Transitions

His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, teaches us to practice compassion in our daily lives. Compassion. What is compassion in action? Being patient. Being kind. Being brave. But it's also biting one's tongue and really listening when a family member wants to vent so that he or she can figure things out. We tend to think that when someone tells us about a problem they are dealing with that they want us to help them come up with a solution. But that's not what people want. Most people just want to be heard. Most of us are smart enough to figure things out on our own if given the chance. We all just need a little encouragement. We don't have to figure out everyone's else's problems. That's not our job. Our job is to be the best version of ourselves that we can be so that we achieve a clear mindset that is supportive and encouraging of others around us while, simultaneously,  accomplishing your life goals. The ultimate goal is to lead others by examp...

I am pretty mortified right now. The thought that total strangers will be able to read my blog entries fills me simultaneously with a sense of deep responsibility and the instinct to run away from my laptop. What if my writing makes no impact on anyone? What if I am judged too harshly for my views? What if writing this blog opens up my very own "Pandora's box" of who knows what horrors? I want this blog to be a positive thing. I want to use it as a vehicle for measuring how I am making positive life changes not only for myself but also for my family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and everyone else that I encounter. I've had the urge to write and speak about anything and everything lately, particularly on Facebook, but I have realized that blogging, as opposed to just updating my status on Facebook, might help me bring about positive changes in my life in a faster and more efficient manner. Why not join the technological revolution by using the tools available to...

TODAY. No more excuses. I want to purge my life of superfluous things so that I can effectively reduce not only my carbon footprint but also the amount of things I spend precious time on on a daily basis. Some call it downsizing and re-prioritizing. I call it effective laziness. This is one of the positive life changes that I have been planning on achieving but have not gotten around to. My life is a series of unfinished projects and it is time to pick up the pieces and make something of all of the things that I have gathered in the last 14 years. I moved out of my parents' home at 17 years of age. I am now 31.  I have 14 years worth of accumulated items. I say "have" and not "own" because I also have a significant amount of credit card debt that accounts for why I have not returned to school to finish my philosophy degree. I've purged plenty over the course of the last 14 years but now I'm in a kind of micropurging mode. Everything is impor...

I was once told by an American history high school teacher, during class, that I had a "boisterous laugh." I quickly proceeded to look up the definition of "boisterous" in my pocket dictionary. Boisterous, according to the Merriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary, means "noisily turbulent." Simply put, I'm loud as fuck. I was clearly disrupting class with another student and that was my teacher's polite way of telling me to simmer down. Sometimes, when I laugh, my whole body shakes uncontrollably. I wish I could contain myself, but I can't. I have realized over the years that this is a blessing. When I hear something shockingly ignorant or something horribly outrageous, as happens often in "civilized" society, I most often laugh hysterically. Some people view this behavior as insane. I believe it is the opposite. Laughing out loud is the body's reaction to stress. Instead of internalizing anger or shock, when we laugh we express th...

What are you supposed to learn in this lifetime? Are there any questions that keep popping up in your mind throughout your life that you cannot yet answer? What issues continually trouble you? What is preventing you from living the life that you have always dreamed of? These are some questions with which to begin the process of learning which lessons we are being taught in this lifetime. I am Buddhist. I believe in reincarnation. As a Buddhist, I believe that I have lived many lives before this life and I also believe that I will continue to live many lifetimes after I die in this realm. I do not remember my previous lifetimes nor do I remember any of my future lifetimes.Time can be measured. But "time" itself does not actually exist. It is a concept which we,  humans, use to be able to understand the idea of change. Change is all around us and within us. We are constantly changing inside our physical bodies. Our hearts pump blood, our lungs inhale and exhale, our stomachs di...

One year later. Your absence still does not seem real, cousin. One year later and we all still feel the same. Still feel your warmth. Feel your positive energy. Hear your hilarious laugh. Remember your silly jokes and pranks. Imagine and hope that you are coming back from a long trip. We know, rationally, that you are gone physically. Of that there is no doubt. But your presence is sensed everywhere...when we hear certain songs, when we see your art, when we reminisce over your pictures and videos,when we remember your crazy mannerisms...our hearts twinge with simultaneous pain and joy. "Tomorrow may never come for you or me...life is not promised...tomorrow may never show up for you and me...this life is not promised..."sings Mos Def, "My Umi says 'Shine your light on the world...shine your light for the world to see..." You would shine your light by painting at gallery shows,on trains, inside churches, at parties with your posse of friends all over Dallas.You ...