Meditation halls are very, very quiet places. The one I find myself in every week is no exception. Sitting there, I can hear all of the minutest and subtlest sounds a human being will ordinarily make: the rhythmic sound of one’s breathing, the ruffling of clothes as someone adjusts their posture, and the grumbling of…

My favourite place in the United States is undoubtedly New Mexico. It’s difficult to put a finger on it, especially after so long, but it really is the land of enchantment. Perhaps it’s the particular beauty of its desert, or the fusion of Hispanic and American culture. It has a certain aesthetic that’s hard to…

“That’ll be $3.75, please.” — “Wait, sir, here! Here’s three bucks. Just take care of the rest.” — “Oh, very kind,” I reply, as my unexpected benefactor gives me a smile and leaves. — “He’s a bit weird,” the clerk tells me. “He does this a lot.” — “Maybe so,” I said, and I wondered…

It’s a captivating experience to find yourself once again in a place you used to call home. It may look exactly the same, leaving you with the illusion that it’s only you who’ve changed. Or it may look different, and you’ll find something completely different, the ghost of an old friend or companion, contorted into…

Lately, I’ve been trying to be more mindful and present in the moment, and I saw something on the subway the other month that made me smile. It was actually pretty simple: just a mother and her daughter playing a game of “I spy”. The way they engaged each other was just so endearing! The…

There’s something about the way the light hits the buildings as the sun rises in the morning. When in daytime the light surrounds them as they stand proudly, as if immortal, at dawn they capture the light against the dark skyline as it fades away into obscurity. That is, it’s discordant with the nature of…

Just a bit of housekeeping: My subscribers may have noticed that the name of this blog has changed. What was once El Philósopho is now (For the) Love of Wisdom, and the URL has been altered accordingly. Why did I do this? Well, the idea came to me one night when I was unable to…

I was scrolling through my Instagram reels the other day when I stumbled upon one that put me in a rather existential mood. It spoke about how, 100 years from now, we’ll be practically unknown, and everything we own will be passed along to someone else or, more than likely nowadays, rotting in a dump…

I would generally consider myself a city person. I like the walkability of cities, the goings-on, the diversity, the scale, etc. But I must be honest, and I admit that I enjoy a trip to the country just as well. It’s a great feeling to get the city fumes out of your lungs and enjoy…