Hands down the #1 benefit of writing is the replies I get from readers. Today I received this message from a friend who reads my 4:20 News:
Figured I’d return the favor with respect to your substack. A small tradition of mine is to send out emails each year to thank people who have had an impact on my life during the past 12 months. It is something that I selfishly benefit from in terms of the dopamine centers of my brain. And like the cold plunge craze of late, it is a burden that nets many benefits. While we haven’t intersected professionally to any real degree, I’m grateful for the conversations we’ve had and grateful for you reaching out as I have walked through a reconsideration of my foundational, core beliefs. I’m also inspired by your approach to your time on this little blue rock in the dark abyss of space and time. I also sense that you have mixed feelings about being an inspiration to others. I think there is goodness in that. So much of what I understand life to be is fleeting, temporary, and momentary. And that has made me incredibly conscious of the minutes, hours, and days that I have with people and how much time I waste. I do love wasting time but my god do I waste a lot of it. Thanks for being an example of someone who knows how to spend time and how to properly waste it : )
I will often share the replies, with permission, because they usually say something more cohesive than I can. I fed the entire paragraph to DALL-E and asked it to draw what it feels from this writing.
SP
EPIC
I know how you feel. I love hearing from people who have been reading my thoughts whom I haven't heard from in years.