Hello there.
Yes you,
You eloquently diverse human individual
that has chosen to be in this exact moment of time,
time that we all share on this planet we call home.
This year may not be the one we imagined,
but it will be the one we remember.
The one we tell our kids about,
about how the world changed,
how it was the year for no regrets,
the year for no kiss held back,
no voice unheard.
You are magnificent.
The ability to alter the future,
a future of wonder and prosperity,
a world of closeness and warmth.
In a time of distancing we forget who we are.
Stop.
And breathe.
You are okay.
Your unattainables will be attained, this is the year.
The year you will remember,
where you became You.
Don't hold back,
embrace the little conversations,
the steam on your glasses while drinking
your morning coffee.
A polite hello to a neighbor, a stranger, a friend.
Fully embracing someone else's troubles for a day,
Standing outside in the rain on purpose.
Do this world a favor,
And don't forget its still our world.

As a teenager, I can sometimes be frantic,
unfocused, stressed and anxious.
Luckily, I was introduced to meditation.
I love meditation and the way it makes me feel - solid.

So, how does it work?
First I set a 15 minute timer and get
prepared to look a little foolish.
I sit somewhere comfortable, cross-legged.
I close my eyes and focus on a point
in the center of my forehead
between my eyes, relax my mind,
and think only of the sound of OM.
When your mind wanders, just go back to OM.
Existing in that territory of nothing
there is a silence that must be listened to.
You end up giving sharp attention to nothing.
It is simple, compelling and satisfying.
When you’re done, a new stillness will remain in your mind.

This story happened last year, last fall right before school began

Summer talk has stopped sigh - free and easy days, parties and beach trips are over. Now attention turns to the fall and the start of school and the “2019 Social Season.”

Fall begins tonight with a social (a very formal dress party) and the night ahead looms long - these are the events that, for some reason, my siblings live for shaking head - I hate them.

The British would've held this party in a garden - when they ruled the world - but we're modern man - we get the St Regis.

My two best friends aren't here tonight so I'm stuck with my "peers" - the extravagant children of rich houses - those seekers of happy times drunk with an absence of accountability - as they enjoy their metrical friendships and wander lost among forests of bad choices.

Have you ever seen people high on their own surface reflections? It's not a good look.

I see a new purse worth an economy car - honors at the feet of conceit - presented like erotica - let's all just drown in special privilege - "That'll cure racism" - I crack - to cow-like indifference.

Don't worry, my generation will save the planet - we got this.