Good Morning, and Happy Sunday.

I want to share some gratitude for my friend and neighbor, Tommy.

Tommy has lived in my childhood building of 438 for over 30 years.

Since childhood, Tommy has been a kind and cheerful neighbor – now, he’s an ardent supporter of my work with Down to Earth.

I recently learned that Tommy was diagnosed with cancer.

This was crushing news to me and the Tenant Association of 45th Street, of which Tommy is a core member.

The news made me reflect on the state of strife and volatility across the globe.

So many things are obviously negative, but for now, they seem distant.

There’s virtually nothing we can do – to play a cruel waiting game is our only choice.

It’s like when there’s an intermission during a theater play. The stage fades dark, and all is quiet.

You know something is coming next … but what could it be? The uncertainty is paralyzing.

Often, what comes next is destruction. Pain and loss. Confusion.

All that anticipation leads you to a place of despair, and you wish you could return to the First Act. Things made so much more sense back then.

My First Act began on the fifth floor of my building, where I would open my apartment door as a child to see Tommy climbing toward the roof with an impressively serious camera.

Tommy found thrill in the simple things: dazzling sunsets, starry nights, and the ever-evolving Midtown skyline.

At the time, Tommy operated even bigger cameras at CBS, working on shows like News Sunday Morning on 57th Street in Hell’s Kitchen.

As an aspiring journalist, I craved this balance of meaning and simplicity.

What did I have to do to reach a similar place?

When thinking about Tommy in the present, I resented the forces of negativity, and how they find ways to impact the people closest to our hearts, no matter how far away they may seem.

Why is that, I wondered, and how?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Life is ruthless that way.

Pain and negativity are powerful forces that sincerely alter our perceptions.

When one candle is blown out, we panic, becoming quick to backslide into fear and desperation. This is where it all ends, we dramatize …

But even when it is dark, it cannot always be night, and winter can only last so long.

I’m happy to report that Tommy has completed his final chemotherapy treatment, and has fully recovered from cancer.

I hope his story and the enduring spirit of his will can motivate you toward your place of peace and happiness.

Right now, it is just the intermission.

The stage is being set for your next Act, and you can only wait and have faith.

What Does Your Fear Look Like? 👹 

We all know what we look like.

But what do we look like when we’re afraid?

Really think about this for a second.

When you’re neutral, your face is just kind of like 😐

Some people are a 🙂 type of person at rest – if that’s you, please share your secrets.

Your face full of fear looks incredibly different, though.

In fact, everything looks very different when you’re scared.

Your body language constricts, your mouth gapes wide open, and so do your eyes; your thoughts become scattered and paranoid.

When people are afraid, you can see it.

It’s not pretty, and it has dire consequences.

But fear is a natural reaction – a reaction that can steer us away from danger.

Fortunately for most people reading this, sincere danger is not a frequent concern.

But fear was crucial when our ancient human ancestors escaped prehistoric lions or village raids.

Now, in cushy, protected Western Society, what good does fear serve?

Fear often looks different from person to person, but it almost always pulls us away from our deepest desires.

“Some of us are predisposed to being fearful in different ways,” says Maleek Pommells.

“When I am fearful, my breathing becomes out of wack and shallow, and my body doesn’t move as freely because it’s tense. My mind also doesn’t think as freely – it’s just in survival mode, and I’m not in tune with my instincts.”

Maleek is a personal trainer based in Montego Bay. He’s a practitioner of wholistic and spiritual wellness, so it’s no surprise that he’s deeply connected with his body and mind.

Outside of his work, Maleek is a full-time badass. 

He’s just completed his first fight with Caribbean Ultimate Fist Fighting, a bout that initially instilled fear into his heart.

Maleek recognized the source of this disruption was his fear of facing confrontation.

“It was like a monster to me,” he says. The monster being the possibility of failure.”

That’s the modern version of fear that we all maintain.

We want something, but a voice in our head anxiously asks, “What if something goes wrong? What if I lose?”

Maleek knows he can’t let fear and doubt rent a single square foot in his mind if he is to be a competitive fighter. So, how does he overcome the “monster”?

“Our purpose is really in doing our duty, not to be concerned with the outcome,” he tells me.

“Since the outcome is already written, it’s just about us fulfilling our duty to the truest extent.”

Maleek adds that this notion is challenging because it tackles our pride and the need to control every situation we find ourselves in. Sound familiar?

I’ve come to learn that fear and doubt alone sabotage our true purpose.

The daring child stuffed down inside each of us isn’t afraid – they have bold aspirations of being pilots, astronauts, superheroes, firefighters, doctors, kings and more.

It’s only until our adult brains become calloused and jaded that we stray from this destiny.

I believe the key to a fulfilling life starts with connecting to that inner child, free of inhibition and practical cynicism.

Maleek has a powerful technique he uses to return to this pure state – he shares it with us below.

First, you have to close your eyes and get into a natural rhythm through your breathing.

Once you are there, visualize fear, lack of discipline, or anything you want to get rid of.

Then, picture those things exiting your body, and forming a dark orb.

That orb then goes into a box.

The box is made of the toughest material in existence – once the box is closed, there’s no way at all to open it.

Then the box flies away super fast, to somewhere far where it can’t ever be found again even if I tried my best.

And even if I did, I can’t open it.

Maleek’s most powerful avenue of evolution, outside of the orb technique, comes through developing an “intimate relationship with the Most High.”

“I can’t tell you how important that is for me,” he says.