Sometimes staircases are monumental metaphors of hierarchy or spiritual progression. Other times, they’re band-aids for the sidewalk. They serve first as necessary design elements—ways to ascend and descend levels—but can second as allegories for the tedious climb toward enlightenment. Either way, I ask you to pay attention, what are these stairs telling you?
I was tired of paying homage to the western god of productivity. If I was going to return home and be productive for the next 30 years, I needed to see what everyone else was doing first.
I’ve been the guy on his laptop all day for over a week, stationed in Todos Santos, Mexico, at a cute little hostel in a sleepy town. Today, I reflected on the products of my creative effort and compiled a list below:
The Alley of Paranthas stretched before me, forty food stalls deep, each one identical to my untrained eye. I had no idea what a parantha was, but I was about to eat one.
India has it all there—every aspect of existence laid bare, nothing tucked away.
I spent several hours on my About page and realized I was going in circles. I asked AI what to refine, followed the suggestion, and immediately knew it was wrong. I deleted it and returned to the original. I checked the time and felt frustration rise. “I’ve made no progress,” I thought. But that wasn’t …
An essay on journaling, publishing, and why writing in public creates clarity that private writing alone cannot.