+ Hi friends. I’ve missed you. I’ve missed Adulting- Second Half. In many ways, for many years, writing Adulting- Second Half on a daily basis was my second half of myself (the reflective half of myself who was pausing to reflect and to take notes of all of my inner and outer experiences, in this transformative time in my life). Adulting – Second Half is definitely one of my sacred spaces. Joseph Campbell describes our sacred spaces as places “where you can find yourself over and over again.” I’m here today because Life has finally gotten back to an even pace for me lately (which I realize is probably just a small respite, as the holidays are right upon us) but for now, I am enjoying it. Normal steady breathing, equilibrium, steady as she goes – I’m soaking in these feelings before the glitz and chaos of the holidays is upon us.
+ I just finished reading a book in a day and half. Yes, it was one of those books that was Just That Good. The book is called The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. McBride’s character development is unrivaled. I felt like I was feeling the character’s own feelings. If you want to get lost in a book, and lost in an interesting, thought provoking story, I highly recommend reading it.
+ And also, in the spirit of “Favorite Things Friday” even though it is only Tuesday, I recently purchased The Original Cincha Travel Belt. The Original Cincha Travel Belt is a seatbelt for luggage that you sit up on top your roller bags, when you are cruising through airports, city streets, train stations, etc. In my last travel experience, just last month, the straps were too long on my beautiful hot pink tote bag which I absolutely love, and so the bag would fall off of the sides of my suitcase, causing a great deal of imbalance and stoppage time and embarrassment and frustration. My beautiful, overstuffed bag was taking my roller suitcase, and thus also me, down with it. I haven’t tried my cincha travel belt yet, but when I read about it, it was one of those “Now why didn’t I think of that?” moments. I ordered one on Amazon right after I finished reading the article about it.
+ Every family has their “birthday clumps” in any given year, right? Our family’s birthday clumps are in late spring, and also during the holiday season. In late November throughout December, our family celebrates at least ten birthdays (including my own). For some reason this prompted my curious mind to find out how many people are born on any given day. The United Nations estimates that 385,000 babies are born in the world on any given day. Other interesting facts: September 9, September 19, and September 12 are among the most common birthdays in the United States. (This also tells me that perhaps people are also their horniest during the holiday season) And for obvious reasons, February 29th is the rarest birthday to have in the world. You have a 1 in 1,460 chance of being born on February 29th.
+ I was watching a video where Ben Affleck was being asked about what his thoughts were about AI. Did he think that the entertainment industry is going to be taken over and gobbled up by AI? It is Ben Affleck’s belief, that no, AI is not a real threat to filmmaking. Like all things, AI will change the film industry, but it is his belief, that for a long time coming, AI will still be just a part of making films. Ben Affleck believes that AI will make filmmaking less expensive, thus allowing more creators to come in with less barriers to entry, and thus allowing a proliferation of films like we have not yet seen (much like streaming has done in regards to TV shows). He agrees that AI will perhaps take over much of the human element of special effects, but Ben Affleck compares AI to a craftsman. AI learns its craft and imitates from all that has already been created. We humans are still the vessels of Creative Intelligence which brings thoughts and imagination and emotion into the material world to experience sensorily, and Ben Affleck believes that AI is just another craft or tool to allow us to do this more effectively and efficiently. He said this quote: “Craft is knowing how to work. Art is knowing when to stop.” Ben Affleck believes that AI will have a really hard time with knowing when to stop. On that note, I think that I will stop here for today.
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.