Modernity promised happiness and abundance.

Instead, it gave us comfort and an existential crisis.

A whole lot of passivity.

Propaganda.

Groupthink.

Sick care.

Mega corporations and monopolies that pretend they aren't.

Inflation.

And a status quo designed to prop all this up by treating the symptoms (they make billions) rather than the root cause (they lose billions).

We are just a speck of dust in the sand of time, and this period in history will be looked down on by future humans just like we look back to those who came before us (with hubris).

If you build a life dependent on these house of cards, you will likely pay a cost.

Though it's not all or nothing, many parts of modernity are helpful, and you should take full advantage of them to live a better life.

I do.

That's because my singular goal is my family—self and family preservation.

That's why humans will always be corrupt when they have an opportunity to be because we are designed to take care of our own using whatever means possible.

And we should expect nothing less.

The system itself is not run by an evil puppet master pulling the strings, even though many would have you believe that's precisely what Bill Gates or George Soros is.

Nah.

They are just rich people with a savior complex. They legit think they are good guys.

So did Mao, and Stalin, and Hitler.

More evil has been done in the name of "good" than anything.

So for each fake soap company out there, people will still buy suds from us that use ingredients for earth and human health. And will win because the soap is better and produces far better health outcomes compared to a genetically engineered processed thing they get to call soap.

No matter how much money they throw at it, they won't win.

All you and I can do is make choices that support the world we want to live in together and the level of health we desire.

You choose how you interact with your environment daily.

Are you doing so consciously?

Ask yourself: Am I distracted? Stressed? Anxious? Plugged in?

Consider unplugging.

Try no screen days.

Try reading old books and watching movies not infected with society's culture war nonsense.

Try a picnic.

Try a walk.

Try a good old-fashioned dinner party with devices checked at the door.

And most important of all, choose carefully.

Instead of defaulting to doom-scrolling social media, ask yourself what your goal is.

Do you want to learn something?

Then, search for something specific and learn it.

That beats letting the algorithm fill your mind with whatever it thinks will keep you hooked.

The defining feature of the modern age is our environment is designed to get you hooked on products and services to the benefit of those selling them (usually) at the expense of your long-term mental and physical health.

Thanks for reading With Love,

/Avi