An excellent line of thought that I have tried to ascribe to is that every person I meet has at least one area of expertise that I don’t have and can teach me something new. Also, every person I meet is smarter than me in one area or another, and I should have an open mind every time I have a conversation. I also learn fun and trivial things that are just there to keep life interesting. And then there are some really miscellaneous facts that are just good to keep in my back pocket for a Trivial Pursuit game or random conversation drop.
I thought it would be an interesting record to try and hold myself accountable by keeping track to be sure I DO learn something new every week.
Knowledge is power, after all.
I started thinking about this project today, so I will try and post each weekend.
Here are some things I learned this week:
IMPORTANT THING I LEARNED #1
LEGO is releasing a set based on Legends of Zelda. For a mere $299.99, compared to the $459.99 for Barad Dûr from Lord of the Rings.
RELATED NEWS: Lego aims to make all bricks out of recycled plastic by 2032
MORE RELATED NEWS: Lego would like to source half of its plastic from renewable resources by 2026
IMPORTANT THING I LEARNED #2
On Netflix, I found a show called “What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates.” I watched the first two episodes. The first was about A.I. and the second was about misinformation.
While I found both of the episodes really interesting, currently, the second caught my attention for its timeliness. It reinforced my knowledge of the fact that, “Anyone can write a headline.” Basically there is an audience everywhere for anything anyone wants to say, from anyone’s point of
The third episode, that I’m watching now, is about Climate Change, and it is VERY important for all of us to watch (I actually watched it twice!).
I highly recommend this show: What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates on Netflix.
IMPORTANT THING I LEARNED #3
If we aren’t careful, this upcoming election will create further rifts in our families, relationships, and by extension, our society and wear down and destroy us all. Just some basic conversations I have been witness to just in the past couple of days have made me realize the damage all of the name-calling and character destruction that we do in the name of our supposed “candidates and beliefs” that are happening as we talk to each other.
The damage this is causing happens both among those we agree with and those we disagree with, just due to the amount of stress associated with it.
The anxiety I feel when I hear about (or read on social media) comments that are made concerning this upcoming election, and I think about the possible outcomes of the elections. This is not dependent on either party winning. The way I have observed people interacting, I don’t think it matters WHO wins at this point. The angst, dread, anger, worry, frustration and above all, I think defensiveness and rationalization are poised to tear us all further apart.
I am 100% aware that I believe I have friends on both sides of the aisle. My beliefs and character have been called into question by people who are family AND friends, even though I have stayed mostly in a stance of presenting facts and not engaging in arguments or even conversations. I don’t or won’t be baited, even though it is so tempting to want to defend myself and where I stand. It’s better to stick with facts and understand that even though I look for content that is neutral, I’m sure what I am reading is likely slanted one way, and those who are arguing for the other side are observing content largely slanted to what they believe.
This is a media problem. If we could be presented with accurate facts that wasn’t slanted one way or another and was not tainted with half truths and outright lies, everyone could make an educated decision based on what we should be focused on rather than half-truths and outright lies. The last thing I would add to this is, if something sounds implausible or even plausible, but maybe something you’re hearing for the first time, maybe you fact check it on your own on a unbiased site.
One Last Thing… The most important thing I learned this week:
When I get frustrated with something that I have to take care of, whether it’s something that spilled that I have to clean, laundry that needs to be folded, someone to be taken somewhere or anything else that seems inconvenient.
I often get super upset and frustrated because I don’t have time to deal with it… BUT WHAT THE HECK AM I THINKING?!
This is what I learned this week… and this is REALLY important… that I should be, and I AM actually thankful.
I am thankful I have the TIME to do this.
I am thankful that I have the MEANS to do it.
And especially I am thankful for the PERSON I am cleaning for. If I don’t remember anything else, I want to remember this.
That’s all for now!! Have a fantastic week ahead!
Rosie Outlook!
(Karen P.)
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