When spiritual seekers say “I don’t do politics because I’m spiritual”, they create a false separation between inner work and love for humanity. The truth is, spirituality and politics flow from the same sacred source.
Think of how your heart expands when you meditate on The Great Whole – that magnificent reality where all beings, all actions, all hopes are interwoven. Politics isn’t separate from this divine connection. It’s one of the ways we express our love for the whole.
To walk a spiritual path is to feel the pulse of compassion beating in your chest, calling you to show up fully in the world. When we witness suffering in our communities, how can our hearts not move us to action? Being political is one way we answer this sacred call to care for others.
From our local neighborhoods to our global family, our spiritual practice deepens when we engage with the real struggles of real people. Every time we advocate for those whose voices go unheard, every time we support policies that lift up the vulnerable, we’re expressing the highest truth of spirituality: that we belong to each other.
Yes, both spirituality and politics can become distorted by ego and the hunger for power. But at their purest, they both spring from the same well of love – love that serves rather than dominates, love that shares power rather than hoards it, love that sees the divine in every face.
A spirituality that turns away from political engagement is like a heart that refuses to pump blood to part of the body. True spirituality flows everywhere, nourishing all aspects of life, moving us to create a world where everyone can thrive. This is how we embody the infinite love of The Universe.
Yesterday in US Politics, House Democrats chose to give a key leadership position to a 74 year old man instead of entrusting it to 35 year old Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Once again, we see an experienced and qualified woman from a historically excluded group, hit the glass ceiling and be passed over for a leadership role in favor of an older white man.
The snub of AOC by House Democrats is representative of what many of us millennials are experiencing as we seek to advance in the world.
The Set Up
Growing up, the adults around me told my peers and I that our generation was special. That a college degree was the ticket to a prosperous future. That we were the future leaders. That we were going to change the world. That our future was bright.
The adults sold us a pipe dream.
While the adults painted a rosy future for us, saying “the kids are alright”, behind the scenes they orchestrated the hoarding of power and wealth, the acceleration of climate change, and the continued exploitation and oppression of the most vulnerable.
The UNO Reverse
As millennials entered adulthood, the adults played an UNO reverse card on us, and began calling us “The Me Me Me Generation”.
The adults started saying millennials are entitled, lazy, narcissistic, self absorbed, difficult to manage, disloyal to employers, stunted in development, and much much more.
The chosen generation became the malign millennials.
And as millennials enter the peak of adulthood, we often see opportunities for advancement in life blocked or hoarded by the older adults who promised us the world.
AOC and her bid for leadership is a prime example.
The Next Generations
I cringe whenever Gen Z or Gen Alpha are lauded as our future saviors. I cringe because that sentiment places a burden on our future generations that they didn’t ask for and cannot consent to.
We, the adults todays, have a responsibility to these future generations. Our responsibility is to make the world better for them.
We also have a responsibility to share with them leadership, opportunities, power, and wealth.
At the present moment, we adults are failing in our responsibilities toward our future generations. We are on track to pass on to them a world that is in worse shape than when we received it.
The Next Ten Years
We can still course correct. We can still prepare a world ready to receive our future generations.
My belief and hope are that in the next ten years (2025-2035) we will amend our ways as humans.
We must amend our ways.
We must reject systems of oppression and replace them with systems of empowerment that grant access to all. Access to education, healthcare, housing, migration, rights, and wages.
We must collaborate with Mother Nature to help heal the planet.
This will require concentrated conscientious effort from us adults. The required changes may seem gargantuan and impossible, but it only seems that way because we recognize how big the gap is from where we are now to where we ought to be.
May we make it a reality for our future generations.
I used to say that when I die, I want a mariachi and a piñata at my funeral.
But as I’ve experienced more loved ones pass on over the last few years, I’ve come to understand that a funeral isn’t for the departed. It’s for the living.
It’s for those left behind grieving. And they ought to have whatever ritual helps them and is most meaningful for them.
You never realize how much of your life you’ve been living on autopilot, until one day you have an awakening, and then suddenly you are not the same ever again.
What is an awakening? To me, an awakening is an experience that changes you for ever. It changes the way you see yourself and the way you see the world.
It can happen in a moment like an epiphany – a life changing realization, and AHA! moment. Or it can happen gradually over time like the rising of the sun. Most often it’s a mix of both. A gradual progression toward an awakening, and then an awakening all at once.
So far in my life, I’ve experienced two major awakenings. I call the first awakening my Self Awakening. The second awakening I call my Systemic Awakening.
Self Awakening
My first awakening happened suddenly while I was going through a divorce. The pain of experiencing a divorce cracked my heart open like an eggshell, and my soul came pouring out like an egg.
I was plenty depressed, and felt like dying in a lot of ways. And in a moment of spiraling downward into anxiety and depression over what it meant to be divorced, I had a sudden realization: “This experience doesn’t define me. I define who I am.”
That was the sudden part of awakening. A singular epiphany brought me out of the spiral and helped me stay afloat. That realization helped me understand that no matter what I’m living through, I am who I am.
Now that my soul had been freed of its shell thanks to the divorce, I could see who I am, and I began to know myself more and more. That was the gradual part of the awakening.
That awakening became a line of demarcation. Before the divorce there was “past Limhi”, and after the divorce there is “present Limhi”.
Little did I know that “present Limhi” was headed toward another major awakening.
Systemic Awakening
Sometimes you’re headed in a certain direction before you even realize it. That was my experience in coming toward my second awakening.
As “present Limhi”, I showed up in the world confident in who I am and firmly rooted in love for Self and Others. I was a more authentic me.
And the more I showed up as my authentic Self, the more I began to notice how my authentic Self didn’t fit into the world I knew.
It was little things at first. Things like no longer enjoying certain activities or hobbies that I used to enjoy. Things like no longer depending on external validation. All things that pointed to my Self awakening.
But gradually it became more clear that my misalignment with things wasn’t just personal. More and more I was realizing that society was not built to accommodate the authentic Self. The misalignment was structural. It was systemic.
And then 2020 came. That year became another line of demarcation. That year was the year I woke up to the systemic reality of patriarchy and racism. That year was the year my religious community was no longer safe, and my deep faith in my religious beliefs could no longer withstand scrutiny.
What’s more, the systemic awakening I was experiencing was also being experienced by many around the world. It was an awakening that was both connective and isolating at the same time.
Life After Awakenings
Awakenings, life changing realizations, come in different ways, at different times, and for different reasons.
Experiencing an awakening is a crossing over to a new version of existence. That means leaving behind some things or some people, and stepping into the unknown.
Not everyone chooses to embrace an awakening. Some retreat into their default Self and their default world because they are unable or unwilling to let go of the old.
But for those who embrace awakenings, they become empowered agents rather than passive participants. And a new life, a brighter hope, and a new world await.
Last night I got to sit knee to knee with my Tito (paternal grandpa), and hear him tell his life story. Tito is 93 years old, so he has a lot to share.
His mind and memory are sharp, and he remembers details, events, names, and places. Here are some highlights.
Memories of WWII
I asked Tito what he remembered of living through WWII. He talked about being a kid and teen, and listening to the radio for news about what was happening in Europe. He spoke about how those years were hard because the economy was so bad in México.
He mentioned how México never got involved even though Germany tried to force México to get involved. Tito said that in his view, Hitler was a bad man who wanted to conquer the world. And then he added: “Trump is the same.”
1954 Deportation
Starting in 1942, The Bracero Program was a US government program that imported Mexican workers as field laborers in the agriculture sector.
Thanks to the Bracero Program, Tito and Tita, along with three kids (the youngest a new born), went to live in Fresno, California. Tito worked in one of the vineyards in that area.
In 1954, the US government set in motion Operation Wetback (yes, that is the official name). A military style roundup and deportation of Mexican migrant workers. Among those deported were American citizens of Mexican descent. It was the largest mass deportation in US history.
The irony and hypocrisy of Operation Wetback is that the deported Mexican migrants were mostly workers who had entered the US through the Bracero Program. They came to the US “the right way” and still got kicked out.
Tito told what it was like to be rounded up, detained, and deported during Operation Wetback. He mentioned that it was one of his neighbors who called immigration authorities on him.
Without food or money, Tito and Tita and their three young kids, traveled back to their hometown in central México. It was a hard journey in which Tito sold most of his possessions just to make it back home.
A Man of Character
Tito told of other experiences he had. Going back to California, returning to México for a second and final time, growing grapes in the desert, traveling to Argentina to teach others how to grow grapes, caring for his wife and kids, and helping others.
Tito shares many experiences of times he helped someone in need. His help was always given abundantly and freely. The two main reasons for his desire to help others are:
He has always received help in his time of need, so he always felt a desire to pay if forward.
He has a deep love for his fellow beings.
Throughout his life and through his experiences, Tito has shown himself to be a man of faith, integrity, humility, wisdom, hard work, sacrifice, courage, and deep love and devotion to his wife (my Tita) who passed away three years ago.
Hearing Tito’s life story and experiences helped me to feel a bit more hopeful about life. Even though Tito lived through challenging (and traumatic) experiences, he was able to always find a way forward. Either by his own efforts, the timely help of others, or what he calls “the guidance of a loving Heavenly Father.”
Tito is not a perfect man. He has his faults and flaws like anyone else. And he is the first to acknowledge his mistakes.
Despite those shortcomings, Tito’s life and legacy are worth emulating.
As children, making friends was easy. All you had to do was go up to another kid and ask: “Do you want to be my friend?” They would say “Yes!”, and you would go play with your new friend.
But as an adult, you become “an island unto yourself”, drifting alone, disconnected, and isolated in the ocean of adulthood. Frustrated and filled with loneliness, you ask, “Why is it so hard to make friends as an adult?!”
There are many reasons why it’s hard to make friends as an adult, and each person experiences a personalized mix of reasons. However, there are three overarching barriers. Those barriers are Time, Acquaintances, and Guarded Hearts.
Time
Friendships take time to build. One research study found that it takes 40+ hours to go from acquaintances to casual friends, 80+ hours to become close friends, and 200+ hours to become good friends.
That’s a lot of time. Time you don’t have.
Family, work, and personal pursuits probably take up the bulk of your time and energy. On any given day, you’re hard pressed to find time for anything else.
In fact, a common complaint among adults is: “Between family, work, and exercising, how am I supposed to find time for anything else?”
Acquaintances
Before the flower of friendship blooms, the seed of acquaintance must be planted. Paraphrasing the English writer Samuel Johnson:
If you don’t make any new acquaintances as you advance through life, you’ll soon find yourself alone.
Social anxiety and shyness can be obstacles in making new acquaintances. Increasing isolation is another factor inhibiting acquaintance making.
It’s hard to make friends when you don’t even have the initial building block of acquaintances.
Guarded Hearts
The fear of rejection and past negative experiences can result in low trust toward new acquaintances and friendships.
Emotional walls are built slowly, brick by brick, each one shaped by past hurts and disappointments. As the years pass, those walls grow taller, until you find yourself peering out from behind them, hesitant and cautious.
It’s not that you don’t crave connection—it’s that your heart, weathered by rejection and betrayal, has learned to be wary. The fear of being hurt again keeps you from opening the door to new friendships, even when you need them the most.
Removing the barriers
How do we reach across the widening distance of time, acquaintances, and guarded hearts to find the connection we yearn for?
The answer is simple. Make time, make acquaintances, open your heart and put yourself out there.
But simple doesn’t mean easy.
You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes. ― A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
The biggest difference will be your intention. Intentional people make plans, set priorities, and take action. If you do that, you’ll be well on your way to making new friends.
Resuming gives you permission to pick up where you left off.
The first day of the year is a good time for resuming anything that you left undone or unaccomplished.
Maybe last year you started with great enthusiasm and high hopes, but over time you lost energy and momentum. Time passed, and before you knew it, your dream or goal fell by the wayside.
When you stop taking action, it can be frustrating and demoralizing. There’s a feeling of stagnation and heaviness. And the thought of starting again takes more and more energy after each moment of inertia.
And when this pattern repeats over a long time, you may lose all will to try again.
If you find yourself in that position right now, thinking “What’s the use? I never make any progress anyway”, I want to suggest to you a reframe that may be more empowering and helpful.
Instead of thinking that you have to “start over again”, try thinking that you are “resuming after a pause”. Doesn’t matter how long the pause has been. Doesn’t matter how many times you’ve paused. You are now resuming.
Resuming is powerful because it gives you permission to pick up where you left off. So you’re not “starting over”, you’re reengaging. Whatever progress you made in the past, it’s still there no matter how long it’s been.
And even if you have to go back to the drawing board and try a different approach, or make a different plan, or change the dream or goal entirely, you’re not starting from zero. You’re starting from where you left off. All the past effort and experience is an accumulated energy waiting for you to reengage.
The other advantage of framing your experiences in terms of resuming is that it gives you permission to pause. Pausing is equally important and powerful. There are times and circumstances when you would be wise to pause. Those who make the most progress are the ones who learn to pause before being forced to pause. If you don’t pause once in a while, Life will hit that pause button for you. It will be inconvenient and unwanted, and it’ll leave you feeling frustrated.
By choosing to pause, you give yourself permission to step back and regroup. You also automatically set yourself up to resume when ready. Let me say that again: you set yourself up to RESUME WHEN READY.
They key to resuming is to do it when you’re ready. Being ready doesn’t mean being perfectly ready. It means being willing to attempt again. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to have every skill, all data, the perfect tools, and even a level of confidence or “feeling” before you’re ready to resume. That’s the road to inaction.
When you’re ready to attempt again, you’re ready to resume.
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.
The quote above is from the lyrics to the song Closing Time by Semisonic. This line has been on my mind as I’ve been processing a bit of sad news.
Earlier today it was announced that Pebble, formerly known as T2, will shut down on November 1st. Pebble sought to be a kind, safe, and fun digital town square. In my opinion, it succeeded in being that.
The closing of Pebble is a big bummer to all who found a digital home on the platform. It was a place of genuine connection, caring for others, demonstrations of support, and fun banter between community members.
It was not a digital Utopia by any means. There were challenges and complaints. And lots of room to grow and improve. Sadly, we won’t get to see that evolution.
I am grieving the impending loss of Pebble. Team Pebble probably feels the same way. They put in a ton of work into making Pebble the special place that it was.
Lessons from Pebble
My experience on Pebble taught me the following things.
We can create kind, safe, and fun spaces when we are intentional about it. And there’s a desire for spaces and experiences like that.
Kindness to some can be oppression to others.
Not everything needs a GIF. GIFs are fun, but they can cause a lot of digital noise.
Apps are overrated. Pebble showed me the potential of a Progressive Web App, and helped me to realize we’ve been condition to expect an app for everything.
The power of being welcomed. When we welcome others into a space, we helped them become part of the experience.
Expectation kills Excitement. When you lead with expectations, you lose the excitement of discovery.
Community Generated Experiences. All of the Pebble “highlights” happened when the community came together to break something, to make a meme and get in on the joke, to rally around someone.
User experience > Features. You can have the coolest, newest, killer features, but if those features interfere with the user experience, it’s not gonna fly.
Creating a safe space for the most vulnerable among us will automatically create a safe space for all.
The best way to find your people is to show up and show who you are.
The attachment to cuss words is as strong and visceral as the attachment to guns is for some Americans.
People will surprise you. They’ll surprise you with their kindness, with their wit, with their insight, with their love and care. They’ll also surprise you with their animosity, carelessness, callousness, and contempt.
Create the things you wish existed in the world. Chances are there are others out there wishing for the same thing.
Genuine connections require vulnerability. When we lead with vulnerability, we create the conditions for others to be vulnerable too.
Act without guarantees. There was never a guarantee that Pebble would succeed. But Sarah, Michael, Gabor, and the rest of Team Pebble built the platform anyways. That’s courage!
Everyone needs community. We join social networks because we want to find our people. The people we can joke with, share with, and be accepted with.
Connections and Interactions > Impressions and Likes. Vanity metrics didn’t matter on Pebble. It was all about the community conversations we had on a daily basis.
Those are some of the lessons that came to mind as I sat down to write this. I’m sure with more time and reflection, others would surface.
it’s myspace all over again
When MySpace was popular, I was all in. I enjoyed the platform and its features. It was a great blend of social network and self expression.
But then Facebook emerged, gained traction, and everyone switched from MySpace to Facebook. In those early days of social networks there weren’t many options like there are today. So everyone flocked to Facebook.
I begrudgingly switched over to Facebook because that’s where all my friends went. They were no longer logging onto MySpace.
(I also begrudgingly use Discord because that’s what most people use within the live streaming space)
Today the digital landscape is far more fragmented. In large part due to all that’s happened to Twitter. With all the options available, Pebble was my flavor of social network.
Now that Pebble is shutting down, I once again find myself like in those final days of MySpace, having to leave behind what I considered my digital home.
where to from here?
Among the Pebble community, it seems most are either going to Bluesky or Mastodon. I’m not particularly excited about either of those choices. It feels like having to choose between two equally distasteful presidential candidates.
I’m not sure where I will land post-Pebble. For a while now I’ve felt that I need to focus more on the spaces I can create and nurture. Better to spend time cultivating my own digital garden rather than cultivating someone else’s garden.
I do have a presence on several social media platforms, though I’m not as active on those as I was on Pebble. You can find links to all of those here.
Thank you Team Pebble!
I want to thank Team Pebble for all their hard work. For their vision of a kind, safe, and fun social network. Thank you for the risks you took, the courage you displayed, the community feedback you received, and even the pushback you endured.
You all created something special, and it made a difference in my life. Thank you!
I wish the best to everyone on Team Pebble and everyone in the community.
As an Inspiration Specialist, I am often asked: “How do I find my purpose?” Embedded in the question is the hope that “finding purpose” will lead to happiness. The person who asks how to find purpose is one who wants a better life. Usually that person feels directionless and adrift in life. All efforts and attempts seem futile and meaningless.
The one big misunderstanding about purpose is that it must be “found.” This assumes that purpose is something out there, external of Self. That if you just go far enough, seek hard enough, sacrifice enough, you’ll eventually find it.
But the truth is, purpose is internal and created by Self. Purpose is created by your choices.
You are like a block of marble, and hidden inside is your purpose. You’re also the sculptor who can reveal the purpose.
Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.
Michelangelo
Where to carve, where to cut, where to contour, and where to go with the flow of the block — these are choices that reveal the statue inside the block of stone.
Here are three choices that can help reveal the purpose inside you:
1. Choose your Self
Because your purpose is inside, you must learn to choose your Self. Choosing Self comes in many shapes and sizes. Setting personal boundaries is choosing Self. Learning to love yourself is choosing Self. Scheduling time for yourself is choosing Self. Planning things for you is choosing Self.
When you choose Self, there is a feeling of elevation, of satisfaction, and of knowing. You are ascending to your higher Self. And as you do so, you begin to understand your Self better. With that understanding, comes clarity. With that clarity, purpose is revealed.
“Your gifts lie in the place where your values, passions and strengths meet. Discovering that place is the first step toward sculpting your masterpiece, Your Life.”
Michelangelo
2. Choose priorities
There are many things that can get in the way of choosing Self, and that’s why the second choice for creating your purpose is choose your priorities.
People who have a clear purpose in life choose their priorities. Choosing priorities puts you in a proactive stance rather than a reactive one. Clearly defined priorities enable you to filter out unimportant things, and to avoid wasting time. As you choose your priorities, you discover what’s most important to you, and that guides you toward your purpose.
The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.
Michelangelo
3. Choose giving to others
One of the best ways to create your purpose is to give to others. Giving to others helps you shed your ego. This in turn uncovers your Self and your purpose within.
When you’re focused on getting, you loose Self, priorities, and connections because you’re more intent on the getting. When you’re focused on giving, you don’t think about Self, but you learn about Self. Priorities become clearer as you give to others.
When you choose to give to others, you discover and strengthen your connection to them. These connections help reveal the purpose inside you. Ultimately, all purposes contain some form of giving to others.
As you give out so shall you receive.
Michelangelo
It took Michelangelo two years to carve his David, and four years to paint the Sistine Chapel. When he was asked to do the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo resisted because he only saw himself as a sculptor. He didn’t consider himself a painter, and he had no experience with frescos. But he was willing to go beyond his comfort zone.
Creating your purpose takes time. It may take you two years, or four, or more. It requires that you see yourself as more than who you are right now. And you must be willing to go beyond your comfort zone.
Choose these things, and you will create your purpose.
For more inspiration like this, follow Limhi on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube. And come have a conversation with him at 4 PM (MST) during his livestream on Twitch.
Truth is recognized in a moment, but understood over a lifetime. And patience is key to gaining that understanding.
If you would like to harvest the fruit of Wisdom from the Tree of Life, you must first prepare the soil of your heart, plant the seed of experience, and wait to see if the seed of experience will germinate. If the seed of experience doesn’t germinate, then it will die within your heart, and will be soon forgotten.
On the other hand, if the seed of experience does germinate, you begin to feel your heart swell with new light and new truth. The sprout of knowledge will grow, and you will feel driven to cultivate it. When you cultivate knowledge, you ask questions, you test theories, you listen, you read, you experience some more. It is a process that requires patience.
There is an old African proverb that says:
A patient man will eat ripe fruit.
Wisdom is the ripe fruit of experience, and only the patient ever taste it.
