Ukrainian Philosophy of the Heart

Every day, rolling out of bed, I start with the recognition of a simple tenet of my life: “love what you do and do what you love.” A philosophy I’ve intertwined into every fabric of my being, but this morning I stare at these words I’ve just typed, and I’m lost.  A photo taken in Kyiv at the Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), stares back…

Unfinished Business in the Year of the Tiger

A Peruvian sky painted with strokes of magic only a thunderstorm can create plays out in front of me. My exhaustion complete, I sink deeper into the grass and dirt and drift away from life, away from the world, away from reality.   Silence envelops the valley around me and the storm’s energy is waking my soul. I stare into the eyes of the…

Heartbeat of Time

Is there anything more pure than the mind of a child? Where the reality of a day goes on forever ~ entranced by all the love and peace around.  Never a day lost, never a day wasted. Time does not exist in the manner we experience as adults. Time is in abundance. The preciousness of every heartbeat, a soothing melody moving the world forward…

Waking Up in Kenya with Nietzsche

The fog in my head feels eerily like a hangover but I know that’s impossible because quarantine took away such mornings long ago. The daylight can no longer be ignored so with a bit of indignation I roll out of bed. It would take too much effort to walk over to the window, so instead I stare at the walls. Life has become a…

Edge of the Wilderness

“Standing on the precipice of a wilderness unknown. Alone. Resistance, both past and present, pushes from all sides.” I stare at the words written and wonder what it would feel like to walk along a razor’s edge, day-after-day, your existence always in the balance. My room fills with the warm yellow hues of the evening sun inviting me for a walk, but I am…

Escape from Tomorrow ~ Machu Picchu

Falling back into the past is easier these days. I close my eyes, search a memory and watch possibilities swim around in my mind. There is a sense of freedom with this escape, many paths branch out and I need only choose. Today, my mind wanders from above and I find myself looking down on the hallowed grounds of Machu Picchu. Back in a…

Hard Work and the Good Life

Cool, quiet days in a small village in the middle of Bohemia come to life in a way I imagine they did centuries ago. The smell of wood stoves, sun rays making their way through the mist, and people preparing for a good day of hard work. The work is exhausting but full of vitality. Energy created by the confidence of giving each day…

Peru: Rhythm of the Amazon

The Amazon River and Jungle of Peru and quantum physics

Solitude of a Night in Prague

I’ve never welcomed the darkness as much as tonight. The isolation clears my head; this solitude of nothingness, paraphrasing the philosophy of the Dao de Jing, …holds everything. Such silence is rare here on the streets of one of Europe’s oldest cities, where in the daytime each passing second arrives quicker than the last. At this hour, however, time essentially stands still. The shadow of night…

The Boy From Po Toi

Echoes of a ghost?  Of the future?  Of the past? There is a feeling of perplexity.  I’m no longer standing in the conference room on the top floor of a skyscraper.  There are no floor-to-ceiling windows with Hong Kong harbor far below.  And my Armani suit?  Transformed into what appears to be rags.      There is panic, but also familiarity.  I look down at my hands holding…