I'm currently at José Acuña Library in the neighborhood of Argüelles. It's my first time here, and my first new library in a couple of days. It's a typical Spanish neighborhood library, but it has large windows with lots of natural light, and this neighborhood has pleasant architecture, so it's a nice sight. The tables have electrical outlets, which is surprisingly uncommon here. The chairs are more proper for a Spanish tapas bar, uncomfortable for prolonged work, but good enough for the work I intend to do now.
René just passed by the library before heading to Japan. I borrowed a nice 11L Northface backpack from him which will come handy. As I intensify exploration I find my incase backpack insufficient for all the things I wish to lug around. Ideally I'd be prepared with things for the gym, the pool, lunch and work, but without a large backpack I used to compromise.
In the work session I'm having at this library, I decided not to get down to work yet, but as the quote mistakenly attributed to Lincoln says: give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first hour sharpening the axe.
The days between today and the end of September are 37. A bit more than five weeks. Let's remove seven days for rest, so we have 30 effective work days remaining. In order to do what I want to do, I need to reset the counter once again. I hate doing this, but it is needed. The projects which I committed to are:
- Bézier Game
- Project Arete
- Airbnb apartment
- Goethe
- Work routes
- Notebits Flow
Project 1 and 2 get priority treatment, as these are what I would like to release sooner. Project Arete needs to be unveiled, and perhaps now is a good moment to do it, as it is related to cycles, goal setting, and all these things which I'm trying to do. Rather than to present a theoretical example of what it is, I will try using it so the product can be understood from example. As my current "works for me" status requires editing json files to introduce values, it is not ready for public release, but as soon as it can be used without opening the hood I will share it.
Project Arete is called Virtuegraph. I debated a long time with myself about the name, because the word virtue is associated with a very different conception in our culture. The virtue part of the virtuegraph is the Te part of the Tao Te Ching , a kind of virtue that arises effortlessly from one's accordance to his or her nature. It can also be understood as the karma part of karma yoga, but--like virtue--it is also tremendously misunderstood in western society. Karma simply means work or action, the concept that it is a cosmic balance of the good and the bad you've done in your life is entirely misguided. In Islam it can be understood as barakah, the flowing of the spiritual presence of Allah through one's actions. Ancient greeks would have called it arete, the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function: the act of living up to one's full potential.
But Virtuegraph is not a product, it's more akin to Kanban: it's a method for accomplishing what you consider virtue.
In my case, virtue is currently work. When I'm done with this 30 day cycle, my virtuegraph will change radically. I will take time off not to relax, but to explore other aspects of virtue. I hope to continue writing "work logs" in which work has a very different manifestation.
So, how does this work out in practice? When there's enough virtue I will graph it.