Everything Under the Sun

July | Philosophy and Religion |   Week 29 | 7/23/2023 Deep dive on Buddhism What I know of Buddhism is essentially nothing other than a feeling. I cannot articulate or intellectualize the Dharmas. I am unable to contribute additional depth to the millennias of thought dedicated to the Buddha. I cannot offer alternative translations to the Sanskrit, Chinese or English versions of the Lotus Sutra . But I can tell you what it is like to have been to a Buddhist nation, from the perspective of someone who grew up with no knowledge of such tradition. I can tell you what I observed, what I felt, and what conclusions I was able to draw. I can take my limited knowledge of Western Thought, from the Delphic Maxims to the New Testament, and tell you what I've learned of the East.  As one strolls through the concrete side streets of Japanese suburbia, there is an indelible solace which resonates through each block, inspired by the minimalist design and abundant tranquility. Stepping into ...

I arrive at these words with great grief and particular elation,  Aware of how I oscillate between tremor and satiation. Profoundly struck by the universality of this sensation,  It's a sense of duty to reality which salvages my salvation. I wonder what God might say to this product of his creation? Might he extend the hand of wisdom out as an invitation? Would he think this rambling of self awareness an appreciation?  Or a diatribe of ignorance and rejection of divine revelation? Despite uncertainty, I can say one thing with some authority,  That the pangs of my conscience have driven in me uniformity. A clarity in the same part of me which is tired of all the partying.  I've watched myself recoil from the ego I have been embodying. In the attainment of such wisdom, I have discovered my purpose. For reasons still unclear to me it beckons with distinct fervor. Like the 4 Cardinal Virtues: wisdom, prudence, justice, and courage.  The meaning of life I find i...

July | Philosophy and Religion |   Week 28 | 7/16/2023 Deep dive on Stoicism Looking to annals of history, it's abundantly clear that the most common motif of conscious experience is suffering (to be continued in the Buddhism deep dive). Many great novels, documentaries and cinematic representations have highlighted the brutality of life on Earth, be it animal, insect, or man. However, the consciousness with which we've been gifted confers in us the ability to recognize the suffering of brutal reality, and in many cases, paradoxically, create it ourselves. So it is no surprise that religions and philosophies alike have sought to address this fundamental element of conscious experience. The Nihilists attempt to pad themselves by proclaiming zero meaning in reality, whereby they can take solace in the passage of time until their final hour, relieving them of the burden of life. The Confucians use the collective diligence and work ethic of establishing social order as the antidote...

July | Philosophy and Religion |   Week 27 | 7/9/2023 Deep dive on Christianity  I am a novice of Christianity. Yes, I know the narrative arc, I know the rising actions, the climax and the conclusion. I even know some of the main characters, but admittedly, I lack a critical layer of depth such that my articulation and analysis of the narrative is elementary. Think about when you hear someone intelligent speak on a podcast, on stage or through an article; it becomes immediately clear that your own knowledge of the English language, the language of your native tongue, the only tool you have in your toolbelt to communicate, is severely incomplete. The diction with which you have access to is a fraction compared to an impressive individual and therefore your capacity for expression of complex, nuanced ideas is lacking also. In the same way, despite growing up in the Catholic church, attending Sunday school and being confirmed into the faith, I have come to understand that my reli...

July | Philosophy and Religion |   Week 26 | 7/2/2023 Talk about the synergies between Eastern Thought and Western Thought Theologians and philosophers alike develop silos of ego, compartmentalized into self-containing rationalization, all born of competitiveness. It is a natural inclination to prove and disprove. It is counterintuitive to subject matter expertise to find similarity rather than identify difference. I grew up Catholic and rarely did I consider the larger philosophical and religious landscape of the world, until I learned of the world. Upon reading the texts of the stoics, who predated Christ, I saw parallel conclusions about fundamental features of the human nature. In deep diving the Old Testament, I discovered archetypes which could be found in ancient Egypt and ancient China. And in Japan, visiting the Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, I learned of the connection between observation, self-regulation, nature, and enlightenment, a central theme in both Stoicism ...

June | Post College and Change |   Week 25 | 6/25/2023 Talk about settling in Charlotte and what life is like now For 3 years I rehearsed in my head, the particular environment I would create, if I had the opportunity to do so. I envisioned The Setup - to be a single man in his mid 20's, the job I would get, the place I would live, what I would look like, who my friends would be, what my hobbies would be, how I would spend my time and money, and what things I would accomplish. For 3 years I honed in on that vision until finally a chance for me to make it reality. In April 2021, I landed the job; remote, in tech, opportunity for promotion. In May 2021 I landed the apartment; first floor with a stoop, on the light rail in Southend Charlotte. By September 2021, I'd garnered a friend group, I'd achieved a level of physical fitness that I was proud of, and I honed in on particular skillsets like chess, theology, and running. In October 2021, The Setup was complete. And a few day...

June | Post College and Change |   Week 24 | 6/18/2023 Describe the year you lived in Winston Salem It's fascinating in life how we discover our limit - how much can we take before we fold. It was only months after I'd moved to Charlotte, the city of my dreams for half a decade, that I stepped away from it. That fourth rotation in Charlotte was an odd one. I'd been in Spartanburg, Jacksonville, Detroit and Seattle, with dreams of Charlotte the entire time. But, COVID lockdowns ensued almost immediately after I arrived. I was beyond grateful to be living with my brother and his wife, looking back now that serendipitous timing was a major blessing. About 3 months went by, locked indoors, finding ways to occupy free time and avoid working too much. Life had given me the opportunity to be in the city I'd fallen in love with, but with limited opportunity to enjoy it. And so when opportunity knocked, I answered. I was offered a role, launching a new Amazon fulfillment center ...

June | Post College and Change |   Week 23 | 6/11/2023 What was your time in Seattle like and what did you learn? Reflecting back almost 4 years later, the drive from Detroit to Seattle was one of the more profound treks of my life. There are obvious profundities imbued in travel, and even more obvious novelties in foreign travel, but how many people have truly seen their land and their country? I feel incredibly fortunate to be American for a plethora of reasons, one of which is the beauty and accessibility of our vast nation, so inspired by the mission of manifest destiny that many thousands died to see actualized. Our nation is the 4th largest in the world and far more capable of being traversed than the three above it - China, Russia, and Canada. Over 4 days, I saw Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. I had dinner in St. Paul, a beer in Bismarck, I went sight seeing in Bozeman, and I stopped for a rest in Spokane. When I finall...

June | Post College and Change |   Week 22 | 6/4/2023 What was it like to leave Florida and live in Detroit? There comes a day in life, which many know well, where one finally leaves home. When I say leave home I don't mean for summer camp, for a vacation with your friend's family, for an internship, or even for college. These are soft launches, they're impermanent, but they allow for a glimpse. In particular college, where understanding of this concept enters conscious awareness. But I'm talking about truly leaving home - you've graduated, you've got a job, and that job doesn't exist in the city where your parents live, perhaps not the state, or even the same country. I'm talking about really leaving home. I'm talking about, when your parents finally convert your old room to a guest room, take you off the phone plan and the insurance. I'm talking about changing your permanent mailing address. This is an important day and a rite of passage. And t...

May | Health and Fitness |   Week 21 | 5/28/2023 What ideas do you have on the future of health?  Think for a second, that the body is like a large corporation. From the outside looking in, we see the advertisements, we see the big flashy buildings, the products that hit the stores. From the exterior, a company looks and appears to be put together. But the reality of what is happening inside the buildings, in the board rooms, at the desks of thousands of employees, could be and is very different than the outside vantage point. A business is a complex system of smaller businesses. For example, Amazon, my company, is really Alexa (Devices), Cloud (AWS), Retail (Fulfilment) and a dozen other businesses which make up Amazon.com. Individuals in a company are the same as cells in a body. They are performing the function of the lowest level of necessary requirement, specific tasks like Finance, HR, Sales, akin to white blood cell, red blood cell, neuron. Small teams are like organs. ...

May | Health and Fitness |   Week 20 | 5/21/2023 Talk about your health regimen  My health regime is to me what a core processing program is to a PC. My regime is Windows 11 - it forms the basis for my actions and my decisions. It took years to develop and years to master, and it will be updated and fine tuned in perpetuity. I started thinking about a "program" of some sort at a very early age. My father, being a former bodybuilder and supplement junkie was always encouraging in this domain - some vitamin C if we had muscle aches from soccer, some Lysine if we had a cold sore, some pre-workout before a swim meet (lol). Growing up as a kid I saw the medicine cabinet as a source of wisdom, a competitive arbitrage, an entire universe of potentiality to help me. Later in life, when I was stricken with disease, my diet, exercise, and supplementation protocols would become very significant as I attempted to ease the muscle atrophy, inflammation, and wasting away I saw happening bef...

The stranger who passes knows not of my path. Through all the miles, the tribulations and trials, Mine is a feigned smile, covering a layer of wrath. And every so often it slips through my grasp. I'm remorseful for my ire, every present has a past.  Every tree has its roots, every day has its dawn, But if I ask myself seriously, am I a cultural chameleon? I looked in the mirror to see which version of me I had drawn. I've traveled to and from, the feeling of home doesn't come. It's not as if I'm lost, its as if I was gone all along. Reflecting now I know it's certainty which I envy.  Not the coveted life of picturesque rendering. My ego makes me pretend to be without a single enemy. With all the luxuries of a metaphorical spending spree. But the truth of the matter is, I'm left with me, myself and I: The three don't agree, on which me is me and which me is a lie.

May | Health and Fitness |   Week 19 | 5/14/2023 A dissertation on Crohns and Colitis Introduction | On many occasions I have sat, quieted my mind, and documented the history of my disease, looking for a pattern, an origin story, and a silver bullet. I never found that silver bullet, no switch I could flip that would end the suffering. But along the way, I did uncover many interesting things about the history of my disease and fascinating correlations. In fact, I found enough interesting things that I have developed a working theory of IBD, which I'm excited to finally compile. As an aside, most, if not all of the information I'm going to present here was never surfaced to me by my physicians, part of a deeper problem in our health system. For example, there is a statistical correlation between colder climates and autoimmune disease (my ancestors are from the hills of Ireland). There is data linking a lack of breast feeding to the onset of autoimmune disease (I wasn't brea...