My Dad & I

I was walking with my dad on Ocean Beach in San Francisco this past weekend. In walking with him, I can really get this sense of how much an echo I am of all those who came before me.

I can imagine this photo continuing, with his father behind him, and his father’s father behind him, and so on, forever, an ancestral caterpillar extending for decades and centuries at my side. I can imagine the pain they withstood, the lessons they learned, the wars they fought, the families they produced, their joys, their failures, and so on, and at the end of this, the next domino in a line so long it can’t be counted, there I stand – the accumulation of all those who came before me. I think it’s important to remember that.

Our lives are a baton passed from the thousands that extend down that chain, and so much needed to happen for it to finally get to us. I really like to feel that in all the choices I make. That way, there’s more weight and purpose in what I do, because then my life isn’t just for me, it’s also an expression of those who came before me, and it will influence those who come after me. Like an unfathomably long line of lightbulbs illuminating one at a time, one after the other, forever, appearing as though the light itself is shooting through each bulb – I, today, am holding that light. To take ownership of that responsibility is important, man. We hold this light briefly. It is such a gift.

In what way can we, each day, be sure we don’t take for granted that glow? Most of all the billions of humans who have ever lived throughout history are gone. In being alive, we are the minority. What will you do while you hold your light? Life is precious, man. Live it for the miracle that it is! Feel the enormity of all that needed to happen for you to be possible! Anyhow, I’m feeling grateful. Happy Tuesday! Oh, and a reminder, new song is coming on August 28th. ☀️💀