A (0:01)

Good morning. It's a good morning. I've been brewing up so much. So much tea on my new tea set. And it's like. It's absolutely divine. Like, the. The style I got. The lady was telling me, she's like, this is, like, how the emperors would, like, sip their tea. And I was like, real bougie. I like it. I'm gonna start collecting it a little bit more of a elegant tea set. A lot of my. A lot of my tea sets are kind of like vintage vibes or like, just a classic, you know, glass ones. I have a lot of cool ones, but now I'm gonna get into, like, the real elegant ones, like ancient Chinese emperor philosopher vibes. You know, we gotta have fun with life. We gotta place joy and meaning into the little things. You know, the other day when I was getting some tea downtown, when I was going back to my car, which was, like, parked in, like, an alley, and it was pouring that day, like, it was raining. Like, the skies were bawling in tears. And I think it might have been, like, the first day in a while. I also felt, like, really cold. Like, my hands were stinging if they were outside of my pockets for too long, you know, like, that type of cold. So I was uncomfortable. I'm, like, racing back to my car to get into that warmth. And I also have, like, a black tea latte in my hand, so that was helping me out. But as I was going to my car, I noticed something. I noticed somebody wrapped in a blanket on the ground, curled up with a pillow. Now, I couldn't see them at all because they were completely underneath the blanket, but I could tell somebody was under there. And the pillow kind of struck me. I don't know why. I guess I never really see someone who is sleeping on the street with a pillow. But regardless, I couldn't even begin to fathom how that individual felt. Like I was cold while holding a latte in my hand. And it's raining, it's pouring, and this individual is curled up on the cement in the rain with a dirty blanket and pillow on top of them. And I was just like, I couldn't get in my car and leave without at least offering a little bit of. Little bit of warmth. You know, there's, like, this really popular soup spot just around the corner. So I was like, hey, let me go grab some soup for this person. And, you know, just before I go home for the day. And I always struggle with this reality, regardless. Like, when you help someone out in extreme situations like that, it's Kind, but you just know it's never enough. Right? Like, the gesture is kind, but in reality, like, their life doesn't change. They just get, like, a brief moment of relief before hunger sets in again or before the cold creeps right back in. But I just reminded myself in that moment, like, a few minutes of warmth right now is better than none at all. So I ordered, like, a big noodle soup with beef, something that, you know, might at least make their stomach feel a little bit real satiated. And then I approached them and I. I didn't want to startle them, and I was just like, excuse me. And there was like a pause, and then this, like, voice came out of the blanket. Very shaky, like a terrified voice, but very innocent, very soft. It was actually a girl. And I was like, oh, my God, this is a girl under the blanket, in the cold, on the cement, like in a rough area. And I just placed a bag down beside her, and I just said, hey, I'm just leaving this here for you. It's. It's soup. It's some food. And. And I'm like, have a good day. And I just walked away. And I. When I jumped into my car, I looked in the rear view mirror, and then I saw her hand pop out of the blanket, and she grabbed the bag and brought it right back in. Right? So obviously this girl's, like, very terrified. Like, she's just. Oh, man, I would be as well. And then like two seconds after that, she puts the bag back outside of the blanket. So I imagine she grabbed the soup and just put the bag out. I was like, okay, cool. Like, she received the food. Awesome. And I'm about to leave, and then like five seconds later, I notice she sticks her arm out again and she lights the bag on fire. And I was like, yo, what is she doing? And then the fire caught quick. Like, it blazed up high. And I'm sitting there watching, like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, I was almost. Almost like, gonna panic a bit because I'm like, is she trying to harm herself? Like, the. The fire is, like, literally touching the pillow and the blanket. I'm like, damn. Like, what did I just do? But then I realized, oh, she just made a campfire for herself. She literally lit the bag on fire just to feel the heat, just to feel the warmth of that fire. And it blazed for like maybe 30, 45 sec, maybe a minute at most. But in that moment, it hit me like, this is survival in its rawest forms. Because of her situation. Her natural reaction was to light whatever was flammable on fire to generate warmth even. Even if it's just for a moment. And that made me think about how we generate warmth in our own lives. You know, most of us, like if we're physically cold, we could go inside, we can turn off the heat, we can wrap ourselves in a blanket, pour a hot jasmine green tea for ourselves. But for her, warmth was not given. It's not her standard, it's not her default. It has to be created. It has to be seized at any opportunity, even if it's only for a fleeting moment. Like that bag was only flaming for a minute. But I was sitting there while I was watching that, I was like, wow, that is a metaphor for life. Like there are people in this world, many of us who are. Who will find ourselves emotionally, mentally or spiritually cold. Spiritually cold. And maybe we've been left out in the rain too long by life's circumstances, or abandoned by love or worn down by struggle after struggle after struggle, loss after loss after loss. And sometimes when life gets cold, it's almost as if we accept it. Like this is our life. Now my life is mundane. It's cold, it's dull. But we have to create our own fire by any means necessary. That fire doesn't just come from anywhere either. It comes from recognizing the small things we can do to fan that flame within and ignite warmth within ourselves. You know, our highest form of nutrition is in our expression. The warmth I feel when I finally move past that resistance and procrastination and I write, I create, I make music, I go on, I create connection. Even a good conversation is art. Or we go and we take action, making action our new spiritual practice. We show up for ourselves that creates warmth. Sometimes it's the comfort of a familiar voice when you need it most, or strangers kindness and like an unexpected moment. And it's like the courage to keep going even when everything in you wants to stop. Sometimes we just want to melt away, right? Sometimes we just want to melt away. We're just like, man, I'm tired. But we have to keep on going. Often we forget to create that warmth. We're expecting it to come from outside of ourselves. We wait for someone to hand us warmth instead of learning how to generate it for ourselves. And then, you know, sometimes we're scrolling the screens searching for something that makes us feel a little less empty. Many of us, yeah, we get caught up. We stay in relationships or mindsets, maybe a job that leaves us cold, hoping that one day that warmth will just arrive. But warmth doesn't work that way, it's not something you wait for. It's something you create. That's what I realized this weekend. Because yesterday I was talking about how I got a new place and I'm going to move back into the city. And just making that move, it's already. It feels so warm already. Like not accepting the cold, but saying, hey, where can I create a little fire in my life and start to fan that flame? Think about how a fire is made. It takes friction. It takes effort. You have to strike a match, rub the sticks together, create movement, create energy. You don't just sit there in the dark and hope for the fire appear. You don't just sit for lightning to come. You have to work for it. And the same goes with our life. How often do we expect things to change without putting in the effort? How often do we sit in the cold waiting for someone else to wrap us in a blanket? You know, the truth is, nobody is coming to save you. Not in the way that you think. But that doesn't mean that warmth is out of reach. It means you have to reach for it yourself. This is about internal warmth, emotional warmth. Because all of us, if you're listening to this right now, you have warmth on your skin. That lady in the street, she didn't even have warmth on her skin. So today, me and you, we're already in a better situation. We're talking about that internal warmth, the kind that fills you up even when the world around you is cold. The kind that makes you feel alive, radiating. And if you think about it, the people who radiate warmth the most are often the ones who have learned how to create their own fires. Because they've been through those cold nights. They've known hunger. Maybe not for food, but for love, for meaning, for purpose. And instead of letting the cold consume them, they learned how to generate their own light. They didn't wait for someone to rescue them. They found warmth in their creativity and their resilience and their ability to keep on going. They fanned that flame. Then us, too. We can build that warmth within ourselves. But first we have to acknowledge, damn, I'm cold. Damn, I'm cold. Mentally cold. Emotionally cold. Spiritually cold. Where in your life do you feel cold? Where in your life do you feel frozen? Where in your life do you feel numb? And have you accepted that numbness? Where do you feel like you're just surviving instead of living? Have you put life on pause like I did? Like how I said I was like, oh, I'll start living my life two years from now where. How. How can you start living today, truly, and then take action? We have to create friction, movement. That might mean reaching out to, you know, someone. When you're feeling isolated, it might mean getting up and going outside. When your mind feels heavy, it might mean writing that book. Creating, expressing. Even if you don't feel like it. Even if you don't feel like it because you're creating friction, and friction creates a flame. It ignites a flame. It might mean choosing gratitude to be your main attitude, even when it is so hard to. It might mean going and creating something that you can be grateful for. And most importantly, while we are developing this inner warmth, we have to learn how to be a warmth for others as well. Friends, family, strangers. We can radiate that warmth and let it spread. One person's fire can lighten others, right? Fire is contagious. It spreads quick. You know, a simple act of kindness and gratitude, a small moment of connection, can make all the difference to someone who's struggling. I was somewhere the other day, and someone recognized me, and they're like, man, are you still making content? I was like, yeah, yeah. I still got my podcast going, and not so much on YouTube right now, but I told them. I'm like, we had a. We had a death in the family, and I decided to take time off and just, you know, embrace a slower tempo. And he's like, oh, man. And he looked at me, like, in a way where he's only seen me through the screen, and he's only seen me, like, you know, drinking my tea, being a little vibe. And he's like, man. He's like, everybody goes through it, huh? And I was like, yeah, everybody goes through it. He's like, man, that's. That's crazy. And I told him. I'm like, that's why you really got to show up every day and try to be kind to people, because you don't know what people are going through. Like, you just truly don't know. That person could be carrying so much weight, all the burden in the world. You don't know what they lost, who they have lost, how much they are trying their best just to. Just to walk, just to breathe. Sometimes. People in this world love to tear people down, not realizing their humanity. They're human. Listen, we can keep people accountable. Accountable. But we have to do it from a place of love and respect. And that warmth we offer somebody else can truly transform their life, can be the pivotal moment.