Making friends after fifty is its own quiet crisis. Nobody warns you about it. You spend your twenties and thirties collecting people the way you collect matchbooks, without even trying, and then one day you land somewhere new, in a place where you don’t know a soul, and you realize the collecting stopped a long time ago and you never noticed. I’ve been sitting with that this year. Not lonely in the dramatic sense, just… aware. Aware of how thin my local orbit is right now, and how much work it takes at this age to build something that used […]
The Gratitude List Didn’t Save Me — But This Did
I’ve got 31 years of sobriety, and I want to say something it took me a long time to admit out loud. Sometimes the tools don’t work. I’ve leaned on all of them. The meetings, the steps, the phone calls, the prayer, the gratitude list. They’ve carried me through more dark nights than I can count, and I’ve handed them to other people with my whole heart. But there have been nights, deep into long-term recovery, when I reached for the toolkit and came up holding nothing. Pretending that never happens does more harm than telling the truth about it. […]
RecoveryBridge.app Founder Burk Jackson: Bridging the Gap in Sobriety Support
What happens in the “quiet hours” of recovery when the meetings are over, your sponsor is asleep, and the cravings start to scream?In Episode 624, I sit down with Burk Jackson, a man who has been walking the path of recovery since October 20, 1994. With over 31 years of lived experience, Burk knows that while clinical treatment provides the foundation, it’s the human connection that provides the fuel for a lifelong change.After decades of seeing people fall through the cracks of a fragmented support system, Burk founded RecoveryBridge.app—a revolutionary, 100% free digital platform that ensures no one has to […]
You Don’t Have to Do This Alone: Why Connection Matters in Recovery
My name is Burk Jackson. I’ve been in recovery for 31 years, and I’ll be honest with you — it hasn’t been a straight line. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve stumbled. I’ve had moments where I wasn’t sure I’d make it through. I’m not going to pretend otherwise, because pretending otherwise isn’t why I’m here. Connection Is the Foundation of Recovery But here’s the one thing I’ve never stopped doing, not once in three decades: staying connected with other people in recovery. That might sound simple. It wasn’t always. There were stretches in my earlier years where I was traveling overseas […]
What 31 Years Sober Taught Me About the Gap Nobody Talks About
It’s 11pm. You’re not in crisis. You’re not going to drink. But something is pressing down on you — a loneliness so specific and so quiet that you wouldn’t even know how to describe it to someone who hasn’t been there. You’ve done everything right. You go to meetings. You work the steps. You have years, maybe decades, of sobriety behind you. And still, tonight, you pick up your phone and scroll through your contacts — and you’re not sure who would actually answer. Or who would really understand if they did. If you’ve been there, you know exactly what […]
The Loneliness Epidemic: Why We’re All So Damn Lonely and What We Can Do About It
Welcome to the 21st Century Welcome to the 21st century, where we have more ways to connect than ever before, yet somehow, we’re all lonelier than a penguin in the Sahara. Let’s cut the crap and dive into why this epidemic of loneliness is sweeping the globe and what the hell we can do about it. The Stark Numbers First off, let’s look at the cold, hard facts. A study by Cigna in 2020 revealed that over 60% of Americans reported feeling lonely, a significant jump from previous years. In the UK, a 2018 report by the Office for National […]
The Village of All Saints
Toto Santos strikes me as a unique little spot of culture and creativity nestled into the hills of Baja. It’s a beautiful little community that expounds on the creativity brought here by the people looking for an escape, so maybe it would be categorized as escapist creativity.The Pueblo itself is unique and enchanting, with most locals waving at everybody as they drive by. I’ve found that welcoming nature and lack of suspicion of “outsiders“To be more unique here than in other places. There was a level of suspicion of Americans and Canadians in Lo De Marco that I found to […]
Tuesday’s Grief
Just feeling sadness today, feeling a bit of melancholy around the fact that this part of my journey is coming to an end. What’s next has yet to really reveal itself… I know that I’ll spend the summer in New Mexico, at my little home, seeing Mark, seeing Jen, doing some trips, working on my writing, and working on my projects. And maybe that’s what I need to focus on more? What does it look like to make these journal entries? What does it mean to do something more, something different? What’s next? Where does the inspiration come from? What […]
The Adaptive Mind: Unraveling Einstein’s Wisdom on Intelligence
The measure of intelligence is the ability to change. – Albert Einstein Albert Einstein once proclaimed, “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” In this profound statement, Einstein encapsulated the essence of intellectual prowess – the capacity not only to comprehend but to adapt in the face of evolving circumstances. This essay delves into the depths of this timeless quote, unraveling the significance of adaptability as the true measure of intelligence. Understanding Intelligence in a Dynamic World In the 21st century, the world is characterized by rapid technological advancements, shifting cultural landscapes, and unprecedented global interconnectedness. The […]
Slowing Down in 2024
Buckle up, fellow time-crunched comrades! Forget FOMO-fueled vacations that leave you feeling like a hamster on a caffeine bender. This year, we’re throwing the rulebook (and probably your itinerary) out the window and embracing the glorious rebellion that is slow travel. Think less “ticking off monuments with a selfie stick in hand” and more “sipping limoncello in a sun-drenched piazza, feeling like Sophia Loren in your prime.” We’re talking about experiences that linger like the smell of freshly baked croissants, not flashbulb-induced amnesia. Staycations that rediscover the hidden gems of your own backyard, meditation retreats that silence the inner […]