Here are 10 good books I read in 2019, in no particular order: —

A million thoughts race through my head as I type, backspace, type, backspace, seemingly unable to get the right words onto the page. Today is the last day of the year, of the decade. It’s all just a construct but there’s something so definitive about the year ending. Like many other humans, I like a fresh start. But this year, especially so. 2019 has been a tough one. Not that good things didn’t happen. They did. And it’s not…

I found this old post I did back in 2011… The thief of time “I could not forbear to reproach myself for having so long neglected what was unavoidably to be done, and of which every moment’s idleness increased the difficulty.” This could not have been said any better than by Samuel Johnson, eighteenth…

An excerpt on melancholy and the meaning of life — But five years ago something very strange began to happen to me. At first I began having moments of bewilderment, when my life would come to a halt, as if I did not know how to live or what to do; I would lose my presence of mind and fall…

On postponing — A close friend once told me that he’s constantly waiting for life to begin. That he’s afraid his life will be over before it really began. It’s a sentiment that many of us have, at one point or another, enter our minds. …

On anxiety and the endless loop in my brain — I am eleven years old. I walk into my class, pull out my wooden chair, and sit down at my wooden desk. I put my hands into the shelf and pull out my books. I look down and see a cockroach, twirling its nasty antennae at me. I did a…

My thoughts on gratitude, as the kind of person who likes to make fun of #blessed — I’m skeptical. I pride myself in being a logical person. Lately, I’ve been facing a challenge — one of gratitude. It started with a story. You know, one of those stories where the author starts off with the worst day possible and when things really hit rock bottom, they decided…

On the depression that stays — There are many stories about depression. The dark times, the empty void, the downward spiral. Yet, many triumphant survivors tell of their success. How they beat depression. How they overcame depression. How they came back out stronger, better, happier and healthier. But what about those of us who are still…

On being reactionary to suicide and unintentionally ignoring the epidemic of pain and suffering facing kids. — Last week, a 13 year old girl jumped to her death. The school press release said the girl had good grades, was outgoing and well-liked by teachers and peers, and was a part of the school choir and badminton team. Young people dying from suicide elicits a deep, deep sense of tragedy like no other. Young people, it seems, should be…