You know, I used to be ashamed that I only realized that I have indigenous roots in my 30s, but in retrospect, the colonial mindsets of everyone around me kept me from that realization. I feel that grief for all the beauty my family never saw about itself, its history.
This is beautiful and absolutely heartfelt!! Normally, this could’ve made me sad, but now I’m feeling that some others might feel EXACTLY like me!! In these crucial societal changes; And I think that you are right; Changing - and remembering - our most important values, as humans, is what the world needs to move forward gracefully; Outside success does not determine character; and we can’t put people we’ve never met on pedestals - no matter what the press says!! - And I think that intrinsically, each one of us is in charge of discovering the very miracles in their own lives; Whether it is in a flower, in healing something, in believing in Love* again, in trusting and having faith, and especially, never comparing someone else’s version of success to any other!! And, perhaps, that we were always conditioned this way, and we are all called to wake up together, with gentle awareness and accepting all of the support we need to call forward!! And never be ashamed of feeling lonely, afraid, and especially sensitive and different - Tganj you!!
I really love what you said about discovering the miracles in our own lives. I think we've been taught to look so far away for meaning that we forget how much of it has always been right in front of us. I'm very glad that this piece gave you hope, and not sadness ❤️🙏😊
How much of it is tied to the proud and conspicuous consumption of wealth which says money is the metric to measure by? Ever since Reagan let them keep their money the rich used it to warp government to pay even less. In the meantime they buy handbags that come in their own protective bag because some cost the same as a car and the super rich suffer jet envy over associates with slightly better planes. We’re biologically hunter gathers. We’re not evolved to deal with extreme wealth. The only one who seems to be giving it away is Mackenzie Scott. 984 billionaires were four to one against 343 million people in the last election; many of those billionaires sat behind Trump in fealty at the last inauguration. For every Soros supporting liberal causes there are four billionaires doing the exact opposite. With one aim in mind—to keep all their money. Tech lords are the gilded age on an 11. And just because they’re rich they think their personal views are valid.
I give you Elon Musk whose rockets are just the application of physics yet they keep blowing up. His worldview is worth three fifths of fuck all and he turned Twitter into an incel MAGA swamp. He also keeps sacking janitors forcing his workers to bring TP to work. He’s a vile human sausage who was allowed to razor the US federal workforce because other rank idiots thought his wealth made him an expert in government. Funny how the regulatory bodies that watched him copped it in the neck.
When a government hands a tycoon the power to mass slash its workforce and the tycoon celebrates by drug-slurring the word chainsaw and waving one around that is a government that does not care about the governing part.
Extreme wealth is the kangaroo tail that wags the tiny dog.
yes, I understand what you mean. I think that's exactly what worries me... once we reward one thing above everything else, everything else slowly gets pushed aside. thank you for sharing your thoughts
Yes, we do not ask questions about things we do not believe there are solutions or answers for.
We ask questions about the things that other people recognize as possible. Imagine! What if we could ask questions that help us discover innerspace? As an 80 year-old white American I feel starved for the uncrossed Bridges that would lead us to discover the people inside of us.
I love the idea of 'innerspace'. that is a very accurate name of the place I was exploring. thank you for sharing this Jim. I appreciate it 🙏😊 and yes, I know exactly what you mean by feeling starved for the uncrossed bridges that would lead us to discover the people inside us
The dichotomy you expose in measurements reminds me of a former roommate and folk singer who penned a line in one of his songs, "Judgments are made by fools". Now, let that dichotomy sit with you as it has with me for over 50 years.
Really thoughtful. I spent much of my life chasing the measurements: elections won, titles held, miles run, things accomplished. It took losing nearly all of them to understand that none could tell me whether I was a good husband, father or friend—or whether I was even at peace with myself.
Achievement tells the world what you did. Character is who you are when the scoreboard disappears.
thanks for sharing this Nathan 🙏😊 you are quite right, I think a lot of us spend years chasing achievements and accomplishments before realising it was never keeping score of the things that mattered most. I'm really glad you got there. it took me some time to realize it too
There is much wisdom in this essay. (Thank you, Steve, for printing it!)
Sadly, in today's American culture, wisdom hardly exists. It certainly doesn't factor into any of the ratings systems that now dog whenever we do anything online.
That line about the villain landed for me. Very few people act out of pure malice; most destruction happens when someone genuinely rationalizes that their ends justify the means.
I discovered Jim Palmer’s Center for Non-Religious Spirituality. Not too late in my advanced age. Quite an adventure- as should be in the “existential health “.
Pelle’s post could be from their daily readings! Thank you Pelle and all!
Pelle, I love the way that brain of yours AND that heart of yours thinks. I have had thoughts like this many times . . . a deep sadness hard to express, explain or describe.
I have come to hate the word production. Productive this and productive that and gawd forbid the non-productive.
I once worked in a medical office as receptionist. I was the communication center between patients, doctors and home health providers. One of the most meaningful and rewarding jobs I ever had.
Starting out there were no cell phones, no beepers, no computers. It was a paper system and communication required actually talking to people. When I left we’d gone through the beeper stage, and used cell phones. The need for paper work and keeping actual physical patient records had been traded out for the more efficient computer systems. I found myself isolated in a tiny cubicle at the back of the office where I slaved away at inputting data. Because the computer way was supposed to make things so much easier and faster I was required to do more and more tasks with ridiculous deadlines and no overtime allowed to meet them. My stress went through the roof.
The health care staff visiting people in their homes were labeled “productive” because they generated money. And the office support staff like myself were labeled “non-productive” because they didn’t. Generate money. Takes my breath away every time I hear it.
Productivity has become the god of the corporate world. Your value as an employee is measured by your productivity. Not people skills. Not character, honesty, integrity, an authentically caring heart. Just productivity. Now even computerized cash registers are tracking store clerks productivity. The clerks apologize for not having time to chat. Their productivity is being monitored and they’re afraid of losing their jobs if they don’t keep up. Actual people are getting lost in the fray. Customers have been reduced to being valued only for the bottom line they can provide.
The idea of humans “being”, just BEING, mattering in any meaningful, way seems to be fading fast. My heart wonders how we ever got here. My mind has a pretty good idea. And when people ask why I’m so sad sometimes, words fail me.
A song Peter, Paul and Mary sang in the 60’s comes to mind WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE. There’s a line in the refrain that haunts me: “When will they ever learn?, Oh when will they ever learn?”
Some people seem to think AI has a soul. But it will never be able to keep you warm at night or hold you when you grieve. No amount of productivity can kiss a little one’s owies, wipe away their tears and make them feel secure. AI can’t appreciate the music birds and the wind in the trees make. AI has no interest in the sound of children’s laughter nor the glory of sunsets and moonrises.
There are millions of beautiful things that money can never buy.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this. Seriously. I can completely see why that experience affected you the way it did.
That whole idea of people being labelled "productive" and "non-productive" just because one group brings in money... I don't know. It feels so backwards. The people holding everything together somehow end up being worth less on paper. That's such a strange way to look at another human being.
And your story about that job... I think that's exactly what so many people have lived through. It wasn't just the technology that changed. It changed the whole feeling of the work. You went from talking to people all day, helping people, actually feeling connected, to sitting alone in a cubicle chasing deadlines and ticking boxes. We're told that's progress, but I think a lot of people feel something important disappeared.
I also loved the last part. The birds. The wind. Kids laughing. Sunsets. Those things sound so simple, but I honestly think they're a much better reminder of what life is than another productivity graph or quarterly target.
And I really hope AI never gets a soul 😂 I want it to stay a tool. Nothing more. Like you said, it can never replace a hug, a conversation, or someone just sitting beside you when life gets hard.
Thanks again for sharing all this. It genuinely makes me happy to know there are other people out there asking these same questions ❤️
Thank you Pelle for reading my diatribe🤣I tend to write more “books” than comments. Glad you understand what I am saying and feeling.
As we get older (just in bodies, not minds) we realize now why the people we perceived as old in our youth talked about missing the good old days. 😌
Life seemed so much simpler and slower and enjoyable when we were young. People seemed to be valued more for who they were than what they did. Kids rode bikes around, roller skated on sidewalks developing skills at missing the cracks🤣 and played kick the can til dark. People used to sit out on their porches and visit with neighbors or strangers walking by. (We still do but we talk to each other mostly because most of the neighbors porches are never used.)
So now we’re the ones who miss the good old days I guess. 😌
I’ve really been enjoying your writing. I tend to be a bit of an over-thinker and it’s enjoyable to find another kindred spirit. 😊
Thank you, Pelle, for writing this. I can see the truth in every single statement, every single conclusion. It's of great value I think to have it mapped out like this. Then one can see what parts of the prevalent mindset, and many of our priorities, might bring in terms of results we will not be happy with. Thus your mapping will be very helpful when we want to make course corrections.--
Still, there exist other truths alongside the ones you mapped. Other versions that are just as real. I am convinced that there exist an infinite number of truths, an infinite number of possible futures, each with their own characteristics. WE have free will. Predestination is not a part of my belief system.---
Many people buy into what is presented as "this is how it should be". Many don't. There are always people who follow inner guidance, have divergent ideas and see alternatives to the presently favoured indoctrination. Societal conditioning can only reach so far. ---
When we and many others EVALUATE what the present state gives us, we might find that we prefer something different. And go for it. ---
I treat reality as a perfect feed-back-system. As a MIRROR, a reflection. If you look in a mirror and if don't like what you see, no use trying to change the mirror, you must change yourself. When we humans change inside us, our outside reality will change too. We are creators, not puppets. When we forget this and behave like puppets this will become apparent.---
There seems to exist an attachment to things and phenomena that can be weighed, measured and proved, to the exclusion of those that can't. You have described that so very clearly. You have studied history. You know that there were epochs where rationalism held the scene. They were often followed by epochs when other and contrary ideals ruled. Humanity as a whole contains potential for great dynamics and enough diversity to guarantee that one single aspect does not rule out every other. Love, Maria
Thank you Maria 😊🙏🤍 I always enjoy reading your perspective. what I love most was your faith in humanity's capacity to keep renewing itself. my essay lingers on what we quietly lose, but your message showed me that history is also full of unexpected course corrections. It's exactly the balance that I needed. to grieve honestly for what's disappearing, without losing sight of what is still possible ❤️ a very beautiful insight!
I really enjoyed reading this. As someone who studies sociology and the human experience, it made my heart smile to know there are others out there who not only notice this, but also bring awareness.
This really resonates with me. Perhaps one of the greatest measurements we’ve neglected is trust. We know how to measure wealth, influence, popularity, and achievement—but what if we also asked, Are we becoming more trustworthy? Are our conversations creating more connection than separation? Character and trust seem deeply intertwined. Thank you for another thoughtful reflection.
yes, that is an excellent thought. I understand what you're saying. I feel like trust is one of the most important measurements that we've stopped paying attention too. Thank you Martin 🙏😊
You know, I used to be ashamed that I only realized that I have indigenous roots in my 30s, but in retrospect, the colonial mindsets of everyone around me kept me from that realization. I feel that grief for all the beauty my family never saw about itself, its history.
that honestly makes me a little sad to read. I'm really glad you found your way back to that part of yourself ❤️ thank you for sharing this
This is beautiful and absolutely heartfelt!! Normally, this could’ve made me sad, but now I’m feeling that some others might feel EXACTLY like me!! In these crucial societal changes; And I think that you are right; Changing - and remembering - our most important values, as humans, is what the world needs to move forward gracefully; Outside success does not determine character; and we can’t put people we’ve never met on pedestals - no matter what the press says!! - And I think that intrinsically, each one of us is in charge of discovering the very miracles in their own lives; Whether it is in a flower, in healing something, in believing in Love* again, in trusting and having faith, and especially, never comparing someone else’s version of success to any other!! And, perhaps, that we were always conditioned this way, and we are all called to wake up together, with gentle awareness and accepting all of the support we need to call forward!! And never be ashamed of feeling lonely, afraid, and especially sensitive and different - Tganj you!!
I really love what you said about discovering the miracles in our own lives. I think we've been taught to look so far away for meaning that we forget how much of it has always been right in front of us. I'm very glad that this piece gave you hope, and not sadness ❤️🙏😊
YES!! Small happinesses definitely count too!! Enjoy your day!!;
How much of it is tied to the proud and conspicuous consumption of wealth which says money is the metric to measure by? Ever since Reagan let them keep their money the rich used it to warp government to pay even less. In the meantime they buy handbags that come in their own protective bag because some cost the same as a car and the super rich suffer jet envy over associates with slightly better planes. We’re biologically hunter gathers. We’re not evolved to deal with extreme wealth. The only one who seems to be giving it away is Mackenzie Scott. 984 billionaires were four to one against 343 million people in the last election; many of those billionaires sat behind Trump in fealty at the last inauguration. For every Soros supporting liberal causes there are four billionaires doing the exact opposite. With one aim in mind—to keep all their money. Tech lords are the gilded age on an 11. And just because they’re rich they think their personal views are valid.
I give you Elon Musk whose rockets are just the application of physics yet they keep blowing up. His worldview is worth three fifths of fuck all and he turned Twitter into an incel MAGA swamp. He also keeps sacking janitors forcing his workers to bring TP to work. He’s a vile human sausage who was allowed to razor the US federal workforce because other rank idiots thought his wealth made him an expert in government. Funny how the regulatory bodies that watched him copped it in the neck.
When a government hands a tycoon the power to mass slash its workforce and the tycoon celebrates by drug-slurring the word chainsaw and waving one around that is a government that does not care about the governing part.
Extreme wealth is the kangaroo tail that wags the tiny dog.
yes, I understand what you mean. I think that's exactly what worries me... once we reward one thing above everything else, everything else slowly gets pushed aside. thank you for sharing your thoughts
It’s ironic that Musk’s wealth is actually from American taxpayers. Why can’t he pay for his own businesses himself?
Yes, we do not ask questions about things we do not believe there are solutions or answers for.
We ask questions about the things that other people recognize as possible. Imagine! What if we could ask questions that help us discover innerspace? As an 80 year-old white American I feel starved for the uncrossed Bridges that would lead us to discover the people inside of us.
I love the idea of 'innerspace'. that is a very accurate name of the place I was exploring. thank you for sharing this Jim. I appreciate it 🙏😊 and yes, I know exactly what you mean by feeling starved for the uncrossed bridges that would lead us to discover the people inside us
The dichotomy you expose in measurements reminds me of a former roommate and folk singer who penned a line in one of his songs, "Judgments are made by fools". Now, let that dichotomy sit with you as it has with me for over 50 years.
I love that you still carry that line around after all these years. thank you for passing it on ❤️
Really thoughtful. I spent much of my life chasing the measurements: elections won, titles held, miles run, things accomplished. It took losing nearly all of them to understand that none could tell me whether I was a good husband, father or friend—or whether I was even at peace with myself.
Achievement tells the world what you did. Character is who you are when the scoreboard disappears.
thanks for sharing this Nathan 🙏😊 you are quite right, I think a lot of us spend years chasing achievements and accomplishments before realising it was never keeping score of the things that mattered most. I'm really glad you got there. it took me some time to realize it too
It’s better to teach people how to live than how to make a living.
I'd happily see that written on the wall of every school ❤️
This gives me peace and hope, knowing we're not all asleep. Thank you for writing such a thoughtful and profound piece, Pelle. God bless you. 🤍
thank you so much dear friend 🙏😊🤍 always happy to hear your thoughts
There is much wisdom in this essay. (Thank you, Steve, for printing it!)
Sadly, in today's American culture, wisdom hardly exists. It certainly doesn't factor into any of the ratings systems that now dog whenever we do anything online.
Oops. " . . that now dog US . . ."
Thank you Tom 🙏😊 yes, I also worry we've become much better at rating things than understanding them
That line about the villain landed for me. Very few people act out of pure malice; most destruction happens when someone genuinely rationalizes that their ends justify the means.
I discovered Jim Palmer’s Center for Non-Religious Spirituality. Not too late in my advanced age. Quite an adventure- as should be in the “existential health “.
Pelle’s post could be from their daily readings! Thank you Pelle and all!
Pelle, I love the way that brain of yours AND that heart of yours thinks. I have had thoughts like this many times . . . a deep sadness hard to express, explain or describe.
I have come to hate the word production. Productive this and productive that and gawd forbid the non-productive.
I once worked in a medical office as receptionist. I was the communication center between patients, doctors and home health providers. One of the most meaningful and rewarding jobs I ever had.
Starting out there were no cell phones, no beepers, no computers. It was a paper system and communication required actually talking to people. When I left we’d gone through the beeper stage, and used cell phones. The need for paper work and keeping actual physical patient records had been traded out for the more efficient computer systems. I found myself isolated in a tiny cubicle at the back of the office where I slaved away at inputting data. Because the computer way was supposed to make things so much easier and faster I was required to do more and more tasks with ridiculous deadlines and no overtime allowed to meet them. My stress went through the roof.
The health care staff visiting people in their homes were labeled “productive” because they generated money. And the office support staff like myself were labeled “non-productive” because they didn’t. Generate money. Takes my breath away every time I hear it.
Productivity has become the god of the corporate world. Your value as an employee is measured by your productivity. Not people skills. Not character, honesty, integrity, an authentically caring heart. Just productivity. Now even computerized cash registers are tracking store clerks productivity. The clerks apologize for not having time to chat. Their productivity is being monitored and they’re afraid of losing their jobs if they don’t keep up. Actual people are getting lost in the fray. Customers have been reduced to being valued only for the bottom line they can provide.
The idea of humans “being”, just BEING, mattering in any meaningful, way seems to be fading fast. My heart wonders how we ever got here. My mind has a pretty good idea. And when people ask why I’m so sad sometimes, words fail me.
A song Peter, Paul and Mary sang in the 60’s comes to mind WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE. There’s a line in the refrain that haunts me: “When will they ever learn?, Oh when will they ever learn?”
Some people seem to think AI has a soul. But it will never be able to keep you warm at night or hold you when you grieve. No amount of productivity can kiss a little one’s owies, wipe away their tears and make them feel secure. AI can’t appreciate the music birds and the wind in the trees make. AI has no interest in the sound of children’s laughter nor the glory of sunsets and moonrises.
There are millions of beautiful things that money can never buy.
When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?
Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this. Seriously. I can completely see why that experience affected you the way it did.
That whole idea of people being labelled "productive" and "non-productive" just because one group brings in money... I don't know. It feels so backwards. The people holding everything together somehow end up being worth less on paper. That's such a strange way to look at another human being.
And your story about that job... I think that's exactly what so many people have lived through. It wasn't just the technology that changed. It changed the whole feeling of the work. You went from talking to people all day, helping people, actually feeling connected, to sitting alone in a cubicle chasing deadlines and ticking boxes. We're told that's progress, but I think a lot of people feel something important disappeared.
I also loved the last part. The birds. The wind. Kids laughing. Sunsets. Those things sound so simple, but I honestly think they're a much better reminder of what life is than another productivity graph or quarterly target.
And I really hope AI never gets a soul 😂 I want it to stay a tool. Nothing more. Like you said, it can never replace a hug, a conversation, or someone just sitting beside you when life gets hard.
Thanks again for sharing all this. It genuinely makes me happy to know there are other people out there asking these same questions ❤️
Thank you Pelle for reading my diatribe🤣I tend to write more “books” than comments. Glad you understand what I am saying and feeling.
As we get older (just in bodies, not minds) we realize now why the people we perceived as old in our youth talked about missing the good old days. 😌
Life seemed so much simpler and slower and enjoyable when we were young. People seemed to be valued more for who they were than what they did. Kids rode bikes around, roller skated on sidewalks developing skills at missing the cracks🤣 and played kick the can til dark. People used to sit out on their porches and visit with neighbors or strangers walking by. (We still do but we talk to each other mostly because most of the neighbors porches are never used.)
So now we’re the ones who miss the good old days I guess. 😌
I’ve really been enjoying your writing. I tend to be a bit of an over-thinker and it’s enjoyable to find another kindred spirit. 😊
Thank you, Pelle, for writing this. I can see the truth in every single statement, every single conclusion. It's of great value I think to have it mapped out like this. Then one can see what parts of the prevalent mindset, and many of our priorities, might bring in terms of results we will not be happy with. Thus your mapping will be very helpful when we want to make course corrections.--
Still, there exist other truths alongside the ones you mapped. Other versions that are just as real. I am convinced that there exist an infinite number of truths, an infinite number of possible futures, each with their own characteristics. WE have free will. Predestination is not a part of my belief system.---
Many people buy into what is presented as "this is how it should be". Many don't. There are always people who follow inner guidance, have divergent ideas and see alternatives to the presently favoured indoctrination. Societal conditioning can only reach so far. ---
When we and many others EVALUATE what the present state gives us, we might find that we prefer something different. And go for it. ---
I treat reality as a perfect feed-back-system. As a MIRROR, a reflection. If you look in a mirror and if don't like what you see, no use trying to change the mirror, you must change yourself. When we humans change inside us, our outside reality will change too. We are creators, not puppets. When we forget this and behave like puppets this will become apparent.---
There seems to exist an attachment to things and phenomena that can be weighed, measured and proved, to the exclusion of those that can't. You have described that so very clearly. You have studied history. You know that there were epochs where rationalism held the scene. They were often followed by epochs when other and contrary ideals ruled. Humanity as a whole contains potential for great dynamics and enough diversity to guarantee that one single aspect does not rule out every other. Love, Maria
Thank you Maria 😊🙏🤍 I always enjoy reading your perspective. what I love most was your faith in humanity's capacity to keep renewing itself. my essay lingers on what we quietly lose, but your message showed me that history is also full of unexpected course corrections. It's exactly the balance that I needed. to grieve honestly for what's disappearing, without losing sight of what is still possible ❤️ a very beautiful insight!
I really enjoyed reading this. As someone who studies sociology and the human experience, it made my heart smile to know there are others out there who not only notice this, but also bring awareness.
love hearing that someone studying sociology and the human experience says such a wonderul thing! thank you so much 🙏😊🤍
This really resonates with me. Perhaps one of the greatest measurements we’ve neglected is trust. We know how to measure wealth, influence, popularity, and achievement—but what if we also asked, Are we becoming more trustworthy? Are our conversations creating more connection than separation? Character and trust seem deeply intertwined. Thank you for another thoughtful reflection.
yes, that is an excellent thought. I understand what you're saying. I feel like trust is one of the most important measurements that we've stopped paying attention too. Thank you Martin 🙏😊
Amen greatly appreciated
🙏😊🤍 thank you! and you're most welcome