how to be aware in an unaware world

Tag: purpose

Why
Boy, it’s been a good while since I wrote a blog post, a process that was so dear to me, but, as they say, there is no time like the present, because, well, there is only the present.
Starting to share thoughts from this wild mind of mine feels like a breath of fresh air.
My mind exists in a jungle of vines, bushes, and strangling things, but through this process of creative writing and musing a door appears in the distance – opening into a land of blue skies, rolling hills, and the purest air known to man.
And it’s in getting to that land that the wild becomes tame and the dark jungle gives way to bright pastures.
I know. I know it’s cheesy. I’m a fiend for analogies, but this process of writing really is super impactful to me.
But alas, I digress, you wanted a new blog post and so I dug deep into my archive and found just the thing to write about!
It begins with a simple yet deeply insightful question.
What keeps you up at night and what gets you up in the morning?
These two questions will invariably answer the “Why?” in our lives and that “Why?” gets to the meat of it all, to the core of our very being.
There are obviously no right or wrong answers to this question.
There’s no one answer either. Highly fluctuating answers will come at different stages in life, that’s totally okay and only a reflection of our aspirations.
The “Why do I stay up at night?” in my life right now is to make money, or more specifically, to pay off some debt, save a good chunk of cash, and invest extra earnings. This “Why?” is not very glamorous, but it is necessary. I must stabilize myself financially so I can move on to my next “Why?”.
The next “Why?”, “Why do I get up in the morning?” is unquestionably to help others that come across my path live a happy and healthy life through deep listening, occasional words of wisdom, mindfulness teaching, emotional support, and guided meditations. In other words, my “Why?” is the very thing I am building: Mindfulness &
Each of these categories contain a plethora of direct and applicable advice, with mindfulness teaching being at the core.
I adamantly believe that mindfulness is the foundation by which we build a happy and healthy life on. Like the foundation of a house (which reminds me of the Series of Unfortunate Events movie scene when that house completely falls apart into the ocean, but the rock on which it stands is still perfectly intact).
The reason mindfulness is so important is because it opens our eyes and ears to even be aware of the very question. It brings us back to the present moment, forcing us to reflect on the “Why?”.
I would also say community support is equally foundational because it entails surrounding us with people that can enrich our lives and remind us that we are never alone in any stage of life. Without community support we are lost in the sea, and no man is an island.
This point of community was humorously illustrated when a man tried to make his own chicken sandwich from scratch (by procuring all that is needed to make the ingredients). I won’t spoil anything, just say that it was no easy process at all.
We live by way of a very complex system of logistics. Everything from the cup of coffee we drink to the very words I’m typing on this laptop took hundreds of thousands of people in order to be.
This is the beauty of interdependence. The quicker we understand how much we need each other, the quicker we can get out of our own way and serve.
Three More Things
February 7, 2026
Gadgets
“Love people and use things because the opposite never works.”
– Joshua Fields Millburn
Growing up in a sprawling suburbia, I would spend so much money, time, energy, and attention span on Amazon, Walmart, and just shopping online.
My father used to remark on all the ‘gadgets’ I had accumulated through the years, saying how ridiculous they all were, which I can look back on now and appreciate.
The useful and purposeful ‘gadgets’ I found were only about 10% of the ‘gadgets’ I spent hard-earned money obtaining.
It was a small problem when I was spending more than I was making and a big problem when I was making more money just to spend it on shit I truly didn’t need.
I look back today and think, how could I be so consumed with consumption? How could I not have seen the trajectory of this behavior leading ever deeper into a hole of debt and depression?
Reflection
And then, on a crisp summer afternoon in college, I was flipping through Netflix (mindlessly) until a title caught my attention, ‘MINIMALISM: A Documentary About The Important Things’
I thought, “Well that sounds interesting, I’m filled with a lot of unimportant things in my life right now and I kinda need answers to this dilemma” (which I assumed it would provide).
And boy did the now cult favorite independent film provide answers, but not in the way you would think.
It was after that movie, after the tears of realization and reflection, that I’d been living my life all wrong, and after talking it out with my friends and family I decided to make a change (but I’ll get back to that).
This movie lays the groundwork for a philosophy that has been around for thousands of years and is really just an evolved term for intentional living or valued-based living (a way of life that used to be incredibly commonplace).
Minimalism itself is not a new idea: the concept dates back to the Stoics, to every major religion, and, more recently, to Emerson, Thoreau, and Tyler Durden. What’s new is the problem: never before have people been more seduced by materialism, and never before have people been so willing to forsake loved ones to acquire heaps of meaningless stuff.
For most of history, people didn’t even think about having more than they needed because they didn’t have the means to accumulate stuff and were therefore content with what they had.
But during the industrial revolution, modern marvels became cheaper and cheaper to make, therefore cheaper and cheaper to price.
It took just eight or so years for the smartphone to become both cheap enough for anyone to buy and accessible enough for anyone to get.
But in the wake of this paradigm shift in society, towers and towers of waste began to form (evidently the main byproduct of modern capitalism).
I saw, for the first time, that waste was thrown out and piled up everywhere (literally and metaphorically). And once I saw it, I could not unsee it.
I had been so consumed in shopping for shit I never needed that I did not see the shit lying all around me, the same stuff I was spending so much money on.
I had had enough, so I did three things that fateful afternoon:
1. I took on the minimalist challenge to sell, give, or try and recycle all the shit that I did not value.
2. I started writing about my decision and the implications it had on me, which led to this very blog!
3. I changed my spending habits to reflect my values, vowing to be mindful of where, when, and how I consume anything.
It has been a rocky road since then and I have not been entirely faithful to those rules I set, but for the most part, I have remained changed at my core.
It was also through the practice of focused attention that I began to see the train before it departed, with all its gadgets and gizmos (as my father would say).
Encouragement
I encourage us to ask the hard questions today, questions like, “Is this stuff lying around me both useful and valued in my eyes?” or “How long have I even used this thing?”
List those things that you probably should get rid of, sell, or recycle. If you share a lot of that stuff, write the list together with your partner.
A million excuses will get in your way, but trust me, it is better to begin this questioning earlier than later when you suddenly open your eyes in retirement to the fact you have so much stuff.
Through deeper questioning, we find deeper meaning and begin to shape our lives in new ways.
Thanks
I am thankful for the minimalists and their continuous influence on me to live a more intentional life.
And I am thankful for all who continue to read this blog, to which I have really just begun, thanks for taking this journey with me!
As always, feel free to leave a comment or share this post. You can also Buy Me a Coffee if you are inclined to do so. Thank you in advance!
Links
November 30, 2023
Action
“Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation, even so, does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.”
– Leonardo Da Vinci
By design, some people think more and some instinctively act more. The head and the heart are at play in every decision we make.
But no matter how we approach the Book of Life, we have to write the chapters ourselves, we have to take action for our character.
Whatever we call it, inaction, laziness, or sloth, the result is the same.
Our minds need attention, purpose, and pause to stay vigorous.
For instance, reading can bring vitality and imagination to a stagnant mind. Whereas movies, television, doom scrolling, and social media do little to engage our minds in an active, rigorous way and can actually be detrimental to the mind.
Practicing mindfulness involves being fully present in the moment, and paying attention to our thoughts and sensations without judgment.
The Book of Life represents the unfolding story before us, with each moment and experience being a page or chapter.
Mindfulness encourages us to live more fully and consciously, recognizing the significance of each moment in our life story.
Reflection
Even waking up earlier can be the catalyst to a bright, purposeful day, with time to set our intentions and focus our energy.
There are 5 things I try my best to do every single morning: Wake up at six (much harder than it sounds), take a cold shower, work out, meditate, and journal.
I know that after doing those five small things (in under an hour and a half), I have set myself up for a great day.
And I’m not alone. The happiest people on the planet have a morning routine (see the link at the bottom).
Routines require rigorous action. It doesn’t have to be a giant, exhausting action either, often the smallest choices make the biggest impact in the long run.
It’s kin to building a house brick by brick rather than plopping the whole structure down at once, each brick laid is a deliberate voice, ensuring quality and craftsmanship.
Every small action relies on another even smaller action to complete.
Complete? But that’s not the right word. Is anything ever really completed? Are we ever finished with something, no matter the size and detail?
There is continuous improvement, evaluation, and backtracking to every endeavor.
These small actions, like brushing our teeth, rely on even smaller actions, like buying toothpaste or a toothbrush, which relies on going to the store, which relies having the means and health to travel, which relies on the knowledge that brushing your teeth is good for you, which relies on the ability to comprehend that knowledge, which relies on working memory to store that knowledge, which relies on an intact brain to store that memory, which depends on, well, you get the point.
This reminds us to understand the complexity of the world we live in and the propensity to often take it for granted.
It also points to a fascinating topic that some people study their entire adult lives: behavior. If we are a collection of our daily choices, then doesn’t that give us so much possibility to affect our behavior?
There is little fluctuation in behavior when we are grounded in self-disciple and good-natured, daily choices.
The one thing that is a constant in life is that everything changes, and the observation of that change over time is called mindfulness.
A person’s practice of observation (meditation) is at the core of every action, no matter how small.
Encouragement
I encourage us to pick up a good book today and read for a while, maybe go on a long walk in the woods or paint aimlessly, draw something completely random, pick up an instrument, or play a challenging game!
No matter the choice of action, make sure to focus on the intentionality and to note as always how you feel in the process.
Links
Thank you deeply for your time and attention in reading this post, it is a rare gift these days. Feel free to comment, like, and share it. You can also support me by Buying Me A Coffee. Thank you in advance!
September 30, 2023