Abandon Your Superstitions

Starting now, abandon superstition.

We’ve been addicted to superstition for centuries. We’ve burned witches, we’ve danced for rain, we’ve prayed. It all feeds into a grand narrative that convinces us we aren’t in control of our lives. We tell ourselves that things will improve if we do this or that, but it’s not true. It’s never been true. We’ve been happily lying to ourselves the whole time.

I know why we do it, and I’m not going to pretend I don’t fall into the trap sometimes. It’s comforting to be able to look out the window and think that someone is watching over us. It’s encouraging to believe that something will ensure that everything works out for us. But by perpetuating these practices you aren’t just wasting your time and energy, you’re preventing yourself from making real progress.

Touching wood won't protect your loved ones. Crossing your fingers doesn't mean things are more likely to work out. None of this matters. There's no such thing as luck. Luck is people writing the unconnected events in our lives into a fallacious narrative. The only things that change our lives are people, everything else is chaos.

Accepting this is critical. Being honest with ourselves is the first step towards taking back our lives, to getting our hands back on the wheel. It means swallowing bitter pills like accountability, responsibility and honesty. But the prize is worth chasing. Only real things lead to real consequences and the sooner you stop looking elsewhere for assistance or guidance, the better.

The Road to Relics →

Words, music and photos are three of the things I love the most.

With this in mind, I put together a behind-the-scenes post for my band's site. It was fun to recount some of the stories that went into the making of our new video. I actually haven't posted the clip here, so be sure to take a look at our hard work at the bottom of the post.

Food is travel

Food is the glue of an overseas adventure. It doesn't matter whether you're at local restaurant, grabbing something on the street or are invited the home of a local; food is a wonderful encapsulation of what we love about travel.

Because cultures orbit around their dinner tables, eating is necessarily cultural participation. Restauranteurs, chefs and cart-holders are true creatives, fusing culinary traditions with local produce and modern influences. They are as important to the understanding of a modern society as painters, musicians and authors; maybe more important.

When we are overseas, we eat together. Someone is always headed for a bite somewhere interesting, and what better way to get to know new people than to dine? Few things are as disarming and egalitarian as sitting in a new location with new people and a new menu. Everyone around the table is equal.

A meal is a fleeting moment overloaded with sensory information. You taste, smell, see, hear and perhaps touch your meal, and then it's gone. Except that a great (or an average) meal is never gone. They live as long in our memories as anything we do, and we eat a thousand times a year. And because we often do not have as high expectations of meals as we do of mountain ranges, we are often surprised and delighted. Great meals reach deep into our hearts.

And apart from the occasional fancy turn, food is relatively affordable. Accommodation, flights and other adventures are far more expensive than the amount you might set aside for meals. Food provides a disproportionate amount of joy compared with the cost of a nice hotel room or a decent day trip.

Eating is one of our great commonalities. Everyone has to eat, and trying something new is enriching for the soul and for the mind. When travelling, there is much joy in fresh perspectives on food and life.