Community Archives - John Kobara

Lifecycle of Friends

May 16, 2022

Friendship is the hardest thing
in the world to explain.
It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned
the meaning of friendship,
you really haven’t learned anything.
Muhammad Ali

We all know the dreaded words, words that were uttered to me 😊, “Can’t we just be good friends?”

But these are words I crave to hear now!

Youthful exuberance, animalistic needs, reckless ambition, and of course our insatiable egos pushed and push many people away from us. People who could be great friends.

And through our wit and charm and really, sheer luck, you established and maintained a cadre of comrades.
Seems like my circle of good friends is mirroring my life. It is declining to its essence. The constellation of shiny friendships which once seemed infinite like the universe is becoming a smaller system of souls whose gravitational pull keeps me together.

I am filled with gratitude but wonder where it is going and why.

I just want good friends.

Milo and the Meaning of Life

April 18, 2022

It is more important to prevent animal suffering,
rather than sit to contemplate
the evils of the universe
praying in the company of priests.
Buddha

We tend to think that we humans are the only ones here, Masters of the Universe, trying to pave our way through the chaos of “lower forms of life”. We forget that we were born from nature and are part of it.
We forget about the other sentient beings we share this planet with live with and depend upon. We live amongst all sorts of creatures and beings. Our focus on our selves makes most of them subordinate at best and irrelevant at worst.

Advance the Assets by Decreasing the Deficits

March 19, 2022

We are all trying to solve problems, and the negative lens dominates. We see the negative and then we’re going to fix it. If we have visions of something more positive, we get criticized for blue sky ideals. We have to be problem solvers. We have to be fixers. We adopt a mindset that characterizes things in the most negative light –so that when we fix it–the bigger difference we can make. We always seem to be incented for short term wins over longer term successes.

We Will Not Be Silenced

January 31, 2022

I am so inspired by the next generation who are empowered to break the silence. The silence that allows hate to fester. Silence that tacitly condones racism. Silence that makes us complicit.

Island Fever

August 18, 2021

Separating ourselves from the “other” has been the plight of humanity and part of our storied evolution. Tribes, territories, and Darwinian strategies to cull the herd. I think therefore I am. There is no WE in survival. I must separate myself from the “inferior” people who dilute the march towards progress.

Covid, voting, giving time, money, religion, parenting, social media, race, gender, disability can spawn mythical islands of isolation and separation. Dream-like places where we are all powerful, we control everything and conveniently eliminates our dependency on so many people and resources. An island oasis that is superior because it has exiled the unwashed bad apples.

Back to whose normal?

April 14, 2021

Most of us are trying to avoid the phrase, “return to normal”. Even newscasters, pundits, leaders of all types are making awkward statements about “a partial, a semblance, a return to some normalcy….”

Part of this recognizes the mountain ranges of reality that now exist between the valleys of our ignorance.

Our collective awakening, our shared despair, guilt and confusion make a return to “normal” impossible.

These powerful forces and circumstances have brought us to this moment, to this place, and we can never go back.

NetworkSharing

June 7, 2017

Lot of discussion about how to meet people and the way you say hello. Yes all of the technique driven first impression stuff matters but

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Lifecycle of Friends

Back to whose normal?

NetworkSharing

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