I’ve been sitting on this quote for a week and cannot shake the impact: “Everything is an ad. Everything is genAl. Everything is a glimmering facade peeling off at the edges. Everything is a Faustian Bargain. Promising you ease and wonder and reassuring you that the consequences will be so distant it won't matter. Nothing matters. Take the deal. It's never been more important to do real stuff. Even if it's terrible. Especially if it's terrible. The zeitgeist is hollow. Full of just the idea of authenticity. It is starving for something real. Don't take the deal. Be a discordant note. Be a shimmering speck of silver in a sea of plastic. Write cringe poetry. Make art that looks like nothing. Sing songs with uncertain melodies. Be an excruciatingly odd thing in a world that is constantly trying to force you into a template.” THOUGHTS: You matter, I matter, we all matter. A collection of individuals is more valuable than a unified whole. Yes, individuality is accepted, but only when individuality is exceptional. On the podcast yesterday we were talking about the idea that you are crazy until you make it, then you are a visionary. Not (always) in real life, but definitely online there is a push to conform. Filters to change how you look. AI to to craft your words. Boxes to fit in. Stories to play out. I love this quote though. And it makes me realise that the meta game response to the world that is coming, is to be so uniquely yourself. To refuse to let the edges be shaved off. To enjoy art and hobbies and other things just because you enjoy them. Not because you’re trying to make money, or to impress, or to fit in. Just because. To go and sit in the beautiful imperfection that is yourself, that is nature, that is real. I was talking to my partner about a potentially awkward social situation with a friend. And she said that’s what friendships are, they are messy, they involve back-and-forth, involve work, and have friction. That is exactly the point. We are not robots. We are not carbon copies. And we will not be able to thrive in an environment that tries to make us into such things.

I have just come back from a day of inner work through the Island of Man and had an insight that I would like to share and get your thoughts on. There is a vulnerability to be found within joy and from sharing our happiness. One that is just as important to explore as the darkness. Context: we were offered a variety of different workshops that (I felt) would have been an invitation to explore the darkness and work with the deeper aspects of the self, inner work etc. Beautiful and amazing facilitators offering incredible processors and discussions. I haven't worked with these men before, and would like to do so at some stage, but I felt called instead to do a workshop on improv comedy - something that 'serious Zac' would never have engaged with or even considered. I realized that I could fall into the habit of doing the deep work, exploring and sharing the darkness, doing that kind of work yet again. And while it would have been valuable, it wasn't as scary as simply playing, making a fool of myself, and exploring and sharing laughter. I initially felt out of my comfort zone, but quickly realized that a good thing. Playing and expressing within the positive, the silly, the joyous holds a level of vulnerability that I need to explore, one that up until today I never even knew I was ignoring. Question: What is scary for you to explore and express? And why?

I saw this set of monkey bars I saw on the side of the road ‘for free’ said the attached sign (I am not keen on consumer culture, so free and recycled appeal). So I decided to try and carry it home. I only live about 1.5 km away, shouldn’t be too hard… the problem is that, given the size and shape of the thing the only way I could move it was overhead press - 50 steps at a time before needing a rest. 1 hr later and I am quite sore indeed jumped on the scales at home with it: 36kg. My 8 year old asked me if ‘I was getting funny looks’ from people - I was. But I told him it was worth it! An earlier version of me would have been too embarrassed to face those looks - I would have felt the desire to bring the bars home and squashed it down, ignoring it and justifying my choices with the false logic of one not living their truth. But the higher value, the one more aligned with my truth holds that I can put up with those looks today for the joy of my kids over time. (Let’s just see how sore I am tomorrow though!) CURIOUS: what have you done recently that you wouldn’t have been able (or willing) to do as an earlier version of yourself? & what changes occurred to make that happen?

I was sent this one yesterday and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. Curious to know your thoughts on this one 🙏 My thoughts: Our society seems to value status and money above allow, but beyond a certain point, beyond a certain amount, once your needs have been met and perhaps a bit more, what does any of that worth? Contrast that against feelings of safety. The value I place in the people close to me, those I feel safe around, is insurmountable, and of course, I hope to offer that to the world. I remember a couple of years ago reading a book about trauma informed yoga, it was highlighting how the practitioner should ask before touching the body of a client, rather than just simply moving them into position . It makes sense when it’s said out loud, but if it’s the ‘done thing’ in a career or a profession, it may not be obvious until it is highlighted. Immediately applied that to my jujitsu coaching where coaches just assumed consent for contact (moving people into position to show them a move). I began asking, and the relief on some people’s faces was immediately apparent. No one ever said no, but the gesture itself resonated. Reflected upon this, and the impact upon safety in relationships with friends, family, and everyone, I think I will begin to judge my success as a measure of feelings of safety - but not just how people feel about me, but how I feel about the people in my life. If I find myself not feeling safe around people, I will leave (which is of course expressed in the second meme).