The self-made entrepreneur in over his head with responsibility, secretly desires the simplistic life of their employee who gets paid to just do a job. Maybe at least the owner will get to retire early and enjoy a few extra golden years.

The retiree, ripening into atrophy now yearns for the mobility of youth. Unable to fully enjoy their present moment as they reminisce on lost opportunities in life. What if they traveled more in their 20’s, what if they made more investments in their 30’s, what if they took more time off to enjoy their 40’s. How did life seem to slip away like sand through their fingers?

The world traveler humbled by global multi-culturalism still dreams of his twin-flame sweetheart from school. What if they got married, settled down with a few kids and a white picket fence? Was all this experience worth losing the one that got away?

The flamed sweetheart somberly reflects on her lost lover; what if she could trust herself enough to let go of a life she thought she needed to live? Now tied down to a mortgage and child she very much loves, but with a man who isn’t quite as sweet, but rather much more stable. Worrying if the opportunity of adventure is forever behind her, now stuck to the monotonous cycle of “Till death do us part”.

The 3rd world child who has no concept of what an Air conditioner is, let alone the idea of ice or snow has little to wish to be, destined to protect and feed his family like his father before him. Yet occasionally gets lost daydreaming of fabled golden streets glimmering throughout privileged cities.

We all have dreams, aspirations, regrets… In that perfect balance of imperfection we’re all doing our best. Nobody’s right, yet nobody’s wrong- That’s the beauty of life, everything will eventually be done with non laying claim to the title of “Best Life Lived” … So who are you? What are you doing here? What will you do next?

“You are living my dream”

A phrase I’ve heard way too often from too many unfamiliar faces.
Yes, I’ve been blessed with a momentary reprieve of unrestrained travel. The current manifestation of a long string of life choices that has led to my particular job, picturesque places, peculiar friends, precious memories and preposterous stories.

I’m not living your dream, I’m simply living my life. When we are cursed with the need to escape we try to change everything about our situation before we’ve even taken a look at the one constant variable. No matter what you run away from, you’ll always run into yourself.

I always knew I would be an explorer from my youngest aspirations of growing into an astronaut. If only I knew then the most difficult peak to summit is overcoming the mountains of my own mentality. As it turns out, the true forefront of human exploration is not the depths of the seas nor vastness of space- rather the infinite mastery of one’s own consciousness.

What exactly is the human form capable of? Once you’ve seen everything where else is there to look but inward. Once you’ve done everything, what else is there to do but live in service.

Tend to the Garden of Eden.

Leave the world a better place than you found it.

The strangest part is that something sinister creeps in to interrupt my every decision.

“Nobody’s cared thus far… they won’t care in the future…”

They do not see the way- blinded by the filth covering their sight, focused on removing the spec in my eye.

“You’re breaking the status quo… someone will be upset”

Great people rarely acquire prestige by falling in line. Instead opting to shatter ceilings of expectation paving the way for new culture to flourish in their tracks.

“It’s dangerous… you might get hurt…"”

I’m not doing this because I want to, I’m doing this because I must. An abhorrent compulsion to seek novelty and experience that which these eyes have not yet tasted. I don’t want to stop me- I must progress forward in this pursuit of novelty. With each step uncovering new pieces of a person I never knew I could be.

“Why bother? Your impact won’t make a difference…”

Everything we do in life is insignificant; but it is very important that we do it because [nobody else will.] ~Ghandi

“Everything you’ve ever done will eventually be forgotten…”

A drop in the ocean creates ripples that dream of becoming a tsunami… It does not matter if anyone remembers the drop but everyone will be affected by these insignificant waves.

“What if you fail?.. better play it safe”

…

Not today, Satan ;

Somebody wants to be me…

I’m living their dream

Then there are those rare creators that take this media and use technology as a canvas to spill their soul onto; creating higher forms of art with layered messages, wisdom and hidden teachings underneath the surface of simple audio queues and flashing colors.

Jibaro is an immaculate fusion of interpretative dance and digital art capturing the raw and primal essence of both man and his greed when confronted with the seductive nature of mother earth's sacred treasures - a radically novel exploration of ideas and concepts that invite the viewer to experience and invoke their own feelings of interpretation, while raising many philosophical questions on man’s responsibility to Mother Nature.

This story is very much akin to a myth in that it feels to have been created to tell a much grander story that cannot be simply expressed by quips between humans. That said, this story is much larger than a simple instance of Puerto Rican knights encountering a lake monster; this story is a microcosm of humanity, expressing the totality of our relationship with the earth.

Two main actors dominate the stage of this play.
The “Deaf Knight” and the “Golden Siren”

The Siren’s critical role in this drama is that of the divine feminine spirit, Mother Earth. Her proclivity for beauty naturally invokes Lust and Greed in even the strongest of men, driving them mad to the brink of self-extinction over the conquest of her material & spiritual treasures. Men are tempted by many things; Sex, power, wealth and territory being easy examples. There are attempts to mask these desires under the guise of religious doctrine but in the end we are all human and even the most holy of men have succumbed to the humanness of her temptation in this experience we call life.

The Deaf Knight symbolizes us in a way that it is our story, our eyes, or at least a warning of the fate to those who walk this path. Even though masses around us seem to be radicalized, driven mad by lust, greed, and other sins, we alone feel special and above those primal desires. We may be confused why others make their seemingly uninformed decisions- Throwing their lives away by destroying our natural environment all while pretending that Mother Earth doesn’t truly own the land they reside over; forcing us to feel like the lone bastion of truth. We recognize her whipping everyone around us into a fervent frenzy, but not why they allow themselves to be swayed. Perhaps they know more than we do? Believe something we can’t perceive? Or perhaps they are simply weak of will and no longer care about the consequences of their actions. This feeling of solitude is coupled with that of jealousy & feeling left out, as well as pride; leading us to protest and abstain from indulgence, fearing that we too may join that shared fate.

Every prop is a tool that helps tell part of this story, including the deafness of the knight. Since the knight can’t hear, the disassociation of not being like the others is clear. Though this interpretation blurs the lines of us putting ourselves in the knight’s shoes. How can we associate with him if we can hear perfectly fine? Take this equation instead →I am _____ therefore, I am [not//them]…

I am vegan, therefore I am not cruel to animals.
I am progressive, therefore I am kinder & more inclusive to others.
I am minimalist, therefore I care more about the earth’s resources.
I am religious, therefore I am above the sins of man.

Many can relate to these statements and they can be created infinitely to describe anyone anywhere, regardless of the lies they contain.

Even through the Knight can’t hear doesn’t mean he is wholly immune to the siren’s temptation. Our knight was in fact the first to take gold from the water waking the siren to their presence. Regardless of his deafness differentiating him from the others’ false ears, he is still of their brood and they all share more in common than not. He wields their sword which represents the truth they fight for. He rides their horses representing the convenience of travel they share. He’s garbed in their cloth showcasing their luxury and comfort. He wears their armor hiding a false sense of security… anyone else surprised at the ineffectiveness of their armor during the slash frenzy? … Even though we as individuals have a large characteristic that sets “us” apart from “them” in the end we are all human and share much more in common than most would care to admit.

As we connect with nature her spirit embraces us as one of her own, in a way protecting us from the natural dangers lurking in her wilds. Mother Earth and the divine spirit is always with us, no matter where we go. Her presence is a gift that can not be kept. Her sharp scales punish those who attempt to hold on longer than they should. Even roses manifest thorns to remind us that beautiful things must handled delicately. Why can we not be content with what we have? Why are we cursed with the disease of “More”? We are driven to explore her mysteries as it feels like she has chosen to manifest for us alone in ways that no one has ever experienced her before.

After chasing deeper through her veins beyond the fringes of our own comfort, we meet her in a place of natural divine beauty, untouched by man. A precarious tipping point where we witness a seductive dance unlike that fools gold of a song-trap before. A truly vulnerable display of surrender as she opens up and allows us to experience the fruits of her form. She is everything we desire and we can’t help but take a single pebble of her majesty. We fail to flinch at the bleeding impact we cause; even our smallest cupidity leaves her wounded. We are forgiven with a sharp kiss, an innocent display on her part; all we’ve done is take and offered nothing in return. Our shining armor only protects us from physical manifestations that do not know how to pierce it’s plate; yet forged steel does nothing to shield us from succumbing to our own internal demons… She can not be courted, she can not be bargained with, and her- in this form should only be worshiped. God granted us hands as tools, and when we view our hands as hammers- everything begins to look like a nail. Thus a monkey’s only option is to transmute her into something is that is more suitable for us. In a prophetic display of violence and violation we’ve thieved her of beauty, stripped her fertile soil and discarded her body like a wet tissue without remorse, as if there’s another around the corner to hunt and maim.

Was it worth it? How many lives were lost in her conquest? She bared more treasure than what mere man can keep to himself. Encumbered not only by the weight of culture and wealth, but now our continued decisions to live on knowing what we’ve done. Do we deserve to drink clean water knowing it has been tainted with the blood, sorrow and sins of our ancestors who cemented the pillars of community we stand on today? The knight’s hearing is restored in a realization that we are no different than anyone else. We are all the same being, who fight the same demons and no amount of other’ing will change that. We are all human.

As long as the earth is round, Mother Nature will never truly die. Even stripped of her fertility and beauty she remains the same all-divine being and will enact retribution on the sons of those who’ve taken from her. When confronted with death, no man will escape the sins of their father. In this poetic conclusion, our newfound hearing knight dances a most beautiful display of acceptance that he is just as demented as those that perished before him, and joins their fate in that shared tomb of drowning.

Jibaro raises many important questions that we need to address as the current custodians of the Garden of Eden. Is it too late for us to heal the earth? How hard is it to move an inch today? Every hour we choose to be ignorant of liars and thieves’ transgression upon her is another vote to drown in her sorrowful wrath. I pray her hibernation will seed an unborn generation who never fail to love her with the utmost respect she deserves.1

The absolute destructive force of beavers is clearly apparent upon first glance. But destruction, death and decay is a natural part of every living ecosystem. If death were not present, there would be no room for new life to emerge. Like Yin & Yang, there is a fine balance between light and dark. They both require the opposite to survive, if there were no division the whole would cease to exist.

Beavers and their dams play an important role in nature. These mammals are considered a keystone species because of the dramatic effects their dams have on surrounding ecosystems. By constructing dams they create wetlands -- lush environments which attract fish, ducks, frogs and other creatures.

~ animals.howstuffworks.com

A beautiful ecosystem carefully crafted by tooth and nail (literally).

Though I didn’t see any beavers personally, their fingerprints are clear and fresh around the surrounding area. It’s funny to compare the emergence of technology in all species, humans cut down trees to build homes for families, profit, and other gadgets; yet beavers painstakingly donate their labor and invite the whole neighborhood to enjoy a new space rent-free.

We measure cars in horsepower, why not measure chainsaws in beaver power?

One beautiful thing about being human is that we are biologically wired for pattern recognition. When we truly know a pattern inside-out, we’re able to see signs of it anywhere.

This above stump for instance, I would’ve been passed without notice in a previous time, but now that we are fluent in beaver- is akin to an old relic telling the history of this land and how it came to be here today and years to come.

Oh the stories we’ll discover when walking the fine line between life and death. The Earth still spins, the sun still burns, rain still falls, tides still ebb and flow, ecosystems emerge in the wake of annihilation and will continue to do so for eons.

My experience here is just a drop in the ocean, yet sometimes it feels like God made this world for my eyes. By no means in a selfish way- for my eyes are your eyes here in this experience. I hope God has built a beautiful day for you too. Mine has been enlightening.

My first thought seeing REI sponsored the viewing platform here:
Of course corporations need to maintain their roads, why would REI sell adventure gear if there were nowhere to adventure to. Similar to Michelin tires giving stars to restaurants so people have a reason to drive their cars further and buy more tires!

On a serious note though, I would like to personally thank REI and the volunteers who funded and built a beautiful view for this experience. You’ve truly embodied the spirit of the beaver here, giving without taking or expecting anything in return.
#not-sponsored
yet

…There are terrible things under the surface of our society, and the perpetrators are coming for you and coming for us…

Are you concerning yourself with the dust in your enemy's eyes instead of attending to the filth that obscures your own sight?

Do we want accusation, suspicion, discord, derision and hatred?

Or the peace and prosperity and happiness that beckons to us at this moment, like never before.

Who's the enemy here?

Is it the basket of deplorables?

Is it the freaks and the queers?

Is it the plumbers and carpenters and tradesmen and managers who work honestly and diligently during the day? Or the soldiers who stalwartly defend the borders and protect us?

Is it the artists and visionaries whose expressions of unbridled creativity entertain and rejuvenate us and who continually offer to us an unending panoply of technological miracle?

Is it the institutions that guide and protect us that so many lived and died to erect and establish which for all their faults, have served us so well?

Do we want revenge or justice?

Do we want contempt or mercy?

Do we want war or peace?

And what are you aiming at in your heart of hearts?

I see even the best of men degenerating into the exchange of blows.

I see even the best of men identifying the enemy in our neighbors and friends.

I see even the best of men falling prey to cowardice and self-righteous anger.

It needs to stop.

I need to stop.

You need to stop, before it's too late.

Who is the enemy here?

The snake in your heart?

The lies on your tongue?

The arrogance of your intellect?

The cowardice of our refusal to see?

The enemy is that which divides to sow discord.

The enemy is the pride and the fear that stops us from lending a hand across the divide.

The enemy is the great and eternal adversary of mankind.

And if we demonize our brothers, our comrades-in-arms, do we not precisely call that dread spirit forth?

Have we not yet learned?

Courage.

Trust.

Truth.

Love.

Even unto your enemy, which is yourself.

God forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

May what is highest guide our vision.

May what is highest open our ears.

May what is highest guide our tongues.

And may we pray fearful of the hell we could so easily and carelessly create deliver us from evil.

Shine a light into the corners of our dark hearts.

For thine is the kingdom,

The power and the glory,

Forever and ever.

Amen

- Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

Photo & art credit to Sharon McCutch, Jorge Gardener, Claudio Schwarz, Laura Vinck

- Photo by Darcy Beau

This analogy cropped up as the cornerstone of my childhood, but what does it mean anyway? There weren’t hordes of children jumping off bridges anywhere, I’m sure this phrase was wholly intended as a message to not do something stupid just because everyone else is doing it.

But what about today? As adults, we don’t have the same level of intimate supervision that our parents gave us in adolescence. In becoming the stewards of our destiny, we lost the wisdom of the ages that we looked to for guidance.

Our culture is currently defined by the direction of the masses. Individual actions trend toward following the momentum of the crowd. This basis of social conformity has been thoroughly demonstrated by the work of Dr. Solomon Asch.

The genetic curse of our species; monkey see, monkey do. This is where we get the social danger of mass formation sycosis. The German people saw their neighbors change and believed they were doing the right thing by supporting the rise of Nazi power. The Christian and Muslim zealots believed they were doing the right thing when ordered to burn the library of Alexandria. The North Koreans believe they are doing the right thing by worshiping a single individual as their savior and protector.

I see a history of cultures that collectively jumped off the metaphorical bridge that today we consider to be a bad move. I see aspects of our culture today that generations from now will probably consider the same of us.

As humans, we are blind to our destiny, clouded in the daily scrutiny of maintaining the status quo; afraid to rock the boat. I wake up and drink coffee because that’s what I saw everyone else doing. I went to school and got a job because that’s what I saw everyone else doing. I kept my head down and didn’t question the system that raised me because that’s what I saw everyone else doing.

Our shared history is a collection of crazy individuals with wild ideas coaxing masses to join their flavor of bridge jumping. This monkey is starting to see the nature of the game we’re born into. Only time will tell if this is considered a bad move anyway.

Around this time they introduced me to a game I’ve never heard of: Bull-Moose. Surely this game goes by other names elsewhere, but the objective is to never be caught with a drink in your right hand; if someone catches you, they exclaim “Bull Moose!” and you must finish your drink on the spot.

-Photo by Madhu Shesharam

At face value this seems simple enough, just use the left hand. What’s unexpected is that this game requires the mental fortitude of a yogi master to never let your guard down, never let your subconscious control your actions. It is easy to let the body do what it wants to do, if you want a drink you’re going to pick up the glass and drink, the secret key to beating this game is intention and reasoning.

Identifying a reason was simple enough. Working in business sales, the most awkward moments are fumbling to drop whatever occupies your hands to properly greet and introduce yourself to others. Next comes the battle of intention and practice, to always pick up everything with the left hand. Repeating a silly mantra when necessary “If you meet a Bull Moose in the wild, be sure you can greet them with a hearty hello”. This game extended to the point where I would call Bull Moose on myself alone in the morning with coffee to drive this intention as a new habit.

Some co-workers give up and claim they aren’t playing that game when called out. Others see these silly formalities as an opportunity for self development. If one would go to the lengths of playing a college drinking game sober with only themselves to burn a new intentional habit into routine, then what else could we achieve as individuals when we genuinely need to build new life changing habits for ourselves in desperate times of need?

Pop Quiz: How can this story be translated to learning new skills today?

A. Set an intention and Bull-Moose yourself when you miss the mark.

B. Drink more and let the inspiration arrive when it wants to. Good things come to those who float with the whims of what the universe presents to us.

C. The Filthy Subtitle Liar is at it again! The writer didn’t even go to college! What a fraud!

D. Why even go through all this? WoOoW you can shake hands with zero point null extra efficiency, big whoop Bonzo. What’s your next trick; sitting up straight? Loser.

Imagine for a moment the simplicity of weaving cloth - Below Ref, Lenore Tawney

If we view ourselves as an individual string, then the whole of the woven cloth is humanity. A single string can only do so much on its own; see so much, yet so little with its own experience. Regardless of its individual insignificance, it is structurally integral in holding together the whole. Taking this analogy back to humanity- the more we interact with and guide each other, the stronger we become. This is neither good nor bad, it just is what it is: Strength.

A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals.

- Agent K

Strength can move mountains, save lives, or burn cities. Coupled with this quote from MIB, the possibilities of dumb strength are numerous. The smart individual enforces mandates to help promote a healthier society; the enforcement from dumb masses promotes a life of fear sheltering from an invisible threat. The smart individual joins a protest to fight societal inequalities; the strength of dumb people vandalize and destroy the livelihood of innocent locals. The smart individual shops at the local farmers market to eat healthier and help their community thrive; the strength of dumb consumers still eat and demand the foods we’ve selectively bred and genetically modified to unnatural sizes. The smart individual writes a detailed article about the history of food and why most whole foods today are far from natural; the strength of dumb attention is more concerned with the latest celebrity drama as if it directly impacts their lives.

Editors note* The specific examples do not matter and can be painted in any way, even   to say the strength of dumb masses supporting local business pulls funds away from big tech and delays our inevitable mars colonization by hundreds of years. 

We are all smart individuals, and we are all dumb people at the same time. The fact of the matter is that our decisions now, as informed as they may be, are likely short-sighted or have unintended consequences. So many of us are focused on trying to get through the next day instead of looking toward the bigger picture, what are we all doing this for anyway?

Strength lays with the collective force of individuals’ decisions, actions, and relationships. I invite you to not simply read these words but reflect on the concepts presented. If humanity is a fabric waving in the cosmos where does your string lay? Whipping alone wildly at the edges - Close-knit blowing with the strength of structure built and presented before us - Or along the fringes loosely weaving a new way with a new community and new ideas? What kind of future do you want to see in this world? Are your relationships helping to build that world? Does any of this even matter anyway? Are these questions written for the reader or the writer? Is this article becoming self-aware of everything it isn’t, and everything it is yet to become?

Something that helped kickstart my reflection on where we’ve been as humanity and where we are going is by reading A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century by Heather Heying & Brett Weinstein. It wonderfully paints the dichotomy of humanity’s evolutionary biology and how it conflicts with modern culture. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wondering who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. ~Click the image to find it on Amazon~

Pop Quiz!

What is the main takeaway from this article?

A. People are dumb, but I am smart

B. Everyone should buy more books from Amazon so Jeff Bezos can play space cowboy and race Elon Musk to Mars

C. Humanity is a fabric that blows toward the strongest bonds, and ultimately the future of our civilization at a cosmic scale is being shaped by our independent decisions, regardless of individuals accepting or refusing that burden of responsibility

D. Articles don’t necessarily answer the questions posed in their respective subtitle but are carefully crafted rants that don’t serve any purpose except for shilling populist opinions for capitalistic greed

Leave a comment