default.granularity

“Lately I just judge the distance, not the words I hear.” Bob Seger - Till it Shines

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Being a fully bonafide “born and raised” GenX guy, watching the world descend (yes, descend) from analog to a digitally-based world, one would think I would have realized what I’m about to report sooner, but sometimes I’m slow on the uptake! LOL! 🤷🏻‍♂️

Quick lesson: conversions from analog to digital (A/D) happen by measuring an analog signal at a certain point in time and assigning it a digital value. The more frequently you take this measurement (sampling rate) the more closely the digital signal will represent the original analog. The digital value is also important as it defines the level of detail, so if you are binary (1 bit resolutions) you have 1 or 0 (not very detailed) but if you use 16 bit (CD quality) you have 65,536 points of measurement…a lot more detail.

Now let’s move this concept to the relationships we have in our lives: at home, at work, and maybe with ourselves. I believe our familiarity with our fellows is very similar to the A/D conversion described above. We have two ways of knowing others—the frequency we spend together and the quality of that time spent. If people do not connect with each other on a relatively consistent basis and if those interactions are not quality enough time spent then our mental remembrance (representation) could differ greatly from the original. As time marches on and experiences/situations change, the need for regular interaction becomes even more important. An event could be impactful enough in someone’s life that they are forced to change their beliefs, priorities, etc. One day, a family member I had known since childhood and hadn’t seen for probably 10 years commented, “Wow…you’ve changed!” Well, during that time I had traveled, graduated from college, met and got married to a wonderful woman and had children. Certainly some personality traits were similar to my younger-self but I had systemically changed as a person and her remembrance of me as a twenty-something-year-old wasn’t even close to the ‘new’ original.

I’m a big believer in providence and that most things in life actually do happen for a reason, not merely coincidentally. I realized just this morning, 8.31.2025, that tomorrow is Labor Day and many people will have the day off. Maybe I’m posting this blog at the right time and offering a gentle reminder to you to offer that olive-branch to someone whom you may have lost touch with or someone you used to be close to. You may also be in a situation that you are wondering who ‘you’ even are. Set some time aside for that ‘someone’ who you haven’t had the opportunity to connect with frequently enough or the time you have spent recently hasn’t been quality enough…and do it! Spend some time in your thoughts, preferably outdoors in the fresh air, and perhaps journal a bit. Yesterday I looked back through my own journal and realized how ‘surface level’ my entries were. Yeah - not very deep or granular. Not very heartfelt. So last night I committed to more time with my journal! More time with the deep stuff!

Have a great Sunday, a relaxing Labor Day, and get granular!

Live your outdoor/journaling - default.life!