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Category: Thinking Clearly

If You Completely Lost Your Memory…

Published on June 18, 2026

…Who would you ask to recount your true and most honest version of yourself?

Isn’t it interesting to think that each person you asked… would recount a different “true” and “most honest” version of you as seen through their eyes?

It’s worth sitting with this and asking yourself how the different people in your life would recount you to the amnesia you.

And then linger with that thought and decide if you’re happy with that… or if there are pieces of you missing that you would never get back because you’ve never given them out…

And decide if you want to do something about that…

…Or keep hiding what you might consider your most true and honest pieces?

What Do You Do?

Published on June 13, 2026

What do you do… in those moments you know you’ll always remember?

…In those crossroads moments?

…In those moments that represent a major shift or you know will make it onto your life’s highlight reel?

…At graduations? …At milestone birthdays? …At performance events? …At first dates? …At once-in-a-lifetime travel views?

…How do you step into that type of moment?

…How should you act?

…Should you record so you can reflect on it?

…Or should you step into that space in full presence and awareness?

…Maybe some combination of the two?

Can you step into a space with full awareness and presence if you’re thinking in the background about which moment(s) to capture? Maybe the moment happens when you think it will. Maybe another moment comes up that you think might be better? Maybe you decide to just capture them all and figure it out later?

…But then are you ever really there?

…What do you do?

Maybe outsource it to another? But then does it place a burden onto them that steals them away from presence and awareness? Or maybe it’d be a distinct joy to be able to rewatch this key moment a thousand times over on a screen? Maybe even more so than one fully absorbed and present time?

…And finally: are there ever really moments that are worth a careful contemplation like this over others? Or are all moments worth thinking carefully about like this?

Because I’ve been writing every day for a long time and I’ll tell you what…

There’s an unbelievable depth in each day.

What Does Your Design Say About You?

Published on May 25, 2026

What an interesting question to contemplate: “What does this space (that I’ve designed) say about me?”

And maybe more interesting—a question I’ve been contemplating all weekend: “How can I redesign this space so that it speaks to the person I have evolved into and most want to become?”

You’re Not Creating Your Own Weather…?

Published on May 14, 2026

I can’t express to you enough the importance of creating your own weather.

This becomes particularly important when you live in a chronically overcast, gray, cold, rainy place like Buffalo, NY.

If I let the weather dictate my mood, I’d be chronically miserable.

Instead, like the Good Mother herself, I gather various ingredients from what’s available in my immediate surroundings and cast a forecast over my day that’s aligned, predictable, and intentional with the mood I’m looking to nurture.

Music is a fundamental key in this practice. The vocals, instruments, and added sounds play at the exact vibration I’m looking to resonate at. And so rather than look outside at the literal weather, become miserable, and try to think myself into a joyful state… I’ll listen to music that matches what I would define as a joyful frequency and let it pull me upwards and outwards of my mind and into my body.

Mindful consumption is a strong second in the practice. Like food to the body, what gets consumed via the eyes, ears, and other senses has a direct impact on our inner weather. Watch news, gossip, and hate-based media—and so, too, will your mind become. Watch art, contribution, and love-based media—and so, too, will your inner weather become.

And digestion is an under-discussed third. Like food to the body, if you never stop eating—regardless of how healthy the food is—your body is going to feel like it needs to explode. We have a daily calorie limit for a reason—and the same should be true with the amount of minutes we spend consuming. The rest of the time? Digesting. Meditating. Relaxing. Playing. Being.

Building A “Perfect” World

Published on April 20, 2026

Imagine being born a prince or a princess.

And growing up with parents who wanted to make your life perfect.

Imagine what that might look like… imagine what essentially unlimited resources (being king and queen) could do… imagine what they might do to make sure you never knew a moment of suffering and had every need and desire met…

Imagine them building up a wall around your castle so that you never saw suffering or met people of different classes… imagine indulging in the best foods daily… receiving every gift you even slightly wanted… having servants cater to your every need and demand…

…Imagine what that might teach you about the world.

I’ll tell you what it’ll teach you: not much.

Not only is the above the story of Buddha… but it’s the story countless parents play in their head of what they want for their children—whom are the most precious things in the world to them.

…And protecting them, caring for them, and creating a “perfect” little world for them to live in is an instinctual part of a parent’s nature.

But the more the world skews towards “perfect”—in the sense of every desire being met and no suffering—the less it actually teaches us about the world, isn’t it?

Because life is imperfect. The world is imperfect. Humans are imperfect.

Suffering is everywhere. Needs aren’t something given—they’re earned. Desires aren’t meant to always be fulfilled.

THAT is the nature of things.

And the more you intermingle with the “imperfect” world… the more flawed humans you interact with… the more suffering you see through to the other side…

The more you’ll learn about life for real.

How Much Time Do You Spend Thinking Each Day?

Published on April 16, 2026

When I’m trying to think, it’s so much easier when I’m not being told what to think.

As I sit down to write each day, if I’m staring at a blank page… the thinking gets reflected back into my own mind and I’m able to settle and sort through my thoughts until I land on something I feel is worth sharing.

…If I’m staring at my email inbox, however, my thinking gets pulled into the subject lines, the senders, the questions that might arise over the different pieces of mail, and I’m no longer thinking internally—my eyes are gathering info that’s telling me what I should be thinking about.

The same is true if you’re trying to think, but you’re looking at a screen playing passive entertainment… or when you’re listening to lyrical music… or when you’re in a highly stimulating environment. It’s really hard to think when your senses are being bombarded with other thoughts and opinions and emotions.

This is why going for a walk in nature is so helpful for thinking. The trees don’t tell you what to think. Nor do the flowers or grasses or animals. The wind doesn’t have an opinion. And neither does the rain, snow, or sunshine.

And if that’s not an option available to you when you need to think the most, never underestimate the power of closing your eyes and sitting still. Bonus points for noise cancelling headphones. Double bonus points for noninvasive neurostimulating type music.

Try it. Do a little bit of it each day. But don’t take it for granted. It’s becoming harder than ever to find uninterrupted personal thinking space. It’s necessary. And it takes effort.

One-Of-One

Published on April 13, 2026

Comparing apples to other apples is a fair comparison.

But people are not like apples. Comparing people to other people isn’t fair at all.

No two people are alike and as such, shouldn’t be looked at as apples to apples.

Yet, we people do this all of the time. We compare height, weight, ethnicity, face symmetry, hair color, eye color, bodily proportions, fitness level, education level, talent level, social media level, relationship status, highlight reels, bought brand names, number of friends, quality of life, and so… much… more…

The key, when it comes to inner work, is to release this compulsive tendency to compare yourself to others in an apples to apples kind of way. And to, instead, look at yourself as a one-of-one being who was made to be a completely unique expression of nature.

Peaches can be compared to peaches.

Marigolds can be compared to marigolds.

Oak trees can be compared to oak trees.

But you…?

…You can only be compared to who you were yesterday. And nobody on this earth else.