Dispatch is a regular compendium curated by Garrett Herzik and sent straight to friends. Its purpose is simple: refresh the creativity of those who refresh me. For hate mail: g@garrettherzik.com

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Dispatch
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“The Baudrillard Theory claims that current society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that human experience is a simulation of reality.”

2025 arrived with a wondering: How much time do I spend in my own story?

Watching house flips on Never Too Small, flicking through the feed (dealer’s choice), watching Arrested Development for the 10th time. All completely innocent to me—until my recent realization that my consumption of these stories means I’m living in them, occupying them, choosing their arcs over my own. While this is a new problem in some ways, it’s also the point of one of our oldest technologies: Books. No one would ever say books are inherently bad, but they offer the same proposition—an open door into another’s story.

Morals aside, this is a matter of presence. Too much time in another’s story brings that all-too-familiar feeling of simulated reality. That moment when your eyes glaze over, and your brain, so saturated by stimulus, treats stimulus of any kind like a smell you can’t smell anymore. While my response is not yet perfect, I’m well aware of this feeling, and I’ve given words to its side effects—a great start.

From here, I intend one thing: I will spend time in my own story.

I will not let the feed feed my brain.

I will not fawn over the achievements of others, I’ll apply my time to my own.

I will not allow aimless consumption to dull my mind, I’ll recite my purpose.

My story’s ability to shape my life and impact the lives of others deserves my presence.


So here’s to 2025: The year I reclaim my arc.

Listen

Album  The New Four Seasons
By  Max Richter

Nothing brings me to closer to center than this second take on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.


Read

Article  In Praise of the Pedestrian.
By  Phillip Cox

“While some might walk for productivity, health, or ‘unexpected scenic views’, Wolfe walks for meaning.”


Try

Method  4-7-8 Breathing Technique

Controlled breathing technique developed and popularized by Dr. Andrew Weil (dude is a serious vibe, see video).


Explore

Website  Mouthwash Research Center

“A dedicated space to explore new
territories within art, design, and technology.”