"I decided to open the closed window."

– "Flow," Colors (Code Geass opening song)

Code Geass is the anime equivalent of L O S T: captivating and astounding and complex and overwrought and beautiful and clever and profound. L O S T, of course, is the television equivalent of life itself.

Code Geass has a conceit where the main guy, Lelouch, receives the power to command any other individual, once per person. He's also the anonymous masked leader of a resistance movement against an oppressive government. He is both things. He's also a high school student. He is all three things. Many things are many things.

Lelouch uses the Geass to do everything from get the answers for a test to tell the gods not to stop the forward march of time. You know, normal anime stuff. But it makes perfect sense with the conceit of the Geass - this power increases Lelouch's personal power. As his power scales, his concerns scale.

One could plausibly frame the Geass as the skill of being convincing. Forcibly convincing, but convincing. Chess is a recurring motif in the show. Is there convincing in a game of chess? Well, no, but yes. Before a game, each player convinced themself to study the game of chess for some amount of time across their life. Each player showed up to their study sessions with some level of resolve and effort and focus.

So Lelouch convinces people to do things for fifty episodes until the resistance movement, in opposing the oppressor and succeeding, has become the oppressor. Lelouch has dropped the mask of his anonymous identity in order to rule, which he does until someone donned as his anonymous identity stabs him through the chest. The very same thing that he built up ended up destroying him.

People are talented at building. If nothing else, they build an identity from a story that they tell themselves through their actions. If they exercise one day and also the next day and also the following day, they likely value fitness or health or attractiveness or consistency or challenge. Hmmm, that's five things. Five plausible stories about the same action.

In the same manner, Code Geass isn't necessarily about any of the stuff I've mentioned. Maybe it's a show about change, a debate about whether change is more effective when it comes from within vs. without, a question explored through its central characters.

Within and without is a false dichotomy - that's a story I tell myself. Within and without have sway over each other, each reinforces the other. Lelouch tells others what to do through the Geass. Who tells Lelouch what to do? It's Lelouch, Lelouch and his values. Again I ask, who tells Lelouch what to do?

What to do is a question that has vexed me. This could be surprising as I am creatively prolific: 15 web apps and 70 essays. But these creations can feel like I'm trying to make them. What if I didn't try?

Isabel has a compelling essay around this topic. As she puts it, "effortlessness is a sign of freedom." I've been paying attention to where I don't feel free. Money has been a big one: in my career I've made good money working on things I don't care about, and I've made no money working on things I do care about. It's no coincidence that I'm seeing financial rewards from a few newer things that are effortless to me: coaching and freelance coding. These activities are at the intersection of my interests and abilities and what others find valuable. I don't have to try. But not trying is scary. Isn't that strange? I have so many stories around doing and effort and achievement that the fact that not trying is starting to give me more freedom than trying almost doesn't feel real. But it is real, and I'm just getting started.

Code Geass keeps its focus on Lelouch and the others who move the plot along. But it gives a lot of attention to the shifts of the people Lelouch commands. It's the same every time: the recipient receives the command while they hold eye contact with Lelouch, and an abstract depiction of brain synapses being rewired is shown. Then the person does as they are commanded, no hesitation and no uncertainty. They act effortlessly. It's the same with effortless action in life. The mind holds no tension about it, the body holds no resistance to carrying it out. There's an allowing.

I can allow myself to notice where I can act more effortlessly in whatever I'm doing, especially places where I've had some resistance. What might effortless marketing look like? Effortless writing?

I did a bit of a Geass on myself when I decided on 2024 being my Year of Blossoming. I love the message I told myself three months ago: "Which choice will best allow me to blossom?" Flowers do not exert effort in order to blossom!

I am the flower and the gardener and the soil. I am learning to delight in the overlap of what I want and what others want. One cool thing about coaching is that I can coach myself by giving my circumstances the same compassion and curiosity that I give to those of my clients. I see my stories, my limiting beliefs, my clinging to an identity that no longer serves me here and now.

I don't remember much about Code Geass aside from what I've shared here. I remember who I was when I watched it, and I notice what has stayed consistent about me from then until now. The best thing about the show was that it allowed me to have so many fun conversations with my friends. It was a vehicle for connection.

Find your breakthrough: I offer a pay-what-you-want coaching service where I help you get unstuck, figure out a next step, or get clarity during a one-hour video call. My approach is to uncover the bottleneck of your situation by following my curiosity, and to explore that bottleneck with you. Learn more about the service here.

Get a browser tool: I make simple and elegant browser tools. Here are some freely available ones: a GIF maker, a display of scores for Twitter accounts, and a display of daily time spent on Twitter. To inquire about a custom tool I could make for you, send an email to loopstrangest@gmail.com or DM me on Twitter with what you have in mind.

Programming note: I'm going to send these newsletters more frequently than once per month. I will share lessons, insights, and reflections on being human, informed by the many ways I dance with life. If I understand how ConvertKit URLs work, then you can share this post with this link.