Alex Mac

Dec 5, 2024 | medium.com | Alex Mac

Alex Mac·Follow2 min read·--When I leave for work in the morning, I hurriedly run out the door, only noticing the temperature: do I need a jacket? Should I wear shorts? That sort of thing. But this week, I am off from work, and after a quiet morning of meditation and reflection, the sunbeams piercing through my living room windows were calling me to come to say hi. I grabbed my coffee and walked out my front door like I had done thousands of times.

Dec 4, 2024 | medium.com | Alex Mac

Alex Mac·Follow2 min read·--Expectations often lead to suffering. Why? Because when you expect a particular outcome, you create an image in your head of what that should look like. The problem is that life doesn’t often go how we want it to, and suffering arises when our expectations don’t meet reality. Social media and media generally show people with 6-pack abs drinking champagne in Fiji, smiling with their bleached teeth in 400-dollar sunglasses.

Nov 26, 2024 | medium.com | Alex Mac

Alex Mac·Follow2 min read·--As I wrote today’s date (11–26–2024), I almost put the year 2025. Yet soon enough, it certainly will be, whether I’m here or not. That’s the funny thing about time. It keeps marching on. You hear that time is often an illusion, and it is; the gurus, mystics, monks, and physicists are all in agreement that there is only ever this moment. But fortunately or unfortunately, for physical beings, or rather human beings, we are strongly tied to the concept of time.

Aug 24, 2024 | medium.com | Alex Mac

Say this phrase in your head, “Mikey made marmalade many moons ago.” Go ahead, do it. While that was a stupid thing I had you put in your noggin, a subtle yet profound lesson is buried underneath: You are NOT the thoughts in your head but the listener or observer of them. Let’s try the exercise again. This time, pay attention to where you “hear” that thought; it’s like listening to someone speaking out loud. The only difference is that both the speaker and listener take place inside your head.

Aug 6, 2024 | medium.com | Alex Mac

I look over at the stopwatch I set for myself to finish my free writing session. Fifty-five seconds left. Ugh. I wrote for twenty minutes, attempting to write something I liked, but the longer I tried, the more I psyched myself out. Ahhh! I can tell that it’s no longer coming from a creative place. But you know what’s funny about that? Even though times like these happen often, I know that when I don’t care and just write and go into the activity entirely without thinking, I get the best ideas.