I wanted to watch Dune recently and I thought it had to be a Netflix original. No idea why I thought so, but I somehow assume everything that is streaming first is brought to us by Netflix. Funny that’s often not the case.
Thoughts
I don’t care about Wordle streaks. Rather, I can’t. I never solve it at a single device and so never manage a streak. Well, that’s not the only reason, either. I don’t solve it daily anyway.
Today’s Wordle was tricky. Two tries in and I had a big smile on my face. I am sure I wasn’t alone.
I have recently been a lot picky about the stuff I buy. Or the subscriptions I sign up for. Or the projects I undertake. I was never good at it. And I don’t claim that I have mastered the skill now. I still struggle to recognise the price that I would eventually have to pay. First look, the listed cost looks cheap. But I have started asking now, “can I pay the second price?”
The answer is usually a big no. David Cain succinctly words the reasons behind this problem of mine (the above linked essay is a must-read).
I believe this is one reason our modern lifestyles can feel a little self-defeating sometimes. In our search for fulfillment, we keep paying first prices, creating a correspondingly enormous debt of unpaid second prices. Yet the rewards of any purchase – the reason we buy it at all — stay locked up until both prices are paid.
I could also closely associate with the side effects of this problem, as David lists them. This made me acutely aware of the gravity of this pilling debt.
This scarcity feeling creates one of the major side-effects of our insurmountable second-price debt: we reflexively overindulge in entertainment and other low-second-price pleasures –- phone apps, streaming services, and processed food — even though their rewards are often only marginally better than doing nothing. This stuff is attractive because it takes little effort (and we’re tired from working to pay for so many first prices) but it can eat up a ton of time, depleting the second-price budget even further.
Today’s Wordle was tricky. I didn’t know such a word exist. I tried it because it sounded right. Not all words are so common afterall.
I didn’t know Wordle has a “Hard” mode where “any revealed hints must be used in subsequent guesses”. But even without the mode turned on, that’s how I have been playing this game. Why would you do it any other way?
I didn’t know today’s wordle word was a word. I knew the word, but I didn’t know it as a word. I can’t possibly have spoilt anything. I’ve read what I’ve written here twice now. But what I’ve written here won’t make sense if I didn’t know what it’s supposed to mean. Makes sense?
After a phase of consistent writing, these are a silent few days. I have been busy a lot. Too many threads. Too many things at the top of my mind. Writing hasn’t slowed down, I am filling pages of my journal every day. But publishing has almost halted. Except for the #30day posts.
I love how when the mind gets bogged down with too many thoughts, spilling it all out onto a paper always helps declutter it. But, these are some of the rawest, most personal of the thoughts. I haven’t learnt to open up so much to publish these. Maybe, I never will. That’s just not my personality.
At times, something that’s waste can gain a lot of value. An item in case, Fordite. This wasted enamel car paint is worthy of being worn as a jewel. Reason? It is rare. And it looks beautiful as a gem!
You don’t need to be a diamond to shine. Exist and evolve. Give yourself time. Nature and time may mould you into your worthy self.
What is a productive day? Well, when it is closer to your bedtime, and you feel good inside for the day gone by, you have had a productive day. It doesn’t matter then how much you achieved in the day. Or how many of the planned tasks you ticked off. What matters is how the waking hours make you feel.
Plans are like the lane markings on the roads. It is beneficial to stick to them, follow guidelines around them. But often to move ahead, you have to put on the indicators and cross over such markers. You can’t let them become hinderances that slow you down, hold you back.
Plan. But move ahead.