4 lines to rule them all

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Heres a visual representation of what your life looks like if you live above the statistical benchmark to the age of 80. Each square here represents one week at an average of 53 weeks per year To some this might seem morbid, but I find it fascinating, humbling. You see a box I see milestones; birth of a child. The passing of a loved one. Graduation. The first paycheck. Marriage. Happiness and sadness and everything in between all rolled into 4 lines connected together. I like to fill in each week as it passes, it serves the following purpose - acts as a reminder on how far I have to go, so I contemplate and reflect on mistakes to learn from them - helps in keeping my self aligned to my values and stick to my smaller seemingly mundane habits that will only benefit me in the long run (like staying active/ keeping relationships) - keeps me grounded on how much I do not know - a constant reminder on not to take small things too seriously as it will all eventually come to an end - lastl...

2.99

 Guess what you can buy for $2.99?

A cup of coffee or 8 hours of this man’s life.


Sounds crass, but its true. This breadmakers name is Ifftikhar, he’s over 50 and I’ve known him for 10+ years, and there are millions just like him, working weekends to support their family, for literal pennies


It’s Sunday, and today I sit and think of where the world is going. Something is horribly wrong. We don’t need time machines to travel back in time, we just need an airplane


That’s how I felt moving from the US to Pakistan in the early 2000s - like I had travelled back in time - more than 2 decades later I still feel the same way. Social media has helped expose things but the intertia here is too high, I don’t anticipate the lives of such people changing even in the next couple of decades


While the world struggles with thinking about robots taking over their livelihood, people like Ifftikhar can barely comprehend what they’re talking about much less relate, because their daily lives are so untouched by these technological chnages


Life is incomprehensibly different for people in different parts of the world and you’ll never understand this unless you’ve lived in multiple places over the course of your life


Underlying systemic issues that cause such problems do not evade me, but they seem out of our control


Education then might be the equalizer, this seems to be the only somber realization I can come to


Just something to contemplate




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