Steinbeck, Shelley, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner – a few monumental authors who skillfully painted pictures with their words. Before televisions, radios and iPhones, books were the primary source for escaping our everyday lives. Stories of kids going on heroic journeys, legends of utopias and nostalgic monsters yearning for affection were told using words. Read more
Judgement
“Our judgement is an attempt to negate the source of our discomfort.” Today, in a crowded Thai restaurant, I sat alone and found myself unconsciously highlighting these profound words written by Anodea Judith (2004) in her revised book, Eastern Body Western Mind (a piece I’ve found myself highly captivated by lately). Sitting there dazed, motionless and somewhat wide-eyed, I tried to speculate why I had gravitated towards this quote. Read more
Me, Myself and I
I bet there has been a time in your life when someone has asked you to describe yourself in two words, maybe one. Time and time again this question gets thrown out at me and since I can remember, my response has always been the same – traveler. My answer might appear a bit cliché, maybe even overused on several applications, but there is often a misinterpretation between traveler and tourist. To me, a traveler is someone who has the capability, and interest, to interact with those who are “locals,” whereas a tourist does what those before them have done. Read more
Stigmatized
Have you ever woken up with an impassioned weakness? Not the type of weakness that stems from a long day at work or running a few miles. The type of uneasy frailty where walking ten feet to the bathroom is physically exhausting; as though shackles bound by cinder blocks are grasping your ankles and at any moment your body is going to give out. Anyone who has experienced this defeat knows the most relatable way to explain it to someone who’s been blessed never to have lived in this imprisonment is just that – it’s an unescapable prison. Read more