It’s entirely possible there is a job that pays you to do what you love. It’s also entirely possible that a new technology comes along and that job is gone.

Bands of poets never were were able to make a grand living. Some became singer songwriters.

Portrait painters lost their job when the camera came along. Picasso did alright.

The record industry was perfect until the internet. Singers got back to performance.

The marketplace pays for souvenirs. They’re paying for stories. They’re paying for things that feel scarce in the moment. They’re paying for a different sort of connection.

There are generations of ______ who are more hard working and talented than you and I. Who do you think you are to steal their job, their patrons and their dreams?

So, no. You are not entitled to make a living doing what you love.

We start there because it makes us better humans. We ought to get paid for it, but even if we don’t, we ought to do it.

It’s possible.

Democracy touted as the best system of government these days.

Yet, some of these countries have slow (but free) healthcare, and corruptions with citizens often feeling unhappy about their governments.

But why? Citizens vote for people they want to run the country.

Late Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, pointed out a few prerequisites for democracy to work.

1. An educated mass to understand the difference between a good plan and a good story.
2. A reasonably prosperous society and vote would be less likely to be bought.
3. Capable people running for office instead of voting for the better of two evils.
4. A non-corrupt voting system that people trust.
5. A non-violent society where the people are not manipulated by fear.

Elections can easily become an auction, where parties compete on immediate material benefits.

Singapore enforced many unpopular policies that wouldn’t win hearts nor votes. The 2 years mandatory military service, the highest paying ministers, banning chewing gums sale, caning, the death sentence and building of casinos. Singapore work despite being a democracy state.

Someone had foresight and cared enough to risk their reputation for the long-term good that might be unpopular.

The point is, unlike the solar system, political system is made up. It can be changed. 50 years ago, Singapore was a mud filled fishing village.

If you care enough, you can change it.

One person screaming can disturb the entire cafe. One rumour can unsettle a whole country. A day of war can erase years of development.

The pessimists are right. It would all go to zero. AI, a crazy government, a mining operation.

Today, the cost of solar panels, our average life spans, and gay rights are once pipe dreams.

It is the people irrational enough to believe these situations as problems. Creative enough to see a different way forward. Work enough to make it real.

It takes work to imagine better. Thank you for believing.

Does a teenager who uses too much social media realize they have a short attention span?

Does that teenager have the courage to face the shame of watching porn?

Do they have the attention to sit with the problem long enough to make a decision?

Do they have the grace to forgive themselves?

Do they have the perspective to account for all parts of their life and come up with a plan?

Do they have the accountability to make a change?

Do they have the ability to adjust the plan when they don’t follow through?

What if the teenager is you? What would you do?

Probably unhelpful to remember. Fodmap stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols.

The waiter who cares not to poison you, have turned into a confused duck by your spell.

Perhaps better.

I have allergies to food that is hard to ferment.

I need to avoid gluten, lactose, onion and garlic.

Meats are great. Steak, chicken, fish, eggs and firm tofu. They mostly won’t ferment.

Rice, potatoes rice noodles, oats, orange, berries, spinach and broccoli are great too. They well-absorbed and don’t ferment much.

More than likely, steaks, fries and sushi are the best for eating-out options.

YouTube and this app are the best to learn about the diet.

It’s clear to me that getting hooked on screens makes me tired.

The entertainment offers little bursts of information.

As my desire erodes, I find myself with an encyclopaedia of information, sitting on a couch, swiping.

In a mindless, floating state, it becomes unclear what kind of life I want to lead.

What’s the point of more information when I don’t know what to do with it?

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as He did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that He will make all things right,
If I surrender to His will,
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.

Part one of the prayer is start of every Alcoholic Anonymous meting.

It’s part surrender, part plead, part summoning of our inner wisdom.

The second half comes acceptance, embracing hardship and seeing the positive.

As I am learning in New Zealand, Maori meetings begin with a Karakia, a prayer too.

How it would be like to pray before meetings or in the morning, change the day?

An experiment worthy.

A lofty word, often used in high circles.

The meaning can be simple.

To treat people with respect.

To treat people like how you wish to be treated.

But perhaps more, to treat them like how they want to treated.

Each of us carries different hardship, opinions and preferences.

To honor this, it would cost us to slow down, listen, and share our power.

What we think is good for other might not be what they want.

Dignity ask us the question, is what we want for others truly, what they want?

And how, in return, do we wish to be treated ourselves?