Writer of essays, reflections, and cultural commentary. Exploring creativity, inner life, and what it means to grow wiser on purpose.
Readings
When I first came up with (and participated in) the first-ever cycle of my original Feast of the Wandering Pen challenge a month ago, I didn’t really know where it was going to take me. I just knew I needed something to get me back to writing for
Self Image
There’s a strange kind of grief that arrives when the story you once told about yourself — your guiding myth — no longer fits. Especially when it wasn’t just any story, but the story. The one you poured into poems or blogs or old journal entries by the bucketful. The
Music
I almost always listen to music in the mornings to help wake my mind up and get my blood flowing. But today’s soundtrack isn’t just background noise. It’s a living, breathing presence in the room with me. It's flowing into my ears through the Cali
Readings
So, there’s this tarot deck in my office that I didn’t actually touch for almost two years. It’s beautiful — mythic, even. Every card depicts a folktale, legend, myth, or fairytale from a different part of the world. It’s called Tarot of the Divine, and it arrived
Creativity
At dinner last night, Seth and I had one of those conversations that really linger. The kind where you find yourself still turning it over in your mind the next day, like a stone you can’t stop touching. We were talking about creativity, specifically how freeing it can feel
Self Image
I'm realizing that I’ve made a lot of silent promises to myself over the years. Some were whispered in moments of grief, others after quiet triumphs I didn’t care to tell anyone about at the time. They weren't anything serious or formal, but they
Writing
Today is one of those days I'm getting to my daily reflection later rather than sooner, but that's OK. Dinner’s done. The last of the light faded away behind the trees for the night some time ago. I’m back indoors after a hot mushroom
Spirituality
I keep a little wooden container of blessed sea salt next to my computer. Some mornings, I add a pinch to my first bottle of water of the day. It's just a quick personal ritual, but it still helps shift the energy and start the productive part of
Mental Health
As a relatively private person, there's a lot of myself I don't openly share. Not because those parts are shameful or broken, but because they’re delicate and too often misunderstood. One of those parts has always been my sense of empathy. That's the
Back to Basics
It was just a can of lentil stew I had sitting around. Just a little butter on a slice of sourdough from a loaf I bought the other day, plus a few walnuts and a slice or two of fresh mozzarella to round things out. (No meat, because it'
Spirituality
Earlier, I was rewatching the wonderful Hugh Grant film Heretic while finishing up a client assignment. I found my imagination lingering on the moment Mr. Reed brings up Zhuangzi’s butterfly dream — the ancient Daoist anecdote where a man dreams he's a butterfly, only to wake and wonder
Life
The funny thing about aging is that you never actually feel time pass. You feel the things that occupy your consciousness for the most part, instead — love, frustration, desire, and fatigue. You feel small but important details, like your favorite meals, the way your hair still won't behave