Just Bought Some Ink

How can one be grateful for unimpressive things like a can of tuna? In Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore -- the chillest citizen of the Hundred Acre Woods -- has a birthday party. Pooh and Piglet brought gifts: a jar of honey and a birthday balloon, respectively. Unfortunately on the way to the party, all the honey in the jar was eaten and the balloon was punctured. So Eeyore received an empty jar and a deflated balloon as gifts. However, instead of sulking over lackluster presents, Eeyore is delighted to be the proud new owner of a useful pot and an object which he can store in said useful pot.  On the other hand, I take many things for granted from the bath towels that keep me warm and dry to the rain that washes piss off the sidewalks. Gratitude comes from one's mindset, not from the object of affection. If I expected a gourmet breakfast buffet at the Ritz-Carlson, but only had a can of tuna, I'd be very disappointed. I could choose to focus on the fishy chalkiness of the tuna and yea...

I would argue water is the best element out of all the elements available in the Pokédex because water is infinitely adaptable and it embodies the human experience more than fire, wind, or earth. One that adopts the philosophy of water will be unfazed by the ups and downs of life and find inner peace. Water is infinitely adaptable because it adopts the shape of the vessel that contain it. Anything that cannot adapt is bound to break. Most things aren't immortal because at one facet or another, they're unable to adapt to one or more changes in the environment. In humans, aging is the gradual erosion of the body's ability to adapt to stressors. For example, as one ages, their skin loses elasticity over time, making it vulnerable to wrinkles and tears. I practice the art of accepting the impermanence of all circumstances of life by embracing uncertainty in my day-to-day life. Instead of planning every minute of my day, I outline a few of the most important tasks I must get don...

Imagine walking along a trail in the early morning. You see a beautiful sunrise in the distance and hear the calm lapping of water from the river next to your path. You feel calm and content for a moment. But your brain begins to obsess over how good the moment feels. You worry about your emotions returning to baseline after the experience ends. Intrusive thoughts enter your mind, "what did I do to feel so calm and content a minute ago?" and "how do I remember this feeling and process so that I can experience this happiness again?". When your mind begins to stray from the present moment and spiral into a rabbit hole of worry, you should take a break and journal. This is the perfect situation to write down your emotions and necessary cues to remind you of this experience and, most importantly how this experience made you feel. This is a process I call snapshot journaling because documenting experiences immediately after the fact is like taking a snapshot of one's...

Do you want to relive the experience of being absorbed in your favorite book? Do you feel like your emotions control you? You can take back control over your emotions and mental state through conscious application of music. For example, gyms always play fast, up-beat music to get their lifters pumped and ready to beat PRs. However, music can actually be used to illicit very specific emotions depending on your experiences.  Any song can be encoded in your mind to represent any emotion or personal experience. This might be absurd, but here are a few examples of song and mental state pairs that I have. Kordhell "Murder in My Mind" is the single-pointed focus I feel when walking briskly through an airport, hell-bent on getting to my gate on time. Billie Eilish "Therefore I am" represents the contemplative state of mind where I can create ideas to write about. Palaye Royale "No Love in LA" reminds me of the struggle and perseverance needed to read papers that I...