Lake Bath

I’m staying in Lake George this weekend with my extended family. We all love each other. They live right on the lake, and today I chose to take a bath in the water instead of taking a shower. I washed my body with Trader Joe’s honey-oatmeal soap and I washed off my spirit with the waters of Lake George, thousands of years old and rich in history.

How many people have cleaned themselves in these waters? Who were they and who did they love? Why do I still believe that I’m more important than they were?

We are the keepers and writers of history. Our days become stories too rich to recite again. We choose what we remember and always forget the uncomfortable.

How can we make ours a story worth remembering?

Medicine

Medicine has to be practical in order to be helpful.

Drive Slow & Don’t Forget Your Wallet

Today I stopped by the grocery store on my way home. My goal was to pick up some snacks for the six-hour journey to Lake George, NY tomorrow. Upon arriving to the grocery store I realized I forgot my wallet. The only currency I had in the car were 3 dollars in quarters. I was about to go buy a bar when I realize the refuel light was on. If I ran out of gas, I was going to need those 3 dollars more than a protein bar.

I didn’t think about using the debit card in my Apple Wallet, or paying via Apple Pay, or using any of the other 5 virtual payment apps I have. I was stuck in my own small-minded bubble, too shy to work out a solution with the cashier. Instead I drove home—very slowly. Speed kills the gas tank. I made it.

One day, those 3 dollars will come in handy. I’m sure of it.

The best restaurant you’ve ever been to…

…is probably one you haven’t been to yet. Actually, it’s probably the restaurant directly next to your go-to place, the place that was so good you have to keep going back. Because let’s be honest: once we find something we like, trying something different—something unknown—is out of the question. We choose comfort in the familiar to avoid the inconvenience of having a bad experience.

So next time you’re choosing a place to eat, make it a new place. The best things in life are found beyond your comfort zone.

You TikTok Famous Yet?

I’m not TikTok famous yet, but I will be soon.

It’s fascinating how Social Media becomes generational. Not many 20 year olds are on Facebook anymore, but if you’re 30 and up it’s your go-to social hub. And if you’re currently in college and not on Instagram, most would say you’re missing out—it’s the place to be.

But now TikTok is what’s new and fun. It’s a video sharing app where you can do fun edits and add in music to the background. Videos go viral almost as fast as twitter (only there’s no news agencies or politics so it’s still fun). Most users are young, and this makes the older ones (like Howie Mandel) that much funnier.

It won’t be long until Instagram becomes Facebook and TikTok has CNN ads, leaving the next platform to arise for kids born after 2015. One thing is for sure: this social media thing isn’t going anywhere. So you better get on it if you want any attention.

Grateful for Another Day

I’ve been feeling a bit down recently. Sometimes it’s death that gets me down and sometimes it’s just small waves of inexplicable sadness. When it happens, I try to make time to be with myself instead of distracting myself like usual. Today I went to the park before mass.

After really thinking about my life, I made a list of the person I want to be and what that person would do. There’s a famous Matthew McConaughey speech where he says his hero is himself in ten years. I feel that. After making my list, I looked it over and realized how blessed I am to even have this life to worry about.

In that moment, I was grateful. I wrote down a list of 10 things I am most grateful for. 4 of those things had to do with the sacredness within myself and in those around me. I find that if I turn to gratitude in a time of distress, I’m less likely to be upset. It’s always a good answer.

Plant Table

On the way to work I drive by a ranch. They have a Plant Table for sale in the front yard. It looks like an ordinary table, just a bit higher off the ground. Actually, it is an ordinary table. What sets it apart is its purpose.

A Plant Table is a place where seeds are planted in rich soil and, through nurturing and loving attention, grow in maturity—into flowers, vegetables, and fruits.

Maybe I should start treating my mind like a Plant Table, a place where ideas and passionate endeavors can be nurtured and supported. One day those ideas may mature, producing the greatest yield possible. Or maybe not. I know one thing for sure: there is endless possibility on a Plant Table.

Paved Over Graves

My grandmother died on May 1st. Sometimes I really miss her. Other times days go by and I don’t think of her once. I’ve found this to be a common trend in America—we are too busy to properly honor those who died and too preoccupied to do the inner work to deal with loss. Instead, we accept death but never assimilate it. We bandage wounds already festered.

I took a course called Death and Afterlife in Chinese Traditions last fall. Fresh out of graduate school, Dr. Aaron Reich was one of the best professors I ever had. I learned about Chinese burial customs and how nearly everybody in the Chinese tradition honored their ancestors. With plaques inside homes and names engraved in community ancestral halls, deceased loved ones weren’t forgotten like they are here. They came back—no, were brought back—to life every day.

Maybe our history as a nation has woven this death-denying, quick-to-forget subconscious. America used to belong to native peoples. Then we massacred them. A generation later and they were forgotten. We paved over their graves and desecrated their sacred lands. Now we are taught genocide only happened during World War II. It’s easier to forget our forebears who killed millions of native people than to honor them; that would be too painful.

Instead we drive over bones and dried blood, never remembering where we came from. And so it will be for us … unless we own our ugliness and begin to honor those who made us.

Beyond Contemplation

The best moments in my life are beyond contemplation.

Today I decided against running immediately after waking up, as I usually do. I chose to run around 11:00 am instead. After thinking about it all morning, 11 o’clock came and I tried to reason myself out of it, listing all the reasons another rest day would benefit me in the long run. Luckily, I told myself to shut up, laced up my shoes, and crushed a run even though I was feeling lousy. It was my fastest run so far summer.

After I lifted around 1:00 pm, it was time to take a shower. I’ve pushed myself to take more cold showers this summer because of their health benefits. I also feel fantastic every time I step out of one. However, my brain isn’t hardwired to endure momentary suffering for delayed results. My mind always tries to get me too take a comfortable, warm shower instead. Today, I didn’t let it. I turned the faucet right and jumped in. I did not give in.

While showering, I had a few ideas about my soon-to-be post graduate life that never crossed my mind before. These ideas might change the course of my life forever. Or the might not. I never would’ve known had I not moved beyond overthinking and into action.

Don’t spend your life in contemplation. Be a doer. Be somebody who doesn’t hesitate to do what they know they ought to do. Move in the direction of your fears and face them head on. You can always course correct later.

Hoka Hey!

Paul has a dog and his name is Cola. Cola usually wears an electric collar that shocks him if he goes beyond the property line. Today Paul and I wanted to take Cola for a walk, so we took off his collar and strapped up his harness and leash.

As we approached the boundary, Cola froze. This is where he usually gets hurt. I saw a doubt and uncertainty quell up inside him as he feared for his protection. Why would his owner want him to get hurt? But this is a normal reaction when we face the unknown, the seemingly impenetrable. It’s up to us to choose how we are going to respond.

After a moment’s hesitation, Cola chose to run full-on towards the once killer force.

If he could speak human, I believe he would’ve said, “Hoka Hey!”

Made famous by Crazy Horse, the Lakota war leader, Hoka Hey is a native American battle cry. “Hoka Hey!” Crazy Horse would yell as he led his troops into battle, followed by, “Today is a good day to die!” Or so the legend goes.

But I’ve heard Hoka Hey doesn’t translate to Today is a good day to die. Rather, it better translates to “advance without fear.” That is a pretty revolutionary way to live.

Advance without fear. Recognize today may be the last. Give it everything you have.

Hoka Hey.