Can I still listen to Kanye?

Kanye West represents a significant dilemma for me.

I’m a huge fan of his music. He has genius level talent at producing some bangers. And I appreciate genius in all shapes and sizes.

I’m also very intentional with the things I choose to support. When possible, I believe in intentional currency flow and conscious spending. I want to direct my money towards people and organizations that are building more of what I want to see in the world.

There’s a clear and direct conflict between this intentional currency flow and what Kanye has been saying and doing. Completely inexcusable and condemnable.

That’s pretty black and white. But. There’s still some nuance for me.

A friend recently asked me “Does your vision for a more beautiful world allow for and accommodate mental health issues?”

I was kinda stumped. To be completely honest. The obvious answer is of course it does. In a more beautiful world we are accepting and loving of all people and all situations. And yet here we are… faced with someone who has documented mental health issues and now says he “likes Hitler” while giving a platform for people to spread hate.

It’s obvious I don’t have a clear answer to my friend’s question. I’m choosing to continue to not listen to Kanye’s music even though a) I do miss it and b) I am anti-cancel culture. I do hope he is getting the help he needs and that we all get to enjoy more of his genius for years to come, but it seems we are heading in the opposite direction for now.

Why are we all struggling in secret?

I am struggling.

I used to think I wasn’t. Or I would ignore it. Or pretend like I wasn’t.

But that wasn’t real. I wasn’t being honest. With myself. Definitely not with others.

For the record, I strongly dislike this post. It’s forcing me to admit in a public place that I am struggling.

Why is it so hard to say that? I’m almost completely certain that every single person I know is struggling with something right now. All of us. It’s the way it is.

And yet we don’t talk about it.

As a society, we agreed that struggling is a sign of weakness, and therefore it’s not safe to admit. Or that talking about our struggle is a burden to someone else. So we struggle in secret. Which makes it worse. It creates shame. It removes any opportunity of receiving help. We multiply and magnify the struggle in our mind.

I’m going to attempt to normalize the struggle. At least in my own little world. As an experiment. I’m going to ask people openly what they are struggling with and start by sharing what’s there for me. Maybe I won’t dislike this topic so much next time I write about it.

How can I master my dreams?

I read a story about a kid who could select her dream each night. A bunch of screens appeared in front of her with snippets of different dream options, and she would simply select the one that most suited her that evening. She thought that was normal for all humans.

How fucking cool is that!?

I’d consider myself a super novice when it comes to lucid dreams. On very rare occasions, I recognize that I’m dreaming and I’m able to do some entertaining things. Even more rarely, I come up with a solution to a challenging problem while dreaming.

I am not even in the same universe to select my dreams each night from a bunch of TVs. But I want it. I may never get there. And I’m gonna keep trying.

I also wonder if this is how a soul picks a human. I have no idea how a soul works, but wouldn’t it be fun if a soul had. a bunch of monitors in front of it and was like, I choose jbp3.

Clearly I’m tired as I’m writing this and preparing to doze off. Another night, another opportunity to try to master this wonderful thing called dreaming.

Why do I write?

I am now back in a rhythm of publishing something here (almost) daily.

I decided to start this current writing period with no agenda, no format, and no audience. I’d open up a blank page, discover what question or topic bubbles up, and then allow words to flow.

I find that I’m mostly writing about Leadership, Mindfulness, and Being Human. I love the intersection there so this comes as no surprise. I’ve written some bangers and some clunkers. Some very random and some very interconnected.

It’s been quite lovely. It’s a creative outlet. It’s a way to simplify complex ideas. It allows me to research curious topics. It frees up mental ram by getting ideas out. Overall I just really enjoy writing again.

I’m not growing an audience. I don’t share these anywhere. And if you’re reading this now, you’re probably my amazing girlfriend 😘 I’ve also heard from a few people that they’ve really been getting value out what what I’m writing, so I’m not quite sure what to do with that just yet.

What I do know is that right now this feels pure, and I won’t trade that for anything.

What is the Anti Cancel Culture League?

As a sworn enemy of cancel culture, I am here to inform you that the Anti Cancel Culture League (ACCL) is something I just made up 5 minutes ago. But if it was real, here’s what it would be and why I support it…

First, let’s start off with some real talk. I would absolutely be cancelled based on some of the things I’ve done in my past. No questions, no notes, full cancel. I truly believe that every single human I’ve ever known would be cancelled if the history of their life was fully on display. If you think you are the exception, you are in denial.

Second, I absolutely believe that people should be held accountable for their actions. There is a positive purpose to cancel culture and to what (I believe) it is trying to accomplish. I freaking love humans, I want to live in a more equitable and inclusive society and I’m all for experiments on how we move in that direction.

But. Cancel culture ain’t it.

At its absolute best, we are holding people accountable for their mistakes, which again is a good thing and something I support.

Cancel culture is incredibly problematic though. It’s a form of control. It creates fear. It causes people to be inauthentic. And that’s just the minor stuff. More significantly, It’s increasing polarization. It’s not addressing the root causes. It’s more interested in burning down than finding solutions. It’s inciting violence, causing harm and destroying lives.

If the ACCL did actually exist, it would look towards education and awareness. It would strive for dialogue and discussion. Instead of digging for a reason to cancel someone, we’d seek to understand and connect.

Maybe cancel culture is exactly what we need right now. I hope not, but maybe. It’s easy for me to oppose cancel culture as a white male who would definitely be cancelled. And almost certainly the ACCL isn’t the answer.

If I had a magic wand to wave in this regard, I’d greatly prefer the approach where we take on nuance and compassion over scorched earth. Look towards love and connection over destruction. But maybe that’s my eternal optimist showing again.