Hi friend,
I’ve been sitting with something lately. It’s this idea that we can meet everything—and I mean everything—with understanding.
Not forced positivity. Not toxic optimism. Just... understanding.
Let me explain what I mean.
Nothing is as solid as it seems
Everything I’m feeling right now is temporary.
The anxiety I woke up with this morning? Temporary.
The joy I felt yesterday watching the sunset? Also temporary.
This used to terrify me. If nothing lasts, what do I hold onto?
But lately I’m seeing it differently. There’s something beneath all the temporary feelings.
Something that doesn’t shift with my mood or my circumstances. Call it your infinite nature. Call it the divine in you. Call it whatever feels true.
It’s the part of you that was there when you were seven years old and will be there when you’re seventy. It’s steady. It’s real. And it’s yours.
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The mind is just one small part of who you are
When I get really quiet, I notice something strange. My racing thoughts? They’re actually just a tiny fraction of what’s happening.
There’s my breath. My heartbeat. The energy moving through my body. The way I’m connected to everyone I’ve ever loved and everyone who came before me.
You are more than your mind. You’re an energetic being. You carry your ancestors in your bones. You’re part of this universe that keeps expanding.
When I remember this, everything gets a little bigger. A little more bearable.
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Your thoughts are creating your reality (yes, really)
This is the part that sounds woo-woo until you actually pay attention to it.
The thoughts you think? They’re not passive. They’re creative.
When you think about something being a certain way, you’re already bringing it into form. When you speak it out loud, you’re making it more real. This is why people talk about writing down your goals. You’re not just hoping—you’re building.
So I’ve been watching my thoughts more carefully. Not judging them. Just noticing. Where am I putting my attention? What am I building with my focus?
Because whatever you focus on expands. Whatever you think, you become. Whatever you feel, you are.
It’s both terrifying and liberating.
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There are two kinds of action (and only one works)
I used to think action was just action. Do the thing. Make it happen. Push through.
But there are two completely different kinds of action, and confusing them will burn you out every time.
There’s desperate action. Action from lack. Action from “I’m not enough so I better do more.” That kind of action exhausts you. It never feels like enough. It doesn’t work.
And then there’s inspired action. Action that flows from who you really are. Action aligned with your purpose. Action that comes from fullness, not emptiness.
Same activities, different energy entirely.
When you’re aligned with your why, you don’t run out of energy. You tap into something infinite.
Everything you see outside is showing you what’s inside
This one is hard to swallow. Trust me, I know.
But everything that bothers you out there? It’s pointing to something in here that needs attention.
That person who annoyed you today? They’re mirroring something you haven’t looked at in yourself.
The situation that feels unfair? There’s information there about where you need to grow.
This isn’t about blaming yourself. It’s about radical accountability. It’s about recognizing that you’re powerful enough to change your inner world, and when you do, your outer world shifts too.
Every person is a teacher. Every situation is a mirror.
What if envy could become inspiration?
I used to think envy meant I was a bad person. Jealousy felt ugly and shameful.
But here’s what I’m learning: when something captures your attention, when you feel that pull of “I want that too”—that’s information.
It’s not envy. It’s possibility knocking.
That thing you admire in someone else? You wouldn’t be able to see it if it wasn’t already alive in you somehow. Your attention is telling you: this is possible for me too.
So instead of feeling small, I’m learning to ask: what is this showing me about who I’m becoming?
You can live many lives in one lifetime
We’re here to evolve. That’s it. That’s the assignment.
You’re not the same person you were five years ago. You won’t be the same person five years from now.
Every lesson learned is a little death and rebirth. Every time you choose differently, you become someone new.
This is Earth school. The curriculum is everything that’s happening to you right now. The lessons are in your relationships, your challenges, your quiet moments of decision.
What if you approached it like that? With curiosity instead of resistance? With a backpack of inquiry instead of a fortress of defense?
The future you is available right now
Here’s something I’m practicing: I’m asking myself where I want to be in ten years, and then I’m trying to become that person now.
Not in a striving way. In an embodiment way.
If future me is calm and grounded, what would she do in this moment? If future me trusts herself completely, how would she handle this decision?
Your future self already exists. The wisdom is already there. You just have to tune in.
And when you do, your actions in this present moment change. You’re not reacting from your past. You’re creating from your future.
Here’s what I’m sitting with this week:
What thoughts are bringing me life right now?
Where does time disappear during my day?
What am I focusing on, and is it expanding me or shrinking me?
What would my future self do in this moment?
I’m learning all of this alongside you. Some days I remember. Some days I forget completely.
But I keep coming back to this practice of understanding. Of meeting everything with openness instead of resistance.
It’s changing everything.
More soon,
-P
P.S. If these letters are resonating with you, I’d love for you to upgrade to a paid subscription. It helps me keep showing up here, and paid subscribers get deeper dives, personal practices, and monthly Q&As where we explore this work together. Your support means everything. ❤️
Love this. Thanks for the reminder, I needed it.
Paolo, you're an artist with ideas, with words and with food.
So many parts of this piece resonated: how our thoughts shape our reality, how nothing is forever, and the beauty of summoning the ideal version of ourselves and acting like it.
Thank you 🙏🏻