I have a confession to make: I feel alive when I choose the opposite of what the majority of people do. Do I need to go somewhere? Bike or Walk. Too far? Bike/Walk + transit. Or carpool. Do I need to eat? Cook meals myself, try new recipes, always bring snacks with me to share with people. Do I want to build meaningful relationships? Get comfortable with social anxiety, join communities and show up consistently....
“There can be no value in the whole unless there is value in the parts” – The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell Appreciate the pleasure and opportunity to be able to cook your own meals. Maybe even develop your own recipes. Get friends to eat together, without worrying that your place is sparkling clean. Don’t drive. Walk, bike, swim, skate and take transit. Get active. Use your body. Expose your brain to the complex reality of being alive with other living beings....
The world is in a bad state but everything will become worse unless each of us does his best” — Viktor Frankl A few years ago, I got more involved with my local communities. Work filled my life up to that point and I wanted to meet people where nobody cared what I did for a living. My volunteer journey evolved from volunteering at online tech communities to local initiatives....
Meters and meters away from home I find myself where there’s no time I opened the window for fresh air As I am in complete darkness That’s when Darkness itself entered the room An ancient caregiver of the land and time It just stands there, occupying its space Indistinguishable from its friend, the night When you seek darkness it's because you've trapped your light inside And there it lies, waiting for you to wake up Blind, looking for the outside morning light that never comes ...
More than one year ago, I decided that coffee (caffeine in general) wasn’t making me any good. I felt hostage to coffee: if I didn’t drink it every morning, I’d get a terrible headache, forcing me to drink it… to avoid being in pain. It also made me feel more anxious during the day. Why was I doing this to myself? Oh, if being rational was an easy thing to do as a human....
Last year when visiting my local library (something that I love to do), an intriguing book cover caught my attention. It had a bright yellow cover with an interesting title: How to Be Perfect: The Correct Moral Answer to Every Question, from Michael Schur. I checked it out without any questioning. It explains the process Michael went through to produce one of my favorite TV shows: “The Good Place”. If you have ever watched shows produced by Michael Schur, you might antecipate that the book is funny....
The wind, with no excuses and surprises, takes over all the leaves from the trees. One day, I was walking somewhere and witnessed the wind taking the remaining leaves of a tree. All I could think of was: “wouldn’t be great if I could let things go just like that? A strong wind meets my past, removes all that doesn’t serve me anymore. For some time, I don’t carry anything, just nurture the roots of my core self to give space for a new season”....
Writing is easy. Anyone can write a post of 500 words. But what does it take to go from a writer to becoming a writer with readers? Insights gathered by trying different things, willingness to make mistakes, and working in public. Therefore, I always get curious when I find people who have successfully created writing careers, or businesses on top of their writing skills. This curiosity led me to read “The Art and Business of Online Writing”, by Nicolas Cole (my co-founder, Thiago Araujo, also recommended reading it)....