If someone tears you away from yourself, perhaps they weren’t a friend. If your meditation leaves no time for friends, maybe meditate less. Wisdom with solitude isn’t so wise.
Lovely piece, my friend. Keep them coming, writing is your native tongue.
Thank you, friend. Interesting reaction to my writing about possibly "losing friends" or "losing touch with them." I can feel your friendship in your words, I can also feel how I fully disagree with what you wrote and it is perfectly okay, meditation and loneliness is what I need right now. The paradox is I am at the same time enjoying receiving and replying to comments, I guess I enjoy friends at a distance right now. Nothing personal, it has nothing to do with you, it's all about my current state. Thank you for your advice though, but I won't take it and meditate even more!
Sorry if it came off as advice. Meditate and socialize as you see fit - I do. Your friend’s advice set up a false binary I thought and a sad one - even the language was almost violent ie “tears”.
Our first obligation is to ourselves - don’t know what I said you disagreed with but I trust your wisdom to embrace the paradoxes needed to nourish and be nourished.
Does this leave fewer friends? Who knows? Journeys with known endings are less magical. You do you.
"If your meditation leaves no time for friends, maybe meditate less" sounds like advice to me. I am happy to receive advice from friends, always, and also happy to observe that it isn't what I need right now.
"Meditate and socialize as you see fit" also sounds to me like advice and you giving me permission for something I don't need any permission from anyone about.
I am just observing your words as someone that gives a lot of unsollicited advice, now twice even in your reply apologizing for giving me advice!
But by all means, keep writing here, it sharpens my observation skills. Otherwise the statement "friends are confusing me" becomes trues. Excellent exercice!
but then, this is also a mirror of me, I also tend to give advice, so this is also good as it helps me reflect on what I do myself, especially when I give it and it is not sollicited.
Yes, it happens … Vairagya refers to dispassion or non-attachment, where trapped prana (life energy) or emotional blockages demand an "exit" via conscious release, preventing stagnation. This interruption halts reactive cycles, allowing energy to flow freely again, much like clearing a dam in a river. You do not lose out on a friendship, rather a removal of something not calibrated to the requirements (energy resonance) of that moment.
I’m also very grateful for the true friends I have in my life. To be honest, one could also argue the opposite—namely, that true friends bring you closer to your true self. In psychology, there’s the concept of the false self and the true self. The true self can only be discovered through experiences and observations. In my experience, true friends sometimes see the true self better than you do yourself. And having that reflected back can help you find yourself more fully.
Even though I have to categorize myself as a follower here, I was happy to read from you. I always enjoy thinking back on the conference in Paris 🤓 I’ve been wondering what you’ve been up to lately. Greetings from munich
Hey Marco, I miss my conference deeply, I miss LeWeb and also the other ones I launched, Leade.rs and PAUA. I actually see selling LeWeb as one of the biggest mistakes I did no matter what the size of the check I got selling it. It was useful for thousands of people every year, it was useful for me, it inspired many people to become independent and start their own business, finding the courage to do so, by featuring the "best" technology entrepreneurs. I miss it. It is all perfect, I am observing myself missing it. Thank you for bringing this memory.
that now is the time to envision a completely new kind of conference. In the coming years, the need for genuine human connection will become increasingly urgent. Traditional conferences bring people to a place, but they don’t bring them together. I traveled to Paris alone back then because you were organizing the leade.rs conference. Although I’m great at speaking in front of groups of people, I would never just approach someone at a conference to strike up a conversation. Conference apps don’t work for me either. I’ve long dreamed of an “emergent conference format” where numerous people with similar interests and experiences are gathered in one place. With AI Agents, we finally have the technical capabilities to let the format emerge virtually in real time. Agents chat with participants about their interests, experiences, offerings, and needs. This gives rise to a presentation in one instance, a workshop in another where several people explore a topic together, and elsewhere, one-on-one conversations based on a match between supply and demand or a shared problem. So there are only participants, spaces, and time. Everything else develops emergently. Coordinated by very friendly Agents who take you by the hand and bring you to the right place with the right people at the right time. Maybe you’d like to build this? 🤓 I’d definitely be on board. Best regards, Marco
Thank you Marco, I would love to build an event again. I am not sure it is the right timing for me yet, let’s keep having it in mind but thank you for the motivation!
In Stoicism, like Epictetus' teachings, others are "not things you control," so use them indifferently for virtue's sake. Buddhist views echo this — no one is truly enemy or friend permanently; all propel enlightenment by revealing attachment's folly.
Modern takes, like "everyone is your friend, everyone is your enemy," frame life as unpredictable training.
Prolly (oft) due to a disharmony of the fractalisation of previous energies which weren't calibrated vis-à-vis karma and the likes. Sometimes the bridge connection is forba particular purpose, not lasting.
Long friendships are meaningful when they’re built on trust and mutual respect. After 20+ years, those relationships often become like family. That’s why it’s painful when outside voices, gossip or misunderstandings are allowed to come between that bond. When we react from ego instead of giving each other the space to comunicate and clarify, we risk losing someone who has stood by us through so much.
It’s easy for others to influence our perception, but not everything we hear is truth. Letting that noise overide a genuine connection can cost us a deep and beautiful friendship.
At the same time, it’s also natural to outgrow certain relationships. I’ve made conscious choices to step away from connections that no longer align with my path or growth and that’s part of life. But there’s a difference between growing apart and being pulled apart.
It’s important to recognize when outside influences are trying to create distance between you and the people who truly know and support you.
Strangely I'm working right now on the era pre-crash 2007-8, and how we reacted to it before it really hit us. How many 'friends' were gone in six months or so? It's interesting going back to that and considering what it is about, and what may hit us next. Friends are friends.
If someone tears you away from yourself, perhaps they weren’t a friend. If your meditation leaves no time for friends, maybe meditate less. Wisdom with solitude isn’t so wise.
Lovely piece, my friend. Keep them coming, writing is your native tongue.
Thank you, friend. Interesting reaction to my writing about possibly "losing friends" or "losing touch with them." I can feel your friendship in your words, I can also feel how I fully disagree with what you wrote and it is perfectly okay, meditation and loneliness is what I need right now. The paradox is I am at the same time enjoying receiving and replying to comments, I guess I enjoy friends at a distance right now. Nothing personal, it has nothing to do with you, it's all about my current state. Thank you for your advice though, but I won't take it and meditate even more!
Sorry if it came off as advice. Meditate and socialize as you see fit - I do. Your friend’s advice set up a false binary I thought and a sad one - even the language was almost violent ie “tears”.
Our first obligation is to ourselves - don’t know what I said you disagreed with but I trust your wisdom to embrace the paradoxes needed to nourish and be nourished.
Does this leave fewer friends? Who knows? Journeys with known endings are less magical. You do you.
R
"If your meditation leaves no time for friends, maybe meditate less" sounds like advice to me. I am happy to receive advice from friends, always, and also happy to observe that it isn't what I need right now.
"Meditate and socialize as you see fit" also sounds to me like advice and you giving me permission for something I don't need any permission from anyone about.
I am just observing your words as someone that gives a lot of unsollicited advice, now twice even in your reply apologizing for giving me advice!
But by all means, keep writing here, it sharpens my observation skills. Otherwise the statement "friends are confusing me" becomes trues. Excellent exercice!
but then, this is also a mirror of me, I also tend to give advice, so this is also good as it helps me reflect on what I do myself, especially when I give it and it is not sollicited.
All I meant was “You do you” with love. Unsolicited advice feels shitty - like sitting in a class you didn’t choose.
As a fellow traveler and friend, I feel change and growth in you, both beautiful and private processes.
We may speak truth to power but find wisdom in silence.
and I see love and friendship from you, thanks!
Happened to pretty much all of my friends on a path ... lost friends, found new ones, lost them again ... can be a lonely road to travel.
« CAN » ? :-) it IS!
Yes, it happens … Vairagya refers to dispassion or non-attachment, where trapped prana (life energy) or emotional blockages demand an "exit" via conscious release, preventing stagnation. This interruption halts reactive cycles, allowing energy to flow freely again, much like clearing a dam in a river. You do not lose out on a friendship, rather a removal of something not calibrated to the requirements (energy resonance) of that moment.
Sounds true.
I’m also very grateful for the true friends I have in my life. To be honest, one could also argue the opposite—namely, that true friends bring you closer to your true self. In psychology, there’s the concept of the false self and the true self. The true self can only be discovered through experiences and observations. In my experience, true friends sometimes see the true self better than you do yourself. And having that reflected back can help you find yourself more fully.
Even though I have to categorize myself as a follower here, I was happy to read from you. I always enjoy thinking back on the conference in Paris 🤓 I’ve been wondering what you’ve been up to lately. Greetings from munich
Hey Marco, I miss my conference deeply, I miss LeWeb and also the other ones I launched, Leade.rs and PAUA. I actually see selling LeWeb as one of the biggest mistakes I did no matter what the size of the check I got selling it. It was useful for thousands of people every year, it was useful for me, it inspired many people to become independent and start their own business, finding the courage to do so, by featuring the "best" technology entrepreneurs. I miss it. It is all perfect, I am observing myself missing it. Thank you for bringing this memory.
Hey Loic. I strongly believe
that now is the time to envision a completely new kind of conference. In the coming years, the need for genuine human connection will become increasingly urgent. Traditional conferences bring people to a place, but they don’t bring them together. I traveled to Paris alone back then because you were organizing the leade.rs conference. Although I’m great at speaking in front of groups of people, I would never just approach someone at a conference to strike up a conversation. Conference apps don’t work for me either. I’ve long dreamed of an “emergent conference format” where numerous people with similar interests and experiences are gathered in one place. With AI Agents, we finally have the technical capabilities to let the format emerge virtually in real time. Agents chat with participants about their interests, experiences, offerings, and needs. This gives rise to a presentation in one instance, a workshop in another where several people explore a topic together, and elsewhere, one-on-one conversations based on a match between supply and demand or a shared problem. So there are only participants, spaces, and time. Everything else develops emergently. Coordinated by very friendly Agents who take you by the hand and bring you to the right place with the right people at the right time. Maybe you’d like to build this? 🤓 I’d definitely be on board. Best regards, Marco
Thank you Marco, I would love to build an event again. I am not sure it is the right timing for me yet, let’s keep having it in mind but thank you for the motivation!
Bonjour Loïc
In Stoicism, like Epictetus' teachings, others are "not things you control," so use them indifferently for virtue's sake. Buddhist views echo this — no one is truly enemy or friend permanently; all propel enlightenment by revealing attachment's folly.
Modern takes, like "everyone is your friend, everyone is your enemy," frame life as unpredictable training.
Yes, thank you. And I experienced « friends » that I helped turn into enemies at the first occasion as well. Fortunately quite an isolated case.
Prolly (oft) due to a disharmony of the fractalisation of previous energies which weren't calibrated vis-à-vis karma and the likes. Sometimes the bridge connection is forba particular purpose, not lasting.
Long friendships are meaningful when they’re built on trust and mutual respect. After 20+ years, those relationships often become like family. That’s why it’s painful when outside voices, gossip or misunderstandings are allowed to come between that bond. When we react from ego instead of giving each other the space to comunicate and clarify, we risk losing someone who has stood by us through so much.
It’s easy for others to influence our perception, but not everything we hear is truth. Letting that noise overide a genuine connection can cost us a deep and beautiful friendship.
At the same time, it’s also natural to outgrow certain relationships. I’ve made conscious choices to step away from connections that no longer align with my path or growth and that’s part of life. But there’s a difference between growing apart and being pulled apart.
It’s important to recognize when outside influences are trying to create distance between you and the people who truly know and support you.
Strangely I'm working right now on the era pre-crash 2007-8, and how we reacted to it before it really hit us. How many 'friends' were gone in six months or so? It's interesting going back to that and considering what it is about, and what may hit us next. Friends are friends.