Month: June 2014

Freedom from “mistakes”

Carl Setzer

My thought of the morning: I don’t think I believe in mistakes. The hedging quality reflects the newness of this notion. It’s reflects a rather radical shift in my mind.

There’s sloppy execution, then there’s discovery.  Sloppy execution isn’t a mistake, it’s a lack of care and diligence. Clearly, more effort/better focused effort would’ve overcome the obstacles.

Accepting a challenge which doesn’t go as expected isn’t a mistake, either. We learn deeply from those moments. Amazing, cosmos shifting events resulted from unintended consequences.

I mustn’t let my fear of mistakes paralyze me. This ruins so much joy, limits life’s delights. I’ve seen this, up close and personally. And desire the removal of such life denying scripts from my psyche. Walking that path, slowly but surely, reaching that destination.

The Limits Of Web Solutions

Carl Setzer

Today, one of the main sites I work out of is struggling with a DDOS attack. Well, it’s actually been the past few days. This site tracks my workflow, and houses my to-do list. Being locked out has moved from annoyance to inconvenience to problem to serious issue.

This has me wonder, though: is technology really ready for “prime time”? For those of us who have shifted our calendars, tracking systems, CRM to the web, what is at risk? A relatively simply action can create significant paralysis.

To be clear, I’m not ready to abandon all my tech solutions and grab paper and binders yet. But I am considering what I can do, analog or otherwise, to be better able to react to these nuisances. There is no guarantee that any website will remain in business tomorrow. There are technological snafus. How do I minimize the risks inherent with going all-in with tech/web solutions? I’ll be meditating on that for the next few days. 

Writing Media and Future Think

Carl Setzer

Talking with a friend, I see my writing has shifted solidly digital. I tend to create on a device, mostly my tablet, or my phone, then computer. I’ll go weeks without touching my notebook.

I love the ability to edit, and unedit. There is a zen-like impermanence to this medium.  Changing things feels powerful.

On occasion, I wonder what historical research will be like. Probably an archeological dig through our data, sifting through millions of photos, notes and stories, aggregating our lives.

Strange combination of fluidity, impermanence and ageless data shall flow together into a richer understanding of who we were, collectively and individually.

Fearlessness

Carl Setzer

Fearlessness,
So hard to embrace.
Fear serves us well.
Protection from malice.
Yet, this protective weave
Eventually stifles growth.

We prattle on
About not letting fear
Control our lives.
And yet, so often, it
Does. Aversion to risk
Really the highest calling?

I seek freedom from
Fears. From that strangulated
Grasp, embracing what may
Come,  trusting in both
My ability to hold the joy
And that good will come.