Anger presented itself to me through my relationship with my mother. My relationship with her is my greatest source of spiritual growth. Not because either of us are particularly virtuous. But because my mother is able to provoke me in ways no other being is able to.

Each provocation has provided me an opportunity: To choose actions that keep me entrenched in corrosive patterns, or actions that guide me towards becoming freer.

I grew up in the Catholic Church but never felt connected to God beyond as a concept studied in Sunday school.

As I left the church, I also left the idea of faith to the realms of organized religions. I didn’t consider myself a person of faith as I didn’t subscribe to any explicit religious or spiritual deity, force, or institution.

This changed through my recent trip to Korea.

I came to know about Vipassana meditation several years ago through two seemingly unrelated data points. Yuval Noah Harari and a fellow student from my coaching program. I had an intuitive sense this was something I should partake in but should do on motherland soil.

The conditions for this finally came about last year. So I participated in my first 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat in fall 2023 in South Korea.

I’m known for having a lifestyle you might expect more from a 60-year-old than a 30-year-old. I have a set morning routine, voluntary abstinence from various activities and substances, and an early bedtime.

On the surface, my actions may seem overly structured. If one overlays too much rigidity, where is the space for the flow and beauty of life?

However, there’s a method to my madness.

A year ago, I was in a car accident that shook up all areas of my life. One of those areas was my physical health.

Through the accident, I experienced a concussion and internal bruising. Additional symptoms of fatigue, insomnia, nausea, vertigo, tinnitus, rosacea, gastrointestinal issues, muscle tension, and increased acute and generalized anxiety also presented themselves in the following months. I visited a typical American hospital numerous times, but they couldn’t offer any reasons for my symptoms.

With the holiday season right around the corner, I thought I’d share something I’m mulling over myself in case it might prove helpful for you.

After living a mostly boundary-less life, I recently started exploring, testing out, and refining what boundaries mean to me. In the early stages, I saw boundaries as a protective concrete barrier I could solidly place between me and the treatment from the people in my life with whom I have more difficult relationships with.