Week #45, 2024
Week 45 of 2024 has arrived. The chaos of uncertainty is almost behind us... and soon the chaos of certainty will dawn one way or the other.
Time to walk over to your 4K Weeks poster and fill in another square. Done?
I am sure it isn't surprising that I have already voted in the US elections. Our state allows in-person advance voting. Early morning mid-week voting and grocery store runs are just a few of the luxuries of making our own schedule!
I don't love the two party system. Other viable parties would strengthen the US Democracy experiment. With all the personal introspection and distrust of ego in this newsletter, it's likely no secret how I cast my vote. I want to keep playing this infinite game, and the Republican nominee is clearly interested in either victory or ashes, and not for love of country... for love of self. I can't support that. There aren't any other issues that outweigh that one.
I am sure I have offended some of you. My apologies, not my intention. I call them like I see them here. It would be cowardly for me not to be explicit here based on what I believe are the stakes.
For those of you who are bold enough to keep reading, I would like to focus on are a few things that will decrease the insanity over time, and give more reasonable choices to all of us, even those who disagree with me. I want things to get better, even if the ideas we try are different from mine. Almost all people are good, kind and value living peacefully with their loved ones.
Ranked choice voting, open primaries, and closing the revolving door.
Both of these things are fairly unpopular with the elites of both parties because they decentralize control.
Ranked Choice Voting: This feels like a no-brainer. Ranking candidates from first to last benefits those who appeal to the widest range of voters, and specifically hurts extremeos. Yes, powerful interest groups are spending heavily to sway you against it—likely because it dilutes the influence of the power brokers. That alone is reason enough to give it a good hard look. Here is a good explainer.
Open Primaries: In party-run primaries, moderation doesn’t pay. Primaries attract the most devoted—and often extreme—voters. To win, candidates typically race to the extreme edges, vying to be the “most” of their party since only one will advance to the general election. But with open primaries, where the top two vote-getters move forward regardless of party, candidates are driven to appeal to a broader base. This shift wouldn’t favor any single party; it would reward politicians who connect with the largest cross-section of voters, party aside.
The Revolving Door...Lobbying. Serving in elected office should be a civic duty, not a path to wealth. Would you like to be a multi-millionaire? Just get elected to a state or federal office (WAY easier than you would guess), focus on making friends and trading favors instead of the common good. While you are in office your family can legally make all sorts of money by trading access to you, and then, leave office and open up a lobbying firm. You and all of your relatives can get rich because of your access. My dad used to say "People like to do business with their friends." It makes sense. But the rock bottom salaries of working in government combined with the nearly nonexistent bans on personal enrichment have combined to create a really big problem. Getting elected to national office shouldn't be a viable path to generational wealth... and it currently is the easiest path.
P.S. Other than the nuggets in this newsletter, how else can I help you grow and succeed? My current best effort is the 33 Day Foundation. It launches soon to people on the interest list. To get on that list, email Eli: Info@4kweeks.com.
|
Listen to this blog as a podcast! Search "4000 Weeks #45" in your app. |
Remarkable Weeks
Week 45 of 1872, Susan B. Anthony, well-known American social reformer and advocate for women's voting rights, votes for the first time for Ulysses Grant in the presidential election. She was 2,751.00 (52.75 yrs).
Week 45 of 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from New York, becomes the youngest person to be elected to the US House of Representatives. She was 1,516.57 weeks old (29.08 yrs).
Week 45 of 1942, Fausto Coppi world renowned cyclist and Italian national hero, sets a world hour record 45.798 km in Milan, Italy. He was 2,465.57 weeks (47.284rs).
This Week's Quote
"A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve." -Oliver Holmes
What does this mean? That was my first thought when reading it.. but, of course, that is the point. Both of those activities are like Zen koans. The meaning is in the struggle to understand.
I was thinking about using AI this week, and I thought to myself that at some point, after using it daily for a year or more, I will “know” things that I don’t “know”. If you don’t know what I mean, I can’t really explain it. It’s like when I am playing basketball and I reach out a hand to block a pass that I didn’t “know” was coming. If you reflect on your skills, I am sure that you have a corollary. It's knowing that is underneath.
This is the point of asking a question you can’t answer and attempting a task you can’t achieve. The point is in the struggle. The lessons are in the struggle. The wisdom is in the struggle.
It blows my mind how results-focused I am, when all of my most favorite things have no “point”, no “result” that is trying to be achieved other than doing the thing.
And all of this is diametrically opposed to my continued insistence that “feeling the feeling of progress” is the most essential human need after “Love and Belonging”. It’s almost as if I am trying to answer a question I cannot answer…
What I am Consuming This Week
A few REALLY awesome bits of content this week.
I happened across this video while researching some community platforms.
Youtube's algorithm must really know me. I am super interested in my health span. I watched my dad, who was more fit than most 88 year olds, really struggle in his last few years... mostly strength and balance. I am doing what I can to get way ahead of the curve in this department. This video is a good breakdown, and references Peter Attia's book, Outlive (which is the bible for this stuff, but considerably longer than this 12 minute video!)
Jon Batiste on the Tim Ferriss Show.
I haven't listened to too many non-political podcasts lately... and I try not to bore you with those. And so, I think it was some type of Universal Kismet that this one popped up in my feed this week. I think Jon Batiste might be an angel among us. The way he lives in every breath, the way he talks about the world and creativity with so much love and openness... I think I want him to be my spiritual mentor. This podcast goes so well with this week's email and all the things that have been swirling around in my head lately. Be still and know.
Stephen Wilson Jr. Grief is Only Love.
I mean... of course I love this song. I was listening to Lori McKenna on Spotify and she has a new duet called "The Tunnel" written with Wilson and his voice is special, so I dove into his catalog. I'm a sucker for a tough guy singing about how much he misses his dad. There is also this one...I am my father's son.
What I am Thinking About This Week
This is the seventh and final in a series of posts about how to get your crap in order. Some of these may not apply to you, and that’s great… congratulations. But… I know that I find new value in Epictetus’s Enchiridion everytime I read it, so review can be good, too. I am treating this as a sidecar to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and all of it comes from my own personal journey these 47 years. I think that you have to add your own personal flavor to each of these pillars, but the fundamentals are sound. If you have thoughts, I would love to hear them.
The Something More... (Life Philosophy, Creativity, Your Internal life, Sharpening the Saw, Fulfillment, etc...)
There are so many ways to embody what I am going to talk about today that it’s hard to give it a name, but it is The Something More.
All of the previous posts have been in service of this. Each one of the previous topics has been a stone to lay in a bridge to the island of the divine bit of your soul.
There is something more to life.
When I squint in the early morning light of our backyard, while having coffee with my wife, I can almost see it.
When I sit at my desk, trying to pull a thousand thoughts together into a sensical sentence, it is in the air.
When I stretch my brain to fully understand a philosophy of living, it is with the moment of insight.
When I watch my kids cracking out of their shells, trying something new and scary, it is the something more.
It’s not universal in its execution, but it is universal in its essence. It’s the thread of creation running through each of my attempts at naming it… Life Philosophy, Creativity, Internal life, Sharpening the Saw, Fulfillment.
Almost anything can be evidence of this when done with an open heart for the sake of the doing. Worshipping your god, writing songs, raising a child, loving a neighbor, repairing a car, painting a painting, laboring over a philosophy, maintaining a garden, building a nation, writing a musical…
Occasionally, someone will skip over all those other stones: Hydration, Gratefulness, Exercise, Nutrition, Relationships, Savings, and find themselves spontaneously on the island of the divine bit of their soul. When that happens, either they spend the rest of their life building the bridge backwards and we all lose interest in their journey , or they die around the age of 27, choking on the full excess that a culture heaps on “genius”.
It is difficult to draw the edges around something that is so individual.
How could I possibly know the song of your life until you sing it to me?
You know it when someone is singing their song to you. They have a quiet confidence that is magnetic, and at the same time they don’t need you to be in the room.
This is the something more. And as far as I know, this is the point.
I don’t think it can be found by explicitly searching for it. I am pretty sure it's one of those things that disappears if you try to look squarely at it. It can only be found by leaning in to work that brings you joy, largely by your deciding to experience joy in that work. The something more doesn’t diminish when you give of it to others. That’s why it is a bit hard for us market based capitalists to fully understand.
I don’t know what this is for you. I think it can be as diverse as a meditating monk in an isolated mountain monastery, or a college girl writing a song, or who the heck knows... We know it when we see it.
Who am I to draw a line that keeps in or keeps out possible ways of living fully into LIFE for yourself and all of us to enjoy?
It’s Joy. It’s a feeling of confidence from knowing the inside of your soul, and having done the work. It’s an excitement about “what might happen!?” instead of ruthlessly attempting to control outcomes.
I can’t articulate it any better than that.
I hope it for you. I hope you have the courage to strive and also let go in equal measures. I hope for you that you are serious, but don’t take yourself too seriously. I hope you try to turn what ever it is you love into art.
Because gosh dang it, every time I am in the presence of someone who is in this place, EVERYTHING seems possible.
...And I kind of think this is my religion. I spontaneously teared up as I was editing this. It's something I have been doing lately. The world is magical, there is no reason we shouldn't all be walking on clouds, except that we're all afraid. Don't be afraid. If you are brave it makes it easier for me to be brave... and so on and so on.
Spencer
P.S. Here's how I can help you when you are ready: The 33 Day Foundation launches soon. If you want to get on the wait list, send Eli a message with "33" in the subject line...Info@4kweeks.com
Dad Joke O' The Week
What's the best thing about Switzerland?
I don't know, but the flag is a big plus.
Leave a comment: