Rawness of Life.
There is a somewhat elusive feeling that I sometimes get the opportunity to experience, especially during my travels to places that are engrained with rich cultures and harmony with nature; an experience that I am only starting to scratch the surface in understanding. It is an experience that fills my spirit with fire - an intense excitement to be a part of the present moment, the nostalgic curiosity of Life from my childhood, seeing magnificence that I could not explain unfold in front of me, a blissful assurance that Beauty is in fact an inherent quality of the substrate that is our existence. It is an experience that I call the Rawness of Life.
On Oneness
I want to reflect today on this idea of “Us” versus “Them”. Why do these divisions exist? And are these divisions simply an inherent reality of life that make us doomed to the resulting conflict among us? Or is there another reality that can be taught, perceived and adopted, in the hope of making this world a more beautiful place for us, and more importantly, for our kids to live in? The reality that we are all indeed One?
When You’re Gone.
How can I feel that your presence is here
While you breathe the air in a place nowhere near?
As I close my eyes, I reflect on a thought
Of all that you are and all you are not.
On Beauty.
I've been reflecting a lot on the importance of living a Beautiful Life over the past year and have discussed this topic in a number of my previous essays. There has been an assumption on my part that the word Beauty is well defined and requires no further explanation. Upon deeper thought, however, I think this is a mistake as we generally tend to use the word "Beauty" in the most superficial manner to express the extent of our preferences. It would be lazy of me to be satisfied with this idea when my own experiences tell me that it is something so much deeper than that. So in this essay, I want to take some time to explore the concept of Beauty in more detail. What is Beauty and what does it mean for something to be Beautiful? What are the ingredients required to live a Beautiful Life?
The Lantern
In each of us, there is a small light that we can find, if we look deep enough, that has the power to give us the little spark that we need to keep moving on, even on the bleakest journeys.
On Suffering.
I often think about the concept of Suffering. Perhaps it's because a lot of my perspectives on Life center around the idea of making it as beautiful as we can, when in reality, Life is just as much about misfortunes and grief as it is about beauty. What is Suffering as it relates to the human experience and is there any meaning in it at all?
Give me Time.
A poem reflecting on the things I always take for granted, yet need to focus more on, with the remaining time that I have.
On Success.
I often think about what it means to be Successful in life, and in particular, what Success would look like in my own life.
I understand that this question can seem unnecessarily vague, so, to distill it down, what I really mean is - which of Life's multitude of experiences, if I could measure them, would I try to optimize to consider myself Successful?
Conscious Selection.
It's important that we identify the traits and values that we find desirable in the world around us and consciously work towards adopting these while discipling ourselves to block out the ones we don't. This is something I call Conscious Selection.
Accept Everything.
Accept everything that life gives to you with open arms.
Accept both, the miracles and the curses.
The failures and the wins.
The adventures and the mundane.
Life is a Story, so make it Beautiful.
What is it that you are after?
What possible outcome do you seek from this narrative that you are creating?
Open yourself up.
Open yourself up. Let your spirit shine unabashedly onto everything around you.
There is no ‘I’ in Freedom.
The key to Freedom from Self is striving for an awareness of why we think the way we think, or do what we do. In this post, I explore the concept of Freedom from Self in more depth.
Your truth is just an illusion.
Every idea that you construct in your mind is an illusion.
Beautiful Connections.
We can't control the outcomes of the relationships we embark on in life. But what we can control is the decision to nurture a relationship with the faith that it will grow into something beautiful.
