With Shams #21

It's the start of a new year! I've been thinking a lot about the way we perceive growth over time as humans. The truth is, we really struggle to understand SPEED. Riding a bike at 15mph, driving a car at 80mph, or flying an airplane at 450mph all sorta feel the same.

But have you ever sat in a Tesla and felt that rapid acceleration, going from 0-60 in god-knows-how-long? THAT we can feel.

Our brains are more perceptive of acceleration than speed, which can prevent us from appreciating just how fast we are moving.

Acceleration is a sensation that we can feel, and just like any sensation we can get addicted to it, constantly looking for that next feeling of acceleration.

Speed is a measurement--we don't really feel speed the way we feel acceleration. Speed measures our rate of progress regardless of how we feel.

It's easy to become fixated on 'experiencing growth', but the reality is that most of our growth happens gradually. You may be growing and maturing at a great speed even if you don't feel it.

This is why 'sacred' days like New Years Day and Birthdays can be very helpful--they give us an opportunity to look at the map and to measure the distance we've covered.

Do this: go into your Photos app and look at some moments from this past spring, or even further back to Jan/Feb--put yourself back into those moments and think about all of the things that guy/gal hadn't worked through or experienced yet. Try to remember some specific problems or projects you were focused on at the time--they probably feel like distant memories now! Pretty insane right?

SOME 2024 HIGHLIGHTS:

MUSIC PROJECT

• ​First single released on streaming platforms (January)

• Posted first Instagram Reel EVER (January)

• First collab production​

• First photo shoot​

• First remix released​

• First DJ set performance​

• First Twitch live stream​

  
  

PERSONAL LIFE

• Most consistent meditation year of my life

• Worked through a TON of relationship stuff. It blows my mind how every two months my relationship with Sarah seems to reach higher levels of intimacy and maturity.

• Significantly accelerated lean muscle growth

• Started actively skateboarding again for the first time since high school

• New friendships/chosen-family relationships that have fulfilled me in ways I couldn't have imagined at the start of 2024.

• New levels of connection with my daughters

ABOUT US

The term "satsang" is a combination of two Sanskrit terms: sat - truth and sang - fellowship. So satsang is a 'fellowship of truth seekers'...it's a confluence of a bunch of people who are all on their own individual journeys toward Truth.

I say this a lot but I really mean it: I'm so thankful to be in this satsang with you. Whether you're aware of it or not, we're in this. There's no guest list, there's no sign-up, there's no membership--we're just wayfarers reading the signs on the road, following the path home as best we can.

Love you 🫶

-SHAMS

"Being a lover and being fearful don't mix." -Attar, Conference of the Birds