Episode 13: Life in the Street View

Welcome to wisdom from the area of view, a podcast about learning to live in a world that seems unsettled, fraught with agitation, fear, and social disturbance. But one filled too with the yearning for peace, stability, and kindness. On this podcast, two old friends sit and ponder if we can have both. Can we go from an unsettled world to a peaceful one? Can we go from fear to hope? Can we go from selfish to selfless? On today's podcast, I wanna talk about a response we received from one of our listeners. And by the way, we do wanna hear from you. Write to us. Let us know your thoughts. Do you agree with what we're saying? You're bringing up? Do you wanna take task for us to task? You see, Mark and I don't always agree either. And I think that's what makes it interesting. So today, I'm gonna read some excerpts, excerpts from our... friend of ours, actually a friend of Mark's, who wrote to us. He says, you often say that terrible things, terrible rifts happen all the time. So the aerial view prevents overreacting. I agree that we shouldn't see every moment as a disaster, but the journey from self to selfless has economic realities. When facing poverty, unemployment, hunger, or insufficient resources, survival becomes paramount. to discuss or actually to dismiss these struggles as mere blips on human chronology is kind of ridiculous. What say you?

You know, the person who wrote that is a very smart guy and very learned, very read a million books. So when he says something, I always pay attention. And I started to laugh when I read that because I think, crap, he figured it out. Yeah. So his point's excellent. You we talk about the street view versus the aerial view, the street view being where everything happens or all of life occurs. And the aerial view is that perspective where we are.

You bet.

We move from this review, we become that independent disinterested observer just watching. So I think his point is, okay, it's great to be in the aerial view, but when you're watching down there and you're seeing poverty and disease and cruelty and so on, what you, just sit in the area and slough it off and say no big deal? So his point, which I assume somebody would get to eventually, and of course, I'm not surprised he did since he's such a smart guy. So this is a very difficult one to answer because The answer is a bit troubling even to me. So let me start with a ridiculous statement that always seems to go over well. So, you know, one of my former books, think my second book, was thinking of titling, If Abraham Lincoln hadn't been assassinated, he'd still be dead now. Meaning that no matter what, you know, everybody ends up leaving this earth.

We start with a ridiculous statement. It always seems to go over well. one of my former books, and my second book, are strictly titling, If Abraham Lincoln Hadn't Been Assassinated, He'd Still Be Dead.

And so you can't get away from that. And when you realize that, you have to say to yourself, OK, well, how big a deal is it? You know, where on that timeline of your life do you leave this earth? You know, our natural instinct, certainly mine, I know yours and almost everybody's, is when you see a child who's ill or sadly passes away, that is crushing to the parents, siblings. everybody in the family. And even those of us who don't know that person, it's extremely sad when you hear about it on the news or read about it somewhere. And then you stop and think, go, yes, but even if that child had not passed away at this point, at some point that child would. Okay. So where does that leave us? That sounds very, very harsh. And it is very harsh. And the reason it's harsh is because we say, well, great, well, that child just lost the chance to

And then you stop and think and go, yes, but even if that child had not passed away at this point, at some point that child would. What does that leave us? That sounds very, very harsh. And it is very harsh. And the reason it's harsh is because we say, well, great, well, that child just lost the chance to get educated, to make friends, perhaps to find a significant other, have children, whatever. That child missed all that. That is a tragedy by definition. And I completely agree with that.

get educated, to make friends, perhaps to find a significant other, have children, whatever. That child missed all that. That is a tragedy by definition. And I completely agree with that. But from the aerial view, you're stuck taking a slightly different perspective. Some people would call it callous or aloof, which is what my friend referred to. But it's there. You can't miss it. You're in the aerial view. That's the problem with the aerial view that Even though it's extremely comforting and allows us to visualize our lives in context and take things from a point of view that maybe is little less personal and a little more objective, it does leave us with some of these conundrums like, okay, if I'm looking at this person's life and it's cut short by X number of years, obviously the more number years is cut short by the more upset we are, it doesn't change the fact that each of us is on a limited number of

take things from a point of view that maybe is little less personal and a little more objective, it does leave us with some of these conundrums like, okay, if I'm looking at this person's life and it's cut short by X number of years, obviously the more number of years is cut short by the more upset we are, it doesn't change the fact that each of us is on a limited number of records in what we refer to as a few box at a time. And so when you're looking at it, go, okay, does matter whether you're on five records or 5,000

records in what we refer to as the jukebox of time. And so when you're looking at you go, okay, does it matter whether you're on five records or 5,000 records? Now Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, who I think we've mentioned before, for those people who don't know who she is, she was a very famous psychiatrist and she wrote the book on death and dying, literally called On Death and Dying. And most of us have heard of it, the five stages of grief, denial, acceptance, anger, I'm probably getting them out of order, but you get the idea. But if you asked her a different question, which is how important is longevity? How important is it to live a long life? She would say, it's not important at all. And in fact, life can be a single day and still have value. And that's an aerial view point of view for sure. Only in the aerial view could you possibly come up with that. Because those of us in the street view would say, what are you talking about? Losing a child, even at birth or soon after or...

which is how important is longevity? How important is it to live a long life? She would say, it's not important at all, and in fact, life can be a single day and still have value. And that's an aerial view point of view for sure. Only in the aerial view can you possibly come up with that. Because those of us in the street view would say, what are you talking about? Losing a child, even at birth or soon after or anytime.

anytime. You know, when is it okay to pass away? Well, you know, we'd say, well, people in their 60s, that's kind of early these days. People in their 70s, you know, when you get to 95, everybody's saying, okay, it was a great life. so there's a continuum along that process. But clearly, the earlier the more somebody we lose somebody, the more upset we are. But Elizabeth Kubler-Ross would say, no need to feel that way. A life can be of value in a single day. And the only way you can appreciate that is from the aerial view to see to see life in context, to understand that every life is limited. We are on only a limited number of records in the jukebox, no matter who we are, no matter how famous, how rich, how brilliant, how accomplished. We only get a certain number of records in which we're on from the moment we're born to the moment we die that we call our lifespan, those records that we're on. So my friend's point is a really, really tough one to deal with. And it depends whether you're in the street view.

about our lifespan and those records that we're on. So my friend's point is a really, really tough one to deal with. And it depends whether you're in the street view, evaluating its significance, or whether you're in the aerial view. And the aerial view does have a certain palaces to it, I would admit that. Right, so is there no sadness in the, is there no sadness in the aerial view? In other words, if I'm up there, no serial, no sadness. That's the crazy part of Right.

evaluating its significance or whether you're in the aerial view. And the aerial view does have a certain callousness to it, I would admit that. And that's, think, what he was pointing out. There's no sadness in the area though. No. That's the crazy part about it. I knew at some point somebody would hit me over the head with this.

Yeah, but that's why his point is so well-tell... I mean, I don't know him, but I want to know him because I think he's right, he's spot on. He and I agree on a lot of things, I gather. But I don't understand why you'd want to elevate to an aerial view where there's literally no compassion and no heart. Explain that to me.

Well, okay. I wouldn't say there's no compassion in those heart because the person in the area of you, let's say you or I are taking a trip to the area of you and we're kind of seeing what's going on in context. We're still people of compassion and we're people of heart, right? Because we still live in the street view and we can see and appreciate the street view. The point of the L-View, it's not that it's a heartless place, but that it's a place that allows us to understand why in the world we're here. What is the point of life? And really, it's only in the area of view that you can really get that appreciation, that aha, it's a limited time engagement. We, no matter who we are, no matter our accomplishments, our wealth, et cetera, it's a limited time engagement. We have, we start on day one and we end on whatever day, we don't know what it is, but we have a mission that we're on a mission during that time. And we've discussed that. What's our mission? To prepare. And what are we preparing for? It's not clear, although I do believe we're preparing for something. think that's what all the facts, I wouldn't say facts, all the clues in our life point to. We've discussed a lot of them. But that at the end of the day, it's to make that evolution from selfish to selfless, from inward focus to outward focus. That's what the aerial view allows you to do. It also allows you, and we talked about this, it allows you to experience tragedy or difficult times in a less painful manner.

but that at the end of the day it's we make that evolution from selfish to selfless, from inward focus to outward focus. That's what the aerial view allows you to do. It also allows you, and we talked about this, it allows you to experience tragedy or difficult times in a less painful manner. Because you can appreciate what it means. When you're in the street view and bad things happen, it hurts.

because you can appreciate what it means. When you're in the street view and bad things happen, it hurts. Whether it be physical pain or the loss of somebody or watching something terrible to happen to somebody. You know, one of the problems with the news, whether you get it on TikTok or cable TV or from a newspaper, old school, most of it's bad. You don't see a lot of great stories of all these wonderful things that are happening every day. And why is that? Well, we know because bad news sells. Right. OK. But it really can sink you.

whether it be physical pain or the loss of somebody or watching something terrible happen to somebody. One of the problems with the news, whether you get it on TikTok or table TV or from the newspaper, old school, most of it's bad. You see a lot of great stories of all these wonderful things that are happening. Bad news cells, right. Bad news cells, right.

It can really make all of us, especially now since it's ubiquitous, it's hard to keep a very positive attitude when all you're seeing are negative things going on in the world. We talked about politics now and how the country is split. There are those people who think the current situation is fantastic and others think it's the worst thing that ever happened to the United States. So we're kind of split pretty much down the middle, pretty close.

Could one argue then that, let's look at that, let's split screen if you will, can one argue that some are looking at it from the street view and some are looking at it from the aerial view?

I think almost everybody's looking at it in the street view, which is why it's so difficult, which is why we fight, which is why we have this contentiousness. It's only when you get out of the street view that you can say, oh, that's so foolish. There's nothing to fight about. Let's go back to sports. We love sports analogies, you and I. We talked about this before. I'm a Washington Capitals fan because I live in the Washington, DC area and I love it.

Mm-hmm.

Washington Capitals and they're doing great and Alex Ovechkin is on the verge of breaking the all-time goal record. And so I'm hoping that the Washington Capitals win the cup again this year. They got a fair enough chance. They've got the best record in league, but that doesn't always mean they're going to win. And then I remember how I felt the last time they won. I felt fantastic. was really, it was a joke with my wife and me because I would stop people on the street. I go, hey, by the way, know, the Caps won the cup.

You

And this went on for like a month or so. And it was a joke. It was funny. But I really was happy. Why? Because this team had struggled for all these years and never won. And they had some great teams and they never won. felt badly for them. And nobody wants to be a perpetual loser. But when you're in a city where your teams never win, you kind of take on that persona somewhat. And then you realize as soon as they win the Cup that a few months later, everybody's back in training camp and somebody else is likely to win the Cup and that you're Championship lasted a year. Now, Kansas City won two Super Bowls in a row, Pittsburgh, Penguins won two Cups in a row, other teams have won multiple championships in a row. But most of the time, eventually that team is not going to be the champion. And you think, well, why did I get so upset or so excited? Because it's over before you know it and somebody else is going to be the champion, right? And that is a very, once you get to that, that's a very aerial view perspective, meaning

you think, well, why do I get so upset or so excited? Because it's over before you know it, and somebody else is to be the champion, right? And that is a very er... Once you get to that, that's a very erudite perspective, meaning it's fine to enjoy the victory, but don't take it out of context, right? You're one champion out of a hundred, or the season is, the champions have been in your physical sport. It's going to change. So why in the world are we letting our emotions off?

It's fine to enjoy the victory, but don't take it out of context, right? You're one champion out of a hundred or whatever number of seasons of champions have been in your particular sport. It's going to change. So why in the world are we letting our emotions, our attitudes be so dependent on whether our team wins or not? And that happens a lot. And then it's your political party. Right now it's your political party because political parties are like sports teams, right? Your political party loses and you're distraught and the world's country's a mess and it's going to hell in a handbasket and both sides feel that way when the other team wins, by the way.

So once I decide that the loss wasn't a loss, I mean, there is that. No, no, no, I'm actually serious about that. If you're in the street view, I mean, when does, when does

Okay, well, but not... Okay.

When do you reconcile reality from fantasy?

No, if you're in the street view, it's reality. Yes, everything you say is true. Did one party refuse to accept an election? Yeah, but if you asked that party, they would say to you, this is why the street view is so dangerous and the aerial view is so beneficial. I'll give you an example of that one. You know I don't have a particular horse in the race politically. I just kind of watch. I don't get upset as you do or a lot of my friends do. I have no idea what's going to happen, nor does anybody else. That's just the way the world works. If you think you know, you're fooling yourself, you don't know. Nobody knows. In politics, when you're in the midst of it, again, it's just like being in a sports event, sporting event. Both sides in a sporting event, when there's a penalty call, half the people say, oh, that was a terrible call. The other people say it was a great call.

in politics when you're in the midst of it, again, it's just like being in a sports event, a sporting event, right? And so both sides in a sporting event, when there's a penalty call, half the people say, that was a terrible call, and other people say it was a great call. Well, if you go back to that election situation, a lot of the people still believe that there were shenanigans in that election. Now, of course, there were 60 cases before, they all turned out, but you are never, ever going to convince those people that the

Well, if you go back to that election situation, a lot of the people still believe that there were shenanigans in that election. Now, of course, there were 60 cases brought to the courts, they all threw it out, but you are never, ever going to convince those people that there wasn't shenanigans. And I would say, when I look at it objectively, I'd say, they could be right. I don't know. They could be right. Now, I know the legal cases showed that there was nothing, but they're not talking about, they're talking about suppression of speech and the hunt by the laptop and all these during COVID all these ballots got sent out willy nilly and who the heck knew who was getting a ballot. So I hear them. I don't have to agree with them. And I don't even know what the truth is. And I don't think we ever will. But I hear them. I don't get upset by it. I got upset by attacking the Capitol. That really upset me. I think I've told you, I felt like somebody was breaking into my house. So that kind of violence is inexcusable. But I do understand people's feelings. So when I hear people say one side didn't accept an election result, I go, OK.

But I hear that. I don't get upset by it. I get upset by attacking the Capitol. That really upset me. I think I've told you, feel like something's breaking through my ass. They were. So violence is inexcusable. But I do understand people's feelings. So when I hear people say one side didn't accept the election result, I go, OK, you have to understand how they're seeing it. In the area of do you get to see both sides, you don't have to give each side equal weight. You don't have agree. But you see them.

You have to understand how they're seeing it. In the aerial view, you get to see both sides. You don't have to give each side equal weight. You don't have to agree, but you see them. And that's the important thing, I believe, is just to see that there's another side. We're going to talk about how being right is overrated. Maybe not now, maybe in the future. We're going to get to that because it's unavoidable when we talk about these kinds of things, that being right is overrated.

It I was just going to ask you, right, I was just going to ask you, is there a right and wrong? I mean, is there such a thing as right and wrong?

Well, that's a really good tough question because if you believe, why do we have the Ten Commandments? Why do we have any religion? We're just going to use the Judeo-Christian one because it's easier, but I'm not ignoring all the other religions on earth. They all have equal value as far as I'm concerned. But let's just stick with the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments. So why do the Ten Commandments exist? Because there are certain things that are just you can't do. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not kill. Right? thou shall not covet, right, et cetera. So we have set these absolute standards that we have decided are not manmade, that they come from some divine source. Those who believe in the Judeo-Christian religions believe that the Ten Commandments came from a divine source, from Moses with the Hath-Soh tablets comes bound from Mount Sinai and bang, these are 10 rules from God you gotta follow. So they're not manmade rules. Manmade rules are really challenging because Who gets to decide what they are, right? Which man, which woman, which, you who gets to decide? When you have divine rules, okay, we've set a different standard. You can't do these things. Once you get away from that, it's a real problem, which is why I always said, if we didn't have, if we don't have, even if, how can I put this? If God doesn't exist, we still need to invent him or her. We still need an absolute authority, because otherwise it's a total mess. You got a mess on your hands. The only way out of that mess without, divine concept is the aerial view. The aerial view exists because it allows to get to the same place without having to have a religion or a divine entity. So people ask me all the time, do I believe in God? I believe in something. I don't even know what to call it. But yes, I do believe in something. Can I prove it? Of course not. But I also know I believe in the aerial view, which that allows you to set It doesn't set absolute standards, but allows you to view things in a perspective that does lead you to some, maybe we, I don't want to call them absolutes, but some rules. For instance, it is very clear from the aerial view that war is a terrible thing, that people die, people get displaced, nothing good ever happens. I feel that way about all of violence. This is very obvious from the aerial view. It's not so obvious in the street view because if somebody, you know,

punches you, you're probably going to want to punch him or her back, right? Well, let's leave that to women. Just punch him back. I'm kind of old school. I don't think you should be punching women. But you see my point that the aerial view just, the perspective is so important because it places everything in context. It allows you to judge people more favorably. It allows you to open your mind to different points of view. It allows you to evaluate things like was an election legitimate or not from a different point of view, hearing both sides.

Thank you. I do.

was an election legitimate or not from a different point of view, hearing both sides. Not necessarily agreeing with one side or the other, just seeing it. So is this is so important. So getting back to my friend's letter, which is what we started with.

not necessarily agreeing with one side or the other, but just seeing it. So this is why this is so important. So getting back to my friend's letter, which is what we started with, his point is that the Ariovu looks kind of callous, it looks kind of uncaring. And you mentioned those exact words. And in some ways you can see it as it is, but don't let that bother you. We don't need to have compassion and and caring in the aerial view. We need that in the street view. That's where it counts, being caring, being generous, being forgiving, judging favorably. These things we desperately need in the street view. We don't have to worry about them in the area of view. That's not where the interactions among humans takes place or interactions with the world. That all happens in the street view. In the aerial view, we don't have to worry about that. That's a place of, that's a perspective. That's a way to view things in a way that will allow us to understand our place on this earth and why we're here.

judging favorably. These things we desperately need in the street. We don't have to worry about them. That's not where he interacts with money or place or interactions with the world. That all happens in the street. In the area of view, we don't have to worry about that. That's perspective. That's a way to read things in a way that will allow us to understand our place on this earth and why we're Well, then let me go further in his note to you, which I adore. He says, you have only one life to live. He quotes you. And he says, what happened to the ever enduring jukebox? We do have one life and daily upheavals matter. One statistic about nearly 60 % of children from low income communities coming to school hungry is alarming and it's only gotten worse. Amen. Yet we're still discussing cutting Medicaid to provide tax breaks for the wealthy. This is not acceptable. What we need are two elements, faith in the leaders that they are being fair and hope for the followers that they can better themselves into a happier economic life. Obviously, I agree with everything he says. And I know again, that's a difficult thing to kind of wrap your head around, but he's serious, he's honest, and I believe that he's right on point. So how do you reconcile that?

you

with the street view and the area view, how do you reconcile that? What did you say to your friend? Because I know you sent him an answer. I loved your answer. Let's talk about that.

So I think there's a little confusion between one life and the jukebox of time. We only get one life as far as we know. We're going to go with that. We're going to stick with that one because there's no evidence that you get more than one. But let's just stick with that. OK, it's not that important, really. But the jukebox of time tells us that every moment of that life, all those records that you're on from the moment of your birth to the moment of your death, your lifespan, you're on every one of those records. And each one of those records is playing in perpetuity.

Okay.

meaning there is no such thing as a single now. It is now on every one of those records. Every one of those records is happening just as accurately as the moment we're talking right now. So moments in the past which we think we say, that's history, that's gone. No, no, it is history to us, but they're all actively happening. Every moment actively happens. The reason I call it the jukebox of time is because every record is, the way to think about it is each record of our life, or each record of each record of time, each record is a moment of time. And just like every moment, every record is playing in our jukebox of time simultaneously and forever, every moment of time is happening actively and forever. They're always active. So, as you and I have talked, when you were sitting with your mother and you were losing, she was passing away, that moment is still happening.

sitting with your mother and you were losing, she was passing away, that moment still happened. When you were a kid and we were at your house in your basement, in junior high school, having a party with our friends, that still happened. Every moment is still happening. That's different than having a single life. I was getting back to the other point is that in the street view, things do matter. Matter is whether we see children or adults. know you know, those you.

When you were a kid and we were at your house in your basement in junior high school, having a party with our friends, that's still happening. Every moment is still happening. That's different than having a single life. Now, let's getting back to the other point is that in the street view, things do matter. Matter is whether we feed children or adults. know, those of who I've reminded people or listeners many times that Enid's been involved in feeding people for her entire career. This is what she does. Nobody knows more about hunger and how to address hunger than Enid. So yes, these are very real events. Street View events are very real events. we are not, because there's an aerial view does not mean we are not responsible in the Street View. Exactly the opposite. We are very responsible in the Street View. We're responsible for taking care of each other, for being kind to each other, to feeding the hungry, to make sure we take care of our fellow citizens, our fellow men and women and children.

So yes, are very real events. Street view events are very real events. how we, and we are not, because there's an aerial view, does not mean we are not responsible. It's exactly the opposite. We are very responsible. We're responsible for taking care of each other, for being kind to each other, for feeding the hungry, to make sure we take care of our fellow citizens, our fellow men and women and children.

Yes, we are very responsible. That's the whole point. Remember, we're here to evolve from selfish to selfless, from inward to outward focus. That's 100 % Street View stuff, right? The Aerial View allows us to see all these things in perspective, to not get so upset when bad things happen, to understand that our time on Earth is limited and therefore what we do in the Street View is extremely important, right? The Aerial View allows us to look at events that we might, that...

Yes.

might really upset us like elections and see them in perspective or even wars, even horrible things like that to see that, gee, they've been occurring forever and they're likely to continue occurring forever. And the question is why don't we learn from these things? Yes, we learn from them, but our individual goals supersede those of society and so we're going to keep doing the same things again and again and again that they're unlikely to go away unless something like this podcast that you and I've dedicated our time to can convince people that there's a better way. know, tall order, but we're trying, right?

Well, let's go back. So we were in the street view and things are happening and things are not good. There's a war, there's famine, et cetera, et cetera. We then go into the area view to look at it from a different perspective. Do we then come down and realize we can change the bad and make it better? Is that the purpose basically of going from the street view to the area view, from going from selfish to selfless by coming back down from the area view into the street view and making it better, making things right?

Yeah, of course. That's why we're here. We live in the street view. I live in the street view just like you do, right? And that's where we have to affect the change. The change is created in the street view. We have to help each other in the street view. Nobody's helping each other in the aerial view. The aerial view is just a perspective. But that perspective helps us understand why we're here, that it is critical for us to be generous and kind and caring and help our neighbor.

Right, right. markekleinmd (25:00.7) This is exactly what we're supposed to be doing. And we're supposed to be judging each other favorably because from the aerial view, it is clear this political stuff is just laughable. It's laughable from the aerial view. In the street view, it's not so laughable. Somebody cuts somebody's benefits and somebody goes hungry or gets ill. Well, that's not funny, right? It's very real in the street view. But from the aerial view, we understand that this is unfortunately the way the world works. And the world works this way because

Right

Each of us is indeed on a mission. I know people listen to this and think I'm some proselytizing maniac, but I'm absolutely nothing like at all like that. What I'm saying is the aerial view gives you the perspective to understand why in the world you're here, why it matters how you treat people, why it's important to be kind and generous and caring. That's what you're here for. That's what you understand from the aerial view. Why in the world do societies repeat again and again and again? A good friend of mine wrote a book, with Steve Forbes actually a few years ago comparing the current situation United States to the fall of Rome, right? My friend's very erudite historian. And if you go back in time, he's great to talk to because he knows, you know, he knows a lot about ancient history and he always quoting some famous historical character or explaining why this mirrors what happened in Carthage or something like that. It's fascinating to talk to him.

you go back in time, he's great to talk to because he knows a lot about ancient history and he's always quoting some famous historical character or explaining why this mirror is what happened in Carthage or something like that. Fascinating. But he has that perspective, right? And that's the point. These things happen again and again, not just as society, but each of us repeats the same thing as all those who came before, our parents and grandparents, the interpersonal relationships,

But he has that perspective, right? And that's the point. These things happen again and again, not just as societies, but each of us repeats the same things as all those who came before our parents and grandparents, the interpersonal relationships, the struggles, the anxiety, the emotional ups and downs. This happens to everybody. Well, when you stop and think of it, that's a little strange. Why? It's happened to billions of people before. Haven't we figured it out? Don't we understand how to have optimal relationships? how to behave appropriately, how to create an optimal society. We've had all these years of history, of human history, couple of hundred thousand years. How come we haven't figured it out? Well, it's not that we haven't figured it out. It's that each of us is required to play out this exact same scenario. I like to say the set changes, whether it's the year 1000, the year 2000, it doesn't matter. The clothing is different, the set is different, the modes of transportation and communication are different, but the story is always the same.

We've had all these years of history, of human history, a couple hundred thousand years. How come we haven't figured it out? Well, it's not that we haven't figured it out, it's that each of us is required to play out this exact same scenario. I like to say the set changes, whether it's the year 1000, the year 2000, it doesn't matter.

The story of interpersonal relationships, how we treat each other, how we interact with our planet, these never change. That's what you get to appreciate from the area view. And then the light goes on and you go, ah, I get why I'm here. I see that I'm repeating all that came before, but now I understand what I need to do. I don't have to worry about becoming the most famous or the wealthiest or the most powerful because that's all going to go to zero the day I die. That's very transient. But what isn't going to go to zero is my effect on other people.

That's all going to go to zero the day I die. That's very transient. But what isn't going to go to zero is my effect on other people. It will affect other people. It will then affect other people. And that goes on forever, right? Generation upon generation.

who then will affect other people, who then will affect other people. And that goes on forever, right? Generation upon generation. So, you you see children of alcoholics often become alcoholics, right? Well, children of people who have figured it out and understand what it is to be a kind, generous, caring person who understands that others are more important than them, pass that on to their children. And they teach their friends and then their children. Before you know it, you got a pretty good lineage of people who are doing really good things in the world.

So you see children of alcoholics often become alcoholics, right? Well, children of people who have figured it out and understand whether this would be a kind, generous, caring person who understands that others are more important than them, pass that on to their children. And they teach their friends and then their children. Before you know it, you've got a pretty good lineage of people who are really good things in the world. And that's really the only way we can affect change by being better ourselves. Is that the thesis here?

Yeah, of course. Just, you know, if you just focus, your life is transient. It's temporary. It's not about fame, fortune or power. That's going to all go to zero eventually. And you will not be remembered most likely for very long. Right? So that's not the point. The point is not to be remembered. The point is not to get wealthy or powerful. The point is to make that evolution, that transition from selfish to selfless, from inward to outward focus, to have an impact on as many people, positive impact on as many people as possible. That's the point. That's what's obvious from the aerial view. That's the answer to my friend's question.

And that's great. And that's so important. I was thinking the other day, rereading the book again, we're talking about, because we were in high school together in junior high. And one of the things that I wrote in my own yearbook was I wanted to leave footsteps in the sands of time. Well, the more you think about that, the ocean's going to come in and wipe it out. There are no footsteps in the sands of time. And that's exactly what your point is. And that's the reason that we're talking about wisdom from the aerial view. I want to close this. by reading something from your book, because I think it's really important. You said, I recall an encounter some years ago with a patient 85 years of age. She was seated in front of me in the exam room. I had just told her that the test I had performed on her was completely normal. Yet I could see that her concern had not abated. So you're sure that I'm fine? Actually, I began, I do see one problem. What is the problem? She asked anxiously. You're 85 and still in excellent health. I responded, I know that you're overwhelmed by the thought that your next medical problem might be one that leads to your death. But when you think about it, with all that worrying stealing your life, you're hardly living. You're right, Doc. We gotta go live our lives, be good people, be better people, and pass that on. This book helps. The area of view is the way we get there. I thank you. Before we leave, tell everybody how to write in so that we can get more wonderful notes like this. Can you tell what's the address?

Sure. Just send an email to question at wisdomfromtheaerialview.com. Question at wisdomfromtheaerialview.com. We'd love to get your comments and criticisms, suggestions, anything you want. We're open to everything. And Ian, thank you for another great episode and thank you everybody for listening.

Yeah, absolutely.

Thank you, we'll see you next time.