Blog Archives - Page 3 of 6

#105 – Chaos In Cambodia

“Are you sure you want to eat my food?” He suggested we go to some of the other more established and palatable touristy places, before finally agreeing.

He was our tuk-tuk driver. It’s how tourists get around in South East Asia. We knew Sammy wasn’t his real name. I’m sure constantly explaining his true Khmer name to foreigners could get annoying.

I can’t tell you how many times I wished my name was Zeus or Heracles. You know, something modest and unassuming.

In any case, he was hesitant to let us into his world. I get it. With thousands of places to eat, frolic, and culturally appropriate in Cambodia, we were insistent to savor his taste of home.

# 104 – Make Some Cookies — A Story About Mom

Before leaving, I told her again to park away from the front of the school.

“Mom, please park away. I don’t want people to see it again,” I said with stern sincerity.

With a smile, “Okay, Beta (term of endearment in Hindi), don’t worry, I’ll remember.”

We had an old beat-up Nissan Sentra that my parents had purchased before I was born. The four-banger, manual transmission, was pushing a buck fifty and wouldn’t relent. From the outside, the car looked like it had its days numbered, but the Japanese are known for building bulletproof engines, and this one was no exception.

It had stains galore, ripped seats, and a smell of Nescafé and burnt toast that seeped its way into every fiber of the cloth upholstery. What was once a radiant red car, now had an off-color pinkish burgundy hue.

#103 – Who Is That Voice In My Head

Are we the voice of thoughts?

A 2020 study, published in the journal Nature Communications was carried out by psychologists at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada.

They uncovered that humans think an average of 6,200 thoughts a day.

All thoughts are outward and come from an experience. This is the “cause” of the thought, and the “effect” is our reaction to it.

Through my own learnings, I am coming to an interesting idea.

#102 – The Inner Light – How an Iconic Sci-Fi Show can Enlighten Us

I’m not a Trekie by any stretch of the imagination.

I’ve only watched, Star Trek: The Next Generation.

It’s up for debate, but the Inner Light is arguably one of the best episodes ever created.

#101 – The Dragon That Saved a United States Veteran

Imagine if you will.

Having to drink your own urine to fight dehydration.

So little food that you can count the number of grains of rice for dinner.

Imagine taking part in a daily dance, called the Death March, where you are tasked with holding a heavy object over your head and the moment you drop the object, your life ends.

#100 – Point the Finger, and Three Fingers Point Back

“If you step outside and you have a pain in your foot, you have two options. The first is you can try to wrap the entire world in burlap, or you can put on a pair of shoes.” – Ramana Maharshi

It’s easy to blame others for our problems.

It’s easy to push off responsibility to someone else.

However, what we perceive as easy, is nothing more than denying the inevitable.

#99 – 4 Reasons You Should Laugh at Your Problems

My wife and I at the Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene, OR

We all deal with stuff. This can aptly be described as suffering.

When we are in the thick of our own suffering, it seems as if the world is closing in on us, and the capacity to deviate from the emotions of those issues may seem intolerable.

However, there is a refuge, a safety net, and new ways to comprehend our problems when it seems we have no way out.

I feel as if I’ve gone through hell and back these past few years. I’m still here, smiling, living, and embracing every single second I have on this giant spinning rock.

I hope the reasons presented, offer you some level of peace and tickle a funny bone.

No matter what you’re going through, you’re going to be okay, because if you’re reading this, then you’re alive, which is an excellent segue into my first point.

Enjoy!

#98: How to Live a Simpler Life Today – 7 Things You Can Do to See Immediate Results

I wrote this because it is much needed during these interesting times.

We are dealing with a virus that’s affecting the entire globe. We see media outlets’ constant onslaught of fear-mongering tactics that have been giving rise to conspiracy theories and have overwhelmingly created separation and distrust in many arenas.

We are a nation that is divided and each side is absolutely sure they are right.

While the world feels smaller because almost everything is real-time, it also does seem a bit more chaotic.

Peace and joy are within everyone’s reach, but the onus is on us to do the work and the path is a solo journey.

Below are a few tactics that have helped me turn down the noise of negativity and division:

#97 The Meaning Of Life According To Prince & Purple Rain

When I first heard the classic jam, “When Doves Cry,” it was actually by 90’s r&b artist, Ginuwine, who’s famously known for his hit song, Pony.

If you don’t know who Genuwine is, I forgive you. However, for Tom, played by comedian Aziz Ansari on Parks and Recreation, it’s a slightly bigger deal.

It wasn’t until I was older, that I realized it was actually a remake of a Prince song. Needless to say, I wasn’t the biggest fan. Not because I didn’t enjoy his music, which I do now, but my taste was less evolved during my younger years.

#96 Timeless Lessons Learned for 2022

I turned thirty-seven years old on November 7th, 2021.

That’s thirty-seven revolutions around the sun.

That’s 148 seasons, roughly 13,505 days, and 324,120 hours of a life lived.

However, age is an arbitrary figure when looking at the lens of the present moment, but for the sake of this article, I will share thirty-seven pieces of advice that have helped me, and I hope it helps you too.