I’m sitting here with a cup of cacao, staring at the Oracle reading I cast earlier today—41, Decrease, and 30, The Clinging. The words linger: “Decrease combined with sincerity brings about supreme good fortune,” and “Care of the cow brings good fortune.” There’s a quiet weight to them, a nudge to step back, to persevere through holding on lightly. It’s funny how these ancient lines seem to mirror the messiness of the projects I’ve been wrestling with—SunMint, Agroverse.shop, and the broader TrueSight DAO. I shared this reading in our Beer Hall channel, and it’s been sitting with me as I think about wildfires, harvests, and insect infestations half a world away.
I’ve been pouring energy into these initiatives, but lately, it’s feeling like I’m trying to steer a ship in a storm that’s not even in my harbor. Let me unpack this—maybe it’ll make sense to you too.
SunMint and the Wildfire Gap
SunMint, for those who aren’t in the loop, is tied to reforestation efforts in partnership with farmers in Para, Brazil, through the CEPOTX Cooperative. There’s a big meeting on December 19th, the end-of-harvest directors’ gathering, where Jidielcio is set to pitch the project alongside their own reforestation plans. I’ve done what I can from my end—ideas, connections, vision—but if I don’t hear back after that date, I’m ready to let it rest. No hard feelings, just reality. It’s too far away for me to micromanage, and honestly, I shouldn’t have to. If the execution side can’t handle the logistics, I’m not about to jump in and patch holes from halfway across the globe.Key observation: There’s a company out there, Mast Reforestation, that’s raised $25 million in Series B funding to tackle carbon emissions post-wildfires in the USA’s Pacific Northwest. Their model—focused on a region hit hard by recent fires—feels like it’s filling a market gap more directly than SunMint could from a US perspective. If our project doesn’t take root, maybe that’s the universe saying there’s a better path already in motion. Why force a square peg into a round hole?
Agroverse and the Insect Dilemma
Then there’s Agroverse.shop, our supply chain play connecting Brazilian agriculture to US markets. Matheus, down in Bahia, is struggling to lock down a fumigation company to handle an expected insect infestation in the warehouse. He’s been upfront—there’s only one company in the region, and scheduling is a nightmare. His latest update: “This week I’ll update you all.” I appreciate the transparency, but if this doesn’t get resolved, we’re looking at disposing of an entire shipment. That’s not just a loss of goods; it’s a blow to confidence from external investors who’ve backed this.Here’s the hard truth—I’m not in a position to fix this. If the supply side infrastructure proves unreliable, I’m not going to keep pouring my time into expanding the US retail distribution network. With the capital levels in the DAO already tight, a failure here could dry up future funding. And if that happens, I’ll quietly set Agroverse aside too. No drama, just a clear-eyed acknowledgment of what’s within my control and what isn’t.
Questioning the Core: TrueSight DAO Under Scrutiny
And now, on top of these project-specific challenges, I’ve been forced to take a hard look at the very structure holding it all together—TrueSight DAO itself. Last night, I interfaced with an AI tool on Decile Hub that mimics how a venture capitalist would assess a project. I threw the entire TrueSight DAO model into its grinder, and the questions it fired back cut deep. It wasn’t about scalability or governance, but something more fundamental: What do these projects—SunMint, Agroverse, and others—actually need right now? The AI pushed me to consider whether a traditional corporate structure might serve their current needs better than a DAO.Here’s where I’m at with this—decentralization made a ton of sense in the early days when there were no operations, just ideas and community momentum. Back then, the DAO model felt like the perfect way to align incentives and distribute decision-making. But as we’ve moved into operations mode, I’m seeing these projects—SunMint, Agroverse, and beyond—become increasingly centralized. The reality of execution demands tighter control, quicker decisions, and accountability that a decentralized structure struggles to deliver. The community aspects are still there, sure, and I value them deeply, but I’m starting to question whether they need to be tied to token holders or a DAO framework at all.
Take Agroverse, for instance—right now, there are really only two or three critical participants keeping the supply chain alive. There’s Matheus on the exporting side, often dealing directly with farmers in Brazil; there’s Kirstin in San Francisco, handling all the packing and fulfillment requests; and then there’s me, actively expanding the network of USA-based retailers. Pretty much everyone else has been sidelined at this point. Isn’t that the textbook definition of centralization? Same with SunMint—everything is coordinated through CEPOTX via Jidielcio. I’m not managing a sprawling network of decentralized contributors; it’s funneled through a single point of contact. That’s centralized too, isn’t it?
So here’s the big question nagging at me: Why are we still calling this a DAO, which implies decentralization, when everything has become very, very centralized at this point? I didn’t have a solid answer for the AI’s probing, and frankly, I still don’t. If I can’t justify sticking with this model—to a simulated VC or even to myself—why keep investing time and resources into it? It’s a harsh mirror to hold up, but I can’t ignore it. I need to sit with this, think critically about what the projects truly require at this stage, and figure out if transitioning away from a DAO structure is the right move. Maybe the Oracle’s “Decrease” is pointing me toward shedding not just projects, but frameworks that no longer fit.
The Oracle’s Whisper: Decrease and Cling Lightly
Reflecting on the Oracle, “Decrease” feels like a call to strip away what’s not essential—to stop chasing sunk costs or throwing good effort after bad. “The Clinging” reminds me to hold on, but not with a death grip. Care for the cow, not control it. I’m starting to see SunMint, Agroverse, and even TrueSight DAO as things I’ve nurtured, but their outcomes are up to the universe now. My locus of control is limited, especially when I’m dealing with partners, problems, and paradigms thousands of miles or layers of abstraction away.There’s a broader lens here I’m trying to adopt. I’ve been looking at these challenges through the narrow frames of TrueSight DAO, SunMint, and Agroverse—each a subset of the bigger picture. But narrowing the view like that, while it saves mental bandwidth, risks blinding me to the full abyss. If these models fail, chasing them further might just be policy for policy’s sake—doubling down on a losing bet. What if I step back entirely, let go of these specific lenses, and just observe the whole messy landscape as it is? Maybe that’s where the real clarity lies.
Reflections for the Day
I’m learning to surrender—not in a defeated way, but in a way that acknowledges I can’t force outcomes. There’s a strange peace in that. I’ve put in the work, made the connections, cast the vision. Now, it’s about letting the pieces fall where they may. If SunMint doesn’t take off post-December 19th, so be it. If Agroverse crumbles under supply chain issues, that’s a signal too. And if TrueSight DAO’s structure doesn’t fit the operational needs of these projects, maybe that’s the biggest sign of all to rethink the foundation itself. I’ll pivot, refocus, find the next path.Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Accepting that some projects aren’t mine to save.
- Recognizing when the universe—or market forces, or logistics—has a better plan.
- Staying open to new models (like Mast Reforestation’s wildfire focus) that might align better with the gaps I see.
- Critically evaluating the DAO structure itself—does it still make sense for operations, or is a more centralized approach the way forward?
What about you—how do you handle letting go of projects or plans you’ve poured heart into? Have you ever had to question the very framework you’ve built something on, especially when reality shifts from ideation to execution? I’d love to hear how you’re navigating your own abyss.
As for me, I’m taking a sip of cacao and waiting to see what the universe unfolds next. Maybe Decrease isn’t a loss—it’s just making space.