Category: Archives

The full collection of explorations.

Angels In Life

Published on May 21, 2025

I’m a part of a 30 person camp who all share the experience and responsibility of Burning Man each year.

One of the camp members called me the other day with an ask.

She was explaining to me that her and her husband had spent some time with one of the older camp members and that he was, essentially, losing himself. He was becoming erratic, nonsensical, and unable to maintain a conversation… that he was no longer the person she had met some 30+ years before.

The ask was if I would be willing to drive him and his RV to the burn and then back again afterward. She explained that he was one of the people whose life was dramatically changed by Burning Man and she knew he wouldn’t be able to make the trip on his own anymore… and wanted to do everything she could to get him back for at least one final burn.

I hope one day… when I’m older, erratic, non-sensical, unable to maintain a conversation, and by all intents and purposes—losing myself… I have people in my life who look out for me in the same way. Who stay with me for long weekends… who know me better than I’m able to express at that aged time… who are willing to go above and beyond to get me to one last burn.

People like these are the angels of our lives.

And the funny thing about getting angels in our life… is that you usually get them by being one in other peoples’ lives.

Using “Blank” and “Empty” To Invite Fresh, Future-Focused Living

Published on May 20, 2025

The interesting thing about blank page and canvas, is that it invites creation.

The interesting thing about living with blank walls, is that it invites art/decor.

The interesting thing about empty furniture, is that it invites use. Tables want to be filled, chairs want to be sat in, bookshelves want to be lined…

The interesting thing about this time of the year, is that it invites us to reset our living environments. Spring is a time for cleaning, for donating, for reorganizing, for tossing, for selling… it’s a time to turn the page on how we’ve filled the blank/empty spaces in the past and invites us to take a fresh look and reflect on how we want to begin anew in creation, art/decor, and use.

Inner Work Prompt: Does your current environment feel “done” or does it invite fresh, creative thinking?

The REAL Pleasure In Life

Published on May 19, 2025

The more tired I am, the more easily I’m sucked into distraction.

The more easily I’m sucked into distraction, the more tired I get.

At some point, the cycle needs to be broken.

The cycle can be broken by getting more sleep (which makes it easier to avoid/resist distraction and then again get more sleep) or by further removing distraction (which makes it easier to get more sleep and then again further remove more distraction).

The problem is that most people have a really hard time making this up front investment.

They get to the end of their day and don’t want to go to bed early (because they just want to ‘relax and unwind’) so they allow for unnecessary and excessive distraction.

Or while they’re staring at the priority workload they have to complete, they succumb to the distractions instead because it’s easier and more pleasant to get a couple quick dopamine hits than trying to complete a daunting work load.

But once you make that initial upfront investment and deliberately make choices that lead to more sleep or allow you to focus on the priority tasks over the cheap dopamine hits… and the cycle is actually broken… what begins anew is a fresh cycle… an upward spiring cycle… one where more sleep leads to more willpower over distraction and/or less distraction leads to less struggle with sleep.

And THAT is where the real pleasure in life is found.

Inner Work Prompt: How can you break the tired and distracted cycle in your life?

P.s. ICYMI you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week here.

Walking Your Way Through Problems

Published on May 17, 2025

Today, one of my best friends went through one of the hardest days of his life.

In the thick of it, he got devastating news about his dog and was confronted with a choice…

He could either do a 17k surgery or put his dog down… the same choice I had to face with my Stella.

It was an emotional call to say the least, but as we talked about it on the phone the two things I offered him was (1) call and speak to the people we know who have been through it and listen to their advice and (2) take a walk.

The first piece felt obvious since we had a few friends in common who have lived this experience and there’s nobody better qualified to answer an impossible question than the people who have had to make it before.

The second piece of advice felt less obvious but worth mentioning because it’s what really helped me when I was going through it. Sometimes when we sit stagnantly in our sorrow, it turns into a toxic stew that clouds our judgement and poisons our physiology.

Moving our body is a highly underrated way to flush the highly potent emotions that come with sorrow and grief so as to keep our thinking moving and problem solving ideas fresh.

It’s a strategy that helps with the impossible decisions and everyday problems alike. And if you can get into the habit of walking more regularly… you just might find yourself working your way through your problems more regularly as well.

On Being Present With Those Who Suffer Loss

Published on May 15, 2025

A martial arts friend of mine lost his dog last week.

In a post about it, he said, “Honestly, there are no words for what I’m feeling right now. Like I said in an earlier post, if I want to talk about it, I will. But please don’t leave the usual comments—’Sorry for your loss,’ ‘He’s in a better place,’ and so on. I know people mean well, but those words just pick at the wound and make it harder to heal.”

I know this pain all too well with how I ended up losing my dog, Stella.

And while I, too, have no words for getting through this type of pain or how to deal with these types of emotions… what I can say is that presence is the best gift any of us can provide.

And not necessarily presence in the sense of being with him in person… I know that wasn’t what I wanted when I was going through it—I wanted to crawl into a cave and wall myself in.

I mean presence in the sense of keeping them present in your mind and actions. By embodying the best of what each of them represent and passing that forward in the best way you can. By engaging with the material that’s posted and finding ways to celebrate the life of an animal that meant so much. By showing up and being there in person when it’s appropriate and well timed.

Sometimes words just pick at the wound.

But presence… the energy that’s felt when another enters your awareness… when it has the right intention and vibration… is generally received as a healing warmth.

Are You Working ON Your Life Or IN Your Life?

Published on May 13, 2025

As a manager of a martial arts school, it’s my job to work ON the business rather than IN the business.

I need to zoom out of the day-to-day operations and take time to notice patterns, brainstorm initiatives, innovate, improve systems and organization, invest in human resources, refine communication, create exciting futures, plant seeds, study industry trends, find synergistic opportunities, align with like minded people and businesses, help my staff do their jobs in the most brilliant way possible…

But if I’m fully absorbed in the day-to-day operations and I’m answering every phone call, hanging every flyer, calling every lead, booking every appointment, doing every school tour, meeting with every student, teaching every class, chatting with every parent, planning every class, photoshopping every promotion, editing every social media post, and so on…

…I’ll have no time left over to zoom out.

Which isn’t to say as a manager I can’t be doing any of the latter mentioned tasks—I still do many of them and do so joyfully—it’s just to say I can’t do all of them, all of the time.

…As it is for how you should be living your life.

Don’t become so absorbed in the day-to-day that you can’t take time to zoom out every now and again. Find time to work ON your life rather than always being stuck working IN your life. And as counterintuitive as it might sound… and as busy as you might feel… adding time to work ON your life, even when you’re in the heat of working IN it… is precisely how you become UNstuck and LESS busy.

Good luck.

The Duality Of Insight

Published on May 12, 2025

After I upload a quote to MoveMe Quotes, it’s important I tag it with the appropriate topics/themes.

For example, I uploaded a quote today that reads, “You start dying slowly if you do not travel, if you do not read, if you do not listen to the sounds of life, if you do not appreciate yourself. You start dying slowly when you kill your self-esteem; when you do not let others help you. You start dying slowly if you avoid to feel passion and their turbulent emotions; those which make your eyes glisten and your heart beat fast. You start dying slowly if you do not change your life when you are not satisfied with your job, or with your love, if you do not risk what is safe for the uncertain, if you do not go after a dream, if you do not allow yourself at least once in your lifetime, to run away from sensible advice…” ~ Pablow Neruda

Now, obviously this quote is about death—and how not to die slowly—so I tag it “Death Quotes.”

But… more importantly, this quote is about living—and how to truly live before you die—so I tag it “Living Quotes.”

And this duality is an important concept to understand when dealing with insight.

If you want to understand life—study death. If you want to understand death—study life. If you want to understand self-love—study self-hate. If you want to understand self-hate—study self-love. If you want to understand connection—study solitude. If you want to understand solitude—study connection. And so on.

Are you studying the duality of the problem(s) you’re facing in your life?