"In so many ways a friend with a boat is better than owning a boat."

I am not one for pithy life advice, but Kevin Kelly’s pithy life advice is better than most. My favourites:

Everyone is shy. Other people are waiting for you to introduce yourself to them, they are waiting for you to send them an email, they are waiting for you to ask them on a date. Go ahead.

Friends are better than money. Almost anything money can do, friends can do better. In so many ways a friend with a boat is better than owning a boat.

When you get an invitation to do something in the future, ask yourself: would you accept this if it was scheduled for tomorrow? Not too many promises will pass that immediacy filter.

That last one is particularly useful as we “ease back” to some semblance of a normal life: having experienced The Great Silence, I am hoping to be much more selective in what noise I take on.

Twenty-five years ago, on a radio panel discussion with the selfsame Kevin Kelly I said much the same thing:

Me: I wonder if we should maybe just all calm down a little bit… ah, not us here specifically, but society in general…

Gzowski: Ah, the voice of Prince Edward Island… calm down!