Nice New Zelanders💛
Today I met Laurie and his son Lockie a world traveler (Lockie.limitless on instagram), who are visiting from New Zealand.
At one point, I jokingly said, “Being from New Zealand, you must not be Trump fans.”
Laurie’s response surprised me.
It wasn’t an argument. It wasn’t a political statement.
He basically said he doesn’t spend much time paying attention to that stuff.
He doesn’t have much interest in the outrage.
Instead, he pointed me toward books he was reading and ideas that help him grow, learn, and move forward.
What struck me wasn’t his politics.
It was his priorities.
For someone building SomewhatRead, I spend a lot of time thinking about politics, media, and current events. I believe those conversations matter.
But Laurie reminded me of something important:
Not everyone is living inside the daily outrage cycle.
Some people are focused on growth.
Some people are focused on relationships.
Some people are focused on experiences, travel, learning, and creating a meaningful life.
And maybe that’s part of why he seemed so happy, positive, and grounded.
I left wondering:
How much of our stress comes from the actual problems in our lives, and how much comes from constantly consuming other people’s anger?
We need informed citizens.
We need people paying attention.
But maybe we also need to remember that life is bigger than politics.
The goal isn’t to ignore the world.
The goal is to participate in it without letting outrage become our identity.
That conversation stayed with me.