figuring out how to live a fulfilling creative life
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is an allegory to the pursuit of life! I consider the experience of rereading The Alchemist as the literary equal of rewatching a Miyazaki film in that I’ll discover something new to take away with every iteration. In short, Coelho’s novel follows a shepherd boy named Santiago who drops everything from his homeland in Spain to go on a quest…
Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá is my favorite book of all time. For evidence, just scroll up and look at this post’s thumbnail. I don’t really needs three versions of the same book, or do I? Daytripper is an award-winning (Eisner Award, Harvey Award, and Eagle Award in 2011) graphic published in 2010 by DC Comics/Vertigo. This isn’t a kid’s comic; it addresses…
Naturally, after practicing meditation and taking cold showers as 30-Day Challenges I encountered the practice of breathwork –specifically the Wim Hof method. Breathing is a free activity, so I did breathwork every day for 30 days. I had no idea what to expect with going into this challenge. I mean it’s just breathing. We do it automatically, right? If it’s not clear yet, I have…
TL; DR I tried taking cold showers every day for 30 days. I failed, but in failing I learned the most about myself. Once again my dear friend, Porter Duong, made a biohack suggestion to me: cold showers are meditative! And now let me indulge with being overly curious and get carried away with 30 days of unnecessary torture! I’ve heard people preach the benefits…
Day 186 felt like a frying pan shot out from a fire-tornado and hit me in the head. I had some personal matters to handle, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lost her fight to cancer, the recent Southern California 4.8 earthquake’s started where my friend and family live, the wildfires are still burning, and let’s not forget we’re still in a pandemic. Friday, September 18 overwhelmed…
I came across The Flinch by Julien Smith during one of my Google searches for ideas associated with the cold showers challenge. The Flinch is a short 38-page e-book packed with pithy reasons why we need to face our fears. This is a short, easy read for multitasking with something else during quarantine. I read this over eating a bowl of noodles during my lunch…
I’m drafting this on Day 168 of quarantine and life continues to be a mucky, banal ache. The Bay Area is still on fire and Chadwick Boseman lost his battle against colon cancer this week. 2020, can I fold my hand now?Somehow through the power of clicking around on the Internet, I came across the book When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times…
I’m a lucky person, I’m an in-house artist who gets to work from home, and I started a workout group that is continuing to thrive. Life is relatively good –with all things considered. Pre-COVID-19 life, the mornings started with a bike ride into the office before sitting down at my computer. Commuting to work is now reduced to rolling out of bed. This new commute…
Hello, how are you? Are you still in quarantine? Yes? Me too. I’ve decided to meditate every day for at least 10 minutes as another 30-Day Challenge because it’s a free activity that anyone can do inside in total isolation. In general, I’ve become a fidgety person who is always rushing from one thing to another. I take pride in my ability to critically think and problem-solve…
I’m amid a work-life balance high as I peck away at the terrible ergonomics of my laptop’s butterfly keyboard. I dislike typing on this thing, but that doesn’t matter because right now because I’m engulfed in an ephemeral ocean of self-love. I had a moment with myself after wrapping on set the other day. For the first time, I felt a deep sense of inner…