Finding Swamy

#85 Ball Don’t Lie – Belief in Oneself is Crucial

I played a lot of basketball growing up.

Many will agree, it’s the greatest sport ever created.

Although I played on my high school team and in various tournaments, it was streetball that separated the men from the boys.

#84 Dance – Die to Yesterday, and usher in the Gift of Today

Rarely, if ever, do we skip to the end of the things we enjoy.

When it comes to our favorite songs, we make it a point to listen to every beat.

The chorus is just as important as the ending notes.

It’s times like this where some esoteric force that’s beyond our comprehension, pulls us close to accept the present moment.

#83 Is It Really Free-Range – Control the Controllables

I buy free-range, cage-free eggs.

I picture happy chickens, wallowing in the California Sun, listening to Bill Withers and two-stepping their feathers away in an open sunflower field.

As much as I want this to be true, it’s not.

At the very least, they must be free-range and cage-free, right?

#82 Day of Silence – Finding Peace within is still an Underrated Concept

Celebrated in March, Nyepi, or day of silence marks the New Year according to the Balinese Calendar. It’s the oldest recorded ritual celebrated in human history.

It’s a public holiday in Indonesia but celebrated mainly in the city of Bali.

During Nyepi, the entire city is closed. There is no work. The airports are at a standstill. Lights are kept low. There is no entertainment, electronics aren’t permitted, and no one cooks.

#81 The Wheel – Talk is Cheap, Take Action

I don’t feel like working out most days.

But I still do.

I never regretted a workout.

There’s a lot of things in my daily life that I don’t want to do sometimes, but I know they are needed.

#80 Don’t Beat Yourself – Failure Is Not Fatal

In my teens, getting in F was akin to Armageddon.

In my 20’s, a screw up at work made me feel tense and anxious for weeks.

Now in my mid 30’s, failing to do something correctly has become an opportunity for growth.

Failure is good. It’s the litmus test needed to grow our intellects, wisdom and spirit.

Did you screw up at work? Trust me, it’s not as bad as you think.

Did you upset someone? Don’t worry too much. Thankfully, you don’t have the power to perceive how others think.

Did you overeat and not exercise? Put a stamp on today and let it go.

Tomorrow is a new beginning.

Our failures, when acknowledged, can help us strive to be better.

Failure is not fatal, so fail as much as you can.

Having the tenacity to get back up after every downfall builds mental muscle.

It’s failures way of working for us, rather than against us.

#79 The Ultimate Question – The Answer that has yet to be Answered

What happens when we die?

We can speculate.

It’s fun to talk about alternative realities, string theory, different dimensions, and simulations, but no one has a definitive answer.

In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Keanu Reeves was asked, “What do you think happens when we die.”

#78 Wash Your Spirit Clean

Around the 1860s about 95% of the Redwood Forests were cut down for lumber, to be used by ranchers, developers, and loggers.

John Muir, a disrupter of that time, as well as a naturalist, author, philosopher, and early advocate for all things nature, saw this problem and took action.

As passionate as he was about preserving nature, he needed help.

His beautiful essays, poems, and pictures of the Yosemite Valley caught the attention of President, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt.

When Roosevelt was 25, his mother and wife fell ill. They ended up dying on the same day. To this, he said, “The light has gone out of my life.”

#77 Dutch Bros

Founded in 1992, Dutch Bros is a coffee chain started by two brothers that grew up working on a dairy farm.

What started as pushcarts around town, is 300 locations strong in the Western United States today.

When I moved to Oregon, it was no surprise that Dutch Bros is more than just a place to get your morning Java. It’s an institution of the highest magnitude, with a cult-like following that rivals the Church of England.

During one of my morning rendezvous visits to this caffeinated shrine, I talked to the morning barista.

#76 The Simple Pleasures

As I sit on my kitchen table, enjoying a simple coffee, I think about this day.

My family immigrated here from Fiji Islands.

I was born in the US.

I have had opportunities that others would only dream of. I am no better than the others, just lucky.