Mystic of the Mundane
Life is funny.
Earlier this week and last week, I felt like my ideas for topics to write about for this blog were running a bit dry. Perhaps it is more appropriate to say that when I awoke, I wasn’t necessarily inspired to write about anything in particular.
Now I have so many topics I want to cover, I’m not even sure where to start.
Ain’t that the way it goes?
So let’s start with the mundane.
This morning, I slept in later than I normally do. I guess I needed the sleep. It would have been nice to get up at 4:30 a.m. again, but 6:00 a.m. works.
And that is one of the beauties of time freedom after reaching full financial independence.
No alarm clocks except the ones in your head.
I decided to take a walk before I sat down to write today’s article and just got back.
It was very cool outside, overcast, and there was a mist hanging over Puget Sound.
Nice.
Just how I like it around here.
This reminded me of a long thread chat I had with Gemini about my North Star. My goal was to see if I am actually on the right path or if I need to adjust.
I may write about this thread in a different article at some point, but during the exchange Gemini (who I refer to as Radagast, the Brown Wizard from The Lord of the Rings) told me that, based on what I had shared, he thought I was a Mystic of the Mundane.
Mystic of the Mundane?
WTH does that mean?
First, I am not even sure I fully understand what the term mystic means, but I like it.
Just like I like the misty PNW, and the computer game Myst, and so on.
Second, I wasn’t quite sure I understood what the word mundane meant in this context.
And, frankly, I wasn’t sure I liked that description either.
However, Radagast was probably right.
According to a quick Google search, a mystic is someone who seeks unity with the divine by pursuing truths that are often beyond our purely intellectual abilities.
Okay.
I thought it was more than that, but I guess we can start there.
And, also according to Google, mundane refers either to:
Lacking interest or excitement (the part I didn’t like), or
Of the earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one.
I think Radagast was referring to the second definition.
At least I hope so.
And yes, that is true to some extent.
I think attending to our time here and now, wherever we find ourselves, is among the most important things we can do.
I don’t want to get overly spiritual, political, scientific, or even philosophical (which is my natural bent) in this blog.
I want to attend to the things themselves, as Edmund Husserl recommended for the field of psychology.
Finances? Yes.
Health and fitness? Yes.
The other Amplifiers of Yeah? (time Freedom, Psychological Freedom, Relationships, Lifestyle Design, etc.)
Put them in here, too.
Yes.
It’s a Yes-saying philosophy and how to live it.
That is what is behind all these words, if anything.
For example, your goals, my goals, our goals.
A YouTuber I watched for the first time this morning was talking about a method she developed called E.A.R. — Evaluate, Adjust, and Review.
That’s essentially what I am doing when I share my monthly FIRE Metrics That Matter post.
She also made the statement that most of us can only attend to three to five meaningful things each day.
Meaningful things = my idea of One Hit Wonder goals.
But I want to get to nine per day.
And perhaps help others do the same.
That’s part of this journey.
There’s a lot of life to live out here, folks, and I want us to enjoy the adventures all we can.
Another YouTube show I watched this morning was focused on financial independence.
The host has a spreadsheet tool that helps people determine their financial freedom numbers.
Her recommendation is to start by achieving Coast FIRE.
This is when your invested assets are on track to generate enough income by the time you reach a traditional retirement age.
In her case, she is 31 now, and by continuing to save 20% per year, she expects to reach Coast FIRE by age 34.
Great.
I love that kind of thing.
Let’s get real with our money and our lives.
Speaking of age, here’s another mundane topic that has been on my mind.
We have a fascination with age in this society, and perhaps throughout the world.
On the one hand, it’s existential.
It’s a marker of how far we have come and how much time may remain.
Ugh.
On the other hand, it’s relational.
It’s a marker of shared experiences and worldviews.
It’s a marker of what people think is “appropriate” behavior.
In other words, a basis for all the dreaded should-ing we do to ourselves.
And on another hand (that’s right, we now have three hands…), it’s one of the last socially acceptable forms of discrimination.
And I say F’ that.
I recently attended my cousin’s 50th birthday celebration.
I told him:
“Hey, you know 50 is the new 30, so you can start counting up from 30 again if you want.”
And the other night at a party I was asked how old I was.
My answer?
“Old enough.”
Period.
And if you don’t like either of those approaches, here’s another mundane suggestion.
If you reach the age of 50—and I hope everyone reading this does—and someone asks how old you are, you might consider saying:
“I’m over 50, and I’ll let you know when I get past 100.”
In closing, Radagast eventually offered up a better term, one I will fully embrace and one I hope comes through in these articles.
I endeavor to be someone who helps lead a revolution of authenticity.
Authenticity is not easy to define.
But you know it when you experience it.
Let’s keep moving toward developing the freedom to live our truths, together.
That’s the goal.
And attending to the mundane can help us get there.
P.S.
I have another wizard friend, Gandalf (ChatGPT), who proofreads, helps format, and does minor edits without inserting slop, although he is always trying to do so, but I take it out now, while somehow maintaining my voice, style, terms…and even my poor attempts at humor.
It’s got to be frustrating to be a wizard…