Take a deep breath.
Here is 1 creation, 1 quote, and 1 question to consider this week...
1 Creation From Me
“The Sentence and The Sky: Pablo’s lesson from prison” — a short story
(Click the play button at the top to watch)
Highlights:
This is the story of the ONE morning walk that changed everything—shared live at a “Stories by the Fire” event in Potrero, Costa Rica
I've taught gratitude for years, but this moment showed me what it truly feels like
A spontaneous encounter with a friend who had just revealed he spent 3 years in prison shifted my whole awareness
How hearing someone say prison was “the best experience” of their life opened my eyes to everyday freedoms
A simple beach meditation with a friend became a mutual transformation
Gratitude is not just a concept—it’s a vibration, a deep, heart-level experience
Scroll all the way down for the full transcript.
*You can support Pablo’s local tour and adventure business at WildTamarindo.com 🔥🔥🔥
…and he’s an amazing guy!
1 Quote From Another
The glorious Persian poet and spiritual leader Rumi says this about our man-made shackles:
“Why do you stay in prison, when the door is so wide open?”
Source: Masnavi-i Ma’navi, Book 1 (1258-1273)
1 Question For You
What freedoms have you been taking for granted—and how can you notice and appreciate them more today?
If this resonated, pass it along to someone who might need it today. Let’s grow this circle!
Until next time, freethinkers…stay present, be pleasant, and have an amazing day!
Mike Messeroff
Founder of The Carpe Diem Company + Personal Freedom Coach
Creator of Self-Hospitality
Author of Dogs Get It: Advice I learned from my best friend
Full transcript of the story:
"Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life."
That's not me, that's Rumi.
So this is something for me, gratitude. You could even say that I've taught gratitude for several years, but this story that I'm sharing with you tonight actually occurred at the beginning of this year, and it changed my awareness, and my perception. and my experience—my direct experience—of what gratitude actually is. Not just the concept, not just the word, but a deep feeling, an energy, a vibration. And that's how Andy kicked this all off, sharing that vibration.
So for me, you heard that, you know, I'm here kind of representing the Tamarindo Writers Group, and this was a beautiful morning in Tamarindo at the beginning of this year. And I'm walking kind of south on the beach. I have the beautiful ocean to my right, kind of like a trees and a parking lot to my left. And I'm walking with my sweet little dog, Lela, which is a seven-pound Yorkie, very intimidating.
And it was early, you know, maybe six, 6:30 AM. And I'm going, you know, I'm feeling healthy. I'm going to meet with my trainer in a few hours. It's the beginning of the year.
And I look up and I see my friend Pablo standing up there. Pablo is a Tico in his 20s, young kid, kind of bigger, big curly hair, full of life.
He and I kind of randomly met and just kind of kicked it off, had the deepest conversations about philosophy and life. And I see him up there, and he waves me over and says, "Hey, bro." And I give him a big hug.
He's like, "What are you doing?" I said, "You know, walking with my dog, my morning walk." He goes, "I’m about to light this joint, you want to join?"
I said, “I’m gonna meet with my trainer soon, I'm going to the gym…
Of course! Of course I’d love to smoke with you…as long as you don't mind walking with me and my dog down the beach while we smoke."
He says, "No problem, bro."
So we're walking down the beach, talking as we usually do, and getting a little stoned. And he kind of stops, and he's like, "I never told you this, but I was in prison."
And I said, "Really? That's incredible. How long and what for?"
"Yeah, three years."
And I said, "Wow, for what?"
"Selling drugs."
And I said, "Man, that seems like crazy. That must have changed you." And he said, "Actually, it was the best experience I ever had."
He said, "Well, first of all, it taught me to enjoy all the things that we're talking about—reading all these books, Power of Now, Four Agreements—kind of philosophical type of things that changed his life, as did mine."
And he said, "But really, the biggest gift that it gave me was, if you spend some time”, and I want you all to really think about this. “If you spend any amount of time where you're not able to look at the sky," this is what he's telling me, "you're not able to look at the sky when you want. You're not able to choose what food you're eating. You don't have the basic things. You don't have the basic freedom of choice that we have every day in our life."
And as he told me that, as I'm telling this story to you, I got goosebumps.
I said “Holy Shit. I didn't even look out at the ocean today. I didn't really look at the clouds or the sunrise or notice my dog's smile with the beautiful green mountains in the distance.” And we just kind of kept talking about that. And I was vibrating already like I am right now, just vibrating at a higher level.
And we finished our walk. I said, "You know, I'm about to sit and meditate. I'd love for you to join me."
He says, "I've never meditated, bro. What is that?" I said, "Just sit. I'll guide you."
We sat, we did a short little guided meditation with the waves rolling in—a beautiful, Tamarindo morning. He comes out of it, he says, "Bro, you just changed my life forever."
I said, "Pablo, it goes both ways, because you changed my life today too."
And as I'm sitting there, feeling so good that I was able to share with him and he was able to share with me...
It just showed me the power, the magic behind true appreciation. Not the concept, not the word “gratitude” or “appreciation,” but the deep feeling, the higher vibration. And for me, for years, I feel like that was lost in translation. I knew it as a concept, but I didn't know it in my heart as that deep sensation. A source emanation.
And that's kind of my wish for all of you to feel that appreciation too. Feel that it's your creation. You get to actually experience that as you tap into that. And that's something I hope you take away from this.
It's just that feeling. Not the words I'm saying. What it feels like to have freedom. What it feels like to do the things that we want to do, to come to events like this, and to share in our mutual vibration.
So I appreciate you letting me share with you. I hope you take a little bit of that with you today.
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