Here’s a short note as I pack my bags for my trip to Japan tomorrow while reflecting on recent conversations related to the transience we can do nothing about.

When we truly understand that time is finite, I think the question changes from “What can I accomplish?” to “How should I spend my remainin...

I often play classic rock music in the late morning, before I head to the gym, while stretching on the floor. The music is shuffled in from Spotify on my powerful, six-speaker Sonos sound system. Stretching reduces gym risk. The rock and roll ignites my engines.

A couple days ago, Free Bird came on...

I have always thought about how I spend my time. It goes way back to my first job after college.

In 1983, I graduated from college and went to work in the tax department at Price Waterhouse (now known as PwC) in San Jose, California.

Because we billed our clients for our time, we had to track our ...

When Mom first started talking to us boys about the Dalai Lama, I was pretty sure she was talking about some kind of animal. It sounded a lot like “llama” so there must’ve been a connection.

It took me many years later to see the Dalai Lama as a source of strength for me during times of sufferin...

 Ao Nang Beach, Krabi, Thailand

Journey Home
Last week, I returned to Ao Nang Beach, in Krabi, Thailand after being on the road since April. I was in Bali, then traveled around Thailand with one of my oldest friends from California, then went to the US for six weeks. It had been 20 months since I...

Ao Nang Beach, Krabi, Thailand

Outline
- The Courage to Be Disliked
- Core ideas
- Tips for Men

The Courage to Be Disliked

I was walking on the beach here with a couple of friends last week. Both are from the New York area. One lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

One complained his kids don’t speak to h...

Ao Nang Beach, Krabi, Thailand

Outline
- Losing Jenny
- Buddhism's "birth, aging, sickness, and death"
- Buddhism's Four Noble Truths
- Buddhism's Eightfold Path

Losing Jenny

This past week was one of my most painful ever.

The receptionist at my condo building was killed in a motorbike accident five...

Ao Nang Beach, Krabi, Thailand

Outline
- Life's three broad stages
- Aging as a gift
- Some considerations on aging
- Henry Miller, On Turning Eighty
- My daily routine

The thought that one day I’ll die strikes me a lot more now than 30 years ago.
Notwithstanding the determined efforts of all the int...

Ao Nang Beach, Krabi, Thailand

Outline
- Pink Floyd, Time, 1973
- The Meaning of the Time Song
- David Foster Wallace
- Beach condo - Man cave
- Knee surgery

 Pink Floyd, Time, 1973

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a p...

Taking a break
The past five months have been an enjoyable journey of writing essays and shooting weekly videos about the pillars of well-being.
And now is a great time for a metamorphosis pause, a break from my routine.

It’s my muse again, knocking at my door. And it’s my psyche saying it’s time for...

Here's the video

Back from Hokkaido
I’m back in Chiang Mai, Thailand after spending time in Hokkaido, Japan.
I love Japan. It’s a magical place for me.
Besides the beautiful natural scenery and harmony with nature, it’s the most organized, cleanest, safest, and most punctual place I’ve ever been.
The...

Here is the video

Tonight, I’m going to Sapporo, Japan.
I show this on a map of the world.
I’ll be flying from Thailand here, up to the northern most prefecture of Japan. It’s called Hokkaido.
It’s way up north by Russia’s Sakhalin Island.

Last week, I was on the beach in the south of Thailand, ...