Reflections

I sat in public waiting for friends. Normally I’d hide in my phone, filling the silence, avoiding the awkwardness of just sitting there.

But the sun was warm. People were moving. The world kept going without me doing anything.

And that was enough.

Not every pause needs filling. Sometimes it’s better to notice what’s already there.

We celebrate pushing through. More hours, more output, more grind.

But the body and mind keep score.

A day off isn’t weakness. It’s repair. It’s what lets you keep showing up without burning out.

The guilt says you’re falling behind. The truth is you’re building strength.

Rest isn’t the opposite of work. It’s part of it.

Lorikeets are the F1s of the sky.

They flash past in a burst of colour and sound, faster than you expect, gone before you know it.

If you hear them, don’t wait. Look up. Notice.

Some things are only magic if you’re present enough to catch them.

It’s easy to stare at the past.

To measure where you were, what you didn’t know, and all the mistakes along the way.

But the point is not where you were. It’s how far you’ve come.

The steps you’ve taken, the ground you’ve covered, the growth that carried you here.

The story isn’t in the past. It’s in the change along the way.

When AI first arrived, it felt like magic. It could draw from centuries of books, journals, and science. The best of what we’d written down.

Now it’s trained on itself. On our posts, our prompts, our throwaway comments. Each new layer built from the noise of the crowd.

That raises a question: are we making it smarter or dumber?

Human progress came from the sharp edges of knowledge. From people who pushed fields forward, not from a blend of everyone’s chatter.

If AI is going to change the world for the better, maybe the real work isn’t scale.

Maybe it’s not about how much AI learns, but where the lessons come from.

Advice is everywhere. Family, friends, strangers online.

The right advice comes from people who’ve walked the path. People you trust for their judgment, not just their confidence.

The wrong advice sounds just as certain. But it drags you off course and leaves you second-guessing.

Anyone can talk. Find the voices that move you forward.

We’re told a good workman never blames his tools. Skill matters more than equipment.

But tools still matter.

The right pen changes how words flow. The right chair changes how long you can sit. The right software changes how much energy you have left at the end of the day.

Better tools don’t replace craft. But they can carry it further.

Anger building in me, sharp and restless. Then I noticed the trees bending outside, the gusts rising like a chorus.

What if the wind could carry my anger for me? What if the storm outside was big enough to hold what I couldn’t?

I let it go, and I felt lighter.

Maybe nature is always offering this. Rain to take sorrow, rivers to hold restlessness, sunlight to magnify joy.

It’s a quiet exchange, constant and unseen.

Maybe we were never carrying it alone.

Some habits last longer in silence. No posts, no updates, no audience. Just the practice itself.

The Stoics treated silence as strength. A way to guard energy and let what matters take root.

I’ve noticed the same. The habits I kept quiet outlasted every one I talked about. Without the noise of expectation, they became steadier.

Silence doesn’t hide the work. It protects it. And when the results arrive, they speak for themselves.

On a climbing wall, falling isn’t failure. It’s part of the climb.

Everyone drops. No one points and laughs. You just get back on the wall and try again.

Failure in public is lighter than it looks. Fear is what gives it weight.

Anxiety says don’t try. The wall says progress comes through falling.