The Unlikely Buddha

When my friend’s father passed away, I could see the weight of grief pressing down on him. His eyes, once bright with laughter, were now clouded with sorrow. He struggled to make sense of the loss, asking questions that had no answers: Why him? Why now? As I sat with him in his pain, I found myself reflecting on what Buddhism teaches about loss and how it might help him navigate this difficult time. The Weight of Impermanence One evening, as we talked about his father’s life, my friend said something that struck me deeply: “I just thought he’d always be here.”* His words reminded me of the Buddhist teaching on impermanence ( anicca ), the idea that everything in life is transient—our possessions, relationships, and even our own lives. I shared with him a simple analogy: “Think of a flower,” I said. “It blooms beautifully for a short time, but eventually it wilts and fades. We don’t love the flower any less because it’s temporary—in fact, its fleeting nature makes it ...

Imagine standing on Earth one moment, and in the next, the entire planet transforms into a sphere of fresh, uncompressed blueberries. What would happen to you as the planet undergoes its transformation? Anders Sandberg ’s thought experiment, "Blueberry Earth," explores this bizarre scenario in scientific detail, and when viewed from a human perspective, it becomes a harrowing tale of survival against the forces of gravity, thermodynamics, and planetary collapse. Here’s the story of Blueberry Earth as it unfolds. The Beginning: A Strange New World One moment you're standing on solid ground, and the next, Earth has become a giant sphere of blueberries. The surface beneath your feet is soft and squishy, made entirely of fresh blueberries packed together but not compressed. You notice several immediate changes: 1. Gravity Feels Different :    - Earth's gravitational pull has dropped dramatically. The blueberries are far less dense than Earth's...

The Narrative Self: The Stories That Define Us We are storytellers by nature. From the moment we begin to make sense of the world, we construct narratives—internalized stories about who we are, what we value, and how we fit into the larger tapestry of life. These stories, collectively known as the narrative self , are more than just reflections of our experiences; they are the framework through which we interpret reality, make decisions, and navigate relationships.  Our personal narratives give our lives coherence. They connect our past to our present and shape our vision for the future. They tell us who we are, what we’re capable of, and what we deserve. But these stories aren’t always empowering—they can be riddled with negativity, self-doubt, and limiting beliefs that hold us back.  Similarly, our moral narratives—the stories we tell ourselves about right and wrong—can influence how we perceive others. These narratives often provide a sense of identity a...