February: On Life

February 3

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from Paul Auster's biography of Stephen Crane, Burning Boy.

Open your phone or turn on the news and you'll see no end to the many ways humanity is currently failing. 

Sure, you could focus on this and complain or despair.

Or, you could do what's in your power to make a difference. 

And while you're at it, you could smile with amusement and kindness in the face of the conceits, hypocrisies, weaknesses, and selfishness of mankind--a beautiful act of defiance.

• Reflection title: May You Continue To Smile
• Creative inspiration: Paul Auster, Burning Boy
• Reflection Question: What is something worth smiling about today? If I’ve been bitter, how can I correct for it?
  
  

February: On Life

February 2

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from Pascal Mercier's novel Night Train to Lisbon.

You might look at the world around you and the places you live and visit and travel through as inanimate, soulless locations. But they are very much alive alongside you.

It is inevitable that you leave pieces of yourself with them and take ideas and experiences with you when you leave. 

The places we live and go and spend time are as much a part of who we are as our physical bodies.

And if you slow down and take the time to listen, you might be surprised at what these places have to tell you about yourself.

• Reflection title: The World Lives With You
• Creative inspiration: Pascal Mercier, Night Train to Lisbon.
• Reflection Question: What places have I left parts of myself? What did I learn about myself while there?

February: On Life

February 1

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from Seneca's essay "On the Shortness of Life."

"Life is short." How many times have you heard others say that? How many times have you said it?

But is it really? Or is it just the right amount of time for a human to grow and learn and laugh and love?

Today we explore the idea that life is long enough, but the fact that we waste so much of it is what makes it feel short. 

Consider it--where are you wasting time in your life?

• Reflection title: Put Your Passivity Aside
• Creative inspiration: Seneca, "On the Shortness of Life: Life Is Long if You Know How to Use It"
• Reflection Question: What habits or impulses are wasting my time? What can I replace them with that will add value?
  
  

January: On Existence 

January 31

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from the novel Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez.

“People just don’t change.” Have you ever muttered this phrase in response to repeated negative actions or the continued failings of others or yourself?

I used to believe this, but I've come to learn that we all change--and that it’s inevitable. 

We are all either changing for better or for worse.

With each and every day, life gives you the opportunity to change for the better. You just have to take the chance.

• Reflection title: To Change or Not To Change
• Creative inspiration: Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
• Reflection Question: How have I changed or not changed recently? Will today be the day I choose to change for the better?

January: On Existence 

January 30

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.

Isn’t it pretty to think that your life is unique? That you are a one-of-a-kind individual whose experiences and perception of world events around you are yours alone?

The truth is you’re not all that unique. Nor are your experiences. No one is. We’re all made up of the same biology. We all have similar thoughts, dreams, hopes, fears. 

And everything that is happening in the world has already happened in one way, shape, or form, and will continue to happen into the future long after you're gone. 

And everything that you feel has been felt by humans before you and will be felt by those who come after. 

But there is a profound comfort in knowing that your experiences and the local and global events you live through are nothing special. It is a reminder that you’re not alone in whatever it is you’re going through.

It is a reminder that we are all connected.

• Reflection title: Time Is a Flat Circle
• Creative inspiration: Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
• Reflection Question: How can I remind myself that the present is also both the past and the future?

January: On Existence 

January 29

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Life is anything but certain, and while that can be scary, it’s also one of the most beautiful and amazing things about it. 

You know who you are now, in this moment, and there is great potential for who you can become. 

But be careful. That can go in either direction.

You have the power to change your future--how will you?

• Reflection title: They Say the Owl Was a Baker’s Daughter
• Creative inspiration: William Shakespeare, Hamlet
• Reflection Question: Who am I now? Who do I want to become?

January: On Existence 

January 28

Today's reflection was inspired by a quote from Oscar Wilde's De Profundis.

Our thoughts and actions are driven by what other people say, what they do, what they wear, what they eat, how they exercise--the list goes on. And this isn't necessarily a bad thing. We are social creatures and mimicry is in our DNA. But it can become a bad thing if we are not careful with what we are absorbing and echoing and adopting as our own opinions and thoughts. 

We can risk losing our true selves.

In this episode, we explore this idea and look at the importance of solitude to forget what everyone else is saying for a brief time and remember who we are.

• Reflection title: This Opinion Will Become Your Thought
• Creative inspiration: Oscar Wilde, De Profundis
• Reflection Question: Have I been my own person? What thoughts or opinions am I adopting and echoing? In what ways have I been mimicking others?

January: On Existence 

January 27

Today's reflection was inspired by Anais Nin's poem "Risk."

A routine is a beautiful and necessary thing. After all, consistency is the key to making lasting change and achieving your goals. No one ever said, “The erratic and chaotic bird gets the worm!” But when the groove that routine and tradition carve into your life becomes too deep, it can become a double-edged sword. You’ll start to feel too comfortable. Complacent. Shallow and flat. 

There comes a time to venture out and try something new, that is, if you wish to grow and change and discover yourself further. 

And you don't need to quit your job and leave your family to summit Mt. Everest to do this. It can be as simple as reading something new, going to a new park, or trying a new coffee place.

Examine yourself. Are you wound tightly in a bud? Do you wish to bloom instead?

• Reflection title: Remain Tight in a Bud, or Blossom
• Creative inspiration: Anais Nin, "Risk"
• Reflection Question: Am I too tight in the bud of my comfort? What small step can I take to begin the risk of opening into a bloom?

January: On Existence 

January 26

Today's reflection was inspired by Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Life is broken up into a series of three cycling phases: a time for questions, a time for answers, and a time for nonanswers (vague and roundabout words in response to said questions or perhaps more likely, not answers at all). But despite being an integral part of the blueprint of life, those minutes and days and years of questioning can feel long.

That's okay.

There is a time for all of these things. You will have questions. They will lead you to answers, or they won't. And if you get your answers, you will soon find more questions on the other side.

And that's okay, too.

Live with this understanding, and perhaps the periods of waiting for answers won't feel so long.

• Reflection title: Questions, Answers, and Nonanswers
• Creative inspiration: Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God.
• Reflection Question: Am I content, or am I waiting for answers?

January: On Existence 

January 25

Today's reflection was inspired by Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar. 

You are promised a great many things that are supposed to make you happy: money, fame, status, a new job, a promotion, a big house, nice car, the perfect partner, sex, alcohol, food, a new watch, a new phone, a new computer, followers, likes--the list goes on.

But look around you. How much of what you have that you once believed would make you happy . . . actually does?

Search your mind. Challenge the beliefs you have of the things you are told should make you happy. Reach beyond them and find the thing that brings you true happiness . . . what is it? Who is it?

• Reflection title: That Which Makes You Happy
• Creative inspiration: Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
• Reflection Question: What is it which truly makes me happy?