Isn’t it amazing how each of us can now dial our lives and experiences down to the most granular, seemingly insignificant level? Not only can we be our own DJ’s and turn on the alarm for the house from 20 miles away, we can tap into podcasts and audiobooks while having our teeth cleaned, plug our menstrual cycles into apps that calculate ovulation, look at our wrists to see how many steps we took that day – and get business cards designed, printed and shipped – in two days. More and more, our lives are becoming customizable – but you know what that does to everything that ISN’T? It makes us cranky. As we get more and more accustomed to things being connected, in sync, measurable, on-demand and tuned into our every mood and preference, all of the elements of life that are out of our control – relationships, business deals, creative projects, partnerships – all of those variables that cannot be swiped, clicked or downloaded  – become incrementally more frustrating.

It’s simple, actually. We’re getting used to having our way with our worlds. But the world is still reminding us that we’re human, people are people, life is still life – and most of it is still out of our control.

So now we get to practice tolerance. Patience. Flexibility.

Funny how the technical pace of life might also be accelerating our spiritual paths. If we let it.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite customization tools.