I like the use of the word alignment in this article for bridging meaning & purpose via storytelling.
But, without compassion & insight, might such reframing & narrative produce dark purpose? – e.g., vindictiveness [1].
• Psychology Today > “The Story You Tell Yourself” by Jordan Grumet M.D., The Regret-Free Life (May 8, 2025) – We are “narrative beings.”
Continue reading The stories we tell ourselves – anchoring purposeHappiness isn’t a destination; it’s a synthesis.
[updated 5-19-2025]
we scale ourselves …
in moving from low to high,
we see our pathway as true,
and that we are in the right.
yet forever left nearby,
as if they are out of view,
still the shadows of the night
whether heaven or haven
will ever erase our blight,
our myths impel us even
further on a cosmic flight
[refrain]
contemplate views from the site
the infinite in your sight
a temporary delight
the peak of eternal light
like Sisyphus for his wrongs,
while the summit’s view rivets,
we cannot stay at such height,
it’s not where our soul belongs,
just for brief tourist visits
the peak of eternal light
Copyright © 2025 John P. Healy
Continue reading the gods need not take our sight … (peak of eternal light)
If the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland (the 1951 Disney film) used a smartphone, would his passing by a curious Alice have been less panicky?
Are you a multi-tasker? Over the years, real-time task juggling has been praised. Multi-tasking on our digital devices has become the model for all tasks, at work & home (even perhaps on vacation). Hey, lifestyle of the 21st century. In fact, not doing so sometimes is viewed as a personal deficiency.
But what does research say? I’ve noticed a few articles now & then exploring the question. Here’s the latest:
Continue reading Multi-tasking – formula for thriving or folk tale?[Draft 3-21-2025 – teaser]
(a matter of fidelity)
For a village with little complaint, the night was sprinkled with screams. Those nights. These were not timbres of terror. These were shouts at someone, shrieks about one’s situation.
The unrest reached the nearby forest, to the ears of a particular animal, attentive to nightly things. An owl, Dr. Nolan, for whom those sounds signaled “I’m not going to take it anymore!” With an undertone of banging doors, rending of hearts. Would there be more business at his door, “Wise Wellness Therapy” …
Yet … those days … the animals were a scene of industry, of busy purpose, aspiring agency.
And in the day, another animal, a rabbit, was attentive to that scene. Rising from his deep burrow, sheltered from the nights, he only felt hints, fading dreamlike haunts, that something was amiss. And business was brisk at Dr. Larry’s “Cuddly Bunny Counseling” office.
Continue reading Owl & rabbit – a 21st century fable
[Draft 3-24-2025]
You’re at a cocktail party … or maybe in a social setting with your family … your attention is selective – like moving a spotlight around a stage, or tuning between foreground & background channels. Did you notice the person dressed in a gorilla costume walk by in the distance? [4]
Others want your attention. Sirens are calling you.
You want attention. Thrive on such attention.
(quote)
… the ability to grab the attention of the consumer is more important than the actual product or service offered. … we will forever be invested in [hunger for] other people paying attention to us. – Chris Hayes [1]
I was reminded recently of the book Small Is Beautiful. Does its economic philosophy still pertain to today’s world?
(interdependency)
It was a lean season in the valley. Even an abandoned scarecrow had been stripped of its straw, ripped to rags moving in a dry breeze. Faceless.
A solitary, scrawny fox had slowly descended into the plain. Hunger gnawed at Jasper, but also the pain of separation from his skulk in another valley. He’d been banished, called a “veggie vore” for eating mostly fruit (especially grapes) and vegetables, and for spending hours every day listening to bird chatter rather than learning to hunt.
Continue reading Fox and the ants – a 21st century fablePondering the 21st century freemium 2.0 landscape …
(resistance is futile)
imagine …
A splendid mythological garden … light glints marvelously from the surface of a tranquil creek nearby … on a mild rise, a magnificent tree festooned with fabulous, colorful fruit fills the air with a seductive scent … a snake rests in the sun on top of a rock at the base of the tree.
Continue reading Freemium 2.0 (ambrosia) – a 21st century fable
I’ve had some long conversations with an aspiring screenwriter about a collection of short stories, with a working title of The Ditbit’s Guide to Blending in with AIs. An evolving landscape:
The great realignment of humans and AIs left a landscape littered with un-, sub-, semi- and supernatural agency. – The New AI Ecology
in which, while many just try to survive, there are:
humans aspiring to magi
magi aspiring to AIs
AIs aspiring to humanity [1]
Evidently, as discussed in the article below, I’m not the only one wondering about our cognitive world.
Continue reading Ditbit’s Guide to Blending in with AIs
This article (below) is an interesting take on a classic fable, one of Aesop’s. Like the fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, The Fox & the Grapes [1] is part of the moral fabric of the American psyche (and elsewhere).
Continue reading Sour grapes – blame-shifting folkloreThe oft-quoted moral of the fable is: There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach. The sour grape effect has become synonymous with being dismissive and disparaging about goals we’ve failed to achieve.