Lovely Simplerista,

It's acually not that hard to create a life that's really flowing, full of love and goodness.

My life used to be a real struggle. Nobody understood me. Everything fell back on me, because no-one else could do things properly. I never felt a real connection with anyone else. Instead I'd get into these rants about the world and be perplexed when people seemed to get distant and want to go home. I'd get upset when things weren't the way I thought they were supposed to be.

I remember years ago, fresh out of high school. I went to hear a band playing, some friends of one of my friends. Afterwards, he asked me what I thought. I told him: I felt the drummer was a little heavy, the sax player was playing a little simplistically, some of the keyboardist's solos were a bit boring. I'll never forget his reply: "I tend to listen for what I like rather than what I don't like." The idea had never even crossed my mind. I'm not going to say that I integrated the lesson right then and there, but it stayed with me till this day.

I know now that life doesn't have to feel this way. And it's actually pretty easy to turn things around. All it requires is willingness. Above all, the willingness to be wrong.

It's the most obvious, logical thing in the world: A new insight that changes our behavior will inevitably involve into being wrong about something. For this reason, realizing you've been wrong all along is one of the greatest things in the world. But it sure as hell doesn't feel that way to our ego. Our ego equates being wrong to death. Ego death. And if you're the ego, ego death IS death.

The way out is simple: Choose being open to learning and connection over being right and being defensive. It's a simple choice. One we're faced with every moment of every day.

It's not that one choice is better or more noble than the other. It's that one leads to love and growth, and the other leads to suffering and stagnation.

You pick.

You don't have to know anything. You don't have to be right. Just be. Be open to love and to learning. And things pretty much take care of themselves.

Try it.

New Features in Simplero

Still working on some cool new stuff.

Random Links from around the Interwebs

Police accidentally recond themselves conspire to fabricate charges.

Amtrak security ads. Brilliant!

Tom Evans chronicles the climbers on El Capitan in Yosemite. Amazing. These people climb for up to three weeks, carrying with them everything they need for that time. Apparently some of them even bring booze and grab a drink, taking their time with the whole thing. Heck, why not?

Lots of love,
–Calvin