122320 — Blog — Rulerless

The cool one

As a teenager, Claire Danes starred as Angela Chase in the short-lived American TV series My So-Called Life. She lives with her attentive parents and her sister in a nice house in a nice neighborhood; naturally, she eschews them and is drawn to the miserable kids with miserable family lives.

In one episode, Angela’s best friend, Rayanne Graff, gets dangerously intoxicated. Rayanne’s mother, previously established as cool and laid back compared to Angela’s very square, anxious mother, is dismissive: “You are too drunk, young lady. Way too drunk.”

Casey von NeumannNovember 25, 2020122320, 042121, 062321, 062521, 070221, 062119, 040122, 071222Comment

Permission granted

What would you do, if only you had permission?

Who do you need it from?

Can you give it to yourself?

Yes, you may hire someone to clean your house.

Casey von NeumannNovember 13, 2020122320, 010621, 011421, 051821Comment

The question I'm asking myself

A friend of mine, who had been abroad when the coronavirus hit globally and was fortunate enough to make it safely home without contracting the virus, clarified his intentions toward the end of the summer.

“I asked myself, ‘When I look back on this time, what would I regret that I didn’t do?’”

Using this guiding question, my friend decided to play more tennis and read more.

Casey von NeumannNovember 10, 2020121820, 122320, 031221, 040821, 060321, 041122 Comments

Shifting without shame

A friend has two daughters in elementary school. One of them loves to revisit her earlier childhood — pictures she drew, early attempts at spelling, and photos of herself. She has said that she wishes to go back and be a baby again “so I can see how cute I was and how much everyone loved me.”

The other sister, however, feels uncomfortable with her former self. Her past work makes her cringe. “I was so stupid,” she says, laughing and rolling her eyes.

Casey von NeumannOctober 30, 2020122320, 021121, 090921, 092821Comment

Select your struggle

Watching over the shoulders of gamer friends and relatives as they choose their avatars for the journey ahead, I’ve learned about the tradeoffs involved.

You can have strength, agility, stamina, or cunning — but not all four to the same degree. Each option has its vulnerabilities and advantages. You’ve got to make decisions about what will be most useful to you, based on your own unique playing style and preferences.

Kinda like life, right? Except in life, some of us get the idea somewhere that we’re supposed to be good at everything and that there shouldn’t be any tradeoffs.

Casey von NeumannOctober 28, 2020122120, 122320, 022621, 041921, 061521, 081321, 101921, 113021 Comments