On Friendship, Adversity & “Internet Honesty”
On Friendship – I just want to share a quote that really struck me from Dr. Vivek Murphy, former Surgeon General of the United States:
“A real friend is somebody who reminds you of who you are even when you forget.”
On Adversity – I heard somewhere recently that “adversity creates clarity.”
It’s an interesting idea. Only through times of hardship are systems actually tested and ideas challenged. Adversity is a foolproof way of sniffing out bullshit, because the first things to go in times of difficulty are those which are deemed most unnecessary.
Adversity “forces” you to be an essentialist.
A good question to ask yourself is: “are you an anticipatory essentialist or a reactionary one?”
On “Internet Honesty” – I have come to the conclusion that the internet isn’t designed for honesty. Remembering that is a powerful tool against the manipulation and distortions of reality that we have all suffered from.
There are simply too many incentives to grab attention (this was the case well before the internet, with “scandalous” headlines in the newspaper for example, but as we all know the internet amplifies everything).
I find it helpful to remind myself of the fact that our attention online goes to the 1-10% of people that are the most talented, physically beautiful or extreme. This is by no means an accurate representation of most people.
People, as a general rule in my experience, are more kind and moderate than we perceive online.
Here’s a piece that I made further diving into this subject if you’re interested.
Bonus
→ A podcast with Devendra Banhart (one of my favorite artists) about When Things Fall Apart (one of my favorite books). This was recommended to me by a lovely patron (so thank you!)
→ This is an amazing language learning resource that I use regularly. It allows you to look up words or phrases/expressions and see them used in context and with examples in the other language. Incredibly useful for understanding how and when to use certain words and phrases. It looks like they have quite a few different language options too.
Thanks for reading!
Nathaniel Drew
