Love and Fear
Sunday Ramble
This weekend was a welcome getaway for my family. As much fun as we had in our September US travels, between work, friends, extended family, and travel planning, there was little downtime to just be. Getting set up in Peru has been no different — always an agenda seeking completion. If there’s one thing I’ve come to enjoy through marrying into the Portuguese culture, is the value of just being agenda-lessly present. Yes, I made up that adjective.
You’d think the space being agendaless created would have surfaced some deep thoughts for today’s ramble, but I’m not sure I can live up to that. I did get to see my daughter learn to swim, taste new forms of locally produced chocolate, take pictures of fluorescent frogs, learn how the Quechua speakers of antiquity valued clay vessels, see exotic birds on the Rio Mayo, and enjoy staring at the Rio Huallaga winding through the canyon with a Cheshire cat moon smiling down from above. But my personal life is not what brings you here to read my rambles.
I have been mulling over the emotional states of love and fear over this weekend. Though I’ve not reached any solid footing, it seems fair game for a ramble. Physically, fear shows up in the body as a clenching, slope-shouldered expression as we unwittingly try to protect our internal organs. Love shows up in the body as a chest opening warmth extending through our bodies into our fingertips. Fear contracts and love expands, both metaphorically and physically.
Where it gets confusing is how we behave in fear to protect the sensations of love we feel. We fear losing the loving connection for those close to us and use this as justification for all sorts of fearful behavior to keep the warm fuzzies going. It’s the major justification I hear for why we should vaccinate ourselves from COVID — to protect others. When I’ve questioned people about the idea, the conversation inevitably turns to a loved one that is at risk if they were to contract COVID. Out of fear of love loss, it becomes justified to vaccinate, despite the logic of COVID transmission still occuring vaccinated or not.
Most of us like to think we’re logical in our decision-making, but it’s just not true. It wasn’t so many years ago that we discovered that we could not make decisions without emotion. No matter how hard we try, we're not automatons — emotions underpin our decision-making. And, as is the case with COVID vaccinations, feelings trump logic.
It would be all well and good if the desire to vaccinate remained a personal decision, but that’s not the case. The fear of unvaccinated individuals spreading COVID has allowed many of those vaccinated to feel justified pushing vaccinations on the unvaccinated. And this is where the rub comes in: at this point, those not vaccinating are also operating out of love—a love for the freedom of choice. In summary, we have conflicting love motives between the two groups: the love for the freedom of choice in the unvaccinated in direct conflict with the fearful desire to protect loved ones at risk by vaccinating. It is this core rub being exploited to divide two groups of otherwise sane people into separate camps, whether or not it is objectively true that the vaccine will protect loved ones.
On the one hand, we could say that both groups of people are justified in their decisions. But are they? Does the fear of love loss justify removing the love for freedom from another group? When it comes to emotional and moral exploration, there are no logical, easy answers. I do find asking myself “what is the higher road to take?” often helps me make the best decision. Here’s hoping it helps you as well.
Rad Things from the Interwebs
Blimey, but this is not a reminder of how much more there is to explore in the country I call home.
Bitcoin Price Prediction
Weekly Range: $39k - $52k
The range remains the same this week as Bitcoin’s price action continues to consolidate after the pullback started November 10th at $69k and ended, at least temporarily, with the price plunging to $41k on December 4th. As anticipated, the price has been grinding between $46k and $52k since then, as the bulls have bought up the $46k region while the bears heavily defend the $50k. If $46k fails to hold, I anticipate $41k being reached quickly and possibly as low as $39k. If $52k is breached, I expect a run-up to $57k. No matter how you look at it, the price looks set for choppy movements through at least the end of the month.
Bitcoin Q & A
Q: Why is Bitcoin’s proof of work important?
A: Without expending energy, i.e., work, to create Bitcoin, it would not be valued as a form of money.
Human beings naturally value monetary forms that take tremendous effort to acquire. Although scarcity is part of the reason that various forms of money have value, it’s the energy and effort it takes to receive the scarce items that ultimately causes us to value them. Whether it was glass beads in Africa, shells in various Pacific Islands, or gold in Roman times, each of these items took tremendous effort to acquire. Compared to today’s fiat money, where the money is issued by decree, it is no wonder that the more decrees made, i.e., Quantitative Easing, the less people value the money.
Do you have questions or Ramble topics? Leave a comment or reply to the newsletter to reach me.
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