of Oahu some 40 miles distant. It’s clear they’ll make it without a single wing beat.

I am thunderstruck. I fall into the grass with a force that reminds me only too clearly that I do not have wings. I sit staring into the sky where the birds have been. It was much too powerful not to have meaning. Slowly words coalesce in my head, words that make me smile, “Quit your flapping and ride your thermals!”

Oh, how true!

Read the full article here.......Dewitt Jones

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Jonathan Seagull was not a follower of the flock.
He was a "one in a million gull."

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a fable about a gull who
is bored with the daily squabbles over food and
seized by a passion to explore his ability for flight.

"I want to fly where no seagull has flown before ~
I want to know what there is to know about life!"
Caring little about eating and consumed with his passion,
he pushes himself, learning everything he can about flying,
until finally his unwillingness to conform results in his
expulsion from his flock.

An outcast, he continues to learn, becoming increasingly
pleased with his abilities as he leads his idyllic life.



"You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now -
and nothing can stand in your way!" ____________Jonathan L. Seagull

...and remember...never lose your Childlike Creativity!

Speaking of Lemmings, Sheep and Lynch Mobs...

In a bizarre mishap that conservationists describe as "heartbreaking," an estimated 10,000 wildebeest have drowned while attempting to cross Kenya's Mara River during an annual migration.

Following the herd mentality.

Get the rest of this sad story here...National Geographic

Gord Young

Nonconformists

"There's a whiff of the lynch mob or the lemming migration about any overlarge concentration of like-thinking individuals, no matter how virtuous their cause." - PJ O'Rourke


I liked this quote because of the implied message that people tend to "join up"
or follow the flow because it is the current and most conspicuous issue of the day.

I've recently joined a cause to support the Monks and the people of Burma in their fight for democracy and opposition to the oppressive government there. Their cause is getting much support in the "free world" at this time because of the media attention.

However, there are many injustices in the world that do not get such publicity and thus continue on without the outside world taking any notice.

This post is not about political issues, nor causes.

It is my hope that anyone reading this blog is an individual thinking, nonconformist
who will make up his or her own mind about what they stand for and not just be a follower.

Gord Young

Here is another related quote.

"The health of society thus depends quite as much on the independence of the individuals composing it as on their close political cohesion." Albert Einstein

Philip Straub

Have you heard of Philip Straub or seen his work?

I just stumbled on his site and loved the vibrant colors and dramatic lighting of his paintings.

Here is his website...enjoy it for yourself.
http://www.philipstraub.com/Bio.htm

Picasso

"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso