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I remember taking this photo. It was back in 2013 in a Copenhagen subway on the way to [Freetown Christiania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_Christiania). We didn't partake in any of what was on offer, though I would have liked to. Still, it was interesting to see what kind of freedoms are "allowed" in some places. A friend of mine who is visiting his home in the US at the moment, was saying he bought a joint at the local faire. *How times have changed,* in his opinion. 

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![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/tarazkp/23yd5vgv7yDnz59AehVvi6Akrm4vy4JkfYMWK2Dv9Zgp4Fa5xxzFLbCetsTrbJEZ4E5ym.png)


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> Times are always changing.

As I mentioned yesterday and have oft mentioned at other times, time itself is a construct. We look at what has happened as the past, what will happen as the future and what is happening right now as the present. But the reality is, there is only the present, this very moment. But it isn't very practical to live in "the moment" as if it is going to last forever, because one moment becomes the next moment, and the next and the next after that. Each one is influenced by the one prior, and once a moment is gone, it is gone for good. 

But while we can't change the past, we can influence the future and the only way to do it is in the present. The eternal present, the one that is always here. Each day, each hour, minute and fraction of a split second, our movements are going to have some effect on how things move next. We can't control everything, because we aren't the only ones moving things, and there are a lot of things outside of anyone's control that are also moving to influence, but perhaps we can increase the odds, or decrease the odds of something happening.

> I might get hit by a bus tomorrow.

*Sure.* I might. But, if I don't look both ways before crossing, my odds of getting hit go up. If I do practice safe crossing methods, my odds go down. *Pretty simple.* But this applies to even the most complicated and difficult of processes. If we practice good process consistently, we increase our odds of achieving the outcomes we aim for. But, most of us firstly don't know what we really want, don't consider how to get there, and don't act consistently toward what we want the future now to be.

> Our influence is greatly diminished.

Many people see influence as a dirty word these days, mostly because it is driven by online "influencers" who are paid to manipulate. But the original meaning is quite different.

>influence (n.)
late 14c., an astrological term, "streaming ethereal power from the stars when in certain positions, acting upon character or destiny of men," from Old French influence "emanation from the stars that acts upon one's character and destiny" [](https://www.etymonline.com/word/influence)

Or perhaps it isn't so different, considering that people are looking to be "influenced by the streaming stars" now too. But, what people forget is that we also have personal influence that doesn't require anyone else at all, because we can influence ourselves, and our outcomes. Instead of getting a flow of energy from the stars, we can use our attentional energy *intentionally* to impact on what we do, how we do, and therefore, what our future becomes. There is no certainty, it is about playing the odds. 

Yet, instead of using our attention to direct the course of our behaviours now, we spend it on anything and everything else that seems more geared to direct energy away from where we need it to be. We spend the resource we have most control over on unnecessary and irrelevant purchases, instead of where it has the most impact to influence and improve our own lives. 

>We aren't acting in our best interest, we are acting on our desires.

We are randomly born. We randomly die. So perhaps all the in between doesn't matter at all. No meaning, no purpose, no reason to move, or think or try. But, even if it is, is a meaningless life one that any individual wants to live? Do we want to spend 80 years of our awareness going through a tunnel of irrelevance? 

Maybe that is living.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]


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