Month: February 2020

Mindfulness

Being new to the state of mindfulness it’s easy to get the wrong idea from all the jargon I can find online. The internet will show me images of people at complete peace with the world and themselves by sitting still and meditating for a few minutes but that isn’t my reality. I think being mindful can be powerful and I look forward to practicing it as often as I can but I want to do so in a way that will benefit me, not a guru wannabe.

Practicing mindfulness is difficult. I can meditate and then I will get antsy, want to get up, want to go do something else, plan my day, go to work, or anything else but focus on what I really want to do. It is difficult but I think it is worth overcoming that.

I will start with meditation and feel good about myself. Then miss a few days. Start again. Miss a day and feel bad about it. But this same lack of discipline and practice is EXACTLY why I need to do this to begin with.

Mindfulness can be uncomfortable. There are times when I need to be alone with nothing but my thoughts and there are times when I do not need to be alone with those thoughts. No one wants to face their personal demons when all they are wanting is to relax their brain, right? Or sometimes there is an itch that must be scratched right now. And now. And now the other side needs scratching instead of focusing my brain. Or the low growl of a hunger pain is overriding meditative thoughts. Am I doing this right?

That’s another thing. I can practice a certain way only to be told that there is a better way and try that instead. Even though I have found personal success. Tune that out.

When I do manage to practice mindfulness I realize it isn’t a cure-all. It won’t magically solve problems. It does require you to open your heart and be vulnerable. To be compassionate towards yourself and others. It forces me to except things as they are not what I wish them to be. Mindfulness requires me to let go and to unlearn some of the wrong things that I have learned. And mindfulness requires that I be curious, persistent.

I will never ever have this figured out. But this is why they call it practice.

To paraphrase Buddha:

Laptops For The Win

Almost a year ago I purchased a refurbished Macbook Air for 1/2 the cost of the original price and ditched the Windows platform altogether. This was the last piece of the Apple eco system of connected machines I needed to perform my best work.

Lately I’ve come to rely on this laptop than my iPhone and iPad. Each device has their functions but the laptop is where most of my work is done. Surprisingly, the phone is my least productive device. Yes, it makes phone calls and I even take photos with it but even that is being reduced. On all my devices I have the capability to send/receive text messages. More and more I will reply on the laptop rather than pick up the phone and do it. This year’s new iPhone release will probably be the last one for a long time. Buying a smartphone for the camera doesn’t seem to make sense to me now because I will be using my film cameras more.

The laptop is most beneficial for me because this is where I do most of my research, write and process images. Here, I am literally the master of my own domain. I built my website through a laptop and host files with it, manage it with my own FTP server. The laptop can help me quickly organize, edit, export photos, video and text. Typing is ten times faster for me on the laptop over a phone or tablet. I can philosophize, journal, share my images with the world if they so chose to partake.

I’ll journal the benefits and usage of my iPad soon.

More JOMO

Yesterday I wrote about the Joy Of Missing Out and technology so I wanted to follow up with how technology can enhance this joy of missing out. These are super beneficial to me:

  • Airplane mode
  • Noise cancelling headphones
  • Call screening
  • Pop up and ad blockers
  • Password managers
  • Two Factor Authentication

I am always on the look out for technology that helps eliminate BS and helps enhance my experience at the same time.

JOMO

If you were anyway plugged into social media and internet culture the past few years you are familiar with the acronym phrase “Fear Of Missing Out” or FOMO. Wherein people are constantly plugged in and engaged with what every one else is doing or posting so they won’t miss out on what they think is important right NOW.

I recently came across a book titled JOMO or, “The Joy Of Missing Out”, which implies what the rest of us are already thinking- We don’t care what is going on, we’re too busy enjoying ourselves to be bothered with such nonsense!

My love/hate relationship with technology is an example. Social media is an example bad technology. The networking with others is good but it could also screw with your self-esteem and distract you from what is important.

What is better are real connections with people through technology. E-mail has been around a long time as has text messaging. These are still the best, most secure forms of communication. Owning and growing your own domain and website is better technology and more beneficial than working on a billion dollar social media ad farm.

Before I settled on a specific operating system and ecosystem (Apple for the win), I bounced back and forth between Android and Apple devices every six months thanks to my carrier’s mobile plan. Because with each hardware and software iteration there were small improvements that I didn’t want to miss out on. I agreed with the slogan “It just works.” Which was perfect for me because I was finally getting tired of the phone FOMO. I don’t want to think about it anymore, damn it, I just want it to work.

The Apple ecosystem to me are a combination of function and beauty. Powerful and minimal. I don’t want the FOMO distraction and want maximum focus on productivity. With this technology, the simpler the better.

My beloved Nikon D200 was eleven years old before she was replaced. I’ll hold on to my current Canon Rebel which will hopefully stick around just as long. I don’t need the latest or the greatest and I don’t ever think I am missing out by not upgrading these every few years. In fact, I’ve also gone back in time. Back to simpler designs and functions with film cameras. They’ve lasted for decades and will continue to do so. And I am missing out on nothing.

How much more can I keep subtracting bad technology and adding value and joy to beneficial technology? For now, I have worked hard to trim down and can honestly I am missing out and it doesn’t bother me one bit.