Here are some fragments of thoughts. Sometimes I feel the urge to put some reflections in writing, and for some reason I feel like putting them here. They're not really meant for anyone's reading except my own. Don't take them too seriously.
The Flow
08/01/2024
There’s no point in getting angry at the rain, or more in general at the events you cannot control. Just accept what comes, and if unpleasant reactions (anger, sadness) bubble up, reflect on what you could have done differently, then let it go.
You should have agency, but work with the flow of reality, not against it. Get a sense of when you can adjust the flow of events (and do it!) but don’t try to stop the river. There’s no point, it’s a waste of energy.
Going with the flow doesn’t mean don’t change anything, or be complacent with how things are. Sometimes opportunities arise to make a dent in the universe, and those should be embraced with full intentionality. Reality can be so different from what it has always been that it would seem like another universe. Learn to sense the winds of change when they come, and act accordingly.
Way of the Peaceful Warrior
07/24/2024
Yesterday I started to read this book, lent to me by my good friend Fisher. It’s been so incredibly refreshing. I’m longing for a spiritual dimension in my life, I just realized it. Whether it’s meditation, yoga, prayer, … I need to create some space for that to live fully. That’s what I need to calm the restlessness.
Cause it’s true, there’s so much about wisdom that can’t be found in knowledge. The book talks about body wisdom, and the difference between ingesting knowledge and enacting wisdom.
From the book:
Use whatever knowledge you have but see its limitations. Knowledge alone does not suffice; it has no heart. No amount of knowledge will nourish or sustain your spirit; it can never bring you ultimate happiness or peace. Life requires more than knowledge; it requires intense feeling and constant energy. Life demands right action if knowledge is to come alive.
So true.
Rome and San Francisco
06/21/2024
There’s a story called Zhuangzi, about a man who fell asleep one day and dreamed that he was a butterfly. When he woke up he did not know whether he was a man who had dreamed he was a butterfly or whether he was a butterfly now dreaming he was a man. The cognitive dissonance between Rome and San Francisco is so strong it makes me wonder which one is real life, and which is a dream.
Rome is eternal, hence immutable. Every change is an illusion. Everything must change for everything to remain the same. San Francisco is the opposite. Its bursts of creativity irradiate and change the world, but they’re counterweighted by a tendency towards a cyberpunk nightmare and a drug addiction apocalypse.
Sometimes it makes me feel lonely and alienated.
Is it a necessary price for progress?
On Technology
6/17/2024
I think the value of a man is proportional to the amount of good that the reverberations of his actions bring to his household, community, and humanity.
I chose technology as my professional field because I believe that enhancing humanity’s capabilities is the most impactful way to spend one’s life in our modern world.
I believe in giving humanity the tools to do more, vastly more, with less. I believe that a 1 trillion plus population of immortal human beings colonizing galaxies is a good thing, and that the dreams of a *happy de-growth* are apocalyptical nightmares.
The hypothesis according to which technology is intrinsically good morally was definitely buried in the 20th century by the atrocities committed in Europe by Nazi Germany, the most technologically advanced society of that time. However, restricting technological growth is not the solution. It’s up to the people to ensure that this ever-increasing power is harnessed in the most beneficial direction for humanity.
Life and Death
6/13/2024
This week I hopped on a plane and came to Rome.
My 6-month old nephew was visiting and my 90-years old grandma was dying.
Life and death.
Worth being here in person.
Nothing is more important than family at the end of the day.
No one knew I was going. It was a most welcome surprise. I am happy I brought them joy. So happy.
I am grateful for life. I am grateful for health. I am grateful for love. I am grateful that the amount of suffering I am subject to is bearable. I am grateful for the strength to bear it.
I slept next to my dying grandma. It wasn’t pleasant. I fed her strawberries with zabaione. It was incredible. I reminded her about the good times. She nodded, but her pain was too great to smile.
I cuddled my nephew. She is chubby, expressive, curious and fun. She smiles, cries, gets mad, but mostly she is curious. Her mom taking her in her arms always made her happy.
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