💾 Archived View for kvothe.one › gemlog › 2020-08-26.gmi captured on 2020-11-07 at 00:55:45. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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Today, I realized that my life is going pretty well right now. I don't know if "happy" is the right word for it, nor "content." "Satisfied" is probably the closest approximation, I think.
What's changed in my life? Well, I've been hacking away at personal projects, for one! Since I started banging away at 9front, blogging on gemini, watercolor painting, and all that, I haven't been consuming Internet dribble mindlessly. That's not to say that I've been absent; rather, the interactions I have are with doers and fellow modern Internet malcontents.
Further, when I stop working, I feel like the sense of satisfaction helps me be more present in the offline world, as well.
Turns out there's something to this whole DIY approach, after all.
I've heard it recommended thus: "choose your friends wisely," and I think there's a very real parallel to how I partake of the Internet.
This is sort of a circuitous approach to the title of today's post: "a simple mind." I think what has been working really well for me lately is hitting that "flow state." My approach to computing and, more generally, leisure time has been to simplify in service of the "flow."
A relevant quote from the Tao Te Ching, ch. 48:
In the pursuit of learning,
something is acquired every day.
In the pursuit of the Tao,
every day something is relinquished.
Less and less is done
Until non-action is achieved.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.
In the pursuit of simplicity, what can I do without?
I feel like I've been a digital hoarder for years now. Accruing stuff. Maybe I won't be bored if I tuck another game into the library! Perhaps learning such-and-such a thing will be the secret sauce!
Perhaps it's high time I learn to do without! To give myself space. Space to be bored. Space to be creative. Space to be satisfied.
Until next time, be well!
kvothe.