Time in Moments

It’s incredible how fast life moves sometimes, how we struggle to simply keep up with it. And then how it can slow down to single moments, one after another. Part of what makes us conscious is our ability to recognize and discern these differences in pace. Moments of importance matter, and we best be ready for them when they come.

Back to Figure

Being back in the routine, even on a Monday with little sleep, can be refreshing. Hard work at one’s vocation, time spent with loved ones… what else can be asked of being home?

This is always where the real work begins. How quickly can we integrate with the utility, yet maintain the expanded perspective gained while gone? Because that’s the balance. It is in these conflagration of moments of readjustment that we resume our lives.

Home from London

The feeling of returning home after a long journey simply cannot be overstated. I come back after gaining more respect for Britain, its history and culture. It’s a fascinating place full of interesting people. I can’t wait to go back.

London Long Days

The days become so long on a trip. You’re not consistently plugged into your phone or the internet, so your time is spent experiencing the natural world in front of you, the reality that exists in the present moment. It’s refreshing, as we can so easily get caught in the aforementioned during our day to day. London has been an eye opening experience for me. I can’t wait to come back, to have the long days again. It’s been a journey, and I’ve relished it. To travel to see a glimpse of a different life… to live long days.

All London Is

I just keep thinking today about how many people there are in the world. Visiting Buckingham Palace was crazy today; and yet, there were likely thousands of people at Times Square, the Grand Canyon, and the Golden Gate Bridge. The world is a lot smaller now, and more people can afford to travel. This is overall a good thing. Its reality today enabled us to see more typical, less touristy London. I noticed the subtle characteristics of Tube travel. We got to enjoy the park and see how Londoners enjoy their green space. The simple delights of the pub were of course indulged in. London is a massive place with millions of people and thousands of tourists. But it’s also a unique city with centuries of history and tons of character. I’m enjoying all that it is.

Staying with Friends

It’s been a treat to stay with local friends in both the countryside and London. It really does make all the difference in the world, to have delicious home cooked meals, insider recommendations, and just a comfortable base to both rest and catch up with dear friends. We’re here only a week, but I feel we’ve received a brief glimpse into what English life is really like. They’re alright, the Brits. People have been friendly and polite, and they respect and understand their history without being elitist about it. I look forward to what the next few days will bring.

Seeing Central London

I was arrested by Big Ben and Parliament today. Perhaps because they are simply iconic, but I found them striking while seeing them across the Thames and crossing Westminster Bridge. Sure there were tourists like myself scurrying every which where; but the top sights are the top sights for a reason. Walking around Central London today was exhilarating because it felt like we were exploring hallowed ground, a place that has been traversed and lived in for a thousand years. And people are still living there today, going about their daily business. Days like today I think about how fun it is to visit other cultures. It’s an education, and the more all of us can do it, the more we’ll understand each other and build a better world.

Differences in Different Places

Visiting other places opens up your world. I don’t think there’s a single thing that’s universal across every country in the world: the power outlets are different, the driving is different, and the language can be different. When you visit someplace new, you have to adapt. It can be stressful in the worst of times and fun in the best of them. But I take it back: there is one thing that’s universal. Humans. There are good people everywhere and they all laugh smile sing dance and cry for the same reasons. It sure is one big beautiful amazing world.

Being There

There’s nothing like being welcomed into a foreign land by friends. You can see and shoot it all, but the true feeling of a country, a region, a city, a neighborhood, is personal. It’s the everyday interaction that imbibes a sense of understanding. Perhaps we should all keep making friends.

Across the Pond

They call Brits and Americans across-the-pond cousins. We share the same language and lineage, they say. Culturally we are more similar than different, apparently. In the most respectful and positive way, I disagree. It’s another world over here, and I’m so grateful to experience it. I successfully drove an electric car on the opposite side of the road today, sleep deprived and all. We visited the largest and longest continuously inhabited palace in Europe today; America has nothing like that. The local accents remained charming all afternoon. The UK is a fascinating country, for a myriad of reasons I have yet to understand. I’m so excited to see, hear, smell, and feel more. Onward.

Airport Entries

I feel fulfilled when writing at the airport, about to embark on an adventure. I urge best friends and strangers alike to travel as much as they can. It’s an incredibly vast and beautiful planet, and one can learn and experience so much by exploring it. Here’s to an exploration of London and the south of England: I’m excited to learn, to feel, and to experience. Cheers.

Thank God

You know, I think this is the happiest I can be at this point. I’m heading to my parents’ house for dinner and drinks with my wife, going to see my doggy, the day before embarking on a trip. The simple things, the things I enjoy: food, alcohol, my dog, travel, and my tribe. Life is good. I am so fortunate to enjoy these things, and should be eternally grateful for experiencing them in my life. I feel one with the universe. Thank you God, however you are.

Tribe in the Universe

Helping out the tribe can seem so easy sometimes. Because just showing up and doing what you can truly matters for others. Doesn’t it matter for you? As I continue to progress through, I grasp this simple reality more and more. We’re all in this together—literally. What will we make of this universe?

Travel and Home

I want to see the world. There are so many places I still haven’t been; so many trips I have yet to consider. It’s like the more you travel the more you want to; they call it “the bug.”

However, whenever I return from a journey, whether 5,000 miles or 50, I always am grateful for the place I grew up, the place I still call home: the Bay Area. Full of opportunities and close to diverse geography, it’s a special, diverse place that has much to offer.

We can be grateful for all we have and enjoy, while still embracing the wonder. It’s called being human.

Living in the Fleeting Present

I’ve found the past to be the least helpful for my happiness. Looking towards the future can feel encouraging or even invigorating: looking forward to something upcoming can be exciting. But there’s a mania associated with such anticipation that doesn’t allow us to enjoy the most important timeframe for happiness and contentment: now. I hope to refocus my emphasis on enjoying the present, as I’ve slipped recently. But I also know the most profound moments of my life, whether during conversation, physical exertion, or deep introspection, have all occurred when I’ve been living within the fleeting present moment. It offers clarity, and the only fully true embrace of this thing we call life.

This is Life

I think it’s good to question it all often. To think about why we’re here and what life is truly about. Introspection can be difficult and painful. But when we each regularly engage in it, we can better ourselves, and in turn, the world. And what a big beautiful amazing world it is. This is life.

Super Bowl Thoughts

I watch the big game, as it’s called, and I wonder when the world will wake up from advertising. Of course “my team” wasn’t in it today, so it’s easy for me to declare this. But there might not be another singular event that garners so much attention. When we watch together, do we think about how united we actually are?

Writing Cards

I had a funny thought about how cards have evolved. Now we write a note to someone and often hand it to them, for their birthday, or some type of anniversary or celebration. I assume that traces back to when written communication was the only way to send love over long distances. What you wrote was what people received; no voice over the phone, and certainly no in-person, physical affection. What do we write to each other now? How will this sacred tradition continue and change?

Addressing Softness

I feel I’ve grown soft since the pandemic, and I’m addressing it. I wonder if that’s a common occurrence across the US, and the world. We inhabit an environment of pleasure and convenience. Even in my lifetime, I think there’s been a noticeable shift. Our expectations are consistently a little bit higher, our collective tolerance just a little bit lower. In a sense, we need to snap out of it, myself included. Because from the most distant vantage point, even in agony, life is amazing.

The Outside and the Home

I heard a stat recently that most people spend 93% of their day indoors. It made me a little sad, because it insinuates we don’t live with the Earth, that we merely live on it. I try to tell myself to pause and enjoy the elements, even as I stand in the early morning cold waiting for the train as I write this. These thoughts resonate powerfully with me right now, as for the past several weeks we’ve been renovating our home. As I wrote recently, it’s natural for us to want to beautify and maintain our dwelling. It’s our one sacred safe place we build in the world. But at the same time, it’s one physical location on the vast surface of this planet. It can be a place of refuge and rest, but it shouldn’t be a prison. We were made with bodies equipped to explore. There’s a big beautiful amazing world out there. If we go see it, we’ll not only understand it better, but also better understand each other.