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Writing about breaking into reality.

Essays, memoir and poetry on attention, grief, belonging and aliveness. What does it take to live beyond survival and projection? How do we move towards participation and thriving?

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Series · Lotus Eaters

3 pieces · Clear filters

01
Essay2 min readdefiantIntensity 3/5Lotus Eaters · 1January 1, 2026

Against Coffee

Uses coffee as the first case study in socially rewarded self-disconnection. The essay questions whether borrowed stimulation conceals exhaustion, overrides bodily information, and helps performance culture feel natural.

cultureembodimentattentioncreative courageembodied awarenessattention as relationship
Mode reflective essay · somatic inquiry · relational inquiryMotifs coffee and borrowed fire · cup and stimulant
02
Essay5 min readcelebratoryIntensity 3/5Lotus Eaters · 2January 3, 2026

Don’t Stop, Just Notice

This is a post about addiction but before you roll your eyes hear this: I’m not here to lecture you that addiction is bad and that you should willfully stop. Most of the time, that’s brutally hard and even when you’re successful it comes back, often with vengeance, or in another shape. Honestly, I’m not sure that modern life is even survivable without…

cultureattentiontransformationbelonging without conformitynervous-system regulationdesire as orientation
Mode reflective essay · somatic inquiry · relational inquiryMotifs lotus eaters · loop and craving · noticing eye
03
Essay3 min readcontemplativeIntensity 3/5Lotus Eaters · 3January 5, 2026

Performance Culture and its Discontents

Performance culture is a social system in which worth is conditional on output . Not character. Not presence. Not contribution to life. Output. Quietly and persistently it asks over and over: what are you producing right now and how does it compare?

culturebelongingidentityattention as relationshipbelonging without conformityidentity after trauma
Mode reflective essay · cultural critiqueMotifs stage and performance · output ledger · lotus eaters