I spend a great deal of time in my own head which isn’t always wise of course.I navigate my internal landscape to understand myself, the world, and the intricate relationship between the two (or is there really no separation?) Through this constant introspection, I’ve realized that my existence gravitates toward three primary pillars: Learning, Creating, and Connecting.
For me, it starts with an insatiable hunger to learn. There is almost nothing I encounter that I don’t want to understand more deeply. My curiosity is borderless—I want to know how to make dashi from scratch as well as how entangled particles reveal themselves. I often find myself going down rabbit holes trying to understand how the complex machinery of demographics, poverty, and crime shapes our society, for example.
I often wonder if this drive is really just a sophisticated survival mechanism. For me there is safety in understanding; a belief that if I can map the world perfectly, I am safe. But beyond that need for security lies a genuine, childlike wonder. To learn is to be truly awake to the complexity of the universe.
While learning is about taking the world in, creating is about putting myself out into it. Whether I am developing a new fusion recipe in the kitchen, designing and building a gazebo at our cabin, or experimenting with a new artistic medium, the act of creation is a demonstration of agency. It is the physical evidence of being alive.
I often find that my projects are the byproducts of what I have learned. When I see a new type of art, I don’t just want to admire it; I want to delve into it. This drive to build and produce isn’t just about the end product; it’s about the process of taking raw materials—or raw ideas—and shaping them into something that didn’t exist before. It is how I confirm that I am alive, how I feed my identity. Oh identity what a dangerous master you can be!
While learning and creating are vital, I’ve come to realize that Connection is the umbrella that sits over everything else. Connection is the bridge to the self, to other humans, and to every sentient and non-sentient entity in our universe. Connection is my real calling. I am my most true, vital, useful, and happy self when I am connecting with others, myself, or the universe.
I am the person who hugs trees—not a quick “bro-hug,” but a deep, meditative embrace with a long exhale over and over again during my 500 miles of annual hiking. I am also the person my daughter jokes about in the checkout line. By the time I’ve finished paying for my groceries, I usually know the cashier’s story—where they’re from, their family, their passions, as well as that for the person behind me.
Connection is the ultimate antidote to the suffering of the world. It pulls us out of the vacuum of curated digital isolation and confusion and grounds us in the “now.” Whether it’s connecting two people, or connecting the disparate parts of my own psyche—marrying the id and the superego into a state of calm presence—this orientation is what gives the other two drives meaning.
Learning, creating, and connecting are not just categories of behavior; they form a feedback loop. We learn so that we may create; we create so that we may connect; and through connection, we find the inspiration to learn even more. By embracing these three orientations, we move away from the noise of a busy and at times banal life and toward a shared sense of Love.
What are your orientations? How are you weaving your own thread into the tapestry of the world today? Not feeling “it” today, no worries. Start tomorrow or next week, but start. Start living more consciously, more purposefully, more joyously, more compassionately. Alternatively, take a hot bath, hug a loved one, and take a nap!
