Two days ago I posted My first time since starting not finding litter in Washington Square Park, because over six inches of snow covered it. Since I committed to picking up at least three pieces per day until three days pass when I can’t find three pieces to pick up, I wondered if the snow would make it possible. I also offered to take any bets that people would litter.[…] Keep reading →

I lead a meditation group that meets in person a couple times a month. We’ve found we can get a laugh if we talk in the group about talking about meditation to others who don’t meditate by saying, “I can’t meditate. My mind is too crazy to empty it of thoughts,” or words to that effect. Why does it make us laugh? Because it’s like a knee-jerk reaction that betrays[…] Keep reading →

I’ve committed to picking up at least three pieces of litter from the northwest corner of Washington Square Park since it became overrun with fentanyl, meth, and all that results from it during the pandemic. I decided I’d keep up the sidcha until three days passed in which I couldn’t trivially find three pieces of litter, as I wrote three years ago in On when I should stop picking up[…] Keep reading →

If you want to reach your potential simplify your life live by your values create mental freedom create more free time save money build a community of people doing similarly You can achieve all of the above more effectively with a sidcha than any other way I know. I created the sidcha concept inadvertently by creating each part, step by step. The first major step came on this day in[…] Keep reading →

In yesterday’s post about volunteering in the cold, I showed a picture of something that always reminds me of the Blues Brothers movie when the Bluesmobile falls apart: They’d taken that car through a lot and it meant something to them. It’s like it was telling them: I held myself together to give you all you needed. Note the wheels in the picture of my cart below. I’ve been using[…] Keep reading →

I try not to complain about heavy work, especially since the physical labor I do is trivial compared to people who work for a living and I just finished One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, though I’m talking about volunteering, not work for pay. Still, over the past few days a few things conspired to make volunteering with delivering surplus food to give away to people who can[…] Keep reading →

Last week I finished the first draft of my next book, though more accurate I finished the most challenging parts. I took a couple days off after a couple days of intense writing, then got back to work. Regarding the word “work,” here, I talked to a friend who said he wouldn’t want to write because of deadlines and pressure. He sounded like writing sounded like a burden or obligation.[…] Keep reading →

Doing things consistently and daily for a long time enables you to notice nuances, which increases self-awareness. Since I have a six-day exercise cycle that I begin on the first of each month, in months with 31 days, I like to vary what I do with the extra day. In December I did two things. Sorry for the long post, but what I describe below felt like a meaningful experience[…] Keep reading →

Regular readers know I volunteer once or twice a week to deliver food from stores that were going to throw it away to community fridges, shelters, and other places for people to get it for free. I wasn’t scheduled to volunteer yesterday (Christmas Eve day), but the person who was reported so much overstock that we needed three people to clear it all. Not many other volunteers were around so[…] Keep reading →