The Force of Fate

Every morning, I start my day at the precipice, on top of the cliff, looking out towards the Schuylkill River. Every human’s fate is predetermined, and that is our inevitable death. I feel a call to action each day, gazing out towards the horizon, reminding myself how open and endless this world is for us to explore and conquer. I remind myself that I must become the most vital, alive version of myself in order to embrace the chaos, and find myself reaching towards my goal to evolve. I stand on the cliff like a lighthouse in the dark, shining bright into the unknown from now to eternity.

Light and Dark

The first video game I remember falling in love with as a young boy was Kingdom Hearts on the PlayStation. The main character, Sora, starts off on Destiny Island, standing at the precipice, gazing out to the horizon of the ocean. As he and his friends gather wood to craft a raft to leave the island, they contemplate if there are other worlds out there and have a call to adventure. Eventually, a portal to darkness appears, taking one of the boys. Sora, however, follows the light, wields the light as his weapon, through the use of his keyblade, to fight against the darkness, and to unlock the door to Kingdom Hearts.

I believe we all have a struggle within between light and dark. It’s very easy to allow darkness to consume us, and to go down the path of evil, hedonism, and destruction. When we are in the dark, there is often a goal of acquiring immense power through nefarious means. Despite this darkness, I believe within every single soul there is light waiting to shine for all the world to see. Perhaps we must all look inward, becoming our authentic self, through removing the external distractions of the modern world from our lives, in order to find that inner light, and let it shine bright.

“Change is the result of strife and necessity,” – Heraclitus

Without struggle, there is no opportunity for change or growth. The most obvious example I have is a physical one, in relation to physical fitness, and hypertrophy. The more you use your muscles, the more they will increase in strength and size. Also, consider photography, and our photographic muscles. The more you use your camera, the more successful your photographs will become. If change is our ultimate goal, to evolve, then we must embrace strife openly, as a necessary part of our journey. Through the fire and flames, we become tempered by it, becoming harder, faster, and stronger. No pain, no gain.

Cultivating Vitality

We must increase our vitality, and create the strongest body, mind, and soul imaginable. Nothing can break your spirit, nothing can break your lust for life, with increased vitality and vigor. Say no to drugs, alcohol, bars, clubs, festivals, gossip, news, media, etc. Peel the leeches from your skin/life or any toxic people that bring you misery. Avoid miserable people like the plague, and reject darkness.

What is the number one thing in this modern world that decreases our vitality?

Consider the iPhone like the soma drug from Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. This drug, in the novel, causes mass sedation amongst the people, keeping everybody perfectly in line and domesticated like dogs. Everybody is perfectly content, given just the right amount of food, and entertainment, to distract the masses from becoming their most vital and alive selves. We may have never found the weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, but the weapon of mass distraction sits in your front right pocket.

I believe the connection between our mind and our body is most critical to consider when discussing vitality. For the past two years, I’ve adopted a 100% carnivore diet, fasting throughout the day, and eating one massive meal at night. This past weekend, I visited Ocean City with some family, and was invited to join them at a restaurant. The problem I have with Italian culture is that you oftentimes feel guilty for not eating. At any gathering, not this one specifically, but in the context of Easter, Christmas, etc., you’re always encouraged to “eat eat eat!” Italians just love to eat, and you feel shame and guilt if you don’t eat that homemade pasta, cookies, etc. At the restaurant, I ordered a steak; however, it came with a salad and some sides. I told the waitress to hold the onion rings, but inevitably wound up eating a salad and some beets. I realized that I should’ve avoided eating these beets, as they are extremely high in fiber. I was unaware of this, and thought to myself that it wouldn’t be such a big deal to eat other food groups for once as a change of pace. However, this had me rushing straight to the bathroom, and leaving my gut feeling upset for at least a half an hour. I felt really bad, and it was obvious that the beets caused this feeling. This experience reminded me of why I cut these foods out of my life, and I think of cows and how they shit so much. Think of a cow, grazing in the grass, constantly eating the grass, and shitting all throughout the day. The reason why these cows poop so much is because the grass is very high in fiber. I also realized, actually, in grocery stores and advertisements how foods high in fiber are often promoted as this great thing for your health. I’m extremely skeptical of this, as what this high fiber intake does is deplete nutrients, removing all of the good stuff from the foods you eat, immediately upon release in the bathroom. I understand that I’m getting a bit graphic here, but also, your shit stinks when you eat this fiber or vegetable food. Your poop does not smell, and is a normal size when you eat meat. You have regular bowel movements each morning, consistently. Also, you never fart when you eat meat. Let’s just eat more cows, and let them eat the grass for us. Don’t be a cow.

So, let’s be critical about our gut health, and how we can achieve a supreme state of being. By fasting, I have a clear connection between my mind and my body, removing all brain fog caused by digesting various food groups. However, when you remove all the food groups and solely consume meat, you never feel bloated; you simply feel satiated, full of strength and vitality. If you’re in Philadelphia, Nabrasa is the best restaurant for carnivores, and is way better than Fogo de Chão.

Let’s follow the light as a source of life, goodness, truth, and knowledge. Not only does light represent all of these things, but the sun itself increases our vigor and vitality. Think of our cellular structures and the role that cholesterol plays in synthesizing vitamin D within our body. Through increasing our exposure to sunlight and meat intake, or simply eating more cholesterol, we are consuming a natural steroid, synthesizing our vitamin D, and increasing our testosterone. Let’s think on the metabolic level, down to the cells of our body, and how we can nourish them with the goodness of the sunlight by basking in it more.

Political Division

It seems like we’re more divided than ever in the United States, where we separate our parties, left and right, red and blue, Democrat and Republican. I see a middle ground, in the color purple, where we can unite together as one United States. Think of the idea of the United States, coming together as a solid nation, in defiance of tyranny from Great Britain. It seems like people are filled with hatred towards the opposing parties these days, and spew nothing but hatred towards one another. Let’s try to find balance, unity, and strength as one people, under one nation. How can we achieve this? I suppose by only speaking positive things into the world, and never spewing negative energy towards another person. For me, it seems so silly when I hear people talk so much shit about Donald Trump, or Kamala Harris, when they’ve never met the person, heard them speak in person, and only have an idea of who they are through a few articles they read, or they saw on the TV. Stop letting the shadows on the screen determine your perception of reality.

Create a New Tradition

You can’t fit me into your matrix life.

Let’s create a new tradition, one that aligns us with nature and the highest versions of ourselves. Have you noticed that our modern world is domesticating us like zoo animals? You sit down, shut up, take orders, surround yourself in a comfortable environment with artificial lighting and air conditioning for eight hours per day, to serve a corporation, a bank, or some company. We’re modern slaves, denying our physiology in pursuit of material wealth. This is the matrix, and something we should avoid at all costs. How can we achieve this freedom, how can we glitch out of the map, or the matrix? Think more critically about your health, your physical well-being, and what you truly need versus what you don’t need from this world. What I truly need is sunlight, fresh air, water, and meat. Unfortunately, these things cannot be found in these modern workspaces. These places promote the decline of the physical body, the decline of our highest good, our highest vital nature as a human being. To me, this is inhumane, and something to become more skeptical about. Don’t take the soma, and wake up.

When I walk through the streets, I am an active participant in the drama that unfolds. I am the conductor of the orchestra or the play, and all of the actors are upon my stage. I direct them where they need to be. Spontaneity and serendipity are my guides, my muse in life. However, I am not simply an actor on the stage, but an active participant, engaged in the eternal now. When I’m moving my physical body through the streets, I exist outside the passage of time, in a blissful state, through recognizing the patterns in both nature and human behavior, putting order to the chaos on a street corner. I’m not just a passive observer in life; it’s important for me to become an active participant in the world.

I think the reason why people treat the streets poorly in this modern world is because nobody owns anything. Most people in the city rent or live within small apartments and condos. Because of this, there’s a lack of connection to the city, the street, or any sense of pride and ownership in things. Have you heard that saying, “drive it like a rental?”

The other day, while walking through Rittenhouse Square Park, I saw a homeless man pull his pants fully down, urinating, with his genitals out, facing directly towards the public. I’ve used public restrooms where homeless people are shaving, washing themselves, etc., and then go off ranting about how they want to grab a gun and shoot people. These homeless people are a threat to our society and our city, and we should probably start doing something about it. The more we let this problem bubble up in our cities, and the more we are merely renters within this modern world, the more chaos that will inevitably be on display in our streets. Men need a sense of ownership and pride in their city, something higher than themselves to strive towards, but the modern world rejects this, domesticates us, and is the reason why you see so many homeless men wandering about, causing chaos.

Beauty and Architecture

Beauty is important. Beauty inspires. Beauty moves the individual to strive for something greater. When I look at the clock tower of City Hall, or gaze at the Free Library of Philadelphia’s columns, I’m inspired by the beauty of architecture. When I gaze at a sculpture of an eagle, thousands of feathers carved by hand, built of bronze, standing underneath a tall ceiling, while listening to the world’s largest playing pipe organ, here in Philadelphia at the Wanamaker Building, I feel as though my soul transcends this world into the realm of the divine. Great art, and beauty in general, has a very significant impact on the well-being of a flourishing society. Think of the building across from City Hall, the Municipal Services Building, where our taxes are collected. This brutalist piece of architecture dampens the human spirit, and reminds me of the prison holding cells near Old City in Philadelphia. It just looks like a big beehive, where the bees go into their little pods, to toil. The outward-facing architecture quite literally dampens the human spirit, and is simply ugly. When you enter this building, they have a display of a historic moment in Philadelphia. However, this historic moment is not George Washington crossing the Delaware River, but it’s the complete opposite. They have an entire display dedicated to the “MOVE bombing” that occurred on May 13, 1985, where the Philadelphia police burned down an entire block in West Philadelphia during clashes between the police and a radical, anti-establishment collective with a militant stance against systemic racism and police brutality that turned violent. Can you imagine going into the office each day, reminding yourself of this tragic history, this terrible event that occurred in your city, and then joyfully marching into your office? The only way I can describe this is strange. I’m highly suspicious of why this is on display, and why these buildings are built this way. Also, City Hall is beautiful on the outside, but if you have to work inside, it’s a tragedy. It’s dusty, dingy, and the lighting is poor.

Destiny is Calling

Let the chips fall as they may. Embrace the force of fate, align with nature, and embrace change. Let’s bring more beautiful things into this world, through the creation of photographs, or works of art.

Our fate is change. This is inevitable. Evolve, transform, align with nature and leave this modern world behind. It is time to give birth to a greater version of ourselves. Send your mind and your body through the fire.

If you’re not moving, you’re dying.