LUST FOR LIGHT
I have a lust for light, and appreciation for the simple things, such as the sun. I find the sun to be the ultimate source of power. Perhaps our bodies are like batteries, and the sun is the ultimate charger. Fueling myself with curiosity in the morning, watching the sunrise, peer above the horizon, I’m reminded that this world is open, and endless to explore.
Destroy the garden
Fiat Lux, let there be light.
In Genesis, in the Old Testament, God creates light as his first creation. This light cast over the darkness and put order to the chaos. When Adam and Eve were created from dust and placed within the garden of Eden, they took the fruit from the forbidden tree of knowledge. With their newfound knowledge of good and evil, God banishes them from the garden, guarding the entrance with flaming swords.
In ancient Greek mythology, Prometheus was the creator of humanity and formed people with clay. He is also also famous for stealing the fire from the gods on mount Olympus and giving it to the people. This act of defiance allowed humans to develop technology, art, and civilization.
There’s something in me, that wants to pick up these flaming swords, and burn the garden down. Perhaps we can create anew, through the act of destruction. You have to make a mess first in order to clean up.
The knowledge of good and evil, introduces concepts of shame. While Adam and Eve were both naked, there was no idea of what shame is, but pure innocence and naivety.
During the time of Noah, when he was drunk under his tent, his son covered his body, with a blanket, looking the other way, as he felt shame for his nakedness. Perhaps in this moment, societal norms, human behavior, concepts of shame, modesty, and respect, changed forever.
While the innocence of Adam and Eve represents this pure state of being, or innocence, it will never be possible to return to. However, I’m reminded as an artist, to embrace my child like curiosity and channel my everyday life through the spirit of play. By walking through nature, barefoot, I am reminded that I too, was born in this world without shoes.
Walking barefoot can be dangerous, but maybe danger and courage, is the ultimate source of freedom. I’m reminded of George Washington on his horseback, a revolutionary hero, leading America to sovereignty and prosperity. He sought freedom through acting with courage. A revolutionary, a hero, an intrepid and dangerous man. 
Perhaps to be free, is to be like a child, or a bird, singing, dancing, but also dangerous. Children are oftentimes rebellious, and do not always play by the rules. I’m reminded of my time as a child, exploring in the woods, sharpening spears with sticks, building bridges with stones, and forging my own paths in the unknown. As an artist, we articulate the unknown, and find peace amongst the chaos.
Children are the most free in this world as they have no concepts of the societal norms, or knowledge of good and evil. Children are carefree, naive, innocent, but also dangerous. Going forward, we too, should strive to be like big kids, joyous, but fearless and courageous.
Harness power
When I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia, Africa, I remember this time I spent at the fish pond late in the night. Along this swampy pond, it was very dark, and I only had a small headlamp to guide me in the darkness. I could hardly see anything, and a storm began to brew. I saw lightning strike and large, dark, looming clouds over the horizon. I quickly made my way home, began bathing with a bucket and cup as I was dirty and wanted to sleep. I then walked barefoot into my living room, and was struck by lightning. The lightning struck the ground, traveled through my feet, up my leg, and I felt pain in my core. The next morning, I walked through the village, and many houses were destroyed. I even spoke with others that were in pain, and also felt the shock of the lightning.
Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s greatest founding, fathers, and inventors, created the lightning rod. After his experiments with a kite and key, harnessing the power of electricity, during a lightning storm, he discovered the use of newfound technology. Inventors like Benjamin Franklin, pioneer ideas and things that we use in our everyday lives to this day centuries later.
Think of Leonardo da Vinci, and his studies of anatomy. His inventions, or ideas, may have never been completed, but they certainly leave an impact on the future of humanity. We too, should strive to be more like these individuals, creating, tinkering, and innovating new ways that we can impact humanity.
The Apex of beauty
I believe architecture and sculpture is the Apex of beauty. I’m currently gazing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, standing in front of these looming columns, intricate detail, color, and its sheer physical nature and grandeur. There are statues of the Greek gods, such as Zeus, Athena, and Apollo along the top of the structure.
Architecture and sculpture are the apex of beauty because they elevate the human spirit to a new height.
I am reminded of my time in Florence, gazing at the sculptures of Hercules and Achilles. These Greek demigods are depicted larger than life, through sculpture, and the sheer size alone, forces you to look up at them. The nature of architecture and sculpture, being larger than life, created by defying gravity, through physical labor, and attention to detail, transcends the world and leaves you in awe. Sometimes when I look at buildings such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, or City Hall, it amazes me that human beings can even achieve these things.
There is a sculpture at the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, that showcases Prometheus strangling a vulture. While Zeus condemned him to have his liver eaten by the vulture, Prometheus overcame the savage beast, symbolizing, resistance, and defiance against oppression. 
When a wolf hunt its prey, it eats the liver first. Liver is one of the most nutrient dense foods that we can consume.
In the story of Rome’s foundation, Remus and Romulus are raised by the shewolf or La Lupa. La Lupa suckled the brothers, giving them strength, raising them in the wild, making them a formidable force to then become founders of Rome.
Maybe we should strive to become like a wolf, a savage, a beast, a formidable and intrepid force, and consume more liver.
What is funny about wolves, is how we’ve domesticated them, making dogs our personal slaves. We put dogs on a leash, some people cook for them, put shoes on them, or place them in baby carriages. We treat dogs like our children these days. It’s actually quite strange, the way that we treat dogs, because I find that when I walk through the city, such as Philadelphia, I see less children and more dogs. Maybe our population is generally on decline, and it is quite apparent when opening your eyes, and walking around any modern city.
Transcendence
When I spent my time in Zambia Africa, I noticed how most households had around 10 children. Everybody has a role to play in a village, or in a tribe. Every morning, women come home with babies on their back and firewood on their heads. The men are building homes and churches. The boys are building bricks with sand and mud. The girls are sweeping the floors and preparing food for the day. There is a hierarchy in society that I believe promotes human thriving. There is God, tribe, and land. 
At the center of every village there is a church. In the church there is an altar. The altar is a place for sacrifice, where we remind ourselves of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. We break bread, and share this amongst the tribe. Typically in a church, there are biblical paintings, stained glass grand architecture, and artwork that inspires humanity to strive for a new height. When you stand in the center of a basilica in Rome, and look up towards the dome, there’s typically a picture of God. Surrounded by angels, this artwork uplifts the human spirit to a transcendent height.
When you listen to modern music, it is practically noise and nonsense at this point. The lyrics are mostly degenerate, the beat is lowly, and it places the spirit downward, not upwards. I believe that music music and art shape our culture as we know it. Because of this, I make an effort to avoid consuming most music these days. If I want to consume music, I return to the Wanamaker Organ, here in Philadelphia, on Market Street, inside the Macy’s, or Wanamaker building. This is the world’s largest playing pipe organ, sounds every single day, except for Sunday, at noon, and 5:30. I think it’s a much more fulfilling experience to take time out of the day, in the middle of the day, or in the evening before bed, to enjoy a free show, a period of time, to elevate your spirit, looking up at a grand building, with a high ceiling, and listen to an artist, playing some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever ever heard in my life, that fuels me with positivity, vitality, and inspires me to move onwards, and upwards. 

Is man permitted to strive to become a demigod?
Personally, I would like to strive for new heights that a human may seemingly not be able to achieve.
War and technology
I remember walking through Rittenhouse Square Park here in Philadelphia, and watched as a hawk swooped down and ate a baby bird in mid flight. All that was left of the scene were a few feathers fluttering to the ground. This reminds me that nature is violent, and we too, human beings go through endless conflict. 
When I was a child, I remember playing halo, halo 2, and halo 3. It’s a first person shooter game, that takes place in space, in a sci-fi universe. It’s hyper competitive, where there are two teams, red versus blue. In this modern world of division, where we identify with different political parties, left, right, red, blue, I see a middle ground within the color purple. This is my favorite color to wear, as it is bright, flamboyant, and expresses my joyous and childlike spirit.
When I was a freshman in high school, we read the book, Enders Game. In the book, the boys are stationed on a spaceship, where they fight in a simulated battle, using technology similar to video games, that actually wind up being a real war. The boys win the war in the end, unknowingly, as they thought the simulation was simply practice for the real battle.
The problem with technology and the way it is implemented in warfare is the way that we use it. Just think, an 18-year-old kid can use an Xbox controller, operating drones, and dropping bombs on people. Is this ethical?
My thought is that the lack of human connection and physicality of war is what makes it almost absurd these days. Maybe we should return to the simulated space, thinking of video games like halo or call of duty, and settle our disputes this way, without the use of human casualties. There is no more glory to be had on a battlefield. There are no horses to ride into the front lines upon. If there is no more glory to be had in warfare, where can men go to conquer? While the lust for battle is within me, I do not wish to participate in these newfound war games. Maybe the world of art and photography is open and fair game to dominate.
High Vantage Point
I need a higher vantage point, somewhere to go to look out, see the horizon, and find my place in this world. When I start my day off in the city, walking through a grid, surrounded by tall, looming buildings, following traffic signals, and using crosswalks, I feel like a mouse stuck in a cage.
Mouse Utopia
John B. Calhoun conducted a mouse utopia experiment in the 1960s and 70s. The goal was to study the effect of population density on behavior. The mice were given everything they needed in this cage, where they lived in abundance. At first, the population began to grow at a very fast rate. Once the population grew, they began to run out of space, the mice became stressed, and the population stagnated. At this point, the mice became aggressive, they began to eat each other, there was a breakdown of maternal care, social withdrawal, and many stopped mating.
Despite the abundance of resources that these mice had within their cage and their utopia, the social structures broke down, causing the population to collapse. Maybe we are currently living within mouse utopia on a larger scale, with real human beings. It’s quite evident to me that the chaos within society has reached a breaking point where we are currently living within that age of abundance, with everything at our fingertips, imminent threats of artificial intelligence, automation, weapons, war, nukes, false news, lack of communities, and certainly a decline in our population.
It seems like we are raising more dogs than human beings these days. I see people walking around with dogs that have shoes on, tucked away in a baby carriage, and hear stories of people that actually feed their dogs real food and cook for them over a stove top. We have the choice to live our lives however we deem fit, but I am reminded of the human being and our natural biological goal of reproduction. If we replace this primal goal with the creation of artificial intelligence, the operation of technology, and the pursuit of pleasure, perhaps there will be a reset in the world, where the strong will inherit the earth.
Hamster Wheels
I often hear people that work in the office complain about this notion of the hamster wheel, how they feel like they can’t leave, but constantly need to go back to the hamster wheel, on a loop, completing the same tasks over and over again. You also see people that love to run on treadmills, indoors, after a long night of drinking or binge eating. Humans are funny and often find themselves stuck on a wheel, in a loop, doing the same thing over and over again, expecting something new or a result. Think of the movie “Wall-E.” The problem with this is that we may never reach the peak, the goal, the end in itself. If we’re all hamsters stuck on a wheel, maybe it’s best that we find joy in the process itself, and find ways that we can play this game while maintaining our sanity, clarity, and strength upon the wheel itself.
Cars and Technology
What is the city but merely cars and computers?
Sure, we have people in the street, walking upon the sidewalk, but to me, this space becomes a no man’s land. When I walk around the city, it feels like the movie “The Matrix,” where the agents are all wearing sunglasses. Have you ever noticed the abundance of people wearing sunglasses these days? It always bugs me as a street photographer, who wants to photograph the soul of the street.
People with sunglasses lack soul?
While we have the choice to wear whatever we please, it certainly does concern me. Why? I believe that wearing sunglasses is not only bad for your health, but it seems to me that it’s antisocial and makes you a bit less human. I cannot see your eyes and something doesn’t feel right. You don’t feel human to me, especially with the advent of technology, and the combination of somebody on their phone, wearing AirPods, and wearing sunglasses. This seems to be the trifecta that I see so frequently in the city. I understand that the street is merely a place for people to walk, bike, or simply pass through, but something still does not feel right. I find it difficult to make eye contact with people, even when holding the door open for others, where people are afraid, shy, bashful, and gaze the other way.
How are we to overcome this antisocial world that we live in? What are the repercussions and outcomes that could arise through this behavior pattern?
My fear is that the more antisocial we are, the more aggressive, violent, and depressed we become.
During a long journey from the capital of Zambia, in Lusaka, towards my village, in Samfya district, as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I hitchhiked on the back of a truck, had a bus break down on me, and even took a taxi with a drunk driver. As this driver began to drink, he didn’t really think that anything bad could happen, as the road was open, and there was no real threat that could turn him off course. However, his oblivious and drunken state caused problems during this ride, where he popped his tire, and drove down the road with sparks flying from the wheel, like a scene out of the video game “Grand Theft Auto.” As the sparks flew, I smelled the burning asphalt, plastic, and the stench that the car was making. He was eventually pulled over by police, arrested, and I found another truck or bus to hitchhike on.
Maybe a lot of people in this modern world are souped up on a plethora of medications, drugs, and alcohol on a day-to-day basis.
It’s funny how roads control the systems, cities, and communities all across the world. During my time spent in Hanoi, Vietnam, or Mumbai, India, I recognized how controlled the chaos is on a street corner. While people typically do not follow the law or abide by the traffic signals, there is still safety, where every driver and pedestrian is hyper-aware of their surroundings, following intuition, and somehow managing to leave the scene with no accidents. I genuinely never saw an accident or problem with the way people drive in cities such as these, but here in Philadelphia, you constantly hear about hit-and-runs, and I often see car crashes throughout my daily commute during the week. Also, the street life in these cities is bustling, alive, and full of soul.
It feels like we enslave ourselves to technology quite easily. You hear the phone ring, you pick it up right away. That’s not a way that I could ever see myself living life. Do people seriously have the urgency to pick up a phone when they get a notification? Are you excited to speak with a robot?
I see the traffic signals, the red, green, and yellow colors, the countdown numbers, the flashing red hand, or the white walking man, as a system within a giant computer, or the city, that controls our behavior.
Thrive in Isolation
When I am in isolation, alone, I thrive. While I maintain my friendships from childhood and have a healthy social circle, I can find joy in the mundane, entertaining myself, and experiencing life this way. I find joy in nature, surrounded by birds, the trees, and that crisp, cool breeze. There’s nothing that surprises me more than a person that cannot just be.
There is so much endless opportunity for you to find joy within yourself and the external world. However, we turn to simulated universes, through the power of our phones, entering digital spaces, and engaging with society this way.
In the wake of artificial intelligence, I believe it is critical to become skeptical of these spaces. Just assume that all people on the internet are bots, and only trust physical flesh. I understand that we are still early with AI and technology, but I believe that it is best for us to recognize the power of it now. I enjoy using ChatGPT to study the etymology of words, summarize texts that I am reading, and draw from this well, an endless sea of knowledge, to enhance my learning and everyday life. One of the fun things I’ve been doing with it recently is making a photograph of a sculpture, and asking ChatGPT what is the title of it, artist, the history of it, and what it means. I can also photograph trees and plants and find the species names in Latin and understand things more deeply. There are certain advantages that we can draw from using this technology, and I’m not entirely against it. Perhaps we must be aware of who has the power and why they choose to use it.
When you consider the term depression, depressed, I believe in this notion of it meaning you are physically lower than. You are being pushed down by gravity itself, where your body cannot move. Think of a depressed person, are they typically outside? Are they on a walk? Moving their physical bodies? No, they are typically bedridden, sitting down, or laying in bed, unable to move.
I believe that we currently have a lot of disease in our country, world, and cities. This disease does not necessarily manifest as physical ailments, but there is a lot of anxiety, mental illness, and crazy people out there. To be diseased is to be uneasy, unwell, and anxious.
You often see in the newspapers or on commercials the promotion of pharmaceutical drugs to cure depression, anxiety, and even schizophrenia. You see a lot of drugs that are being used on a day-to-day basis, especially among the youth, that alter your hormones, brain, physiology, and even these new, strange drugs like Ritalin that are given to people with ADHD. Ritalin increases the dopamine in your brain. Maybe we have too much stimulation through technology, thinking of the iPhone and the media that it produces, video games, etc. Perhaps this increase in dopamine fries your brain. In order to reset this, you must return to nature.
What does this even mean? ADHD… maybe these drugs are used to administer to children so the parents can go back to their hamster wheel and not deal with a child that has an abundance of energy.
If somebody cannot pay attention, maybe the teacher is just boring, uninteresting, and not engaging with the student. I question the validity of such conditions, and especially the use of these drugs, such as antidepressants, to cure patients.
If you are a man, do not go to therapy. Therapy is bad. Speaking about your problems puts you on a hamster wheel, an endless loop, a spiral to insanity. Men should seek to conquer themselves, whether in the gym, reading books, or creating art.
Ant Colony
In the movie “A Bug’s Life,” Flik uses a dandelion to fly across a canyon. He left the ant colony in search of warrior bugs to bring back and fight against the grasshoppers who held power and control over their community. Flik was the first ant within the colony that decided to hop off the hamster wheel and play the game his own way. While the rest of the ants toiled around, carrying grains on their backs, providing the grasshoppers with food, Flik liked to make things, tinker, and create inventions that would speed up the process of harvesting food.
According to the Bible, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire. Perhaps this is the inevitable outcome of a colony, or a city, that is on decline. However, it is not God, who holds the power, but the human.
When I was a young boy, I remember looking at ants and the different ant hills in my backyard. Sometimes I would take a magnifying glass, face it towards the sun, and create a beam of fire, burning the entire colony down, and watching as the ants scurry away, running from the omnipotent power I held over them.
I would also craft boats using sticks from my popsicles that I would eat or ice cream and throw them down a stream after the grass was freshly cut, the plants were watered, and the hose created a waterfall going downhill for me to play with.
Maybe we need to find that dandelion, that popsicle stick, avoid wielding the magnifying glass, and find ways to use technology to thrive in this age of abundance.
OFF GRID
We off the grid, grid, grid, grid, grid. Thanks to William Penn, he laid the city, Philadelphia, out on a grid. While this has its advantages, I believe that the grid itself, is something that we must go beyond. 
A sculpture of William Penn sits on top of the City Hall building in Center City, the largest municipal building in the country, crafted by the Scottish Freemasons. This is one of the most incredible structures I’ve ever witnessed in my life, and I have the privilege of walking through its tunnels, each and every day. There, sculptures, columns, and detail, all throughout the building, providing you an endless sea of wonder to gaze upon.
One of my favorite things about William Penn is his relationship to Green Spaces, and his commitment to create a green town country within the city of Philadelphia, laying the grid out with various parks throughout the streets. We also have beautiful Fairmount Park, which is larger than Central Park in New York City. There’s something about nature, and it’s important to my daily life, or I’m called to return to it each and every day, and go off the grid.
Perhaps we should go off the grid both physically, mentally, and create our own grid, our own universe, our own world. We hold the power to create a new world in a fraction of a second through the medium of photography. Just think,
What could/should the world be?
Another friend thought I have about the city of Philadelphia, in relationship to William Penn, was his peaceful interaction with the lope tribe, the native Americans, making an agreement to create the city. You see, the native tribes, never really believe that anybody owned the land itself. These tribes believe that God held the supreme ownership, and the tribes merely dwelled there.
God, tribe, land 
As a peace corps volunteer, in Zambia, Africa, I spent one year in a remote village, Mpanta, of Samfya District, in Luapula Province, as a member of the Bemba Tribe.  I spoke to local language, prayed under the seventh day Adventist Church, worked as a fish farmer, and integrated myself within this community. The thing that struck me, the most was the higher key that exist within the society between God, tribe, and land. Also, within the family unit, where mothers come home with firewood, on their heads, babies on their backs, the men are building, churches and homes, the boys are building bricks sand and mud, the girls are sweeping the floors, and preparing food for the day. Everybody has a role to play within the village, the tribe, the family.
The church is the center of the community, where there is an altar, a place for sacrifice. Everybody within the community makes their daily sacrifice, for the greater good of the community. Whether they are farming, teaching, or working in transportation along the lakes, with boats, and providing goods and services to nearby villages. I believe that the church itself, the beliefs and teachings within it, I will keep the community thriving, and the people within the village become harmonious.
However, I witnessed firsthand, what happens when somebody acts out of place, and causes chaos amongst the tribe. One young man pushed an older lady to the ground, who was suffering, old age, and wound up killing her. The community took matters into their own hands, beating this man to a bloody pulp, forcing them out of the tribe, out of the village, as there are no police, laws, or bureaucracy that keeps a village together.
Also, if somebody dies, especially children, for uncertain reasons, and there is presumably a witch within the village, they visit the witch’s home, with the coffin, and throw stones at the witch, or destroy their house. 
I remember during my trip to Central America, in Belize, I was on a tour, by boat, a small canoe, going downstream through a cave system. The tour guide described how the Mayans would perform rituals, kill babies, cut the private parts off of people, spread the blood on the walls, and leave the skulls behind. As I went downstream, looking at the walls of the cave, I remember seeing these skeletons firsthand. 
Philadelphia is Athens
Athens is the birthplace of democracy in the world. Philadelphia is the birthplace of democracy in the United States of America.
Perhaps we should treat Philadelphia similar to Athens, or even ancient Rome. Let’s consider that the western world, Western civilization, the United States of America, is essentially the Roman Empire 2.0. Has Rome really fallen? Look around you, at the roads, architecture, churches, and beautiful sculptures, all around you. Around yourself with these beautiful spaces, such as the Philadelphia Museum of art, and remind yourself of how great this country really is. Similar to Athens, or Rome, or two of the leading forces in the world, we, can create our own paradise here in Philadelphia.
Choose paradise
One thought I have is that we can create paradise on earth, right here. Or, you can create hell for yourself, right now, on earth. How? Quite simply, honestly.
Maybe hell is war. When the United States went to the Middle East, did we ever find the weapons of master destruction that we were looking for? No. What we made is, weapons of mass distraction, that sitting in your front right pocket, the iPhone.

I believe that we create hell through endless distractions from media consumption, whether television, shows, movie, media, social media, YouTube, podcasts, etc. Most especially, the news. When you surround yourself with beautiful things, live in the present moment, Ukraine, paradise. When you into digital, your mind becomes clouded, distracted, and slowly, but surely will create hell for yourself.
Paradise is simple to create, by surrounding yourself with beautiful things, beautiful thoughts, and elevating your body, but physically, and metaphorically, to new heights. My personal suggestion is to start your day along the river, any body of water, with an elevated view, so that you can see the horizon. When I see the horizon, and watch water flowing, fool me with abundance, I’m reminded that this world is open and endless, there’s so much to see, so much to do. 
Conquest and world domination
Perhaps one of the greatest things that modern western civilization offers is comfort and pleasure. Are these things so bad after all? 
When I think of war, battle, conquest, I think of people like Alexander the Great, on horseback, leading an army to conquer parts of the world. It feels like there was more to conquer, and glory to be had on the battlefield, during these ancient times. Nowadays, war feels like slaughter, with the advent of technology, nuclear weapons, drones, robots, and artificial intelligence. War to me, feels like the product of cowardice, not courage. Or you can have an 18-year-old kid, sitting behind a computer screen, operating a drone, using an Xbox controller, like they’re playing a video game, however, the consequences are real, and people are being slaughtered. Real war was hand-to-hand combat, these new wargames are akin to playing call of duty. 
My thought is, since there is no more glory to be had on the battlefield, where can man seek the conquer? Perhaps the realm of art and photography is fair game to dominate, as there is endless terrain, off the grid, to conquer.
The pursuit of wisdom
I know that I am wise because I know nothing
One funny story about Alexander the Great is when he went to visit Athens, and greeted Diogenes, an ancient and prominent philosopher known for his ascetic lifestyle, critical of social conventions, and lived a life of extreme simplicity.
Everybody in Athens went to see Alexander the great, but Diogenes stayed put, in his clay pot, that he used as a home, living practically homeless, enjoying the sunlight. Because Diogenes was the only person that did not go to greet Alexander, he went to seek Diogenes himself, as he was intrigued by his reputation. When greeting Diogenes, Alexander told him, “I am Alexander the Great.
Diogenes responded, “And I am Diogenes the Cynic.”
Alexander asked if there was anything he could do for him. Diogenes famously responded,
“Yes, stand out of my sunlight”
This to me, highlights the basic and founding principle of stoicism, where the simple pleasures in life, such as being outside, and enjoying the fresh air, and the rays of the sun, is all man really needs. Diogenes, presumably unimpressed by this world conqueror, did not care for his fame whatsoever. 
The story goes, when Alexander walked away from the scene, he joked to his comrades that,
“If I were not Alexander, I would wish to be Diogenes.”
Well, Alexander’s greatness was external, based on conquest and power, dienes greatness was internal, based on wisdom and self-sufficiency. This highlights that true wisdom and contentment does not depend on external circumstances, such as material wealth and social status a lesson that even a powerful king such as Alexander could appreciate.
We too, should seek wisdom by studying the ancient philosophers of ancient Greece, and treat Philadelphia as a new Athens.
Happiness as a byproduct of power
The more that I consider happiness, is this really the goal?
Perhaps power should be our ultimate passion in life, increasing it, becoming physically stronger, and more powerful.
Why?
The more powerful I become, the happier I am. Perhaps happiness is merely a byproduct of your power, courage, or heart.
Street photography and courage
What is a photograph?
A photograph is a reflection of your courage. Courage, or cor – meaning heart.
Your heart is on display in the photographs that you create. Just think, does a shy and bashful street photographer have the capability of propelling themselves onto the front lines of life, each and every day, embracing chaos, unpredictability, the unknown, without fear? No.
You must be courageous, fearless, and intrepid in order to practice street photography at a high level.
Elevate the human spirit
When it comes to my daily practice, I make sure to photograph with speed, agility, and rapid velocity. I don’t photograph in a way that requires contemplation, consideration, but merely snapshot my way through life. This becomes a much more interesting experience, as the results, the photographs, are determined by my intuition. Ultimately, I believe that your intuition determines the composition.
A photographer is responsible for positioning themselves on the front lines of life, pressing the shutter with their gut, and moving forward with their heart. Everything else in photography, technical ability, history, knowledge of what makes or breaks a good photograph, can all fall to the wayside. For these things do not matter, but the only thing that matters is that you propel yourself onwards, and upwards, with the grand attempt to elevate the human spirit to new heights.
Physics, gravity, and motion
When you set your body in motion, without preconceived notions, you will be surprised at what you will find. For when you walk outside, and propel your body onward, you exist outside the passage of time. When you photograph, you are merely existing, in the now, in the moment, recognizing patterns in both nature, human behavior, and creating something from nothing. This act, transcends all notions of physics, gravity, as when I photograph, I am creating something that can seemingly lasts forever, something that transcends this world, and exists within the digital world, using modern technology.
Consider architecture or sculpture, and the medium itself. I believe these two art forms are some of the greatest expressions of human achievement due to the sheer size, grander, and technical skill involved in creating these pieces of art, such as the sculpture of David in Florence, the Colosseum, or even City Hall here in Philadelphia. Think about the way in which these men, who built these structures, defy gravity, by scaling upwards, placing sculptures, higher up in the sky, crafting looming columns, rooftops, and ornaments, detail, that trim the exterior of buildings, or inside tunnels.
There’s something about physics, the laws of the universe, and going beyond them, that makes certain art forms more impactful than others.
My problem with the physical photograph, in print form, is that it typically exists inside, on a wall, in a frame, displayed in the same old way. You have to use particular lighting, and stand from a specific distance, in order to achieve the proper viewpoint of this work. It becomes two dimensional and mediocre in my opinion. Perhaps the digital spaces, will be infinite, endless, and accessible to all. I find more interest in the digital world, as a means for expressing, sharing, and making photography viewable.
I think that when you set yourself, your art, in a box, whether a room, or within the four corners of a frame, it becomes limited. I seek to go limitless, boundless, and transcend all notions of physics.
Design your life
I spent a lot of my years traveling, on the road, living a very nomadic lifestyle. My experiences are what shape me and my life to this day. I’ve had the privilege of traveling the world since I was a little kid, visiting family in Italy for Easter, embracing different cultural experiences since I was around 7 years old, and am now a dual citizen between Italy and America.
I’ll never forget the first time I decided to live abroad, studying at Hebrew university, in Jerusalem. I made an effort to visit all the major Palestinian cities, and found a new home in Jericho. After six months, and graduating, I decided to volunteer abroad, and returned to Israel. I lived on a kibbutz, worked with cows, farming, and even maintained the gardens, practiced Horticulture, and landscaping.
One evening, in the middle of the night, I became bored of this experience, wanting more, so I packed up my bags, which was basically just a single backpack, as I always travel light, and hit the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. I knocked on the doors of the hostel, and spent the next few months volunteering there. I swept the floors, mopped, made beds, and even picked the trash outside, threw it in the trash pit, and burnt it. I had a routine, waking up early with the sound of the mosque, Allah Akbar, on the speaker, walking to the Majid to pray, coming home to eat breakfast with the Palestinian family, doing my chores, knocking on the door of my friend Mohammed‘s house, visiting Hassan, watering his garden, chatting, and exploring the desert. I slept on the floors of mosques, learned about Islam, and even allowed the Imam, Hirsham, convert me in the end of this experience. While I am and was born and raised Catholic, I was simply curious at the time, as an open minded person, eager to learn. I photographed on the frontlines of conflict between Israel and Palestine. I’ve seen war, been in many dangerous situations, and lived extremely frugally, most times in simulated poverty. A lot of days I would get by by just eating a few pieces of pita bread, and some hummus.
I returned to the United States, seeking more out of life. I heard about the peace corps, and decided this was the best opportunity for me to continue my traveling. In the peace corps, I worked with aquaculture, or fish farming, in remote villages in Zambia, Africa. I learned the local language, prayed under the seventh Adventist Church, documented baptisms and funerals, and lived amongst the Bemba tribe. I slept under a thatched roof, with a mosquito net, drew my water from the well, washed my clothes by hand, tended farms, fish, ponds, and prepared my own food from scratch, purchasing chickens, slaughtering them, plucking their feathers, and preparing the food by hand. I’ll never forget my time in Israel, and Palestine, working directly with cows, or even during Eid al Adhda in Jericho, the day of sacrifice, when hundreds of goats were slaughtered all throughout the streets.
I have an affinity for nature, but recognize the hierarchy that exist within it. Human beings are the apex predator, and I believe that we must make sacrifices, to increase our power, or our happiness.
However, happiness, and power, is simple. You can achieve happiness, or power, by simply going outside, going for long walks, working outside, doing things physically. I recognize how little you need to get by, after my experiences traveling the world.
I am here, back in Philadelphia. What is next?
I’m currently working in Horticulture, and I’m starting to really enjoy it. It provides me a time away from the chaos of the city, surrounded by green spaces, and not to mention, it’s an art form. I’m very curious about spending time in nature, learning about plants, writing essays, poetry, reading philosophy, and enhancing my artistic abilities, beyond just mere photography. Maybe I could even get into pottery, and try new mediums that are more physical. Who knows where the road will take me, but I know for a fact that I only do things that interest me. I’m not merely here just to accrue money, retire, and die. I’m here to thrive, on the front lines of life, living, how I choose, and deem interesting. I think the interesting path, is worth considering.
Would you rather sit inside the office of the Comcast tower, making $1 million per day, but never see the sunlight, the sunrise, or sunset, considering the 9 to 5 lifestyle?
I know for a fact that I’m not cut out for 9 to 5, but I’m currently trying to design my life, where it almost feels like I’m “retired” in a period of Otium, away from public life, enjoying physical leisure. Personally, I realized that I need to work alone, as most other people just get in my way. I’ve worked as a photojournalist, worked in the offices of City Hall, a photographer for the city, and even worked in politics. Even if a lot of of these jobs are seemingly the easy path, where I can even just sit on my but in my home, or work from zoom, it’s not something that I would ever choose. I’m trying to design my life in a way that I do not have to check my phone or my email. To me this is modern day slavery, being on call, on your phone, sending emails, doing zoom, even if you work from home. It’s not worth it. It’s no way I want to live or what I deem to be freedom. After all my travels, I’ve realized that true freedom is under the thatched roof.
What is the function of capital, money, or wealth?
Perhaps it’s to increase your power, make a website, buy camera equipment, meat, weightlifting stuff, have a roof over your head, and ultimately create a family, and make children. I could continue traveling, live frugally, and be a nomad forever, but perhaps the ultimate goal of man is sacrificing yourself, for somebody else.
Maybe I decided to start working in Horticulture here in Philadelphia because I’m interested in being the best artist that I can possibly be, striving for excellence, and going beyond. I enjoy being on my feet, moving my body, and exerting physical force. Perhaps this is where I am meant to be, in the garden, away from the streets.
Water and Vitality
Every morning, I make a walk towards the waterworks here in Philadelphia. Yesterday, I learned that City Hall was the original location of our water pump before the municipal building was constructed.
Why?
Water is the ultimate source of vitality and the first thing that community needs in order to thrive.
Don’t poison the well
One sick and scary thought I have is that if somebody wanted to destroy a community, a city, or even a country, all you would have to do is poison the well, the water source.
I’m reminded of my time in Zambia, Africa as a volunteer. I would draw my water from a well every day, boil the water, add iodine, put through a gravity filter, and then safely consume it. Here in the west, in America, Philadelphia, I have the privilege of turning the tap on, and I have clean, running water. This is probably one of the greatest features of living in an advanced city with modern technology.
Some families in the village have around 10 children per household, so you can imagine the amount of buckets that people must travel with to the well and back to their homes. Some people spend the entire day transporting water back-and-forth as they live extremely far away from the well itself. Needless to say, the accessibility of water, is a vital role in a flourishing society and a symbol of prosperity and wealth. 
Think of Rome and the implementation of the aqueduct. Some of these aqueducts are being used to this day, one in particular, being the source of water that is displayed at the Trevi fountain. The Trevi fountain showcases a plethora of baroque style architecture and sculpture.
A statue of Oceanus, the god of water, is standing in the background of the fountain. The sculpture of abundance is directly next to it, depicted holding a cornucopia, a symbol of prosperity and wealth. The Trevi fountain is a location that I’ve been visiting since I was a little boy, around six or seven years old. I remember visiting this fountain, and throwing a coin over my left shoulder, making a wish. There’s something special about myth, folklore, and stories that shape our reality.
Become a savage
When I consider the myth of Rome, and how it was founded, by Remus and Romulus, being raised by a shewolf, La Lupa, I become invigorated. There’s something about this story, and the way in which the two boys were raised by a wolf, in the wild, in the unknown, that inspires me. Think of the wolf, this fierce predator, where when it slays its prey, the first thing that it eats is the liver from the animals.
Why?
Liver is the most nutrient dense food that we can consume.
Also, when Prometheus decided to steal the fire from the gods at Mount Olympus, and give it to humans, to create technology and civilization, he was punished, being tied to a rock, having vultures come and eat at his liver over and over again, as he is immortal, and would inevitably feel pain forever, unless Hercules, the hero, did not come and save him.
During my time living in Palestine, I remember Eid Al Adha, the day of sacrifice. Hundreds of sheep, goats, and cows were slaughtered throughout the streets of Jericho, the stench of blood filled the atmosphere for around a week straight.
When I was a volunteer, I was greeted with a goat, hanging from a tree, when I met my host family for the first time. This was the ultimate symbol of respect, as I was handed a knife, to slaughter the goat, and we feasted all day and week. I’ll never forget riding my bike to farmers, purchasing live chickens, slaughtering them, plucking the feathers, cutting it into pieces, and preparing food directly from the source. I’ve never tasted chicken so good in my life, which is funny because I never eat chicken, here in the states, as I believe it tastes disgusting.
Consider the human being, as the Apex predator in the world, life, the animal kingdom, and nature itself. We kill the animals, we make the sacrifice, and we increase our power. This increase of power that you feel from consuming the flesh of other animals will satiate you and fuel you with strength, unlike any other food group, such as fruits and vegetables.
Why in the food pyramid, is red meat, painted in a bad light, telling us to eat it sparingly?
Perhaps this is one of the greatest flaws of modern life here in the west, and is the reason why we have such an increase in obesity. We have been sold a lie that red meat is bad for you and that you must watch your cholesterol.
Why?
My theory is that maybe the less red meat you eat, the more hungry you become, leading you to purchase goods from these large corporations, such as general mills, fueling yourself on carbs, protein bars, cereals, grains, starches, and other things that have addictive qualities. Eating these other food groups merely makes you a consumer, fueling the economy, making more purchases, buying shit you don’t need, and fueling your body with subpar energy.
Consider fat as energy.
Apparently Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert? If you have 60 pounds of fat, this technically means that you could go 30 days without food. I’m not saying that you should do this, as it could definitely lead to a lot of problems, but it’s just a fun thought experiment. When you consider fat as energy, and the way that it is stored within your body, things start to make more sense. You often hear these notions of calories in, calories out. I believe that these notions are scams, as people love to go for these long runs, in hopes to burn calories, and then go back home and eat. This approach to health is an endless loop, a hamster wheel, leading you to no results. We should stop considering calories, weight, and considered fat more. The goal for you is to lose fat, not weight. However, eating protein and fat satiate you and keep you strong and powerful. The more red meat you eat, more energy you will have. 
What is the #1 mistake 99% of photographers make?
Gear obsession.
I believe this is the leading contribution to the decline of great photographers, especially in street photography, where people constantly obsess about the gear to use, or choose to take out. This is what’s going to hold the majority people back from ever improving, and becoming the best version of themselves.
My biggest advice for any photographer is to simply purchase a Ricoh GRIII OR Ricoh GRIIIx and just stick to the best. Especially if you want to become prolific and simply make more pictures. The really is no better option than a compact digital camera. I think Fujifilm is good too, and I had positive experiences using a Leica M3, film camera. The problem with film is that it is insanely slow and not worth the hassle in 2024. The beauty of the Ricoh is that it’s so small, where you can simply throw it in your front right pocket. This is the goal, to feel as though you have no camera on you.
The Ricoh becomes the closest thing to not having a camera- the closest thing to having an extension of your body and your eyes.
Society and beauty
Is man permitted to be excellent?
My thought is that in a world that promotes equality, mediocrity will be the ultimate result. If everybody is mediocre, this is no world that I desire to live in. However, the antidote, is to strive to become the hero, to become excellent. Think of the Greek Olympic Games, and the physical excellence that was on display. This is something that we should try to aspire to be like, the ancient Greek heroes, Who strove for excellence, which becomes the ultimate antidote to weakness, in this modern world
My other thought is in regards to beauty, and surrounding yourself with it. I believe that nature is the apex of beauty, as it is God‘s creation. When it comes to man’s creations, you can find beauty in architecture and sculpture. My thought is, anything that you find outside, in public works of art, become the most beautiful. Think of City Hall, standing so tall. Just wake up early, and watch as the sun kisses the columns, upon the tower, as the sun rises. The sculptures, detail, and tunnels, never ceases to amaze me.
However, human beings are funny creatures. Just this morning, the first thing I witnessed, while waking up, was a woman, a grown adult, pulling her pants down under a street light, as I walk by, and she clearly saw me, peeing into a sewer. Yesterday, as I walked on Market Street, a young woman, seemingly in high school, threw a Dunkin’ Donuts wrapper, from her doughnut, up into the air, and gracefully landed at my feet. She has no care for the streets, the workers, or respect for her environment or city. I’m not too sure how these people are being raised these days, but certainly are lacking any sort of respect and appreciation for beauty. I believe the best thing that we can do is simply ignore these people, don’t react, respond, pick the trash up, and move on. We are on the path towards mediocrity, but keep striving to go beyond equality, by striving for excellence, and transcendence. 
The world is a beautiful place
If today was your last day on this earth, where would you start your day?
Personally, I start my day off, surrounded by beauty, along the Schuylkill river, in nature, and find myself on a hike, towards the cliffside, the hill, the mountain top, at an elevated vantage point, looking out at the horizon. When I look out at the horizon, I am reminded that this world is open, and endless to explore. While we have the capability of launching ourselves into space, with the advent of modern technology, discovering the galaxy, and exploring unknown territory, in the universe, I believe that where we are right here, right now, is worth elevating to a new height.
Memento Mori
Remember that you must die.
When I wake up in the morning, I treat it like a mini birth. When I go to sleep at night, it is a mini death. When I go to bed, lay my head on the pillow, I expect that I will not wake up tomorrow. When I wake up in the morning, I am filled with gratitude, for simply being alive. I have the opportunity to give life another go, to propel myself outside of my window, my door, finding inspiration in the mundane, and the simple things, such as sunlight, water, and walking.
I believe that we can experience life, in a state of abundance, through recognizing the infinite potential, that you, the individual, can achieve, in a single day, or a lifetime.
It’s wise to consider the day, as an entire lifetime.
If today was your last, would you spend it squandered, indoors, comfortable, simply kicking back, with your shoes off, chilling at the TV or the computer? Probably not…
If this was my last day, I would embrace the spirit of play, living fearlessly, courageously, and embracing danger and chaos openly. 
Heaven on Earth
In most religions, there are notions of Heaven and Hell. Hell is somewhere that nobody would ever desire to be.
My thought is, humans create hell for themselves on earth, through distracting themselves with gossip, news, media, negativity, and fear.
Ogni giorno è una battaglia per la tua mente. Every day is a battle for your mind.
What is the slave mind?
In this modern world, the slave is a consumer. The slave believes that each day you are here to simply survive, and not thrive. Don’t you hear that often? Sometimes when I ask somebody how their day is or how they’re doing this morning, they often say, “it’s just another day, just living my life, just surviving.” To be honest, I believe that these people are in hell and the hell is in their mind. Maybe some people will be stuck there, always simply just getting by.
Think of Saint Jerome, hunched over, by his book, inside, with his body in decay, depicted in the painting by Caravaggio. Why is he here, depicted this way? He is seeking that afterlife, that next life, or paradise. We must go beyond this yearning of an afterlife and become the next warrior monks, the new man, the creator of paradise, here on earth. 
When I was in Florence, I remember viewing the sculpture that depicts the death of Achilles. Achilles, carried in the arms of Ajax, so gracefully, almost beautifully, a beautiful death. The strength, courage, and fearlessness that Achilles must’ve had, is inspiring. When you see his physical body, the grand physique of the demigod, the hero, Achilles, as a sculpture, it gives the person viewing this work, the permission, to go beyond the self.
I seek to thrive, and go beyond this basic slave mind.
We can create heaven or paradise, here on earth. We create paradise through the actions that we make, the things that we choose to do, and more importantly what we choose not to do, ultimately determines our experience and every day life. I choose to surround myself with beauty, through simple acts of kindness, gratitude, and overcoming obstacles, through weightlifting, long hikes, climbing mountains, exploring, and making art.
By making art, we create paradise, we create the world that we would like to live in. When you photograph, don’t think of what life is, but depict what life could be or what it should be.
Finding paradise is very simple. Paradise is within. However, I believe that Christianity, with its concept of original sin, keeps people in a perpetual state of feeling less than, perpetually needing to repent and seek forgiveness for their supposed inherent evil. This fosters a sense of shame in individuals. In contrast, I seek to glorify myself, to deify myself, and to transform into something beyond the ordinary, creating a paradise here on earth through my own inner strength and divine potential.
Why I’m so intrepid
I’ve always been a fearless, courageous, and adventurous person. I remember when I was a little boy, first learning to skateboard, at around 4 or 5 years old. My brother and I learned to skateboard at FDR skate park, a DIY park built by skateboarders. This is one of the most legendary skate parks of all time, with ramps more dangerous than any skate park in the United States of America. We would throw ourselves downhill, launch ourselves off of ramps, fall down, get back up, and go at it again. I even remember, when we were little, we would throw ourselves down the stairwell, in our house, by rolling down on our backs, and smashing into the walls. I’ve always been reckless, dangerous, and adventurous, since the first time I learned to ride a bike, launching myself off of dirt hills, ramps, throwing myself down sets of stairs on my skateboard, and even exploring in the woods. I remember sharpening spears, building tipis, and forts, and attempting to hunt deer, as a child, playfully, obviously, as a sharpened stick would never penetrate the deer itself. But I was always out there, hunting, discovering caves, building bridges with stones, and exploring here, in my backyard at the Wissahickon, along the Schuylkill River.
The Art of Exploration
There is an art to exploring, and embracing the adventurous, childlike spirit, through pure curiosity. When I open my eyes in the morning, I’m always eager to go out there, explore, and set my body in motion, without preconceived notions, about anything that I will find. I believe that an open mind, and willingness to learn, by recognizing that I know nothing, that I really am this big child, a blank slate, helps me conquer each day, through exploration.
I treat myself like a tourist in my hometown, here in Philadelphia. I always know there’s something new to learn, there’s always a new place to turn, as this city is the birthplace of America, with rich history, and historic streets to explore. All you have to do is open up your door, and go out there wanting more.
With an abundant and open mind, you will always be surprised. I find that this mindset, of being a tourist, is what fuels me in my daily life. A tourist always wakes up early in the morning, ready to catch the sunrise, ready to explore, ready to find new things to do. I believe that we must look at life this way, despite being in a mundane place, whether or not you walk the same lane, every single day, there really is always something new that you will find, something new, to do, to see, to learn. When I open my eyes, I just follow the light, and treat each day like it’s my last.
I’ve explored far and wide throughout this world. One of my most significant journeys was taking the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, where I found myself sleeping on the floors of mosques, learning about Islam, and living amongst a Palestinian family. I’ve also volunteered on a Kibbutz, in Israel, living amongst the Israelis, farming, gardening, and practicing Horticulture. I even photographed on the frontlines of battle between Israel and Palestine. I’ve lived amongst the Zambian People, in Africa, alongside the Bemba tribe, in a village, where I practice fish farming. I’ve been an explorer since I was a young boy, traveling to Rome to connect with family. I’ve explored the slums of Mumbai, ancient fishing villages, climbed mountains in Mexico City, explored caves in Central America, and explored the tranquil lakes and temples of Hanoi, Vietnam.
I cannot tell you why I’ve done these things, other than the fact that I am intrepid, bold, daring, and simply curious, like a child. Think of a child, standing on top of a table with a blanket wrapped around their body as a cape, pretending to be Superman, jumping off, landing on their 2 feet, smiling, proud of their accomplishment, whether it’s seemingly small or large. This is how we should carry ourselves, with the things that we do and the places we explore, or conquer. Like that big kid, with a cape on, pretending to be Superman. However, we are not pretending anymore, we are transcending, and becoming the Superman, or, the Übermensch.
The Art of Photography
I believe that photography has the potential to become the apex of art. Why?
Photography requires your physical body to move through the world, exploring, with courage, at the forefront. A photographer exists on the front lines of life, becoming both physically, and emotionally closer to life itself. The experiences that a photographer has, through walking, observing, and embracing the multifaceted complexities of life, allow photographer to move through strife, upwards, and onwards, on a featherbed, exploring the unknown, articulating it, putting order to the chaos of life.
Forget about the physical photograph as a two dimensional print. A photograph is a reflection of an artist’s courage, or heart. A photograph is not constrained by time or space. A photograph exists outside the passage of time.
The Impact of Art
When I consider the Apex of beauty, some of mankind‘s greatest artistic achievements, while I view photography highly, I must admit, that sculpture and architecture, alongside music, are some of the greatest works that man has ever achieved.
I’m currently standing in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, gazing at these beautiful columns, colors, details, ornaments, sculptures, depictions of Greek gods, stories of mythology, as the building is positioned at a high elevated space, looking out towards a sculpture of George Washington on his horseback, surrounded by animals, and Native Americans, facing the skyline of the city of Philadelphia, as City Hall is illuminated by this beautiful sunrise, this tall, looming column, with William Penn, sitting on top. City Hall, being the largest municipal building in the country, also draped with ornaments, detail, columns, tunnels, sculptures, and beauty that uplift the human spirit to a new height.
When you stand in front of a building like this, listen to live music from the world’s largest pipe organ, at the Wanamaker Building, or when you stand in front of a sculpture, you are looking up at it. It is bigger than life itself. It goes beyond gravity, it is something that man has built, and said, “you know what, we’re going beyond. We’re going upwards, onwards, and transcending this human experience, by positioning this building here, by putting this sculpture there, and making a statement.”
The hand of William Penn, standing on top of City Hall, is facing towards the the Northeast of Philadelphia, at Penn Treaty Park, where he made a peace agreement, alongside the Lenape tribe, to create the city of Philadelphia, and live alongside the Native people peacefully in harmony. History and rich stories can be found, in sculptures, or the architecture, that transcend time.
When I think about my recent time in Rome, exploring the various churches, looking at the paintings of Caravaggio, this confirms my belief, in God, and transcends this notion, of belief itself, into a knowing. I’ve seen the tomb where Jesus laid in Jerusalem, I’ve traveled the road to Jericho, I’ve visited the Holy Lands, I’ve been inside of some of the greatest churches, I’ve viewed pieces of the cross in person, the inscription, nails, and even the thorns, that crown Jesus. When you see things, empirically, through evidence, and experience, artifacts, which we now look at, as art, takes your belief, your faith, to a new place, to a knowing. Perhaps this is why the church commissioned Caravaggio in the first place, to make his biblical works, to bring life to the stories, that shape our reality.
Create your own story
Create your own story, your own myth, a be your own legend. Think of the story of Achilles and the battle of Troy. Perhaps we too, should live like we are this hero character, Achilles, and move forward in life as an odyssey, or an Iliad. Let’s live our lives like it’s a real, Greek epic.
This life is too short to live as a slave. Become the master of the universe, and create your own world.
This is where the power of photography lies, in the ability to create something from nothing, or, create your own world. What you choose to exclude from the frame is just as important as what you include. What you exclude, is unimportant, uninteresting, not part of your story. But what you shed light on, what you depict within the frame, is your world, your universe, your creation, your story. Man is the ultimate creator.
If life were like Minecraft, how would you spend your time?
Would you sit in a strip mine, mining, grinding away, looking for diamonds? No, for this is boring, tedious, and the life of a slave. I choose to get my wood, craft a sword right away, pick up some stone, get some iron, and head to the ender dragon, as quickly as possible. I’d speed run Minecraft, slaying the boss, and ending the game, looking forward to doing it again, with the lust for battle, similar to that of Achilles.
After that, I’d just head to one of those extreme high mountain biomes, chill at the top, build a cool home, and kick back and relax after the battle is over. But is that the fun part? Is that the part of the game, that’s most interesting? Simply enjoying the luxury, pleasure, and abundance, after creating an iron golem farm, grinding XP, after using redstone to automatically mine ore for you, and do things for you without strife, within the game? No, I would choose to continuously, respawn each morning, going back to the ender dragon, finding new battles to fight, and upwardly, striving for more.
We may have endless beauty in this world, within our natural spaces, and the artwork that we make, but life is better outdoors, in the unknown, slaying zombies in the dungeon, embracing the chaos, and finding beauty, and meaning in it. 

Just assume you won’t respawn
So let’s say life is a video game. Just for fun. Now, when you play call of duty, you always have the opportunity to respawn, and head back out there to the battlefield. But what if we lived our lives, under the assumption, that we will never respawn, that there is no afterlife, that there will be no tomorrow, then what? Well, I choose hardcore mode. I play with that one shot, one kill mentality. Think of David, and the courage he had to fight against Goliath, killing the giant opponent, with with a rock and a slingshot, hitting his head, with precision. He armored himself with God, and moving onto the battlefield with courage at the forefront. A small boy, overcame the obstacle, Goliath, beheading him with his own sword.
When you go through life, this way, with fearlessness, intrepidness, and courage, nothing will stop you. You can go into the unknown, and come out unscathed. But first, you must be a master, not a slave. You must affirm life, and then go beyond it. 
Think of Jesus, carrying his cross, and being crucified. In Christianity, we recognize Jesus as the son of God. As we remind ourselves of his sacrifice in the church, when looking at him hanging on the cross, the most excruciating pain, the worst kind of death.
Does any man, have the balls, to pick up the cross?
I don’t think so, I don’t think anybody will, or has the hutzpah to do so. But why? If the Christian believes so firmly in this afterlife, then shouldn’t we eagerly be picking up our crosses, and moving forward to this new paradise?
I believe that there’s something in us, that finds comfort in beauty, and God‘s creations, around natural things, where we can listen to the birds sing, smell the flowers, pick the berries, eat the fruit, and sit back and relax under the sun. Earth, and it’s beauty, becomes the ultimate paradise.
Man has a natural fear of death, but maybe we mostly fear the pain associated with it. Perhaps no man will reach the heights that Jesus has, or ever have the same amount of courage as him, but what we can do right now, on this earth, around all of these beautiful things, is choose the dangerous path, and pick up our cross, through acts of courage. 
How I feel abundance
I must start each day on top of a mountain. This is nonnegotiable for my daily routine at this point. I revisit the same mundane lane every single day along the Schuylkill River. I do this because I am filled with abundance and gratitude. Think of a video game and how if you die in the game, you are given another chance, another opportunity to respawn. If you detach yourself from this notion, and simply assume that every morning, when you wake up, that you may not respawn, you will be filled with grateful and blissful sensations for the simple pleasures in life, such as sunlight, walking, and water.
We fuel our minds with so much junk. We often watch television shows that distract us, consume news, and media that fill us with fear. I say, disappear. Go off the grid, and live in the present moment, championing this moment, right here, right now, as the only thing that truly matters. Each step you take, you are moving into the future, and letting go of the past.
I remember in my childhood, I spent a lot of time skateboarding. My brother and I learned to skateboard at FDR Park. One of the first times I skated at this park, I remember seeing this one intrepid guy, attempting a stunt on one of the biggest ramps, that almost reached the height of the ceiling, which was essentially just a highway, I-95. Once he got about halfway up the ramp, he fell backwards, and slammed his head. The gushing blood of the scene was a disaster, but the skaters gathered, and encouraged him, to get back up, called for help, and used the nearby ice cream truck, to provide him with ice, to heal his wound, and stop the blood from gushing. This man, attempting such a bold stunt, that could seemingly lead to to death, requires courageousness, dangerousness, and fearlessness, that goes beyond the fear of death. This man had no fear, not even fear of the pain associated with his fall. I feel as though this is the fearlessness we need to go forward in life with, similar to that of skateboarder, attempting great stunts, to be dangerous. 
There are no atheists in a foxhole.
When I consider the story of David and Goliath, fought at the valley of Elah, I am reminded of my time in Israel. I remember looking out at this valley, and exploring some nearby caves, discovering ancient pieces of pots from the bronze age. When David stepped onto the battlefield, this small boy, he armored himself with God, and fueled himself with courage, or heart. He wound up defeating this big opponent, through the act of courage, killing Goliath with the precision of a headshot. 
The combination of faith and courage is what carried David through the chaos, into the unknown, leaving him unscathed, almost as though he went into battle, and came out on a featherbed.
Godlike intuition
The more I contemplate fasting, I truly believe it does get you closer to God. By remaining in a fasted state, you have a clear connection between your mind and your body. Perhaps your body is your soul, and keeping it clean, through the absence of food, digesting through your system, especially these new, modern, poisonous chemicals, that can be found in most of the junk these days from a grocery store, sets you apart from the masses. Just think, we have been programmed to eat three meals a day since we were born. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the staple diet of Americans. We wake up, slap cream cheese on bagels, eat, pastries, breads, and lead ourselves into obesity. However, fat is energy. Recognize that when you eat red, fatty, meat, you are fueling your body with the nutrients that it needs. If you eat the proper foods, you will not need to eat the next day, until the end of the day.
I participated in Eid al-Adha, the day of sacrifice, a Muslim holiday while living amongst a Palestinian family in Jericho. When I was in Jericho, I witnessed the sacrifice of hundreds of sheep, making the streets of Jericho, a bloody mess. Everybody gathers to feast in the evenings after fasting all day. This was one of the most biblical things I remember witnessing in life, this ancient tradition, with its roots found in the book of Genesis of the Old Testament, upheld to this day.
You must make sacrifices in order to see results. By fasting, not only will you increase your intuition, by having this clear, sharp connection between your body and your mind, I also believe that you will become the strongest, and most beautiful version of yourself. I believe that there is a reason why they say that we are created in the image of God. Perhaps to be created in the image of God, is to strip yourself back down to the bare bones, the basic, the empty, the absent.
The more empty you become, the more Godlike you are and will be.
However, when you fill your belly with poison, you poison your soul, you make yourself ugly, and you stray further and further away from the most beautiful version of yourself. 
Think of Kellogg’s corporation and many of these ultra processed food corporations that keep our population sick. These foods, sodas, and sugary things, keep our population obese, our bodies in decay, and remain addicted consumers.
Freedom is a mindset
As I stand on top of the cliff, behind the art museum, looking beyond the horizon, I remind myself that this world is open, endless, and that there is so much to do, see, and explore. This abundant feeling comes through my mind, by championing mankind, and recall the experiences and memories I’ve had along my journsey. I feel as though this life, this world, is worth living in, championing, and elevating to a new height.
Physically, I believe freedom is in the outdoors. I remember during my public school experience here in Philadelphia, it felt like a prison. I was not allowed outside and was forced indoors for eight hours in the day. You had to enter the school through an x-ray machine, and security, guarded the hall, and the doors were locked. You’re forced to sit down in a classroom, memorize information, listen to the bell, and regurgitate it in the next class. Because of this, I felt the need to escape, to find a way out, and explore the neighborhood nearby. I knew from that experience in high school, was setting me up to be a slave. Perhaps public school has set up the majority of our population to be busy, worker bees, stuck in school forever. Don’t you see those people walking around the city with backpacks on? It’s like they’re still in school! Perhaps they feel content, but I seek to go beyond, and feel exuberant. I need to have my body in motion, unconfined to boxes, cubicles, or an office building. I need to be outside the box, off the grid, moving physically through the world. You can’t get me to sit down. You can’t get me to stay trapped indoors. If you’re looking for freedom, I highly suggest that you design your life to be maximally spent outdoors.
Break societal norms
In this modern world, we often conform to traditional ways of living. When somebody acts differently, behaves independently, they are often stared at, mocked, or laughed at, seen as crazy, and weird. I think that being weird, or being seemingly perceived as weird, or crazy, is the best place to be in this modern world. Just because everybody else goes out to the club, parties at the bar, drinks, does endless drugs, watch stupid TV shows, uses dating apps, gets tattoos, buys cool shoes, doesn’t mean that you have to. 
Think of a video game character, when you craft him in the beginning of the game, like Skyrim, where you’re looking at the naked man, giving him armor, facial hair, setting his size, putting on shoes, changing the color of his skin, the shape of his eyes, eyebrows, nose, etc. Maybe we must go back to the default, the beginning, carte blanche, and build our character again. Rethink any behavior patterns that you deem to be questionable, recalibrate your mind, free yourself of societal norms, and strip yourself down to the naked, the bare bones, and create a new hero character.
We are what we are not.
There is an art to subtraction. Cut more things out of your life. Cut more people out of your life. Keep your circle small. Only do things that you deem to be worthy of your time. Don’t squander your time chasing fame, walking the same way, and doing the same things as everyone else. Find your own way out. Find your own path. 
How to thrive alone
If you are looking to thrive alone, pick up a camera and go. The camera is the passport that will lead you to an endless amount of experiences here in life. I have everything to give to photography, all praises to cameras, art, and technology. For with this tool, in my hand, I am unstoppable. I have an endless sea of memories, artwork, and experiences that I can leave behind. And the best part is that they all exist within my mind. And I am fueled with this thriving, abundant feeling, this endless sensation, of gratefulness. I feel so abundant, with strength of the mind, because of the experiences that photography has given me. Just go for a hike, bring your camera along with you, and interact with the world in your own, unique way, and forget about the way that we were told to live our lives. You can do whatever you want in this world, just let go, and embrace the spirit of play. 
Sacrifice and tribe
During my service in the peace core, I worked as a rural aqua culture, promotion specialist, and live amongst the Bemba tribe. One of the greatest things that I’ve learned from this experience was the higher key that exists and a flourishing society.
God, tribe, and land
I was born and raised Roman Catholic, and attended a Catholic school from grades pre-K to grade 8. I absolutely love this experience and believe that these childhood lessons, teachings, and experiences in church, learning about Jesus, science, and history shape the way that I perceived the world to this day. in the morning, we gather together as a class and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by prayer. There’s something about the way in which a community comes together under God and a nation that promotes human thriving.  Even when I consider my time in the church, singing as a class, learning, musical instruments, and even acting in dramas or theater, during Christmas time, tacked out the story of Jesus’s birth, a community coming together, promotes families to stay together, as we recall the stories that shape our reality to this day. 
In the village, there’s a hierarchy amongst the family. The mother comes home with babies on her back, firewood on her head, as the father is building homes and churches, the boys are building bricks with sand and mud, and the girls are sweeping the floors, and preparing food for the day. At the center of the village, there is a church. Within that church, there is an altar, where a sacrifice is made, as we remind ourselves of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. When I consider the teachings of Jesus, and Jesus has a person, I believe that he is the hero, the human, at the center of a community, that everybody comes together, to try to emulate, to the best of their ability. there is a blueprint, a place to start, a man to strive to become.
Perhaps here in this modern world, and city, such as Philadelphia, these places of sacrifice, community, where a tribe can come together, under God, striving upwards towards this ideal self, is lacking.
Water, architecture, and sculpture
I start every morning by the water, specifically the Schuylkill River. Schuylkill means “hidden creek” or “hidden river” and is where the Lenape tribe went to drink, in Manayunk, where I grew up, with the Wissahickon forest in my backyard. I remember being a young boy, exploring the forest, the unknown, building teepees with sticks, sharpening spears, attempting to hunt deer, building bridges with stones, fishing, and even carting my own path and trails. We would explore caves, climb trees, and I even remember discovering a totem pole in the forest, after a long hike up a mountain, a monument to the Lenape tribe. I think there was something about the teaching. I would remember from Catholic school, when we learned about the Native Americans and these tribes, that peaked my curiosity, and had me unconsciously emulating their lifestyle, at a very young age.
I remember my time in the village in. Zambia, gathering as a tribe at the well, drawing water, carrying buckets on my head, boiling the water, filtering the water through gravity filter, adding iodine, and then finally being able to drink it.  I learned how critical water is to keep a community thriving with vitality. Here in Philadelphia, all I need to do is turn on my tap, and I have clean drinking water available instantaneously. There’s a lot of trust involved in a community at scale like the city of Philadelphia, to keep the water running, to keep it clean, and keep the people thriving. at the center of Philadelphia, we currently have the largest municipal building in the country, City Hall. Initially, there was a water pump located here in the center of town, and it reminds me that water is the first thing that a community needs in order to form cohesion and flourish.
City Hall never ceases to uplift my human spirit, my vitality, my lust for life. Every single day I walk through the tunnels of City Hall, and revel in its beauty. The way in which building like this, defies gravity, filled with endless beauty, sculptures, ornaments, detail, column, and tunnels, that showcase the grander, the height, a few achievement. For me, City Hall and Philadelphia, is one of mankind‘s greatest artistic achievements here in the United States of America. Building nearby, Wanamaker building, has an organ, the world‘s largest playing pipe organ, that sounds every single day at 12 and 530, except for Sunday, but I too believe, some of the greatest art that humans have ever achieved. When you stand in the center of the building, with tall, looming, high ceilings, and listen to the sounds of an Oregon, music, that fills your soul, makes you feel, and powerful, Uplifts you, transcends you, to a New Pl., New World, in the realm of art, at the Apex of beauty. It reminds me of my time in Rome, exploring the various basilicas, and Catholic churches, filled with the sounds of Gregorian chants, men and women singing in Latin, while looking at the paintings of Caravaggio.
I’m starting to think that the baroque period produced some of my favorite works of art, such as the paintings of Caravaggio, and the biblical stories depicted in these works. They are so dramatic, aesthetically, beautiful, with high contrast, I can’t help, but to feel something when gazing at this work.
Is this the ultimate goal of art? To make the viewer feel something, to evoke this on inspiring sensation, that uplift the human spirit, and transcends you to a new height? I think so.
I remember since I was a young boy, around five years old, visiting the Trevi fountain, tradition of mine, every few years.  baroque sculptures that surround the background of the Trevi fountain, are larger than life itself. The sculptures, one in particular, that of Oceanus, the God of water, who personifies the vast ocean in Greek mythology, is depicted sitting on top of a chariot, a shell, while being pulled by two sea horses.
There is something about the hero, the myth, and the stories that shape our reality. Some of the most uplifting sculptures I find in my hometown, Philadelphia, depict, great men like George Washington, on horseback, charging into battle. The hero, the myth, the legend, the story of these men, inspire the human, a member of the community, a tribe, a nation, strive to become something more. 
Trust your intuition
I’ve always been a very curious person, a creator, somebody who likes to tinker, and make things.  as a young boy, I enjoyed opening my Nerf guns, modifying them, painting them, removing the air restrictors, opening up the bladders, to allow the guns to shoot further, and increase the airflow of the darts. I also would jailbreak iPod touches, allowing, all of the students in my class, and eighth grade, tax software, that could allow them to customize, download, and enjoy their iPod to its fullest capabilities.
Some of the earliest artwork that I remember creating, when I was in kindergarten, was of battle. I would create these large scale, models of battle, drawings, with mirror, stick figures, all across my notebook during class. After class, when I returned home, I would play with my Toy warriors, these figures that I purchased in Piazza Nona, in Rome, depicting heroes on horseback, gladiators, and crusaders, at battle. I would position the figures in particular ways, all across my floor, at different vantage point, heights, elevations, that showcased stories, as I would narrate them, and give life to these anatomy things, From a very young age. Imaginative, creative, spirit, is within me, and has never left me.
Last year, I began to dream. I don’t mean, dreaming of vest and grand goals, that I would like to achieve in life, which I believe are good, we should all have, but I mean, real, raw, dreams, and deep sleep. The first dream I remember, was extremely primal, as I was laying on my back, in snowy place, presumably Antarctica. I looked up, and viewed an eclipse. I gazed downwards, and saw a man, lying in the snow next to me. As I turned to my right, mammoths began to charge towards me, and I woke up.
In 2023, Easter Sunday, I finally went back to church after a very long hiatus over a decade. I recognize at the end of mass, we began saying a prayer, that was very unfamiliar to me, something that I never learned as a young boy, a prayer to Saint Michael the archangel. This prayer invigorated me, and fueled me with this vitality, and powerful feeling, that I’ve never felt before. the archangel is the leader of God army, and the prayer, we pray for him, to defend us in battle. At that moment, it felt like a prayer, used for time of war. 
There was something in my intuition, that led me back to Rome. I was working as a photographer for the city, and felt very unfulfilled, as the work I was creating is essentially meaningless. I quit the job, and went straight to Rome. I began visiting the castle outside of the Vatican, attempting to learn this prayer, to Saint Michael, the Archangel, as a sculpture of him, is positioned at the top of the castle, which is so beautiful, as he looks, graceful, with a sword in hand, thrusting the devil Downwards. I went for a day trip to Paris to practice some street photography. After the first night, photographing the Eiffel Tower, and getting myself some food, I went to bed in my hotel that night, I had a very vivid dream of a double rainbow that appeared in the sky, transformed into a clouded dragon, chased me, disappeared, and I woke up. The next day, I wandered through the streets in Paris, and discovered a sculpture of Saint Michael, the archangel, surrounded by two dragons. as I looked up at the sculpture of Saint Michael, the archangel, this hero, so graceful, and beautiful a rainbow was casted in the sky directly above him. I had no clue what these dragons represented, and hardly any idea of the who Saint Michael is, so I decided to call my godmother, who was a nun for 40 years, and ask her about this, reciting my dream, curious about this dragon, who saint Michael is, and the rainbow. She told me that in the book of revelations, Saint Michael fights against the dragon, who represents Satan, in the final battle. 
Here are two verses from revelations that describe a rainbow and the battle against the dragon:
Revelation 10:1: “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.”
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9, KJV)
My godmother told me that this was a wink from God, as the correlation between my dream and what was embodied in reality the next day, is quite miraculous.
I followed my intuition, trusted it, and the road led me to Rome. During these past 18 months, I know that I found God, reached the height of my spiritual journey, and understand the role that each individual plays within this cosmic drama of life. We are all significant players, upon this stage, that is the world. While this modern world distracts us, removes us from any real sense of community and tribe, under God, I believe that we can connect with the divine through our Godlike intuition. 
Your experience shapes your reality  
I believe our individual experiences shape the way that we view the world and our reality as we know it. Some people, dwell inside, consuming endless news, media, and information that is fed to them through a screen. Other people, have the call to adventure, and travel into the unknown, seeking empirical evidence through direct experience.
Perhaps the truth is outside, under the sunlight, in the real world, embodied reality, where the experiences that you directly have are real and true. There is no amount of information that you can consume, books you will read or things that you will see from the comfort of a seat that will bring you closer to reality.
My fear is that many people live on the sidelines of life, as passive observers, and because of this, there is more division, violence, and conflict than ever. Just yesterday, I was speaking with this older lady, who was very upset about Donald Trump, going on and on about him, some sort of court case, and how he’s going to be a dictator if he’s president. What’s hilarious to me is, I’ve never heard the man speak, in the flesh, seen his face in person, or know anything about him other than the fact that I’ve seen him on TV as a TV star when I was a little kid. To be honest, I’m really grateful that I do not know anything about what’s going on in modern politics these days because it seems like it has people more divided than ever. I think the more you hate somebody, that you do not know in real life, the more mentally unwell you are.
Real life zombie movie 
Sometimes when I walked on Market Street here in Philadelphia, it feels like I’m living in a real life zombie movie. It’s astonishing how bad the city, or specifically Market Street becomes over time. I’ve seen dead people foaming from the mouth laying out on a bus stop here on this very street, as I love walking this way, practicing street photography here, enjoy the Wanamaker, organ, the reading terminal market, and even pass through the mall. The problem is, there’s so many people on drugs, strung out, bent over, in the middle of the sidewalk, with sores visible, clothing missing, walking around like real zombies. The interesting part is, nobody bats an eye, and we’re all immune to it. Cops don’t even care that much anymore and just kind of let it slide, as they pass by, not wanting to deal with it.
Have you ever read the back of a newspaper, and noticed how many pharmaceuticals are being promoted? Also, it seems like every TV channel, is bombarded by advertisements with pharmaceuticals, medicine, and drugs constantly.
Maybe most people are on some sort of drug, pharmaceutical, or mentally unwell these days. I think it’s also quite obvious when somebody is mentally unwell as you can tell by their physiology, their face, and their physical bodies. You can simply look at somebody, and determine the health of their soul. I think we need to avoid miserable people like the plague, like they are zombies, and simply stay away, ignoring them. This is the harsh reality that we live in these days, but it seems to be best to stick to ourselves, and our immediate friends or family.
One of my biggest pet peeves is people who complain. You hear it all of the time, over the smallest things that have nothing to do with the bigger picture of life. People love to complain and moan, about anything and everything. People often gossip about others, have this animosity towards people that they hardly know, lurking on their social media, or gossiping behind their back. People can’t be alone anymore, in group chats, comment, sections, forums, texting, all day long. Snapchat and Instagram allows people to showcase their lives, in a curated way, that becomes an alternate reality, Zombieland, and fake. We’re slowly becoming zombies, and far from the authentic and true reality that we can thrive in.
Unhealthy nurses
I’ve noticed the trend towards unhealthy nurses. Just walk down Walnut Street, around Jefferson Hospital, and observe the women and men that are wearing scrubs. A lot of them are obese, sickly, anemic, and unhealthy. To me, this is very alarming, as they work within the realm of health, and for the people.
If the doctor, the nurse, is unhealthy, why should I trust your opinion?
My new simple heuristic is, don’t trust the opinion about anything, from anyone, who eats cookies, drinks soda, and consumes any junk food. Just yesterday, I watched as a nurse came out of the office, gorging on chips, cookies, and had a big hoagie in her hand. We are certainly facing a trying time, where our health is on decline, and the things that we consume are mostly to blame.
When you look at a food pyramid, it typically says to eat meat sparingly. Now that we’ve been using this food pyramid, and have been tricked that red meat is bad for us, where has that let us to?
It has let us down the road to unhealthy people, obese people, and very sickly people, walking around this earth. I think that we need to start being more critical about the things that we do, consume, read, or abide by. Think for yourself, more independently, and strategically.
When you consume more red meat, you are more satiated, not hungry, and become healthy and strong. Doesn’t it make you scratch your head, why we were told that this is something we need to consume less of?
Many corporations thrive on the addictive nature of food, whether it’s cookies, chips, or any processed junk that you see all over the place in these grocery stores. If anything, my big advice is to just cut out all sugar, carbs, and processed foods from your diet. Eat more meat and eggs, as this is the ultimate medicine, not these pharmaceuticals, drugs, and things that these obese nurses like to prescribe. 
Pleasure for the sake of what?
We indulge ourselves with gluttony, and hedonistic pleasures, so that we feel better, in a world that is seemingly meaningless.  We cannot simply be, and exist in the present moment because we have been distracted, deceived, and sold a lie, that fame, money, and material things are what we are here to consume and strive to become. 
If humans are simply here to seek pleasure, what is it for the sake of? Is it for the sake of our little tongue, feeling good, enjoying the mouth pleasure? Is it for the feeling of an orgasm, a little bit of gooey stuff, that excretes out of an orifice?
These things are base level, and mean nothing. We need to seek discomfort, and thrive in it, in a way that goes beyond the basic trend towards pleasure, to sacrifice for something greater, more grand than ourselves. Pleasure is easy to come by these days, as we live in the age of abundance, with endless pleasure at our fingertips. If we simply have sex, for the sake of having sex, seeking pleasure, nothing is getting done, and nobody is reproducing. It seems like the majority is sitting on the sidelines of life, like in Wall-E, sitting in front of a TV screen, having robots feed us soda and junk. I won’t be surprised if the next thing that takes over in the next few decades is sex robots, and people stop having relationships altogether, in pursuit of pleasure, from the comfort of their homes, not even having to deal with physical people. 
My time as a fisherman
I recall my time in the peace corps, in Zambia Africa, working as a fisherman. I ate fish for about a year straight. Nothing but fish, every single night. This was the food that was most available, as I lived on a lake, and had access to the water. We ate every part of the fish, the head, the eyes, the guts, all of it. I got to know all sorts of fish, consumed my fair share to the point where I have no desire to eat it ever again.
You see, in these villages, protein is one of the most critical aspects of nutrition that is needed to give people energy and power. In the morning, people load up on carbs, particularly maize, so that they can fill their bellies, and give themselves that feeling a fullness, to power through the day.
We must recognize the power of food, and the abundance of it that we have here in the states. There are some places in the world, that rely on the catch from a fisherman as their source of protein. People work, simply to eat. They’re not working, to buy things, and flex on others. Perhaps my peace corps service, working as a fisherman, was one of my most paradigm shifting moments, that sets things into perspective for me, and has me appreciate the simple things in life, and the abundance that we have here in the United States.
Modern entertainment is boring? 
There is no amount of TV shows or movies, video games, that will entertain me. I think that most modern entertainment is boring these days at best. This is where I believe the power of photography is. It’s ability to provide novelty and entertainment within your everyday life beats all modern entertainment. For when you have a camera in hand, you can go out there into the unknown, into the chaos, and find meaning in it. I thrive with a camera, because I know that there is always an opportunity to create something from nothing. I believe that we should become producers, and stop being consumers. The more I produce, photograph, and create, the more entertained, I become.
The world is a stage, and the drama of life, is more entertaining than any thing I can passively observe, and consume, from the comfort of my home. The adventure of a lifetime is waiting, outside your door, just pick up a camera, and go. 
I could die tomorrow and be happy
At the end of the day, I could die tomorrow, and have lived a full, and meaningful life. Our experiences are what shape our reality, and we should champion them. We should seek to live to the fullest potential, and overcome ourselves. By embracing danger, and adventure, we can become the most interesting person alive. Some people, live their whole lives, as a passive bystander, on standby. But when you are an active participant, in life itself, existing on the front lines of life, you move forward, with strife, on a featherbed, unscathed and untouched, as the sheer curiosity, and courage you possess, will carry you through the chaos. 
Fear not and go forward, with adventure in mind. The adventurous, interesting path, is the best path. Don’t be basic, and conform to the modern world. We must go beyond this place, this, seemingly bamal, mundane, daily existence of life, and champion it, uplifting it to new heights, through your direct experiences, are what shape the way in which you view this life.
Choose the path of most resistance, and don’t take the easy route. When I tell you, the feeling you get, after conquering a mountain, making a photograph, in the midst of conflict, traveling far and wide, or in your backyard, chatting with and meeting new people, going to new places, experiencing things, trying new things, these are the ways in which you can live life, and give it meaning. When you feel that sensation of meaning, it fuels your lust for life. When you have a life full of experience, you are now prepared for death. For you fear not of it. As the next day, is merely a blessing, to be alive. And because of your ability, to champion mankind, you thrive. For you know that life is meaningful, and have lived through experiences, that shapes the most extraordinary reality that you could ever dream of.