Reflections

I remember stumbling across a story that caught my attention. It was a simple story about a wealthy American investment banker and an easygoing Mexican fisherman. It's only right owning a space on the internet named the Fisherman's Notes that I write about this story.

Having read this I came to the conclusion that happiness and being content with your life is incredibly tied with your way of thinking. Being raised in a society that often glorifies the hunt for the "next move", a story like this really humbles one.

The story ends with the banker explaining the road to success and eventually settling down for a life of luxury and relaxation. This is something that the fisherman has already done without owning perhaps 1% of what the banker labels in monetary terms.

I, among with many I know, often entrench ourselves with upgrading our life at a rate of knots and not being satisfied with it if it does not progress fast . This story is a little reminder that you may be living someone else's dreams and someone else may be living your dreams. So, slow down, take it easy once in a while and be grateful.

Might print this story out in a small index card and carry it with me.

A hypothetical situation occurs where an alien civilization invades Earth. Think Arrival. The visitors know nothing about us. If you were tasked to explain to them the history of human civilization with using only a 100 things (technology, language, books, monuments etc) what would they be?

Of course this list varies greatly depending on the person tasked with explaining. However, there will inevitably be some overlap.

Language and numbering may be a feature in this list for some. English and the Hindu-Arabic system would be the topic. Taking this a step further if you discussing technology the Internet would be brought up and how it allows everyone access to it to tap into a vast amount of information.

This thought game is interesting because it makes you think about how to incapsulate a large quantity of options into only the most relevant of those options.