Category: humans

Just looking at this photo* caused me pain.

What great lengths people go to in pursuit of beauty – and have done for the scope of human history.

The vast majority of good things come with a cost.

Even enjoying a beautiful flower along the path requires you to take a moment to stop.

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*This is an excerpt of a photo taken by Craig McDean. It appeared in the November issues of WSJ magazine.

Footnote: The pain Miuccia Prada must experience while wearing these shoes must make her feel beautiful – enough to put up with the pain of wearing them.

“Everyone has one.”

Tom Kundig, a famous architect said that about his Cab armchair by Mario Bellini. I did a quick Google search and discovered it costs about $5,500. For one chair.

The full quote is just as priceless: “It’s almost embarrassing to admit that [I own one] because everyone has one.”

Then I had to ask myself, when do I make assumptions about others? Quite often.

• They look like that because they have no sense of taste.
• They are struggling with that health problem because they refuse to exercise.
• They keep failing at relationships because they…

You get the point. It’s too easy to assume things without knowing the bigger picture.

Photo by vetustanova on Tumblr.

…it belongs to someone you love.

Self-destructive behaviors abound. (And I’m far from perfect.) But I love this saying – how often do we treat our bodies like we love ourselves? Even more important, how often do we treat others better than ourselves? (See here.)

If we truly followed that saying, would we shop at Whole Foods to pick up food for that homeless person we see on the corner on our way to the office?

(Thanks to Whole Foods for their store-window poster.)

Tension can make or break us. Too much tension can ruin a relationship. Too little tension can bring on depression.

We are naturally drawn to seek tension, because it’s healthy. But we are also repelled by situations that  cause too much tension.

We all fall in a spectrum of desire too much or too little tension.

Benoît Lecomte plans to swim across the Pacific Ocean.  (He has already crossed the Atlantic.) Mr. Lecomte is seeking a huge amount of personal tension. I am not sure why he is seeking such levels of pain. He will either receive the fame that comes with being the first to complete such a feat – or he may lose his life. I appreciate how people like Benoît push the boundaries of humans accomplishment.

At the other end of the tension spectrum is someone I knew who died for lack of tension. They refused to exercise to the point of losing most physical capabilities. They insisted on their own way by refusing healthy choices, some of which resulted in their eventual death. Their driving motivation was to avoid pain.

You most likely fall somewhere in the middle. My struggle is not judging people at either extreme.

Another struggle I face is pushing myself from the complacent end of the spectrum toward the middle. I know that I need more tension, like in the area of exercise. In some areas of life, I need less tension.

Balance is elusive.

Humble brag (n) – to brag about how humble you are.

I often fall into this trap. Readers of this blog have seen me brag about how humble I am, many times. “I save money this way, so I’m better than those who don’t.” “I’m more environmental than the people who drive that kind of vehicle.”

Humble-bragging is obnoxious to anyone who detects it. And as T Bone Burnett sang, “It’s a funny thing about humility, As soon as you know you’re being humble, You’re no longer humble.”

Having said that, let me launch into a humble brag.

A recent Wall Street Journal article on triathlons had a sidebar featuring recommended equipment. the “entry-level” road bike was $1,449. that freaked me out a little until I realized that their normal readers are in a class where that price is entry-level.

Across the page, the featured mountain bike cost $11,000 (with an integrated hydration system).

My humble brag: my road bike is worth a lot less than $1,449. But I know that having both a road bike and a mountain bike puts me into the 1%. So there goes my humility.

It was great to see my sister and her husband during the Thanksgiving holidays. Even though we had just over two days together, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing each other.

It can be costly – or there may be many rivers to cross before you see each other – but it’s worth it to make it happen. There are priceless experiences you already share. This time, you might create some new family memories!