Nick Rodriguez

Christ Follower

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

My biggest fan is ME

Here's how I did it:

- I stepped away from EVERYTHING

- Tried different habits

- STOPPED TAKING EVERYTHING SO SERIOUS

- Contacted God

- Drifted towards whatever Appealed to me

- HAVE FUN

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

This is for you, Future Nick.
I have no clue where we will be. Will I still be here writing? Don't know, Don't care. There is 1 thing I know, We will still be on our walk with God. I love you and I am proud of you, wherever you are right now, I know it's great.

July 11th, 2023.

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

Respect, and Integrity for ourselves and one another.

We do not understand the sacrifices our elders made in order for us to enjoy the freedoms we have here

Everything is a meme in today’s culture and nothing is taken seriously.

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

The LACK of seriousness found in the generation I was born in is quite alarming and truthfully disappointing

I am 22 years of age-

I meet “adults” who are 24-26 and their main concern is “what club they are going to”

Quite frustrating because we as a country lack -

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

Nothing in life is easy-

So choose the hardest decision and live the most fulfilling and satisfying life

Or

Choose the boring life and live a life of regret and emptiness

Just know, the choice is always yours.

Side note: sometimes the hardest decisions are the boring ones

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

“Stand for something or fall for anything”

Choosing what you stand for is the most important choice you make in this life

God is the only way-

Jesus Christ IS THE WAY, his foundation is the TRUTH.

His foundation is Solid, it doesn’t move, doesn’t change

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

Those little moments

Those little actions

Those things despite how “Little” they seem, that’s when it matters most.

When you give everything you have in everything you do, there is nothing that can stand in your way.

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

@jackmoses0 I try to sit in a state of appreciation and gratitude when being with those who bring a different perspective in life.

This verse has brought me so much peace-

”Seek the LORD and his strength, Seek his face continually.“ 1 Chronicles 16:11

I seek God in Everything.

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

When your rooms dirty as a child your mom cleans it for you

As you become a grown man-

You realize it’s your responsibility to clean it and keep it in order.

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

@jackmoses0 So much power in what we consume.

Matthew 6:22: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.”

Whether you believe in Jesus Christ as your savior or not, he is full of wisdom and truth.

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

@jackmoses0 God is amazing brothaa, Love this Jack even more

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

@jackmoses0 @kendallhargens This was my immediate thought haha

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

American Society is just flat out too bored

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

@jackmoses0 This flys through my mind every single day haha

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

You don’t need the biggest house to have a loving home

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

When you TRULY Love and have the passion to master something-

You have to have the humility to “look dumb” or “sound stupid”

NO ONE who accomplishes anything, lives their life out of fear of what others-

Think, Say, or Do.

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

I thought Art was Evil

But I just realized it is THE ART People make that is EVIL

Just saturating the art world with Sex and it’s somehow a masterpiece??

They don’t love it how our culture used too.

[Nick Rodriguez @nrodriguezSTW]

@jackmoses0 No sir, his books have completely shifted my character and my approach to life

[Jack Moses ∞ @jackmoses777]

2/18/24 ~ A Simmering State of Anxiety

Most of the world exists in a simmering state of anxiety.

Myself included.

There’s always another text to respond to. Chores around the house to do. Emails with important information we haven’t gotten to. Deadlines on projects for work. Bills to pay. Groceries to buy. Etc, etc.

Not to mention the intentions we’ve set about sticking to a reading habit, going on more walks, meditating every day, finding time to play our favorite sports, and call our parents more.

The modern world moves fast. The social media landscape moves faster. If you don’t hustle and move quick, you can’t keep up.

You can see this anxiety manifest into the collective culture as well as the individual.

Visit any major city on a weekday and the entire city exists in a state of bubbling chaos.

Talk to the average citizen and you can sense a slight panic, a lack of presence, and an overactive mind that can’t stop thinking about the next chore, task, or day.

I exist in this state too.

I’m not as a present as I would like to be.

I’ve been catching myself unknowingly existing in a tight, tense state.

When I sit down to meditate, it takes me 20-30 minutes to relax into a seated position without tension. In meditation, my mind instantly jumps into planning mode. Putting out fires mode. “Oh wait I forgot to do that one thing” mode.

And it takes me a couple hours out to dinner away from the phone, or a joint on my balcony to actually surrender and become fully relaxed into the present moment.

The entire world is drowning in anxiety.

Students are anxious about exams and finding a job.

Employees are anxious about job security and automation.

Politicians are anxious about reelection and global affairs.

Entrepreneurs and creators are anxious about if they can make enough money to keep their business (and themselves) alive for another month.

If an alien society observed us as we observe a colony of ants, they would think our species is deeply unhealthy, disconnected from reality, and on the brink of destroying themselves.

So what do we do about this? How can we move one step beyond anxiety into peace?

I’m working through the answers myself, but I’ve found a few friends and mentors (knowingly or unknowingly) who are embodying a freedom from the mind, a connection to the present moment, and a higher state of consciousness that's deeply inspiring to me. I’m learning through observation of these three men:

@heydannymiranda
@basedethos
@ComedicBizman

Here's what I'm learning from these three leaders and in the process of applying to my own life:

~

1) There Is No Where To Go

Humans are goal oriented creatures.

Our ability to see into the future, define a vision, and create a plan to actualize that vision is what separates us from animals.

But the same mechanism that’s fueled our evolutionary progress is also fueling our anxiety.

Most human beings live with one foot ruminating about the past, and another worrying about the future.

We talk about the next vacation as soon as we get to vacation.

We talk about the next time we’ll get together when we are literally together at dinner.

We are always looking ahead, planning for the future, that we forgot the only that exists, and the only thing that’s ever existed:

The eternal present moment.

There is no where to go. There is no destination to get to. The destination is right here, right now.

The idea that “once I get x,” or “just wait until I do y,” and “then I’ll be able to relax” is a complete lie.

It’s only once we can internalize the fact that right is all that exists, and all that will ever exist, that we can open our hearts and be completely present and free in this moment.

~

2) Surrender To The Flow Of Life

As high achievers, we like to control things. Create a plan. Be diligent in executing it. Eliminate as much uncertainty as possible.

But this clinging and need to control only causes us anxiety. The world does not revolve around us. The universe does not care about our individual intentions about how life should unfold or the things that we think should happen.

If you zoom out and adopt the perspective of the Universe, you realize your personal insignificance.

Yourself, your goals, and your intentions are like a pebble of sand on a beach that stretches for five miles.

They are a speck of dust.

From this zoomed out perspective, thinking we have the individual power to completely control an outcome seems delusional. Yet we do it all the time.

We need to surrender.

Surrender to the uncertainty of life.

Understand the only thing constant in the universe is change.

We can either continue to fight, claw, scratch, and swim upstream, or we can turn around, surrender, and flow with the stream of the universe.

We don’t know exactly where life is going to take us.

Nor would we want to know.

The fun in life is the adventure, the unknowingness, the unexpected turn.

If we could control everything, there would be no surprise.

And a story without surprise is a story not worth telling.

~

3) Acceptance

This is the piece I’ve been working on the most.

I feel a deep sense of guilt and shame when I don’t reply to all my messages. I know I’ve leaving business opportunities on the table by not staying up to date on my inboxes. I know I could be “getting ahead” or making more money if I just do the one more thing.

But here’s what I’m realizing:

The one more thing will never go away.

There will always be a business opportunity left on the table because there’s simply not enough time.

The inboxes will never hit zero (unless you devote your entire life to the practice).

Rather than fight this and be anxious about it, the only way to “solve” the problem is to accept the problem cannot be solved in the first place.

In fact, the only reason these things are a problem is the fact we think they’re a problem.

99% of problems exist in the mind.

99% of problems exist because we wish reality were different.

And so the only way out is sheer acceptance.

~

So here are the actionable steps (for you and myself):

A) Carve out more time to simply be. Exist in silence. Meditate. Go on walks without headphones. Learn to surrender to the present moment.

B) Notice when anxiety arises. Don’t fight it. Observe it. Get to the root cause. Sit in the emotion from a place of detached awareness, allow the emotion to run its course, and let it pass.

C) Find teachers, mentors, friends, writers, and thinkers who exist in this state of calm acceptance. We will learn through osmosis and perception.

Thanks for reading.

Until next time,

@jackmoses0