*July 27, 2024* # Higher Ground ![[stevie.jpeg]] > [@barneyhurley1](https://x.com/barneyhurley1/status/1815011183088263647): > Billboard to promote the release of Stevie Wonder's seminal 1976 album, 'Songs in the Key of Life' in Times Square, NYC I'm thinking about what it means to be "grounded". The only thing that will move an electron is voltage. A circuit, at the end of the day, is a channel for energy to flow; an obstacle course placed between electrons and their inevitable destination: a different location, with a higher voltage. We do this, so that on their journey from low to high, something useful is made from the energy they carry. From lightbulbs to software, a simple principle is at work. The journey for those electrons is relatively simple. They bumble along a more or less straight path through long, smooth, copper power lines. At some point, they find an outlet and enter a jumbled maze of components. Here begin the few key moments they have to do any real work. To an electron, a computer's logic gates are traffic lights. Stop and go traffic moves along one path, traffic on another has to wait. Everything has to move slower than it otherwise would. Cars bunch up in some places, thin out in others. Patterns emerge. Where we see bytes, programs, structure, an electron sees gridlock. ![[NOu7.gif]] Adversity is an essential part of life. Be patient and see how things play out. Nobody is good or bad; we're just *complex*. This sort of tribulation makes the difference between a furious bolt of **raw energy** and something helpful. It's a wonder that we produce so much light in our process. Our devices need energy, but too much can be lethal. Given nowhere to go, excess charge can backflow into the circuit and make it behave in strange ways. Worse yet, it can force itself through the wrong pathways and damage the circuit. The Earth, for all intents and purposes, can absorb an infinite amount of charge. A ground wire exists to channel all that stray energy into the earth. Being grounded means that energy can be safely put to use. We all come to be mindful of what we carry, and what energy we channel. Energy flows where attention goes, and things have a way of making themselves better. Forgiveness will always be the most we can offer each other. It turns out that today's energy is best spent on today's problems; that's how we'll have energy for tomorrow's problems.