Josh Allred's Blog

The golden rule is to treat others as one would be treated.

In this age of social media, it would be wise to adopt the Greek philosophy of the golden mean.

The golden mean is simply finding the middle between two extremes.

For example, between corruption and legalism, you find integrity. Between cowardice and recklessness, you find courage. You can find love, respect, discernment, honesty, temperance, self-control, diligence, and so on in these spaces.

In the age of convenience, it isn’t enough to treat others like how we see ourselves or the world. In fact, at the dawn of AI, we need more middle ground for what is ahead.

The gurus have learned the meaning of life but they don’t talk about it.

The reason?

Because the meaning of life is to live it.

We talk so much (even gossip) in search of the right frame of reference instead of just taking the path before us.

Disorder is everywhere. It’s a miracle that people organize the way they do to act generously toward something or someone bigger than themselves.

But because we are so used to this level of chaos, because it is so ubiquitous, we try to find patterns to make sense of things.

Patterns ground humans and give us a more predictable future. But we can’t be seduced into believing that patterns mean the absence of disorder.

The bottom line: Our brains are so trained to find a pattern that we ignore the explanation right before us.

It’s easy to use the excuse that the world is too big and too complicated and doesn’t need me.

But the world needs the opposite. Now more than ever, we need your magic, even if it’s just a little bit.

Not the kind of magic where a wizard raises a wand and says, “Abra Kadabra.” The type of magic you bring to the table when you say yes to whatever is in front of you. To create a connection. A piece of art. Whatever it might be.

Many have such a distrust and disconnection with our culture and the people in it today. It has led to historical levels of loneliness.

Its difficult to change the culture to make it more inviting. But the promise each of us can make is to take action and make the world how you imagine it.

Most of us can agree to want more peace and justice.

The deeper meaning doesn’t come with the removal of obstacles but the overcome of obstacles.

“I have a temper.”

“I’m overweight.”

“I am passive aggressive.”

Whatever label we struggle with, we are not serving ourselves if we can’t overcome our weaknesses. And often, these weaknesses are only in the context of 21st-century capitalism.

Most of this stuff wasn’t in the language a few hundred years ago, especially when it comes to mental health. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

But we can’t pass judgment while at the same time shortcutting the context, ignoring the specific triggers, and minimizing the pressures of our modern world. The problem doesn’t always lie in ourselves to change but in the unrealistic expectations of the culture we have built.

Is that same person angry, overweight, passive-aggressive, etc., in different circumstances? Yes. Undoubtedly, if you change the formula, you can change the behavior. We are so much more alike than we realize. And if you are going to put someone else on the pedal stool, we are highlighting the things we wish we could be. And if we are tearing down those around us, we might be struggling with that very thing we resent in ourselves.

The problem with pleasure is that it can only distract us from sorrow, despair, and ultimately, ourselves and our thoughts and feelings.

Pleasure is fleeting. It’s a distraction at best. And to chase it will not solve the big problems life throws at us. Not that I’m anti-pleasure. But we can’t use it as a crutch. A space of unhappiness cannot be filled with pleasure to reach a state of happiness (or peace, for that matter)

Rebelling has many negative connotations. However, for many of us today, rebelling must consider how you reject this idea. You will not become a victim of despair.

Too much complaining today needs a shift in mindset to become more rebellious.

I have been attracted to groups like artists, climbers, skiers, punk rock, the Beats, poets, outlaws, and monkey wrenchers. These groups don’t feel sorry for themselves for what has happened. Instead, they rebel.

In skiing, you are always seeking the perfect run. Of course, the perfect run doesn’t exist. Because every run has its nuance to it. Every ski skis a bit different. The terrain changes. Your fitness may not be there.

The perfect runs then become the first time linking turns, that run in Alaska chasing sunset, watching a sibling figure out how to stay on her feet…there is no perfect setting. Just perfect moments of bliss. By chasing perfection, a bar that can never be achieved, we miss the moments that can be more than good enough to fill the void.