The first repeated guest on the podcast, Sam Lin from Episode 15, joins me again on this episode to talk about Change & Impermanence. Under that broad umbrella, we discuss the impact of smartphones, the internet, and technology on human psychology. For example, how we miss things going on the real world because we become so enamored with what's on our screens, losing touch with the people around us physically, and even developing social anxiety. We talk about dealing with people changing, and as a result, changes in relationships & friendships that we have. Sam points out that we often mess things up by being in denial, or pushing some "should" onto the person, holding onto the past & how it "used to be" - when that is no longer the case, what is the alternative? How can we move forward in a productive manner? Sam & I expand further into the nature of change & progress in the grand scheme of the world and its broader history, before taking that and applying it back into the lives of the individual. (Just me, or did that sound really smart?) We discuss the mistakes people make when it comes to dealing with any kind of change in their lives - from why the phrase "good is always around the corner" is misleading, to the importance of coming to terms with the past, present, and future. We end this nearly one-hour long conversation with the topic of dealing with hardship and emotions from the perspective of our previous topics of change, acceptance, relationships, and more. That includes ideas like the difference between fixing someone's problems and being there for them, or the difference between controlling and helping someone. You can find Sam on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/sam.l.photo/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ericchow/message