There's a famous Zen story about a young monk who was eager to achieve enlightenment quickly. He approached his master and asked, "Master, how long will it take me to reach enlightenment if I train very hard?"

The master replied, "Ten years."

Disappointed with this answer, the monk asked, "What if I train twice as hard?"

The master thought for a moment and said, "Twenty years."

Confused and frustrated, the monk asked, "Why would it take longer if I train harder?"

The master smiled and explained, "When you are too focused on reaching the destination, you miss the path. The harder you strain, the longer the journey becomes. True understanding comes from patience and presence, not from forcing progress."

While sketching this at the park, I saw a lady with her dog and her phone. She was, with her speaker on, listening to the news about tariff situations. Today was a beautiful spring day & plp are concerned, murmuring about tariffs and Trump.

I don't know what to think of the world. Things are surreal.

#artstr

A bit Central Asia food market vibe in your feed

Street photography is still fun

📷 2024

*never published before

#photography #architecture #minimalism #artwork #artstr #photostr

I changed my avatar to this one :)))

#artstr

This seems to be a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. They needed the math to work out so that they can close the deficit gap and ultimately get to their goal of reducing 10-yr yields. Might end up being a masterstroke at the end, despite the clumsiness. Let’s see

GN

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Can anyone decipher this code for me….asking for a friend 😂😂😂💜🫂

Anyone come across good analyses of new US #tariffs .

Longer term projections a bonus. #AskNostr

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Take flight 🪶

#photography

What are your thoughts on the tariff war? China doesn’t care, they doubled down on domestic trade and alt markets like since 2020 (Dual Circulation Strategy). Canada sends retaliation warning to the US.

Southeast Asia has been the quiet facilitator in the US-Russia-China-EU trade tensions for decades and the middleman for global trade for centuries. Hitting them with those hefty tariffs seems short-sighted and might not end well.

What are we looking at ? Spikes in prices for semiconductor and broader supply chain disruptions, as southeast asia remains a critical assembly hub for the US and EU. If these nations pivot toward BRICS alternatives, the US risks losing a key trade and manufacturing partner, and like domino effect, weakening its influence in global supply chains.

Tariffs are political crowd-pleasers. All tariffs globally should be removed.

The US is trying to squeeze everyone all at once while its own industrial base is still not prepared for actual self-sufficiency. You can’t tariff your way into manufacturing dominance. You have to build without the unnecessary drama.

Otherwise you will create black markets and smugglers to overcome the high rise in consumer products. That and the rise of corruption/favouritism in licensing.

If Americans genuinely believe that restricting their own choices is the only way they will be driven to build their country up, then that’s a messed-up mission to roll. The irony is, forced economic self-reliance has been a key theme in many communist experiments. And it’s not like the government fully supports its people in building their country. Only a select few benefit.

This feels like we need to be prepared for 2008 repeat. The U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is at record highs (~125%). Interest payments alone are massive, and rising rates make it worse. With rising debt, banking fragility, and geopolitical instability, a shock to trade could push things over the edge.

But with problems, come solutions.

Bitcoin is going to start playing an important role in keeping global trade running when sovereign currencies lose momentum. Nostr can play a functional role for countries and companies that lack digital maturity (offline Nostr is an area to tap on). Logistics bottlenecks and entrenched port control remain real barriers. If we can crack those, then maybe, just maybe, we could see a real shift toward a more fluid, borderless economy.

It would also be good to see countries in South America and Africa rising in support of global trade out of this.

But governments thrive on control. They’re not going to let go that easily.

Of late I have been trying to figure out my own standing in the macroeconomic world. I debate against myself in needing a balance. But I find myself increasingly drawn to a no-state position. I just cannot see a strong state’s role as an economic stabilizer.

Covid was a lesson. Many of the standards (JIT inventory, Outsourcing, etc) had to be adjusted. Those who don’t adapt and learn are set to extinct.

Musk wasn’t at Trump’s press conference today and Zuckerberg was seen entering the West Wing.