Personal – Jay Lynn

09Nov 2016 by jay No Comments

I Like My Echo Chamber

We've heard a lot lately about how we have filtered our social media feeds to hear only what we want to hear. We have created echo chambers for ourselves and that's bad. I say not so fast. That depends on your echo. My criteria is simple - is this person a jerk? Do they substitute snark and sarcasm for intelligent thought? Do they view cruelty as just another brand of humor? If their public discourse generally belittles others, then I try to have minimal contact with them. I've spent a considerable amount of time cultivating my Facebook feed and social media contacts. I'm long past accepting every friend request that comes my way just because we come from the same home town or spent a few hours together on a…

09May 2015 by jay No Comments

Blowing off the dust

Personal, Uncategorized

It’s been nearly a year and a half since I wrote anything here. I feel like I owe some kind of apology, but why? One of the best things I have ever done for myself is to give myself permission to do what I need to do when the time is right. I have enough guilt out there for the things I “should” do that I don’t need to create more over nothing. Life happens and sometimes I find that I don’t have the emotional energy to write things that I think are worth reading. Since my last post, I took a half-time job, left that job, got another full-time job, moved 800 miles away, sold a house, bought a house, and had similar changes for the rest of the…

09Jan 2014 by jay 2 Comments

Rare and Valuable

Essays, Observations, Personal

In my never-ending quest to figure out my own future, I stumbled across the work of Cal Newport, and particularly his recent book So Good They Can’t Ignore You. I’ve made it known on several occasions that I hold many “follow your dreams” bloggers in low esteem, especially those that seem to have no measurable skills or life experience. This particular book caught my eye by echoing many similar sentiments. In it, Newport takes on the “follow your dreams” philosophy and turns it on its head; recommending that we stop trying to be useful by following our passion and instead seek to find our passions by being useful. It’s an interesting concept, and one I hadn’t given much conscious thought to over the years, but it rang with a note…

11Dec 2013 by jay No Comments

Where You Been?

Personal, Uncategorized

Back in my podcasting days, podfading was the term used when a show began posting fewer and fewer episodes and eventually quit publishing altogether. Usually, it meant that the show’s creators might have moved on to some shiny new project. Perhaps they had not reaped the fame and rewards they expected from the difficult work of putting together a show. Maybe they just became bored. I don’t know if there is a similar term for blogging (blogfading?), but I keep thinking about this space and wondering if it just looks like another blog gone by the wayside. I think I may be a victim of my own standards. I wanted my writing here to reflect a search for authenticity; to communicate my own efforts to move towards a more authentic…

20May 2013 by jay No Comments

Today I Am

Personal, Projects

Lately, I've been making some simple doodles to entertain myself and remind me of all the things I am and can choose to be. I was sort of inspired by those posters you see with different emotions all over them (Today I am happy, sad, angry, etc.). In the back of my mind, I think that I might eventually put them together into a little desk accessory for self-expression like this: In the meantime, I will continue to add new ones to this post and also put them on the Facebook Feed.

07May 2013 by jay 12 Comments

Vocational Manifesto

Essays, Personal

Last week, I turned in my resignation from my day job. It was a good decision, allowing me to exit gracefully on my own terms rather than stay in a situation that would become more and more of a poor fit over time. At this point, it feels more like an opportunity - the kick in the pants we needed to move our family forward into the next adventure. However, it does mean that I have some serious work to do in order to find that next adventure. For the foreseeable future, my kids are going to continue to need shoes, daily meals, and an education, so a day job is probably a good thing to pursue. However, I have the luxury of a little bit of breathing room to…

17Dec 2012 by jay No Comments

Catching Up

Announcement, Personal

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Thanksgiving, illnesses at home, and change, upheaval, and uncertainty at my day job conspired to put me behind on my blog posts. I was all set to post on Friday when I emerged from seclusion to see the horrible events in Connecticut. I decided that nothing I had to share with the world needed to be said on that day in light of that tragedy. So, I'm catching up today and will have another essay up soon.