Field Notes

Life isn’t something that you just start living one day. This is life. Right now, what you are doing. It’s easy to romanticize the future. In fact, it might be human nature. You picture yourself sitting on a beach, eating some finger food, watching the sunset. Or maybe summiting some mountain in the Rockies, already patting yourself on the back for something that hasn’t happened. Strip it back. You’re just hanging out with your family, chatting about the good times, making up

The Sower - Vincent van Gogh What does the Functional Man think about the sun? It is a necessity. It appears every day, waiting for you to step into it. And yet most people choose not to. How could you waste a day indoors without soaking up the sweet, golden bath that waits just outside your door. At least for an hour. Two. Maybe three. The sun is not something to avoid. It is something to use. It is a free spa day, every day. You step into it and your body responds immediate

Your body is a temple and a tool. It is a temple in the sense that you must treasure it. You must put thought into what you consume, how much sleep you get each night, how much time you spend in the sun, hydration, and removing toxins from the system. The temple begins with what you consume. Two thirds of my meals are the same every day. In the morning I eat five eggs, scrambled in butter with some shredded cheese, bacon bits, and Kinder’s “The Blend” seasoning mixed in. I do

Today, we are plagued with a sea of average. Our attention spans shrink by the year. Our bodies weaken while our technology improves. We build systems capable of extending human life further than ever before, yet we spend that extended time fighting the very consequences of our own comfort. Drugs. Laziness. Overeating. Endless distraction. We have created abundance in nearly every corner of life, yet abundance is working us backwards. Medical technology advances, allowing hum

Exploring what school and algorithms tried to take away: your self. “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” —Socrates The river of life is easy to get caught up in. Your parents teach you the basics; eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom. Then one day you get tossed into the school system. Early on it’s pretty cool. There aren’t too many requirements, you’re learning how to interact with the people around you, making mistakes, learning. You’re f

On memory, presence, and breaking free from the scroll. “Life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future.” —Seneca You can get much more out of daily life if you slow it down and be more curious. Seriously. When I say slow it down I mean get in a mental state where everything is happening in slow motion. You’re walking slower, looking at items in the store for longer, taking in every word that a friend says in a conversat