Hi friends,

This week I've been thinking that despite the fact that technology lets us find anything we could possibly be looking for, it doesn't always add substance. In fact, it can sometimes make things feel more hollow. That knowing more about something can actually make it harder to truly grasp.

You'd think that having endless information at your fingertips would deepen understanding. Instead, it often creates overwhelm — and sometimes a false sense of familiarity.

It reminds of me of when my mom asks me how a friend from high school is doing, and I can tell her the names of her 2 children and husband and job, but haven't actually spoken to her in twenty years. And I know people do the same for me. There's something unsettling about being known through snapshots of who I was for a brief moment in time based on what I decided to post, without context of who I actually am. It feels like losing control of your own story.

What feels important here is the distinction between knowing and experiencing. It is experience of the world that substantiates it. Experience is what gives life its depth, that ties it to a place and time. It is in the reaching out where you learn, through engagement, through presence. Not from passive absorption but through active asking.

So this is my declaration of intention: to "experience" more and "know" less.

Reframe Prompts
​If you want to join me in this intention, here are a few ways to explore it this week:

• Where in your life you are observing instead of participating?
• What's one simple thing you can do with your body — cook, plant, write, walk — that brings you back into the moment?
• When you feel the urge to "check" or "scroll," what might you experience instead if you paused?

Recs
​Speaking of the internet having everything, AI videos are getting wild lately, have you noticed? This week my feed has been filled with ultra realistic Sora-created videos. Not to alarm, but it might be a good time for you and your loved ones to create a "safe word" to confirm identity if something ever feels off. (The only AI vids you'll find me endorsing are these two cat-themed cuties: trick-or-treat and metal show.)

To be honest, I've been much more in a "knowing" rather than "experiencing" mode lately. Like how recently I promised myself I'd unplug...and instead stayed up all night doom-refreshing for flotilla updates until I made myself sick. Being human is hard.

Sometimes I slip into old patterns I thought I’d outgrown. But I try to remember: healing isn’t linear — it’s circular. When old triggers resurface, it’s not failure. It’s a gentle reminder that the work continues, and that each loop brings a little more awareness.

Be easy on yourself. I love you.

xo,
Christen