A painter can paint without a brush. A writer can write without a pen. But take away their suffering and they'll both be paralyzed, inside-out. Maybe it's what wasting your talent, genius and creativity mean -- that you haven't suffered enough. When I started writing, I never got what the superstition around suffering was all … Continue reading When the abyss gazes back
Our relationship with travel is like our relationship with the soul. Mysterious. Magical. Hopeful. When I first set out to travel three years ago, I had no clue what to expect of it. I thought it would last six months -- a break at most. A break from something. To somewhere. There was also the … Continue reading Wanderlust, an end.
Philosophers sound nervously prophetic. Two thousand years ago, they are going on about how everything is fast-paced, how everyone's running a mindless race and how the next generation thinks out of their arse. They even talk about information overload from other schools of philosophy. Philosopher king Marcus Aurelius was at one point the most powerful … Continue reading Why, God, Why
Ever done the right thing and felt wrong? Why do we feel weak when we show compassion. When we forgive. When we let go. When we tell people how much they mean to us. And to mess with us full circle, why do we feel strong when we are mean. When we point out mistakes. … Continue reading What it takes
There's a part of us that wants fame. Despite the meticulous meltdown that's the life of most famous people, our need to trade damage for feeling good remains intact. In that, fame is like a drug. For the longest time, few people had access to it and you could never openly admit you were addicted … Continue reading How to become famous
You do stupid things all the time. You know you are doing something stupid while doing it. You know you did something stupid after doing it. Each time, you walk away from your embarrassing existence hoping no one noticed. Then one cold winter morning all the dumb things you did explode on your face like … Continue reading On Stupidity
Memento Mori. Remember you are going to die. For the longest time, only serial killers and philosophers backed the idea. So we ignored it. Then Steve Jobs came along with his commencement speech and said memento mori was central to his life. And when a billionaire tells us something we become pavlovian with hope, however … Continue reading Tik. Tok.
This can't be happening. For the second day in a row, everything is - well this is embarrassing - going well. It's a bizarre feeling. I have made sure I don't let myself feel this way for very long. I must have forgotten. This forgetfulness is a new condition. A new anxiety. As is the … Continue reading How to go mad
One morning of early 2017, I woke up with a dumb-muscled urge to travel. I opened my Facebook account and told my friends that humanity was a stagnating cesspool and they all one bubble in its soapscum; I told my girlfriend I had enough of her shit; I told my boss to kiss my arse. … Continue reading I believe I can fly
Our dietary habits have changed. It's not about food any longer. Sorry butterballs who came here looking for a beach body. We've got a bigger problem to deal with. The new kind of consumption is about information. It's why social media is choking on its own vomit all the time. The more we gorge, the … Continue reading How to lose 100 pounds in 125 days
