Category Archives: Mediation

Hope for 2026 – Gen Z’s voice?

Mediation, Musings, , , , ,

At my health club, regular face-to-face chats are vital to my cognitive and emotional health. There are benefits beyond the weight training & aerobics. A space for multi-generational exchanges. Including among and with Gen Zers.

While a small sample, I’ve been both inspired by Gen Z and concerned. Inspired because they have something to say about all the sh*t that’s rolled downhill (as the saying goes) on them. A sensitivity.

muddy or not, here we come …

I’m concerned about their social skills – to voice their predicament (as discussed below). To take on debate, dissent, discomfort. To carry conversations beyond the black & white framing of so much that’s hit the fan.

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Mental & emotional health for 2026 – diary of social media detox

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I read a lot about the effects of chronic, daily hours-long engagement with social media. Endless smartphone scrolling. The go-to thing when there’s any idle time. I see such behavior play out in the gym at my health club as well.

Replica of Thoreau’s cabin near Walden Pond (August 30, 2010). Attribution: RhythmicQuietude at en.wikipedia
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Beyond happy – the pursuit of ease erases our humanity (and liberty)

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Epigraph

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – United States Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson replaced the word “property” with “pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence, … While influenced by [English philosopher] John Locke’s “life, liberty, and property,” Jefferson’s substitution made the right to happiness an unalienable right accessible to all citizens, not just those who owned land. – Google AI Summary

Aspiration … inclusiveness …

Is the pursuit of happiness the pursuit of ease? As in living well and doing well? Modernity projects a vibe of comfort and convenience, a removal of friction. While this begs the issue of the haves and have-nots – or those with and without property, the drift is promoted for all. (As if to turn us all into Hobbits, eh.) But that’s a relatively recent historical disposition, not what our biology depended on for survival over eons.

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Beyond happy – a resonant reality requires resistance

Mediation, Musings, Stories, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   2 comments  

Introduction

idyllic_moment.jpg

Attaining (whether by pluck or luck) a seemingly friction-free life is a seductive notion. A state essentially without complaint. Something to yearn for, strive for. Perhaps achieve via a life of effort, as a well-earned place. Or a heroic reward. A validation of righteousness.

Such is this notion portrayed in mythology and modern lore … as haven, heaven, Elysium Fields. A refuge with resistance in remission … gnawing doubts gone … sorrow set aside. A friction-free liberty.

Yet, I’ve always wondered about the dynamics of such a space. Who or what services that realm? What individual or collective agency pertains there?

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feather & fur – a 21st century fable, part 1

Mediation, Musings, Stories, , ,

[Draft 11-3-2025]

feather & fur – parting ways

a 21st century fable

Copyright © 2025 John P. Healy

(humility’s hard done by)

Claws in the night

In the murky stillness, something sharp hit his head, knocking him to the ground. Rising to his knees, claws tore into his back. He howled in pain. Then there was just chatter. A voice said, “Zach, are you okay?” His fur was wet with sweat, not blood. The dream was over.

But later Zach was not so sure …

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The meaningscape – synchronizing shared realities?

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Meaningscape is a relatively new word – for the contours & connections that we sense and use to grasp our reality. It’s a layered ‘sandwich’ of signs & symbols, beacons & benchmarks, ways & waypoints, memories & meanings. [1]

Meaning is relational. Meaning is finding a shared way of reading and navigating the world, including socially & culturally.

There’s the context of the meaning OF life – some type of cosmic connection; but, more importantly, there’s finding meaning IN life – social connection which grounds our well-being.

The craving for connection is the need for meaning.

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The stories we tell ourselves – anchoring purpose

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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.”

Happiness isn’t a destination; it’s a synthesis.

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the gods need not take our sight … (peak of eternal light)

Mediation, Musings, Poetry, , ,

the gods need not take our sight …

[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

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Multi-tasking – formula for thriving or folk tale?

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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:

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