If you wear contacts, you likely use a form of “tear” to keep your lens(es) moist. Dried out contacts are itchy and annoying - feels like there’s sand in your eyes. When my contact gets that way, I look forward to removing it - I welcome the relief of blurred vision.Focus is a good thing, too much of it leads to an itchy and annoyed mind. Sometimes, we need the benefit of blurry vision in order to know how and what to focus on.Perspective matters.

… before crossing the grocery store aisle,” is what parents will start teaching their children.What’s our rush?What’s our need to go so quickly that we risk hitting other people with our grocery carts?How much time are we saving? How much stress are we giving ourselves?If you’re that person, remember:You only live in this moment, does this moment need to be a stressful one?You might save a few seconds, were the few seconds worth the cost?Is the grocery store really the place for Grand Theft Auto style maneuvering? If you know me, you know I have a lead foot - chalk it up to living in Miami for a spell. But I have recently realized that the lead foot is not worth it.Nor is the bruise from the shopping cart.Look both ways!

One of the stoic virtues is temperance - living in moderation.Don’t drink too excess, don’t eat too excess… and,Don’t overdo your hikes! I’ll be paying for my lack of temperance all weekend.

And wherever you are, good morning. May your Friday be as effective as you intend it to be.

When you’re exploring a new port, have a destination in mind, even if the destination is more of an “idea” than a “place.“Quit anything that keeps you from reaching or understanding that idea, that place, or that port-of-call.You don’t have much time here. Use the time you do have for the work that matter - the work that helps you help others.That said, it is absolutely okay to quit a book… or a job.

Over the course of a few months, I notice that I make decisions that break habits I am hoping to adopt. Will I ever be able to keep this habit? I’ve done it before, why not now? A habit is only a habit if you stick with it. While I might not have adopted one of the habits I was hoping to, I did adopt another more important one… reflecting and adjusting to the times.Many thanks to Machiavelli for the inspiration. He said that the “happy person is the one that adapts to the present, the unhappy one is the person that does not.” Dancers say something similar, “kick ball change.”Develop the habit of constructive adaptation.Or learn how to dance.

Even when it don’t feel like it, remember all you have to do is write one more word, take one more step, or ship one more idea. The only time we have to make change happen is the time we have now. Don’t waste it.

There are moments during the day when you’ll freeze and stare.When deciding to get out of bed;While looking at the computer;As you’re scrolling through your phone.Next time you catch yourself in that moment, stop and be aware.Ask yourself:What is this moment I’m in right now for? Who is it for?How much awareness can I develop about my body at this moment?How am I breathing?What are my thoughts?You don’t need to listen to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” to enjoy the trip. Stopping and choosing to be aware is often just enough.

The other day I attempted to make a fatteh - a middle eastern dish that uses up stale bread, it dates back to the Pharaohs - for my sister. I was testing the recipe out.While making the dish, I ended up burning a minor ingredient - the bread!My sister, being open that she is, said, “It’s okay, we can still try it out.“I said, “no.“I said “no” because I cared more about the experience that my sister might have. I wanted that experience to be better, and I knew that all I had to do to improve was pay slightly more attention to one element.We tried it again - this time with improved focus.Cooking food for yourself is nourishing and for sustaining life.Cooking food for others is about craft and creating an experience.Same can be said for just about everything else in life.

“A prototype is a question, embodied.” - Diego RodriguezAnd a curious question is like a foray - a brief sprint into a new activity.Therefore a prototype is like a foray.How many forays have you had in your life?I was counting what I could recall of mine:What if I created a wedding band?What if I started a neighborhood newspaper?What if I created an extermination company with my friend?What if I had 3 other brothers and we were like the busted ghosts?What if I traveled around the world?What if I quit my job and didn’t have a next job?What if I start a blog?What if I started doing 30-60 minutes of exercise outside during the work day?How many forays have you had in your life? How many today?If you wrote a book about your life’s various forays and each chapter was a different foray, what would your chapters be called?You have a beautiful and colorful life. Keep being curious.Keep trying new things.Keep Learning.Keep Advancing.