think in context 🌿
"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks."
— Christopher Hitchens
🗞️ Context is king
Growing up, I saw Philippians 4:13 everywhere.
On tarpaulins at graduation. On wristbands. On basketball jerseys. On classroom walls.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
It was the verse of champions. Achievement verse. The verse you quote before a big game or a big exam. I can do all things... dream big, aim high, push harder.
Later, I actually read the verses around it.
"I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need."
— Philippians 4:11-12
Paul was writing from prison. He wasn't talking about winning. He was talking about being at peace with having nothing. The "all things" wasn't about achieving, it was about enduring.
The verse still hits, but differently in context.
One of the things I picked up early is that context is king (...although fake news has built an entire empire on taking things completely out of context lol). When you're trying to actually understand something (a quote, a person, a decision, or even tools & systems), context changes everything.
One of my favorite lines from a poem is:
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
It shows up the same way Philippians 4:13 used to before: in graduation speeches, on Instagram, in motivational reels. Dream big. Do something extraordinary with your life.
But the lines right before it say:
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
The question at the end isn't a rally cry. It's almost gentle: given that everything dies too soon, maybe the answer is just this. Being here. Paying attention.
Same pattern. A famous line used for ambition. The full context is about stillness.
📓 Devotions
The line I quoted above is from the poem called The Summer Day, and it's from a collection called Devotions – the selected poems of Mary Oliver.
I read it on Kindle while traveling last October-November 2025. It's not the kind of book you read front to back in one sitting. You open it wherever and whenever.
I've been noticing that this idea – paying attention, being present – feels more urgent now. At Symph, we've been doing a lot with AI, and I'm genuinely excited about it. Ironically, in the age of AI, thinking in context is way more important now.
One of the things I keep observing is how much is being produced online. More writing, more images, more content than at any point in history. And a lot of it is good. But a lot of it is untethered from the thing that makes it land.
One of the best things I've seen on the internet recently is a reel from @blakeoftoday. Someone tweeted asking if being an artist is still a safe career with AI. His response? AI can turn out points all day. But only people can yearn. Only people can love. Only people can play.
It reminded me that creating & doing any kind of work (even beyond craftsmanship) was never about safety or the security. It was always about the making which in itself is a privilege.
In a world where anything can be generated in the speed of light, the most valuable thing might just be what's lived. What's felt. What's actually in context. I've been figuring out my own systems for that: how to create more from what I actually experience, and be more intentional about what I let in.
🔋 things worth your attention
In the spirit of being more intentional about what I consume, here are a few things that earned my attention recently:
Molly Graham
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