A Note on Entropy

We tease ourselves. Letting light in through the blinds, a sliver of concentrated photons warms the air as energy escapes. Observing the world as a peaceful ocean devoid of chaos. The world tends towards disorder. Yet, we continually organize our desk and our vanity, store cups in the top right cabinet, set forks on the left of plates soon to be soiled, replaced by seemingly identical ones. Tomorrow, the shelf we so recently wiped will hold fast to allergens floating in the still, musty air.

Our bodies age as we fight an inefficient battle. Anabolic attempts towards building up are countered by catabolic actions with only one certain aim, death. Soon, the running slows to walking, then to crawling, as our cells digress to a slow motionless slumber.

Our fight shouldn’t be to maintain order. In a world full of chaos, notice as energy is transferred that nature claims its heat tax. Rather, we should seek structure in our minds. Order the thoughts that direct our actions. A still and focused heart and mind are the best defense to a chaotic world, coming soon to collect its tax on your life.

vincit qui se vincit

Tomorrow we put another day behind us and enter into a new realm of opportunity. Every day I reaffirm just how much there is to seek out of life. Certainly, the pressures and stress inherent to society can wear us down. Life, however, is not a boulder, and we are not burdened, as Sisyphus was, to meaninglessly struggle uphill, ad infinitum.

To conquer ourselves, is to conquer our road block. Stop holding yourself back and redefine what you think you are capable of accomplishing. Be today who you want to be tomorrow. Repeat. No one can judge your merits and your potential if you follow through with your intentions. Becoming you justifies any uncertainty you may have encountered in the past.

At a ripe old age the regrets you'll have will be memories of hesitation, inaction, or insecurity. Realize how young you are and how much more you still have to learn. Breath deeply, love freely, and live honestly.

Start living now, because we are already dying.

Shavasana

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     Everyday I put one foot in front of the other and walk through the woods in transit to my life in the real world. In a way, this path is essentially a shortcut, a quicker route to my destination. Yet, when I enter this realm, time is augmented and no matter my speed of travel I take in the surroundings for an almost infinite amount of time. These little walks have become a way of escape. The woods, positioned between society, are a respite from a world of chaotic nature.

     Rarely are we able to put aside everything and just exist. Our day becomes over-planned, we eat on the go, stress over deadlines, slurp brown energy, and fall down exhausted without a minute to review our day or collect our thoughts. If yoga has taught me anything it’s how unaware we are of the stress that afflicts our bodies. Similarly to my walks through the woods, when the opportunity arises to clear the mind and breathe out the day’s worries I take advantage.

     I challenge everyone to find time, to let everything go, and just be aware of life. Seek out of the world the marrow. Become lost in spontaneous conversation and genuinely consider the words of others. Do this in response to the stressors that have become inherent in the world and perhaps our sleeves will exist absent of negativity.

On Compromise

We face inevitable situations, forcing us to relinquish something in return for a somewhat favorable outcome. Why should we do this, why should we compromise? Isn't our life just an extension of Darwinian evolution and we are all players in the game called "survival of the fittest"?

Therein lies the conflict with humanity. For as compassionate a human being can be, there is a developed presence of selfish, animalistic tendency that appears to be regression of our kind. We ignore empathy and altruism, inherent to our nature, and succumb to pleasure and illusion of immortality.

Maturity can be defined as the ability to analyze our competing instincts and correctly choose whether:

 To live a life of compassion and encourage success for our species as a whole.

or...

To give in to greed, laziness, pleasure, and promote one's own well being over another.

What then is life while living at the top by yourself? A full belly and no companions is a dull life and food will soon lose its flavor.

A better today for a better tomorrow

We wash away our youth everyday in the sink and in the risks we fail to take.

Life is many things- a journey containing endless paths that lead to endless destinations- but all with one final outcome.

Death...

The dreamless sleep. We are bound and connected by our humanity and also by our vitality. We seek out life and resist death. We survive.

Our empathy...

That's our unity against an ever present and always lingering death. Against a fleeting life and against an unknown afterlife.

Therefore our company should be kept by those who value life and peace. We should surround ourselves with people who respect what should be respected. The respected being the sublime reality in which we live upon an amazing world, spinning millions of miles around a flaming fireball of ongoing explosion all existing in a supposed infinite universe.

Our company should be kept by who love and who we love back, who value the life and frailty of all living creatures and who strive for a better world, absent of greed and hate.

A call to wanderlust

I've been trapped in my mind more than usual lately. Thoughts of surfing powerful swells or careening the sides of towering mountains occupy my mind while corporate America sucks me deeper in. A cosmopolitan man, I might be, but some wisdom still stands: we are truly prisoners of our possessions and perhaps our wants and fears as well.

Living an examined life isn't always the easiest way but I know no other path. Following the example of environmentalists, I want to live deeply and see the world through my own eyes. Traveling and experiencing cultures and people, I desire to become lost in awe as opposed to become lost in the weight of worldly possessions.

The Harvest

The busy bees are working for the harvest

the busy bees are buzzing for the harvest

they're trying their best to make ends meet

but all the while, and in between,

there's surely only one,

the queen.

the rest will surely perish,

fast.

the others only waiting,

last.

their beating wings are soon,

the past.