Category: Archives

The full collection of explorations.

All In Flight [Poem]

Published on September 6, 2024

I can’t help
But look away
And turn completely
After looking directly
At light so bright

I can’t help
But bounce back
And stumble clumsily
After two-stepping into beauty
That radiates depth in spite

Even as I fight
I’m just not ready
To soul gaze with infinity
To rhythmically move
Open my heart
And forget the better in sight

Until I lock into you
It takes everything I’ve got
I bear the brightness
Withstand the inner storm
Your forcefield now a black hole
We couldn’t have been more tight

I’m captivated later
By the image of dancing feet
Nothing I felt up there
Existed down here
Where all seemed equal
Just one interrelated energy

—All in flight.

P.s. You can read my other poems here.

They Were Right

Published on September 5, 2024

Do more things that make you forget you have a phone… they said.

…And they were right.

There isn’t much presence that comes from being on a phone.

Except maybe when you’re having a great conversation.

But, that feels to me to be more of the exception than the norm in today’s world.

Phones are a modern day escape.

And there’s nothing wrong with escapes. I know I sure need them every now and again.

But, when you’re escaping for excessively large chunks of time throughout your day… it begs the question…

…What are you trying to escape from?

And how can you begin the process of reversing that trend so that your reality—your life—becomes a thing you don’t need to escape from?

P.s. You might notice some differences in how you get these posts emailed to you—my old email provider retired its service while I was at Burning Man. So please bear with me as I get everything migrated over and updated to a new service in the mean time. Thank you :)

Gone to Burning Man!

Published on August 25, 2024

From Saturday (8/24/24) to Wednesday (9/4/24), I’ll be off grid.

That means, you won’t get daily emails from me until I get back on the grid on Thursday (9/5/24)-ish.

Rest assured, I’ll still be writing daily—it’ll just take on a more primitive form (that’s right folks… pen and paper).

And when I get back, I’ll share what words made it to paper during what I’m expecting to be a wild, curious, mysterious, serendipitous, and nothing-short-of-inspirational week.

Don’t know what Burning Man is? I can barely explain it. But, this video does a pretty solid job.

Thank you to each of you for your ongoing support. I look forward to reconnecting when I get back. ♥

P.s. If you’re feeling generous, you can send a little love via coffee here. This trip will definitely require copious amounts of caffeine. Cheers 🙂

IRL Minus VR

Published on August 21, 2024

There’s this girl who sits at a table by the side of the road, presumably selling something, who’s on my route to and from work each day.

I’ve seen her maybe 6-8 times in the last week or two and still have no idea what she’s selling.

Why haven’t I stopped to ask?

Well, to be honest, she doesn’t look like she wants to be bothered. She usually has her hood up, she’s slouched in her chair mostly hiding under the table, eyes glued to her phone, there’s no signage, and she rarely looks up to see if anybody is even slightly interested…

…Mind you, she doesn’t look to be any older than 13.

And yet, something about this scene resonated with what I see often in modern society.

People hiding, mostly in the comfort of their homes with their windows shut, slouched in their chairs playing keyboard warrior, eyes glued to screens, no clear indication of who they are/ what they’re doing with their lives/ how they’re trying to make a difference, rarely looking up to see what’s happening IRL when they’re away from that virtual reality (VR), waiting for someone or something to happen to them for the better.

There’s no question that there are countless, phenomenal opportunities that can be accessed IRL via VR.

But, what most modern day people seem to forget, is that there are countless, phenomenal opportunities that can be accessed IRL minus VR, too.

Use The Damn Tool(s)

Published on August 20, 2024

In reply to my post on one lesson from 35 years, my uncle replied with the following:

“It’s funny, most of the educated, ‘smart people’ I know told me not to retire early… ‘you’ll be sorry.’ Funny that they text me to see if it’s actually working… why??? Because they don’t get job satisfaction anymore and want to jump. It’s not about getting rich, it’s not about all the zeros in that account… it’s about having enough, having health, and being able to savor the flavor of life. I, we, take things slow, and my old way of looking at life is/has changed. Money can’t buy health or time.”

Pair this with a nugget of wisdom from my great grandmother (that my mom shared at my birthday party this past weekend): “If your problems can be solved with money… you don’t really have problems” and two thoughts come to mind.

(1) Damn, I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such incredible role models in my life. It makes such an impact (probably one of the biggest impacts) on a person’s life… and if you’re not surrounded by good role models… do everything in your power to change that.

(2) Get rich, quick! is the current of modern day society—swim against it. Which isn’t to say you should disregard money. There’s no doubting the fact that money is a powerful tool. But, that’s just it… it’s a tool. Don’t become so obsessed with hoarding the tool that you forget to use the damn thing to do amazing things!

The handyman who merely collects and stores tools is no handyman at all.

Ask yourself… Is the person who merely collects and hoards money really living at all?

One-To-One Influence

Published on August 19, 2024

Before asking me what I’ve learned from 35 years of life, my dad gave a beautiful toast that featured some of his thoughts about me.

And one thing he said impressed him the most was how long I’ve been doing the important work of impacting lives—not on a “one-to-many” basis—but on a “one-to-one” basis.

This blog is a “one-to-many” form of influence/impact.

I know I’ve influenced/impacted the lives of some of the people who have read these posts.

…But, I also know I’ve influenced/impacted the lives of those whom I’ve connected with on a one-to-one basis and over an extended period of time… more.

As is how one would expect it to be.

Which isn’t to say one form of influence/impact is better than another per se.

…Who’s to say having a noticeable, but relatively small impact on 100 people is less than a comparatively big impact on one person? Or vice versa?

It’s merely a reminder to not forget about the tremendous opportunity hidden inside the “just one person” whom you cross paths with each day.

Modern society will have you brainwashed into believing that number of followers and amount of engagement determines your influence on people/society.

And, like with many things, modern society is mostly wrong.

In a world where most everybody is trying to be the “one-to-many” influencer… swim the other way… and be the one who doesn’t miss an opportunity to make a comparatively massive impact on “just one.”

…When honestly, that’s who needs it the most.

One Lesson From 35 Years…

Published on August 18, 2024

Today, my dad asked me what I’ve learned from 35 years of life.

After thinking about it more, and to keep it concise, I’d say what’s become more and more clear to me—in these modern times—is that the path forward almost always goes against the current of society.

The current of society is pushing with increasing intensity each day towards:

Screens… swim against it and aim to keep your screen time to an absolute minimum.
Social media… swim against it. Spend more time IRL. Minimize comparisons. Reclaim your attention. The attention you bring to your moments become the building blocks you use to define your life.
Comfort… swim against it. Maybe not all of the time—it’s good to spend an appropriate amount of time relaxing. But, for a good chunk of your day? Aim for uncomfortable. Exercise… learn… experiment… meditate… fail… etc.
Hate… swim against it. Divisive media that elicits reactions gets pushed to the top of timelines—push love instead. Modern news is war, crime, death, collapse, fear, and so on… spend your time consuming the opposite instead.
Busyness… swim against it. Intentionally slow down. Intentionally free up time. Intentionally stop looking at/thinking about everything you need to do and just focus on one thing at a time. Not being in a hurry is an EXCELLENT sign that you’re enjoying the process. And not enjoying the process, let’s not forget, is not enjoying your life.

I could go on and on with this analogy, but as I mentioned above… concise.

Swimming against the current has become a sort of mantra and guiding light for my life. One that I’d encourage you to think about for yours.