Category: Personal Reflections

Lessons learned about life; pearls of wisdom I’ve gleaned through pain, failure and honest reflection

Morning Mists

Carl Setzer

morning autumn mists

gracefully flow through the firs

stretching the sunlight

Created with Adobe Spark, Font: Lora

As Day Becomes Night

Carl Setzer4 Comments

as day becomes night

and the hemlocks fade from view

the song of wind chimes

This is an experiment with animations in Adobe Spark. I like how this turned out. What do you think?

The Worst Things Ever Said To Grievers

Carl Setzer2 Comments
Grief

I just read 64 of the Worst Things Ever Said to a Griever. Yeah, brings out awful memories. My personal worst: after my mom died, and evangelical type told me that if I’d prayed right, she would have been healed. I don’t remember my response, but I doubt it was pretty or polite. However, I expect I was so stunned that I remained silent. Most importantly, I remember this decades later. It deeply tainted my relationship with evangelical Christians.

Reading through the list, I see that most of these “worst” are very self-centered. Stepping out of your ego and seeking compassion are the best ways to be a decent human being.

Fortunately, these bloggers have created 64 of the Best Things Ever Said to a Griever. It’s not hard to be kind.

So, folks, simply be awesome to each other.

Bruce Lee Quote: Be Water, My Friend

Carl Setzer1 Comment
Bruce Lee

For me, this is a famous and well-known quote. However, not everyone spends as much time with martial artists as I do. This came up in conversation today, and my friend hadn’t heard this quote. So, I thought it would be valuable to share.

I think this is particularly relevant today. Our fast-paced, manic, ever-shifting world being fluid and able to adjust is a critical career skill now. Be formless, take the form of wherever life takes you. There’s value in that.

Benevolent, A Senryu

Carl Setzer

demanding my trust
grinning that sinister smile
I remain wary

“Benevolent” is today’s Word of the Day challenge. As I spent part of today reading the news, my trust in self-stated benevolence has evaporated.

The featured image is by Robert Zunikoff on Unsplash. 

DNA, Technology and Unintended Consequences

Carl Setzer

From Wired Magazine: “There’s No Such Thing as Family Secrets in the Age of 23andMe”

This looks at the fascinating intersection of biological tech with democratized data, laden with so many “unintended consequences” in the DNA market (is it right to call this a “market”?).

I believe there was no way to guess these issues would come up when humanity first developed medical insemination. DNA databases and the commodification of DNA data: I doubt we could’ve guessed this coming about 10 years ago, much less in the 1970s.

Many, many questions, so few answers. The way forward seems murky. I guess it always is.

My Music Mood, August 7, 2020

Carl Setzer

Music, a deeply critical part of my life. I use it to reflect my mood or change it. It gives me energy, focus, feeds sadness. Such a powerful thread interweaving my whole life.

I’ve been streaming Kaki King the past few days. Her music covers such a wide range of topics and styles. She has plenty of pieces that give me energy and focus, important things since my studies are demanding plenty of both lately.

Pieces like this have been today’s loops:

Explore more about my relationship with music here.

Here’s my daily playlist built on my current interests and foci.

Plans and Connections

Carl Setzer
I spent the morning going through my contacts, cleaning out and updating things. There were so many folks in there who I had for some random project, many from my time in Real Estate, who I haven’t contacted in years. I felt puzzled by the number of contacts with limited information and no memory of them. One nice thing in Google: looking at the email threads. For many of these folks, there was simply nothing. I spent many years as a chronic collector of contacts. Here’s the end result.
My intent: get my list down to those I know, and build a plan to maintain connection. There are so many great people I’ve met over the years who I really wish I was still in contact with. I intend to fix that.
I understand that many contacts I’ve kept are people who have moved on from me. And that they may have no interest in reconnecting. I’m good with that, though I’ll be a bit disappointed. However, I recognize that none of us can do everything. All of us need to focus.
Also in my plans are to use this site to communicate better, too. Post more regularly and with those life updates. Multiple channels for connection and all of that.
I hope all is well with you during this time of COVID. What are you up to? What are you most proud of? I’d love to hear.

Haiku, July 30, 2020

Carl Setzer

walking in sunlight life’s

beauty singing to me

the scent of the shore

Another day in the summer sun. Most of it spent in front of my computer. More visual basic into my skull. I try to focus deeply, for coding is a key part of my future.

Exercise and health are other parts. Ones I’ve neglected, sadly. I’m slowly clawing that back. Slowly.

Walked in the early afternoon sun. After a few hours of exploring code, went down to Edmonds to run a few errands then go for a short walk. Always a happy thing for me, downtown Edmonds.

I hope you find your bliss and tranquility these fine summer days.