Friday Fun Flier XXXVIIII

Sorry I've been gone, here are more words! :)

The author practices crow pose on a balcony

Hello hello everyone!

First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who reached out while I was away. I realize that I may have freaked a few people out by saying “I have Dengue” and then vanishing for three months.

Something, something, growth is a process? It blew my mind that so many people missed The Well-Lived Life and wanted to make sure I was ok!

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What happened?

After I recovered from Dengue, I flew home to be with my family for Christmas, played a ton of volleyball with my Mom, saw some old friends. It was wonderful. But when I sat down to write again, I realized that I didn’t have anything to say.

Not in a “writer’s block” sort of way, just a feeling that right then, at that time, I didn’t have anything helpful to add to the conversation. And I think that’s ok!

I don’t want to be the type of writer who wrings content out of himself just because it’s expected. I don’t want to add noise to all the other noise on the internet.

I want to share things that help. If I don’t feel that I have anything helpful to say, I don’t need to! I don’t want to be another hack farting out content because PRODUCTIVITY IS GOD.

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The update:

I’m ok. I’m way better than ok, currently finishing up a six-week Yoga Teacher Training, floating on a raft made of sunshine in a pool of hot, sensual bliss.

The last six weeks at Durgas Tiger School have been the most spiritually educational of my life. Living in a community of like-minded, open, loving people has helped me recognize old patterns and create healthy new ones.

I danced and sang. I did tons of yoga and experienced shamanic plant medicine. I traveled a long way towards healing my relationship with my suppressed, religious-upbringing sexuality.

It all happened in real-time, and I am so happy that I wasn’t writing about it as it happened. We miss so much when we try to tell our stories at the same time as we live.

We’re trying to stick cameras and microphones into every last corner of life these days, but the real magic happens when no one is watching. When there’s no need to perform.

Anyways, that’s the update. I have so much more to say, but that will have to wait for another day! RHYMES.

Here’s some cool stuff that really helped me in the last few weeks :)

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A fantastic book I just read:

Image credit Goodreads

Comedy Sex God by Pete Holmes

AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! So great!

You know when you read a memoir, and you have that feeling that you’re not alone? That someone has lived as you have, gone through the things you have, and managed to come out of it ok? It floods you with hope!

That’s Comedy Sex God for me.

Pete Holmes and I have lived wildly similar lives. We both grew up in the evangelical church, started asking too many questions, found ourselves unsatisfied, and left. We both went through phases of angry atheism that left us feeling empty. We both had to heal our own sexuality after years of religious repression and battles with pornography.

We also both like mushrooms. I won’t specify what kind ;)

This book made me laugh, triggered me, reminded me how far I’ve come, and made me so, so happy to be alive. I recommend it to anyone!

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An interview that reminded me anything’s possible*:

*If you don’t want to support Joe Rogan, just search “Nims Purja Interview.” There are many other podcasts he’s been on! Don’t miss listening to this man’s insane story just because you don’t support this one host.

For those of you who haven’t heard of or watched 14 Peaks yet, I have only one question for you:

What the hell have you been doing?

This is one of the most inspiring documentaries that’s been released in my lifetime. It brought me to tears (not easy to do).

Nims Purja, for anyone not following the story, climbed all fourteen of the world’s 8000-meter peaks in less than seven months back in 2019.

He couldn’t find sponsors, so he re-mortgaged his house and started his adventure with only 7% of the total funding.

He didn’t know how to film. He wasn’t a mountaineer. He just wanted to inspire the world and give Nepali climbers the credit and glory they deserve. He didn’t even have someone lined up to buy the documentary at the beginning. Hell, he didn’t know he would make a documentary!

Then he went and did more stuff. Remember the Nepali team who sang the Nepali national anthem at the summit of K2 last year? That was Nims Purja’s team.

If you’re looking to be inspired, blown away by the power of the human spirit, and reminded of the power of Nepal, watch the documentary and listen to the interview!

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Thanks so much for reading today :) sorry for the absence, more is to come!