Cranial Soup

Finding Inspiration in a Billionaire Without a Home

2008-05-26T12:48:00.008-04:00

Nicolas Berggruen is a multi-billionaire that doesn't own his own home...or a car...or not much else, for that matter.

He lost interest in acquiring and owning material things. At some point, he realized that you can't buy happiness, nor can you find it in possessions...and then he sold off everything he had.

According to Mr Berggruen, “Living in a grand environment to show myself and others that I have wealth has zero appeal. Whatever I own is temporary, since we’re only here for a short period of time. It’s what we do and produce, it’s our actions, that will last forever. That’s real value.”

As a hopeless packrat, I am starting to really feel the burden of possessions and have recently embarked on a whole house de-junking adventure. While I am not too sure why I own most of what I have, I do understand why I can't just toss it away. My frugal nature prevents me. Some of it could be useful to someone else. But I can't locate the someone else that would provide a home for my unwanted things.

I had considered placing an ad somewhere, promising a 'gift' to anyone and everyone that shows up at my house on a particular weekend. If the turnout is good, I should have a lot more breathing space on the following Monday.

Just imagine the look on the face of the person that shows up and gets an Encyclopedia Britannica set, originally worth over $2000. I have been trying to get rid of that, unsucessfully, for the last 5 years!

There are other things that I can't part with, not because I need them, but because of the symbolic nature of the objects. They have a sentimental value to me. It's my feelings for the person they remind me of, that prevents me from discarding them.

Why do humans place such a high value on silly objects that were owned by deceased loved ones & friends, and people they will probably never see again? Is it a thought that by keeping these things that you are keeping a part of them alive? Keeping the good times of the past by keeping the objects of the past? Can the memory live without the objects? How much of a long term impact will it truly have on your life, your memories, and your feelings, if you part with grandma's old worn out sewing box? Or a bracelet that your deceased brother made for you back when you were 9 years old? Or baby clothes that were worn by your child, who is now all grown up?

I am going to use Nicolas Berggruen as my inspiration, and try to learn to let go of "stuff". At the very least, it will make it much easier to pack, the next time I have to move.

Some day I am going to _____.

2008-05-07T12:10:00.002-04:00

Too many times I hear friends make statements about things they want to do and then make stupid excuses on why they can't.

For instance, they see a restaurant they would like to try, but then make the excuse that they don't have a girlfriend or boyfriend, so they can't.

But when they do have one, they sit around banging their head against the wall coming up with ideas on what to do, where to go, etc...forgetting all those things they wanted to do that they previously made excuses on why they couldn't.

The end result is seeing movies they don't really want to see, going places they don't really want to go, doing things they really don't enjoy...or sitting at home on the couch with their date and watching TV shows they don't really like.

They never get to do those things they really wanted to do. They get into the habit of denying themselves and it causes them to miss opportunities to do interesting things.

Why does one have to wait till they have a boyfriend or girlfriend to enjoy life? Why can't you enjoy it now, doing everything you want?

If there is something you want to do, find a way to do it and don't make excuses. Just do it. Don't wait.

You don't need a boyfriend or girlfriend to share the experience with. A friend or family member will do, if you absolutely can't do it alone. You will get into the habit of seizing the opportunities every day to enjoy life, and then when you have someone else to share it with, it will come naturally.

Life should be an adventure, and you should live it, experience it, enjoy it. No more excuses.

Now, what is it that you want to do today?

I am going to _______ today. Fill in the blank while I am out having a picnic and playing my recorder in the park, all by myself. I always wanted to do that, but never did. (I hope the birds don't mind my bad playing. I am more than a bit rusty)

Paul Adams: The Impossibility of Failure

2007-10-11T20:52:00.002-04:00

I found an essay today, by a musician named Paul Adams. I happen to like some of his music, so I was doing a bit of research on him and found his MySpace page.

Usually, I will visit the MySpace pages of musicians I like, if they have one, in hopes of finding some free mp3's to download. This time was no different.

Instead I found this:

"... Hitting the wall and making mistakes provides us with invaluable lessons. Playing a guitar, driving a tractor, planting seed, painting a picture, etc. blooms best from error. Failing is a great teacher. Its Gods force of nature molding us like clay. BUT, this is a little different. Clay is the perfect deciple or student. Clay has no part in making the DECISION to become what it will be. It completely surrenders to the artist who molds it into form and reality. Man, on the other hand, has choice. Failure offers to mold us. It is a co-op between Man, God, and destiny. An artist, craftsman, or worker, can use life experience (Failure) as an interplay toward growth and learning. Get up, and have at it AGAIN!. Those who have had a completely smooth ride may not have had the opportunity to test themselves. *Those who do not choose to bend and flex with failure, are missing the opportunity to paint w/ nature and circumstance. They are saying no when God asks them to dance and adjust. They are denying an opportunity to seek out a different perspective. They are saying no when God asks them to learn from mistakes and become better at what they do. We are too busy reacting - we are not listening. ..."

Some dreams are worth dying for*

2007-07-16T12:11:00.001-04:00

*Kiwis can't fly.

Greetings from Whoville

2007-04-11T18:06:00.002-04:00

glumbert.com - Pale Blue Dot

I couldn't help but feel like I was living on that tiny dust-speck in Horton Hears a Who, silently shouting "We are here!" to a universe that can't hear us, nor does it really care.

But that is not important, as long as we care.

The Machine is Us

2007-02-20T08:07:00.001-05:00

I spotted this one in a friend's blog:

At first I was going to leave this as a reply to his post, but I felt it was worthy to be a post of its own, somewhere, rather than risk it becoming 'lost' in the form of a comment....plus it gives me a chance to spread this video to people that would otherwise miss it because they don't read Chaim's blog.

Chaim's only remarks on this video was this:

I do not want to taint this with commentary other than to say this will help people to “get it”.

I know why so many don't get it, though.

Having an internet connection isn't the same as 'being connected'. That doesn't happen till you have your epiphany and come to consciously realize that there are real human beings on the other side of it all. Not just with the IM's and emails to people you know in real life...but all of it.

It usually doesn't happen to people till they meet a single solitary person online that changes everything. They make a connection to this person and they are forever changed.

For some people it happens sooner than others. Until it happens to you, you really won't get it and you don't care. Once it does, your life and your attitudes towards everything become very different.

You become a different person inside, very aware of the smallness of this world and of the marks you leave on it...and the marks left by others take on a whole new meaning. It's very much like the magic moment Helen Keller had where she made the connection between the sign and that it actually meant 'water'.

Those connections are very powerful and can cause people to defend their 'place of text' much like they would defend their own physical home from an invading enemy.

Why else would a group of people fight so hard to save a chat community and keep it alive if it wasn't for the bonds to others that they have created there? Why won't they move on and just join another community or another P2P network and let the old one die? They chain themselves to it because it really is their home and the people there have become their families.

They have all had their epiphany and their online life has become more real. They are 'connected'. They see the other reality that exists. To the rest that don't 'get it' yet, and are still blind, we are all still just text on a screen.

Web 2.0 is the product of a collective epiphany in an effort to share that life changing experience and open the eyes of as many others as possible.

We are raising our voices and crying out from our individual dust specks "We are here!"

Free Hugs

2006-11-18T09:06:00.000-05:00

The story behind the Free Hugs Campaign and how it all began is heart wrenching:

"I'd been living in London when my world turned upside down and I'd had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me. "

The Song of Life

2006-10-03T23:46:00.000-04:00

I thought the following story was very sweet, but almost too incredible to be true...like a fairytale. I'd love to verify it.

There is a tribe in East Africa in which the art of true intimacy (I would call it bonding) is fostered even before birth. In this tribe, the birth date of a child is not counted from the day of its physical birth nor even the day of conception, as in other village cultures. For this tribe the birth date comes the first time the child is a thought in its mother's mind. Aware of her intention to conceive a child with a particular father, the mother then goes off to sit alone under a tree. There she sits and listens until she can hear the song of the child that she hopes to conceive. Once she has heard it, she returns to her village and teaches it to the father so that they can sing it together as they make love, inviting the child to join them. After the child is conceived, she sings it to the baby in her womb. Then she teaches it to the old women and midwives of the village, so that throughout the labor and at the miraculous moment of birth itself, the child is greeted with its song. After the birth, all the villagers learn the song of their new member and sing it to the child when it falls or hurts itself. It is sung in times of triumph, or in rituals and initiations. The song becomes a part of the marriage ceremony when the child is grown, and at the end of life, his or her loved ones will gather around the deathbed and sing this song for the last time.

(From Birth and Violence)