Mindfulness

Spring looks like it is finally here. That means more hikes, more socializing, and of course that there is a much needed rest around the corner. Spring also reminds us that change is one of the most natural phenomenons in life. Every animal, every ecosystem, every seasonal weather pattern, and even the process of evolution all handle change in different ways. Change though is the constant. Motion, moving forward, flow, transformation, or any other word you could substitute with it all indicates a constant movement not meant to be stopped. Change though is hard for many human-beings, mainly, because it requires us to make a series of choices about how we react to change that is unplanned or take a leap of faith to force a change. Then of course there are changes that make us feel nostalgic for a simplistic idea that the past seems better than the present. Change though is not bad. It is necessary, in fact, it's natural. So why is some change harder than others? Well, to be hones...

This is not an exhaustive list. These are the truths that I have been thinking about in recent weeks and I am sure you all know some more. Socrates asked questions to expose that those who were certain should admit the gaps in their knowledge. There are so many things that are not proven nor will ever be proven. So much that is unknown and will probably be always unknown. So what are the things that we can hold onto? Well, I think it comes from a lot of observations about life. These are my truths about life. I hope to hear yours. Because there are few truths in life we should never be afraid to experiment, read, travel, dialogue, and get ourselves out of our comfort zone. The pursuit of truth is not a safe venture it is a vulnerable one. We are not the experts on everything and to acknowledge that means to be wiser than those who do not see that. Speaking our truth is better than wallowing in things that are left unsaid or left undone. It will create internal or external conflict t...

I am a big believer in the practice of mindfulness. This is the practice of learning how to get the mind to focus on a present task, so that you can drown out the noise and in return it usually gives perspective on where you are in life right now. Most of us follow busy routines and get pulled in a million directions. The only time we really get a break is when we sleep. Yet, studies have shown our sleep seems to be dwindling as well. We as a generation are work-a-holics and we are sending those messages to our youth. Our youth has never been more stressed than they are today. I can point you to many studies, if you disagree, I have loads. Our kids our stressed. Our kids are stressed because they are being raised by stressed parents and taught by stressed teachers. We are modeling this behavior and many of our youth are internalizing these unhealthy ways of always being busy or stimulated. So the new wave of teaching social-emotional learning and mindfulness in the classroom or at ho...

Millennials are beginning to fall into the older person pattern of claiming musical superiority over the younger generations. I am here to throw some things at you to think about before we get entrenched into this thinking. Music is many things to people it feels a bit wrong to write off any genre or generation of music. I think before I get to my main point we need to explore how important music is to people. Music, along with any type of art, is a place for people to feel understood. People are drawn to music that showcases how they feel or represents their worldview in many ways. It is a place to escape, to have a voice, to connect, to reflect, and to display the psychology of the people living today. Music, if we think about it, is really power and history. Post-World War I the art showed us that the people in Europe were lost, destroyed, and distrustful of their governments. You can feel the loom of World War II and the rise of fascist dictators preying on those desperate feelin...

I always thought that I was a masterful communicator. Teachers always told me that my debate style was calm and comforting, but effective in its approach. Public speaking has always been easy for me minus my need to pace out my energy. My political science professors told me I had a way of taking a complex idea and making it approachable. Early feedback in my professional life highlighted how intentional I am with words as well. Now after all this boasting, why is it that I am now revoking my title of masterful communicator? This is only one form of communication which is important for tough discussions, academia, and professional settings. So kudos for me, but I do have a weakness, a massive one. In fact, most of us have this weakness. So what is my weakness and the weakness of many? Interpersonal communication.  "Between what is said and not meant, and what is meant and not said, most of love is lost." - Khalil Gibran  This type of communication requires a few e...

The biggest life lessons are actually quiet, gradual, and you will be sitting randomly drinking a cup of Earl Grey as it slowly creeps to the conscious part of your mind. Or at least that's how it happened to me. One of the most common questions on journaling topic lists are: What is a lesson you wish you could go back in time and tell your sixteen year old self?  What is the biggest lesson you have learned in life?  So as cliched as it seems, I decided to take this topic on, because I believe this is a lesson that would work in any phase of life.  Phases of Life:  Curious Kid:  Life is a journey and when you start you are open to everything. You are a kid. Everything around you is exciting and unknown. So you seize the day and do crazy dangerous things like put a key in a socket, because you were pretending to drive the DeLorean. You are excited about school and you can imagine yourself doing anything. Life is mystery and it's fun.  Disson...

I am fascinated with language. Always have been. Might have been my socratic training approach to philosophy, which teaches that in order to discuss a concept in depth you need to check your own knowledge of what IT is. Take the example of when Socrates was accused of impious acts and behaviors. He started by asking a simple question: what does impious mean? This led him to realize he was asking the wrong question at the wrong time and where he should start is to define piety. This might seem like an exhausted pointless exercise, but really it tests how well you understand what you know and what others know. Also language is a tricky thing where meanings evolve and societal misuse or misunderstanding can be  prevalent for big concepts like truth or justice. I have done this with the word 'happiness' and now I want to examine the word 'hope.' Definitions:  So what is hope? According to Merriam dictionary it means, "a feeling of expectation and desire for a ce...