I like to think of myself as a modern man, without a need for a lot of ritual and ceremony in my life. I’m content to let science explain how the universe works, and base my beliefs on the observable behavior of things. Still I find myself wanting to believe in a system that compensates me when things don’t go as expected. This cosmic insurance is the spiritual hedge fund we call faith; the belief in all things supernatural. But I know that looking above for answers will only keep me from looking within. Read more »»

What do you do in your free time? We ask this harmless question to better know a person by their interests or when we want to steer the conversation away from work. I pose it when I sense that people aren’t inspired in their career, because of the way they say things like, “It’s just a job”, with the same tone of resignation one might use in the phrase, “But I can control it with medication”. Free time is a strange concept, because it implies that the rest of our time is not free; we pay for it with our labor. It is only the small remainder of spare time that we can call our own; the leftovers from the banquet of life Read more »»

“We all want to live. And in large part we make our logic according to what we like. But not having attained our aim and continuing to live is cowardice. This is a thin dangerous line. To die without gaining one’s aim is a dog’s death. But there is no shame in this. This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai. If by setting one’s heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling. — Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure, “The Book of the Samurai” Read more »»

One winter in college I was visiting Paris, sitting at the bistro near my hotel just watching people. An American couple came in and the husband, in an accent I would best describe as “Chicago detective” (the word “Paris” came out sounding like “Pears”), called the waiter and tried to get “Two diet cokes”. The waiter in classic Parisian style, pretended not to understand what the man was saying. “Can you repeat, Monsieur”, he asked in French. The husband, in classic American style, only spoke louder, adding, “I know you know what I’m talkin’ about here”. The waiter, whom I had heard speak English to some women earlier, continued to feign interest in the conversation saying, “Faites un bel effort, Monsieur.” (make a beautiful effort). Read more »»

Since I started writing on UnboundedLife, I’ve given a thought a lot to what freedom is and what it means in the context of human nature. One theme that I’ve come back to repeatedly is mobility; designing a life from a purposeful future, versus living out an extension of the past. It’s a lofty idea that is easy to talk about but as narrow as the razor’s edge to walk. Last month I was planning to write about how I walk it in terms of the life I’m choosing, but I found myself preoccupied with painful events of the recent past. I felt like until I had honestly moved beyond the sadness of re-experiencing this loss, it would be inauthentic to write about living into a self-chosen future. Kind of like an overweight personal trainer talking about losing weight. Read more »»

Grief is the virus
that surges and retreats
without cure.

It lingers dormant
in the dark recesses
of memory.

Tears are the vector
that spread its contagion
among us.

It seems I’ve beat it
then there’s a welling up
in my throat.

I feel the tremor
and then a convulsion
that chokes me.

There is something sharp
tugging like a barbed hook
of regret.

I can’t escape when
every cell remembers
how things were.

At some point I will let go

2010 is the year I move my money. I’ve been too complacent for too long, and have been allowing those institutions who, while benefiting from huge taxpayer bailouts, to use that money to enrich themselves while drastically reducing local lending and fighting legislation that would regulate the reckless investment practices that got us into this mess. There’s no good reason to let this go on. In addition to advocating for shifting our money into sound community banks, I’m going to follow on with a post on the 5 Flags concept as a strategic way of diversifying risk while legally avoiding taxes, and another post on profiting from helping the little guy through peer lending. Personal freedom is about mobility and empowering choices, so here’s how I financially walk the talk. Read more »»