Deep Something

I saw this line floating around Facebook recently, pasted on one of those pretty watercolor backdrops with sunbeams and maybe a flower or two. It didn’t have an author, but it didn’t really need one. The message hit home in the way those quiet little truths often do. It didn’t demand anything of me. It just offered a possibility: that joy, even when small, even when fleeting, could still…

I came across a quote recently that caught my attention: “I don’t want wellness practices that teach me to be at peace with an inequitable world. I need practices that help me stay sane while doing my part to fight against it. If it makes you compliant to injustice, it’s not healing, it’s sedation.” — Michell C. Clark In a time when injustice is baked into so many systems, when cruelty is often…

A Note:  This piece began with a line I read from Carl Jung, which surfaced something I hadn’t yet put into words: “Loneliness does not come from having no people around you, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you.”  Based on my reading in Stoicism, it seemed to fit with the thoughts of some of the Stoics. I’ve been thinking about what it means to remain…

There’s a kind of quiet that doesn’t feel restful. It doesn’t come with peace, but with the absence of direction, of companionship, of the little structures that give shape to a day. I felt that type of quiet this past Wednesday. Not the calm kind I enjoy on my early morning walks, but something uneasy. An emptiness after the full rush of last week. Last week, I had a purpose. I helped lead a…

“The earth will rest, justice will prevail, the poor will rejoice, and peace will return, once we no longer act as predators but as pilgrims. No longer each of us for ourselves but walking alongside one another.”  —Pope Leo XIV There are moments in history when a nation reveals its character, sadly, not through lofty speeches or patriotic displays, but by the quiet cruelty of its policies. The…

Some ideas arrive like thunder. They rattle you, not with volume, but with clarity. This line from Cleanthes, the second head of the Stoic school in ancient Athens, hit me that way. I heard it while listening to The Beginner’s Guide to Stoicism, and it felt like it had been waiting patiently for me to be ready. “Fate guides the willing but drags the unwilling.” Eight words, and an entire…

Sometimes a Jacket Comes with a Story When you’re in the middle of a weight-loss journey, your wardrobe becomes a revolving door—too big, too short, too baggy, and occasionally, just right. That’s how I ended up at the Goodwill store on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa, where I found a blazer that fit me like it was tailored for this very moment. It wasn’t until I got it home that I discovered it…

This past Saturday, June 21, I attended a live performance of Hidden Brain, hosted by Shankar Vedantam. The event took place at the Bilheimer Capitol Theatre in Clearwater, Florida. The theme of the show was how perception shapes our choices. It offered seven short insights, each compelling in its own way. But for me, the most powerful came right at the beginning. Vedantam opened with the story…

Introduction This journey began with a reminder that our time on this earth is limited. After a sermon on the feeling of “nostalgia” by my pastor, Rev. Magrey deVega, I revisited a line from one of my old essays. I sent it to him: “You don’t know when the last time of something happening is… you’ll just know when you’ve never had that day again.” His reply brought it all home: “Memento Mori,” he…

On June 18, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in U.S. v. Skrmetti to uphold state bans on gender-affirming care for minors. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion. He claimed, “Our role is not to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic of the law before us.” That is false. The Court’s job is to weigh fairness and protect constitutional rights. This ruling fails that duty. It will do real harm…

It was an ordinary evening, just a quiet dinner at a nearby Chinese buffet—nothing out of the ordinary, no meaningful conversation, no great life event to mark the moment. At the end of the meal, the waiter dropped off the check and the usual pair of fortune cookies. I opened mine with little expectation. The slip of paper inside read: “Inner peace is the ultimate form of success.” It wasn’t much…

How Moms for Liberty and Rep. RJ May Prove the GOP’s Moral Panic is Just Projection Moms for Liberty wants to save your children from books, drag queens, and anything with a rainbow. But maybe they should’ve checked their own guest list before handing out “medals of moral excellence.” South Carolina State Rep. RJ May, recently honored by the group, was arrested and charged with distributing child…

On June?14, 2025, Tampa’s “No Kings Day” protest unfolded under blue skies outside City Hall. Between 2,000 and 3,000 people participated, joined by coordinated protests across Tampa Bay—ranging from Largo to St.?Petersburg—where similar crowds gathered (en.wikipedia.org). Organizers led chants against authoritarianism, including “No Trump, No KKK, No Racist USA,” held behind traffic cones in…

Of course, it’s all a coincidence. Marines are arresting civilians in Los Angeles. ICE raids are ripping families apart. Federal troops deployed without state consent. Political opponents detained. And now, a state legislator has been murdered. All part of the new normal. Nothing to see here. It’s just another week in the great American experiment. This is not chaos. It’s choreography. What may…

This Saturday, people will rise across 2,000 U.S. cities, including Tampa, united in one unflinching message: “No Kings.” This is not a protest born of idle dissent. It is a fierce rebuke of President Donald Trump and a social order built on abuse of power. Flag Day plus Trump’s 79th birthday equals a military parade costing taxpayers $25–45?million. The implicit message? A cult of personality…

At first glance, this quote from Maya Angelou may not seem Stoic. It speaks in the poetic language of belonging and exile, of place and placelessness. But the deeper you sit with it, the more unmistakably Stoic its wisdom becomes. The Stoics taught that freedom doesn’t arise from owning land, commanding armies, or securing a reputation. It comes from clarity of mind and detachment from things.…