We live better than kings

It's six thirty AM. The wife and kids are sleeping peacefully. I find myself on a sea-facing, eighth floor balcony of a Best Western in Okinawa, Japan, Kouki beach, drinking a pourover coffee I just made from single origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe beans, whilst eating a perfectly paired Sunny Hills pineapple cake from Taiwan, listening to the ocean lap the sandy beach whilst accompanied by the patter of soft morning rain. The sun is beginning its ascent.

The morning started at four AM, with close to an hour of meditation, reading Die Leiden des jungen Werther, in Chinese, and thinking about possible jazz improvisations on three standards I've learned in class this semester.

For those not mired in poverty (and there are many, lest we forget), we truly live better than any kings of the past, and it's not even close. Lest you think that the above description is some sort of unattainable dream, it most certainly isnt.

Flight (low cost airline, Peach): 150 USD roundtrip, Taipei - Naha
Hotel: 60 USD
Rental car: 50 USD
Coffee beans (25 grams): 1 USD
Pineapple cake (1 piece): 1 USD
Book: free eBook through Tunghai University library
Jazz improvisation class: free, audited

We have a staggering number of creature comforts at our fingertips, including climate control, a bewildering array of fashion and colors, an equally dazzling assortment of food and drink, plus the means by which to travel quickly to almost everywhere on the planet. Even just this is probably several orders of magnitude better than the richest of the rich a mere hundred years ago.

But it's also the knowledge we have at our disposal. We have so much it's almost obscene! I'm currently learning how to write a type of Chinese calligraphy called seal script (小篆). You often see it on official stamps. It used to be written for emperors. Only the select few knew how to write it. Now you can download calligraphy dictionaries that have thousands of such characters, for free. Same with the study of history. That used to be the sole privilege of emperors and the ruling class, a storehouse of wisdom with which to conquer the most daunting of challenges. Now it is just a compulsory class to test children's memorization of seemingly meaningless facts.

How do we turn a world so luxuriant in possibility, into one so rife with mundanity and discontent? Could it be that we fill our lives with distraction, afraid of silences and boredom, yet in the search for the next millisecond thrill, lose sight of the true wonder of the moment. Are we too busy chasing what we think we want, to be grateful for what we truly have?

Perhaps it is because we measure value by scarcity. By focusing on hard-to-get things, we lose sight of just how valuable the things are that are actually easy to get. For instance, the practically limitless, free, around-the-clock access to mankind's accumulated knowledge that conveniently fits in our pocket.

As for me, gratitude yesterday consisted of taking the time to acknowledge the fact that my kids will never be this age ever again, and to smile at their funny sleeping poses. The fact that my daughter chose to sit on my lap during lunch, and I was so delighted with this (she almost never does it), that it didn't even register that she peed on me, nor did it matter. That my incredibly supportive wife not only gives me tremendous freedom, but also much cherished intimacy.

Consider leaving your phone behind for a day, and take a closer look at the world around you. Have a long overdue coffee with a friend, and discuss matters of import without the distortions of social media. Browse the shelves of the library and find a book that moves you.

If we take a moment to appreciate what we have, remove a few distractions, and embrace the possibilities surrounding us, we would have a great start on beautifully reimagining the world we live in.

BG