Dive 118: Who do you devote your life to?
Hey, it’s Alvin!
As I gazed upon the orchid I’ve been caring for over the last two years, it reminded me that there’s something uniquely satisfying about devoting or committing myself to another.
But it also seems like devotion and commitment are unpopular themes in modern society. The convenience of modern technologies can undermine curiosity and a sense of adventure needed for focused devotion and commitment. That could leave a feeling of being unfulfilled in life.
What happened to the youngest generation?
I recently watched a YouTube video titled, “Gen Z Men Have LOST Passion & Adventure, All They Do Is Sit At Home.” It’s a clip of a video podcast where the host talks about how young men don’t long for adventure anymore.
Apparently, some men feel they’re born too late to explore the Earth, and too early to explore the stars. Two commentators jumped to solutions like, “they need to get out more,” while a co-host chimed in with, “they’re too busy exploring their own navels.” None of them dive deeper into any of their speculations before they move onto other topics. And that’s deeply ironic.
I was disappointed.
Because I was eager to learn more about why young men are dispirited. But this talk show didn’t dive deeper into the subject. And that gives us at least one reason modern people lack a sense of adventure. Here’s what I mean…
When I say “adventure,” I’m not talking about a journey through a remote jungle.
An adventure does not begin with airfare.
It does not even begin with trip planning.
An adventure begins with curiosity.
How can a person be adventurous if the person isn’t curious about anything? The first step towards curiosity is accepting there’s something you do not know. How can people be curious in a society that punishes ignorance and does not actively encourage curiosity?
The podcast hosts could have slowed down to dive into the topic of why “gen Z men have lost their passion.” None of them questioned anything. None of them flipped any frames. Instead, they each offered a quick answer. Either a solution to a problem they don’t understand or a vague answer without further exploration. And I see this as a byproduct of the internet age.
Yes, the internet has made life convenient. But convenience has a cost. The internet gives the illusion that the answers to all of your questions are just a few clicks away. And when you grow up with “the world at your fingertips,” it’s also easy to assume there are no more deep questions to explore. In fact, neither are true.
There are plenty of life questions that lack quality answers. But diving into those questions to get good answers takes focused time and effort. It takes devotion and commitment, which can be driven by curiosity as wonder and awe. And I’m not the only one who sees the importance of devotion and commitment to a fulfilling life.
What happened to music?
Rick Beato is a music producer and educator. He put out a video on why “music is getting worse.” He explains how music is easier to make than ever. You can check out his video for his full explanation, so I won’t rehash it here. But he talks about how music streaming platforms like Spotify have devalued music.
Beato talks about how he used to spend time and effort working a job to make the money it took to buy just one vinyl record. He had to work hard to earn each record, so each one was more meaningful to him. That’s devotion and commitment.
Music just doesn’t have the value it used to because you can listen to any song you want on YouTube for free or a few seconds of ads. Whereas, if you had to pay a significant amount of money for an album, you’d probably slow down to appreciate each song on the album more. So, it would move you more. It would inspire passion. The music would mean more to you. It would be more fulfilling.
What now?
As I gaze upon the orchid I’ve been caring for over the last two years, it reminded me that there’s something uniquely satisfying about devoting or committing myself to another.
This is the first orchid I ever got. And like many others, I got it when it was in full bloom. The flowers dropped two months later, leaving me with leaves and two bare flower spikes.
Since then, I repotted it with new potting mix, pruning away dried roots. I kept it watered and fertilized every week, but kept an eye on it almost every day. Now, over two years later, a new flower spike is growing as my orchid prepares to bloom again.
I can stare in awe at the new flower spike for several minutes, even though it doesn’t bear any flowers yet. That awe and wonder—that satisfaction and fulfilment—are only because of my devotion and commitment to my orchid over the last two years.
It’s why I started this newsletter. I wanted to create a space where I could dive deeper into topics others didn’t want to dive into. I felt platforms like X/Twitter were always too shallow. Junk food for the mind that keeps you unfulfilled.
I know people crave something deeper.
Recently, I heard that YouTubers presenting long-form video essays are gaining popularity. I’m not surprised. Jenny Nicholson has long been an inspiration to me. She recently published videos that are a few hours long on topics I wouldn’t ordinarily care about. But the writing and editing are so well done, I always watch through all of them. And it’s her devotion and commitment to theme parks and Star Wars that always leaves me in awe. The same awe inspired by my orchid.
A fulfilling life requires devotion and commitment to another.
But the modern technological landscape offers so much convenience, it blinds us to those very opportunities.
So, who do you devote your life to? What do you devote your life to?
“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
Reply to belowthesurfacetop@gmail.com if you have questions or comments. I’d love the hear from you.
P.S. I wrote this piece a while ago. This is my orchid in full bloom:
Thank you for reading. Find your devotion. And I’ll see you in the next one.