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“What is the meaning of life?” 

This is probably the oldest and most asked question that humanity is still trying to answer and while there is no global answer to this question, I do think it’s important for us all to attempt to find our own answers and then apply it over the top of our lives as we’re living it. 

Now, all I can do is offer my personal observations as to what I think the meaning of life is so, here goes…

Asking a question such as this assumes that the concept of what life is about is constant for everyone at the same time. It also assumes that life is something that happens directly to you and therefore your reactions to life determines what you do within it.

With that in mind, some people have come to the conclusion that our life paths are predetermined by a God, the universe, fate or some other external mechanism and the meaning of our lives are one of the same for all and are already laid out before us.

Apparently, all we need to do is find the path and then walk it, but my take on all this is that…

Life (in itself) has no meaning or purpose to it. Life is just… LIFE. 

There’s no agenda to life, life isn’t out to get you, there are no predetermined grand plans to your life whirring away in the background without you knowing it, no divine interventions and no hidden meanings. 

Life is a blank canvas and we are but the paint that is applied to it creating whatever we choose to create onto it. Life is merely the environment, the space that we as human beings inhabit within. 

Always remember, the sun will rise in the morning and set in the evening whether we exist or not.

This doesn’t mean however, that we can’t find meaning and purpose to our lives, it just means that we need to internally define what that meaning and purpose is for ourselves (and only for ourselves) rather than us trying to find the meaning and purpose externally.

Therefore, there is no “THE meaning of life” but “A meaning of life” which is as unique and as individual as we all are. Meaning and purpose can be defined for ourselves through the continual process of knowing ourselves. 

Therefore, the meaning that we all seek then becomes the by-product of a greater knowledge of ourselves, not the other way around.

On a personal note, I have taken my own advice and applied these conclusions to my own existence and from doing this, a whole new perspective on where I fit in this thing called life has been developing for me. 

I’ll make sure that I share these new perspectives in later posts but what I’ve found is that finding my own meaning and purpose through self exploration will over time create a sense of peace and calm in myself which will slowly permeate into everything else that I do.

This meaning and purpose to life is of course a dynamic and fluid thing and can always change at any time but having the knowledge that I am in control of the paintbrush and it not being controlled by someone (or something) else gives me a greater sense of freedom to just… BE.

What do you think is the answer to the meaning of life? Does the very thought of it make your head hurt or, is it a question that you actively strive to find the answer for? 

Let me know what conclusions you come up with as it would make for a very interesting discussion in the future.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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Be yourself. Everyone else is taken

Oscar Wilde

Did you know that YOU are the only YOU that exists right now? Did you also know that YOU are the only YOU that has ever existed and will ever exist?

Think about that for just a moment…

This means that from the time the universe came into being 13.8 billion years ago until the last supermassive black hole has evaporated (in about 10^100 years) there will only ever be one of YOU.

Very recently the Earth’s population surpassed 8 billion people and out of all those people, only one of them is YOU.

Did you know that the number of people that have ever existed on this planet since the dawn of human history is estimated to be around 117 billion but still, out of all those people, only one of them is YOU.

To put things into a greater perspective, it is said that the odds of YOU being created as uniquely YOU (and not your siblings, if you have any) via your parents’ egg and sperm joining together is a staggering 1 in 400 quadrillion (that’s 400,000,000,000,000,000,000).

To expand this even further, as YOU represent an unbroken lineage of around 150K generations that go all the way back to single celled organisms, the odds of 150K generations of successful fertilisation to ensure that YOU exist right now is a staggering 1 in 10^2,685,000 (10 followed by 2,685,000 zeros)

That’s not bad considering that the estimated number of atoms in the universe is around 10^80 atoms. When you think about it… YOU are the greatest miracle that exists today.

So, what does this all mean? 

Well, it means that if YOU are the only YOU that exists, has ever existed and will ever exist then, everything that makes up YOU, being your experiences, your childhood, the different environments you’ve lived in and the choices that you’ve made, will be completely and uniquely YOU.

This also means that your perspectives on life, your thoughts and feelings, your values and judgements, your views of the world and what you create from all of that will also be completely and uniquely YOU.

So think about that the next time you stare at the blank piece of paper before you start writing or, the blank canvas before you start painting or, a random lump of clay before you start sculpting or, an empty DAW before you start recording because YOU are the originality of your songs, painting, writing, sculpture or anything that you create and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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Now that today is the first day of 2023, I thought I’d start off the year on a positive note and list five things in 2022 that I’m thankful for.

I’m sure that if I thought about it a bit more I’d come up with a bigger list than the five things below but, I reckon it’s a good start.

The Great Move Of 2022

Every day I am thankful for the fact that I had the courage to sell up and move down to the Fleurieu eventually ending up at Yankalilla.

It would’ve been easy to have the thoughts of moving but not act on them but thankfully I didn’t listen to my fear.

I also had Mara’s voice in my head egging me on and for anyone who knew Mara, she was a very persuasive individual and for that alone, I am thankful.

My Family

I wouldn’t be where I am now if I wasn’t able to stay with Mum and Dad for all that time I was looking for a house.

It gave me an opportunity to not worry about the rental transition between one house to another and it gave my dog Charlie a lot of room to move around as our old place had no real yard to speak of.

My sister and her tribe plus my extended family have all made sure that I know they have my back with everything that has happened to me plus the choices I have made over the last 3 years or so.

For their unconditional love and support, I am truly thankful.

Charlie The Groodle

Speaking about Charlie, I am so thankful that I have him around to remind me that life is not all about the self, it’s also about looking after others.

Being a fur-parent has taught me a lot of lessons about responsibility and mindfulness that I would otherwise have missed out on as I don’t have children of my own.

For that I’m also thankful.

He makes me laugh and at the same time frustrates the hell out of me. He is the perfect way for me to learn more about myself.

My Friends

As well as my family, my friends are the people that makes life worth living and are one of the reasons that I get out of bed in the morning.

As a songwriter and musician, most of my friends are in the music industry but there are other friends who aren’t musicians and they really give me well rounded perspective on the world through the lives that they lead and the conversations that we have.

I am thankful for each and every one of my friends (you all know who you are).

My Music

Where would I be without music? I ask myself this question from time to time and I can’t really come up with an answer.

Or, maybe I don’t want to come with an answer at all. It’s just too scary to think about as music is what I am, not what I do.

Very soon I’ll be treading the boards again either as a solo artist or in a duo and this time around I will not be taking the opportunities presented to me or the audiences that I’ll find myself playing in front of for granted.

I am thankful that I have the ability to either work from home either in a recording or web development capacity or work as a professional gigging musician performing my own music or a hybrid between my songs and covers.

2023 is the year that I truly back myself and my abilities to ensure that I create the life that I want to live by doing the things that are necessary for this creative life to happen.

What things have happened to you in 2022 that you are thankful for? Let me know, I’d love to have a chat about it with you.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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Since I moved down to the Fleurieu at the start of March, my primary goal was to buy a house and set myself up for the next phase of my life. 

I wanted to find a place where I could work and escape from the world at the same time and as of a few days ago, this goal has been realised. 

Yes… I’ve just bought a house in Yankalilla.

I’ll get the keys on November 8th and after some cosmetic tweaks to the inside such as a new kitchen, polishing floorboards and a new coat of paint, it’ll be ready for Charlie and I to move in and make our own.

It feels good to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as there were a few times in the house hunting process that my hopes had been dashed but this time though, I got what I was looking for.

I’ll now be able to work and record from home in an environment that will be more conducive to productivity and creativity.

Living with Mum and Dad has been absolutely wonderful but the space I worked in was always a temporary one and therefore the atmosphere was always going to be different, more restless and slightly inhibited.

I’m now looking forward to creating more, working more, relaxing more and just “being” more because now that I have my own place… I can do what I bloody well like.

Pics will come soon.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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In an earlier post I wrote about what the famous quote attributed to Socrates… “the unexamined life is not worth living” means to me and how I can utilise mindfulness (which I believe is inferred in the quote) in my day to day life.

What I hadn’t mentioned is what might happen when you stop using mindfulness to examine your life and start falling into the bad habit of living life on autopilot.

This is what has happened to me.

Firstly, a few days ago I got booked for speeding not by a speed camera but by a police officer with a mobile radar device. It was around 9:30pm on the Wistow to Strathalbyn road and I was doing 111km/h in a 100km/h zone.

Why was I doing 11km/h over the speed limit? I just wasn’t mindful of my speed, I was concentrating on the destination rather than (the speed of) my journey and in turn I was penalised for it.

Not a good thing when you’re running out of demerit points on your licence. Yes, I have been caught speeding a number of times by speed camera and always for going about 10km/h over the limit.

That’s inattention not hooliganism.

I’m currently waiting for my fine to come through to me by post and also whether I’ve run out of demerit points which means I might lose my licence altogether for a period of time or, I might get one point back as a second chance.

Secondly, I’ve started to get migraine headaches again, culminating in one that knocked me off my feet the day after I got done for speeding (I’m sure the stress of it all didn’t help matters).

It’s times like this that my body forces me to stop and take stock of what is happening to it and what I found isn’t that good.

Since coming to Goolwa I’ve put on about 10kgs and my overall health has noticeably deteriorated because of it. All of that hard work I put in last year after my Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis was starting to fall apart fast.

I’ve gotten lazy, comfortable and content. Again, I’m eating and drinking the wrong things, at the wrong time and in the wrong portions. I haven’t been walking due to my knees being sore which is due to my weight gain.

All of this is also because of inattention, of me not being mindful of what I’m doing in my day to day life but now that I’ve caught myself doing all this, I can now get back on the mindful wagon again and get back on track.

In essence, I need to practise what I preach and walk the walk. I need to stop getting obsessed with things that take my eye off the ball and I need to stop listening to others that have a contrary view to me when it comes to my overall health and wellbeing.

I need to get back to living the examined life, the mindful life. I need to slow down, steady the ship, be still and simplify my life again because life is the greatest teacher of all and if I haven’t learnt my lessons now after what has happened to me over the last week, then I never will.

But I won’t let that happen.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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Yesterday, September 23rd, 2022 marked six months since I made the move down from Dudley Park to my parents’ place in Goolwa on the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula as a temporary measure until I found a place of my own.

In that time I’ve been busy setting up my temporary work/recording space in Dad’s shed and re-establishing my web design business ZenWeb plus getting myself ready for live performance and songwriting/recording as well.

On the house hunting front, I’ve not had that much luck of late mainly due to the current economic climate and how it’s affecting the housing market in general.

I am, however, using this situation as a perfect example of my life being the greatest teacher and it allowing me to test my patience and resilience. Although, I did think that I would be in my own place by now.

I’m also finding out pretty quickly that the SA real estate market is a fickle, ultra-competitive and ruthless game of chess mixed in with a dash of smoke and mirrors for good measure and I thought the music business was bad when it came to game playing.

Try buying a house at the moment.

In an earlier post I did write about my initial thoughts of life in Goolwa and how different it is to living in Adelaide. 

Now that six months have passed, the novelty of the move has most certainly worn off but I still really appreciate the slower pace and the general sense of peace and serenity that comes with living down here because after all, Goolwa is Australia’s first Cittaslow town. 

“What the hell does that mean?” I hear you ask. Click here to find out.

With any situation that you find yourself in whether it be where you live, the relationships you’re in or the job you work at, there are always good and bad points to experience along the way. 

It’s so very easy to find fault when you’re in a temporary situation such as mine but really, when I look at where I’m at right now, right at this very moment… I’m pretty lucky.

I’m lucky because I have the luxury of time to really seek out the best place to start the next part of my journey from and there’s so much potential ahead of me, I just can’t wait to get there.

That is what I focus on when I start feeling frustrated or doubting whether I made the right decision. In the meantime, if any of you local readers are selling a house in the vicinity of Sellicks Beach to Goolwa or, know of anyone who is… Let me know.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

(PS: Yesterday was also the 17th anniversary of the day that Mara and I first met but I’ll save that for another post)

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Well, it’s all done and dusted. The house is sold and I’m slowly but surely getting myself acclimated to life down on the Southern Fleurieu. 

I moved down to Goolwa last Wednesday (March 23rd) to my parents place initially with the view of finding my own place down this way and I’ve got to say, life in Goolwa is much different to living in Adelaide.

Firstly, the pace of life is so much slower. 

I’ve already been trying to slow down my life a bit since Mara passed away so the change in pace is not that much of a shock but I can imagine that for someone who has come straight from inner city Adelaide life, the pace of Goolwa would be a bit of a culture shock.

Secondly, I’ve been sleeping like a log.

This is amazing considering that I have had so much trouble with my sleeping patterns since… I can’t remember when but ever since I’ve moved down to Goolwa I have been going to bed earlier and getting up earlier and pretty much sleeping straight through the night.

I think no longer having the sale of the house on my mind has a lot to do with my newly found sleep but I think another reason might be that the air is much cleaner down in Goolwa. I’m not sure why that would make such a difference but to me it does.

Thirdly, the overall ambience is much quieter. 

This is because there’s not as many cars on the road, not as many people around and the location of where I’m staying is a little further away from the centre of Goolwa so not as many houses around either. 

This certainly contributes greatly to the reduction in my stress levels and my ability to just be present

Lastly… I can see the stars.

With the lack of the type of infrastructure that gives off light pollution at night, I can see a lot more stars in the sky than I ever could living in Adelaide. Granted, the numbers are less than if I was in the Flinders Ranges but what I currently see above my head still fills me with wonder.

Night time is… Dark. The way it’s meant to be and again, this is another reason why I’m sleeping so well I suppose.

Today I was able to set up my working environment hence why you’re reading this blog post. I’ve almost finished setting up the temporary recording studio and when that’s all done I can start recording music again, something I haven’t been able to do for about three months or so.

Man, I’ve really missed making music.

Once that is all done, the last piece of the puzzle is for me to find my own place so I can finally start moving forward again, living my own life while at the same time, carrying on Mara’s memory and legacy close to my heart.

I remind myself that today is the first day of the rest of my life and I intend to grab onto it and hold on for dear life with a steely determination to not waste one iota of the experience.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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Ok, I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell you all this but… I’m just going to get straight to the point.

I’ve decided that the time has come for me to pack up my things, sell the house and move down South around the Fleurieu Peninsula somewhere from a line due East from Moana to McLaren Flat all the way down to Goolwa.

This move will enable me to be first and foremost, closer to my family (who live in Goolwa and Mount Compass) plus, it will enable me to take a step closer to living in an environment where I can live the life that I want to live…

A slow, steady, simple and silent life. 

I’ve signed all of the necessary contracts which have instructed Harris Real Estate to sell the house and its hoped that things will be finalised around the end of January/beginning of February 2022.

So what does this all mean?

Well, besides having a different home and delivery address and maybe some more phone conversations or online chats via Skype or Zoom, nothing else will need to change as I’m only moving an extra 60-90 minutes away from Adelaide at the most. 

Of course, I’ll make my way to Adelaide at least once a week to meet up with clients and/or to catch up with friends and remember, there will always be a place to stay for anyone who trundles down my neck of the woods.

Most importantly though, I’ll be pulling up stumps on a life that was mostly defined by the partnership between Mara and I but now, with Mara gone, I now have to move forward with my life. This was inevitable whether it be now or later.

The fact is that the home that Mara and I had built together in Dudley Park since 2012 (yes, almost 10 years now) is now just a house that will now always have something missing in it, something that will constantly remind me of all the negative aspects of the last few years so, the time was right to make the move.

I also know that Charlie is going to have more room to run around and be a dog in rather than being either cooped up inside or navigating a tiny backyard plus, I’ll also have more studio/office space to expand SongMachine and ZenWeb into as that will be one of my requirements for the next house.

The more I get used to the concept of moving my life away from the city, the more I realise that this is what I must do and as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, one of the main lessons I’ve learned is that life is all about letting go.

I would say that this decision to move down South is the best example of me letting go of something which doesn’t serve a purpose for me anymore that I can think of.

And I’m totally fine with that.

This decision was actually something Mara and I had spoken about on a number of occasions to the point where we had decided it was going to become an eventuality.

I’m so glad that I’m able to take Mara’s memory with me as I know she will love the change in scenery.

Right now, I’m working in a somewhat limited capacity on my laptop as the studio and office computers have been packed away. I’m still able to work but it might take a little longer to get things done but this will be just a temporary inconvenience.

As I’ve only just made the decision and started the process, I really have nothing else to report as yet but I can say that I don’t know where I’ll end up but I do know that there’s a place out there with my name on it. 

All I have to do is have the trust in myself that I’ll find it.

Personally, it’s all very exciting and terrifying at the same time but I know that Mara is there with me in spirit cheering me on from wherever she is and like me, looking forward to what the next chapter will bring.

All I can say is “Watch this space…” 

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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In my last post I mentioned that 2021 was for me… “a year to consolidate my emotions and redefine my sense of meaning and purpose in life.” 

In reflection, one of the things that I realised was the way I was living my life currently was not doing me, my creativity and my health any good at all. 

So, in order to make the necessary changes needed to remedy this, I’ve decided that the way I want to live my life from now on is slow, steady, simple and silent.

Well, what does that really mean? 

A core fundamental belief of mine is that there is no “THE meaning of life” but “A meaning of life” therefore any meaning I have for my life is one that I create and insert into my existence rather than something external that I use my existence to find.

With that being said, here are my reasons for wanting to change my life and live in this way.

Slow 

First of all, there is a reason why the term “rat race” exists. Life seems to be one big rush from one event to another without taking into consideration why the rush is happening in the first place.

We as a society have been duped into believing that the world is a fast paced, busy place and only the fastest, busiest and most ruthless with their time and energy will survive it. 

This has permeated into the toxic world of “hustle culture” exemplified by people such as Gary Vaynerchuk for instance.

I’ve known for a long time that I’ve needed to slow my life down and find a way to get myself off of this perpetual hamster wheel that I (and everyone else in the world for that matter) find myself on at the moment.

By slowing down my life I am able to live my life the way I want to live it, work the way I want to work it and relax in the way that I want to relax. 

Steady

Since Mara passed away, I have gone through a rollercoaster of emotions which have had profound effects on my life in both good and bad ways.

The bad way was that for a period of time I just gave up and let myself go through my grief and got very sick which tipped my body over the edge into Type 2 Diabetes territory. 

The good way was that thankfully the Type 2 diagnosis was the kick up the arse I needed to make the significant changes in my life to where I’m now on my way back to greater mental, physical and spiritual health.

The steady path I wish to take is the middle way of moderation, routine and discipline which I believe are the key factors in me getting on with it and moving forward with my life because with the world the way it is at the moment, it’s so very easy to be put off your centre these days. 

The world around us offers many temptations and distractions all designed to make you become more susceptible to advertising and the prevailing narrative of the times through the various media that we all consume.

Simple

One of my main aims of 2022 is to simplify my life and distill who and what I am into the smallest possible footprint that I can operate in. 

As I mentioned in another blog post, what I want to be essentially doing is getting rid of the things that I don’t need and for me to keep the things that I really do need, the things that will serve my purposes the best.

For example, as a musician I, like most other musicians, suffer from a bit of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) and because of this I have accumulated a bit of gear that for some of them, I need to find good homes for. 

I know that what I don’t need anymore can be more useful to somebody else so I’m very comfortable doing that.

Simplifying, decluttering, minimalising, whatever you want to call it, is a really essential part of moving forward.

The more simple I make my life, the more time I can devote to what matters to me most, the less margins of error I need to navigate and the less (unnecessary) choices that I need to make.

I’ve been known to overthink things from time to time and because of this I suffer from analysis paralysis on an almost daily basis. Making a choice, moving forward and taking action on it can be a real challenge. 

I know that I need to be clear in my focus and intention, to be decisive with my choices and to take action on those choices with methodical determination. I believe that living a more simple life will help me greatly.

Silent

NO! It doesn’t mean that I’m not going to play music anymore as that’s not the kind of silence I’m talking about.

What I really mean is creating a life in which I can eliminate the unnecessary noise and chatter that happens inside my head and THAT is what I want to eliminate from my life, because as the old saying goes…

“Silence is golden.”

Even though I have gone through some massive life changes of late, internally the monkey inside my head is well and truly active. 

I am getting better at silencing the chatter but I know full well that this is a full time job that will take the rest of my life (and perhaps a future lifetime or two) to master.

As I’ve mentioned before, I can have some issues with overthinking and placing myself in a quieter environment with less distractions will go a long way in helping me to give my inner monkey an extended holiday.

So in conclusion there you have it, my reasons for wanting to live a slow, steady, simple and silent life. 

It’s my hope that by doing this I can create a healthier, more creative and spiritually fulfilled existence for myself and that my creative output from now on, can be the major benefactor of these changes.

Wish me luck and watch this space…

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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On the 7th of January 2021, I started my 50th year living on this planet and for me, turning 50 was a pretty big deal. This was because in my head, I finally became my definition of “old” that I held close to my heart when I was growing up.

Now I realise that someone who was 50 years old back when I was a teenager was a much older person in values and attitude but nevertheless, I have become a person who has… 

  • Shifted into a different marketing demographic
  • Eligible for APIA (Australian Pensioners Insurance Agency) products
  • Can enter some retirement villages

My Dad (who is a very fit 72) always says that “you only feel your age when you’re sick” and to a point that is very true.

Now that I’m under a month away from my 51st birthday I’m now able to look back on my 50 years of existence and acknowledge the lessons I have learnt in my life so far no matter how big or small they are.

Life lessons such as…

  • Stop focusing too much on the small stuff
  • You need to pick the right battles to fight
  • There are people more worse off than you… Always
  • None of this is of any importance
  • The older you get, the less shit you have to give
  • Be yourself because everyone else is taken
  • Age is just a number
  • We all want the same things in life
  • Never be afraid to say the word NO
  • Change is the only constant thing in life
  • Nothing lasts forever, everything has a use-by date
  • Honey in coffee is delicious
  • Life is the greatest teacher
  • Quality is far more important than quantity
  • Just because you CAN do it, doesn’t mean you SHOULD do it
  • Action speaks far more loudly than words
  • Silence is more deafening than a thousand voices
  • Life is just too short…
  • Do what you fear the most. What’s the worst that’s going to happen?
  • Always be prepared to take a punt on yourself
  • The truth will always set you free
  • The answers you seek are always inside of you
  • Sometimes the smallest of things make the biggest of differences
  • Always embrace the “Happy Accident.”
  • Routine and discipline is the path to freedom
  • Always be the driver of your own bus
  • Too much information is better than not enough
  • Simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy
  • Life… We’re all making it up as we go along
  • Emotions are unskilled workers, use them wisely
  • Get to know people for who they are, not for what you can get from them
  • Many roads can lead to the same destination
  • Multitasking is a myth, do one thing at a time
  • The greatest joy can rise out of the greatest sorrow
  • Creativity is something that needs to be shared
  • Slow, steady, simple and silent wins the race
  • Owning a dog is the best thing ever
  • YOU are the only you that ever was, ever has and ever will be
  • Never be afraid to say “I love you.”
  • Crying at the drop of a hat is good for you
  • Getting it done is far better than being perfect
  • Being all things to all people will not make you happy
  • We are all enough
  • No matter what happens, it always evens out in the end
  • Sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something
  • When it comes to ideas… Never throw anything away
  • We are where we are through the choices we make
  • If anyone tells you they have the answer… They’re lying.
  • There’s no “THE meaning of life” but there is “A meaning of life.”
  • There’s no better feeling than to be loved by someone who you love

Yes, I know, some of these lessons sound like cliches mixed in with a bit of common sense, but it’s amazing what lessons you remember learning if you put your mind to it. You should really try it for yourself. 

Try to remember a time when something happened that was either a positive or a negative experience and try to see what the lesson you learned from that experience was. Make a note of it and just reflect on it. 

That’s what I’ll be doing with the list above because at least then I’ll have no shortage of topics to write about.

I hope you enjoy what is left of 2021.

Peace,

Corey 🙂