Here’s a hot take: I’ve never met a latino or latina that likes this term.
Why is it okay for some groups to decide how other groups are included? Shouldn’t the group in question be part of the discussion? Isn’t it funny how trying to be inclusive and promote “equity” (a dangerous concept) ends up being racist?
It’s not Us vs. Them. It’s never Us vs. Them. It’s just Us.
Just Us.
While talking with my philosophy professor today, we began discussing the nature of belief. I mentioned how sometimes, for believers, it can be reassuring to study somebody like Thomas Aquinas—one of the most brilliant minds to ever live who also believes in God. We then got into a discussion about the new atheists. The leaders of this modern-day atheist movement are often scientists at the top of their fields, true experts of their specific disciplines. These individuals, like Richard Dawkins, often dismiss the reality of God based on weak arguments. Then people listen and believe them. They’re experts, after all.
But what qualifies an expert on evolutionary biology to dispute, with utmost certainty, nearly all philosophic discussion of God? How can he claim to know more than a modern philosopher who studies, thinks, and meditated deeply on these issues?
Herein lies the difference between the philosopher and the scientist: a scientist knows; a philosopher knows there is always more to know. I would venture to say that good scientists ought to be more like philosophers and admit that they don’t really know, they they can’t really be certain about much.
Uncertainty may seem uncomfortable at first. To me, it seems like a far happier place to live.
A few months ago, Alex Banayan, author of the New York Times’ Best Seller The Third Door, tweeted that him and Aubrey Marcus were gonna do Q&A during their podcast together. Naturally, I was thinking about death a lot that day, so I tweeted them the following question:
Aubrey, you’ve talked a lot about “knowing” what the other side is like because you’ve been there on medicine journeys. This seems to have almost obliterated your fear of death. But fearing death and overcoming that fear seem to be a deep, unifying part of the human experience…
Many believe that having an understanding—and even a fear—of death can ignite a sense of urgency, leading you to live a more fulfilling life. To what extent is fearing death a good thing and and when does it get in the way? Thanks for all you do
@lemmanucci
Well, Alex and Aubrey talked about my question. They introduced me, said my name, and even hyped me up, saying “You know him. You love him. Give it up for Aaron Lemma!” It brought so much joy to my being.
It was a heavy question and it took a while to unpack it—about 50 minutes. This was the longest Aubrey Marcus Podcast to date, and my question helped to fuel that. I am so grateful to Aubrey and Alex for answering my question with such deep insight and wisdom, all while remaining students of this confusing game called life.
This experience reminded me to be curious and ask my questions without fear of judgement or embarrassment. I really gained a lot from this discussion about death and I can’t even imagine how many thousands or millions of others did too. All because I tweeted my genuine curiosity.
Here’s the link to the YooTube video of the podcast: AMP #229. Check out 50:40 and 1:40:20 for my name drop. This window encompasses the entire discussion about death. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you prefer to listen, check out Aubrey Marcus Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
Nahko & Medicine for the People released a new single today called Lifegaurd. It’s the band’s first released artwork since 2016, so it’s a big deal. Rumors of a new album in the next few months has been circulating, making all Medicine fans very happy.
This song is upbeat and hopeful, all while being a battle cry during tumultuous cultural storms and crashing societal waves. “The world’s about to shift again—we’ll never be the same.” While most songs about cultural awakening make leave you feeling cold and desperate, Nahko’s music always leaves me with a sense of peace and responsibility. Maybe we can make a change in these difficult times. Maybe I can be the one to make the change.
A Lifeguard is somebody who watches out for your safety when you don’t even realize they’re there. On this All Saint’s Day, we remember those who have gone before us and are now alive again, reunited with the divine creator, pure love. These saints above are looking out for us, our daily Lifeguards, making sure we keep our heads above water and sailing in the right direction. We set the course; they make sure we stay on it.
Let’s take a moment to thank our Lifeguards, those alive on earth and those alive in heaven. We’d be mistaken to think we can do this life alone.
I can’t tell you why, but I’ve always hated dressing up. I didn’t even like pajama day in preschool—I wore sweatpants and a sweatshirt. For me, there’s something uncomfortable about pretending to be somebody I’m not. Maybe my psyche just isn’t on board with, or maybe that’s just a story I like to tell myself.
Over the years, I’ve been pretty good at recognizing my insecurities, getting to their root causes, and abolishing them. This is one I just can’t shake. I’ve tasked my psychologist girlfriend at trying to figure out why I hate it. She can’t figure it out yet either. Regardless, Halloween and I don’t do well together.
So I don’t know where the insecurity of dressing up comes from, but I know there’s one effective way to deal with it: don’t dress up, stay home, and give out candy to trick-or-treaters. Though this is a short-term solution, it’ll work for the time being. There may be some FOMO and some missed laughs, but in this instance I’ll choose self care over doing something I don’t want to do.
Happy Halloween, I guess.
First, get a large pot. Next, poor organic popcorn kernels and cover the bottom. Third—drizzle some olive oil over the kernels and sift them around to coat every one. The next step is important: throw some grass fed butter in. After the butter, turn in high heat. They will stay popping soon. When they do, lower the temperature and throw in a handful of chocolate chips. No more popping means no more heat. Throw in some more butter and chocolate chips. Shake. Dazzle with sea salt. Serve immediately. Peace indefinitely.
A Lesson from my Perspectives on Leadership course:
Teams perform better when everybody feels safe to share ideas, concerns, questions, and mistakes without fear of judgement or embarrassment. Good leaders promote this type of environment by making every task into a learning opportunity, by admitting their own fallacies, and by promoting curiosity. This will allow employees to develop out-of-the-box thoughts and solve interesting problems.
We can all learn something about interpersonal relationships from this model.
Kanye West’s new album Jesus is King is taking the world by storm. I’ve been on and off the Jesus Music bandwagon since high school, but it’s always been important to me. And some of it slaps. When Kanye’s new album came out, I heard it was about Jesus. Indeed, it is. And it, too, slaps.
Whenever a famous artist outsteps his or her main mode of transmission, people loose their heads. Remember Old Town Road? When something can’t be categorized, people tend to dismiss it at first then eventually come running back.
Some people don’t like Kanye’s preaching, but He’s an artist. This is a masterpiece, whether people see it or not. Gospel and rap? Unthinkable. Imaginative. Powerful.
Thank you, Kanye, for opening our eyes. Let’s praise Jesus for a bit and bring people together.
Camille thinks Sunday is the last day of the week and that Monday starts the week. I think Saturday is the last day and Sunday is the first. So which is it? More importantly, how does that affect how what we seek to accomplish in our days?
I like to see Sunday as the start of the week so it can be a reset, a time to reflect on the past week and plan the upcoming week. Without proper planning, Monday (and the rest of the week after it) might be a disaster. I’m not sure this would have the same urgency if Monday was the end of the week.
On the other hand, having 2 days at the end of the week means 2 days of productivity before the week ends. This means you don’t have to cram your entire weekend fun into Saturday, but it can actually carry over to Sunday. Then you can rest on Sunday, looking back at a good week and forward to a brand new one.
Both of these are right and useful at different moments. What matters is what’s more resourceful this week.
There’s two sides to every story. Most of us only see the one that fits our narrative. It should be our job to seek the truth.