Author Archives: diestl

A glimpse of Heaven is lying in bed on a warm, golden morning, when a cool breeze drifts in through the half-open window, carrying the rich, smoky perfume of bacon cooking in your neighbor’s kitchen. Time to make the coffee. c 2025 Chu The Cud All Rights Reserved

War didn’t just take lives, it shattered the emotional and structural fabric of the family. We taught men how to survive the battlefield, but never how to return to life when they got back home. They came back with medals and nightmares, with silence in their mouths and fire buried in their chests. Fathers inContinue reading “The void of structure”

Ripped from the depths of unconsciousness by unadulterated obligation, for a taste of freedom. I looked in the mirror, without reflection, transfixed on, disappearing. Nothing was said. Still sleeping with open eyes, spellbound, moving to a rhythm that forgot its music. I entered a meeting, to plan the meeting, for the meeting that would summarizeContinue reading “Hallucinations of Happiness”

I never asked to be understood. I’m not here to be decoded, explained, or made easier to digest. I don’t bend to make you comfortable. The crystals around my neck? They carry stories that are mine, not yours. They vibrate with the echoes of ancestors, not algorithms. You ask why? Because you see mystery andContinue reading “Vibrations of echoes”

Exhaustion doesn’t earn us a break from life, it just makes the journey heavier. There’s a cruel irony in that truth. We expect that after giving so much of ourselves, after the long days, the mental strain, the quiet battles no one sees, the heartbreak, life might grant us a moment to catch our breath.Continue reading “The burden of reality”

As the great-grandchild and grandchild of immigrants, I’ve had the privilege of living among many who came to this country with nothing, who followed the proper channels, became citizens, educated themselves, and built successful lives. They raised beautiful families, embraced the culture, and truly loved this country. For over thirteen years, I’ve lived among scholarsContinue reading “One man’s ghetto is another man’s palace.”

It’s a strange irony of our time that many of the loudest voices warning about climate catastrophe are also the most active participants in the very consumer culture driving it. These are the same individuals who protest tariffs on China, arguing that restricting trade hurts the global economy, while overlooking that much of what flowsContinue reading “Pennies saved, billions spent.”

After years of eating garbage multiple times a day, not caring about the consequences, you finally look in the mirror… and there it is, a fat blob of what you once were staring back at you. Once, you had a healthy body. You took care of your temple daily. When and why did you becomeContinue reading “Placebo Republic”

Ignorance is bliss. Ignorance is bliss— in the face of reality, pharmaceuticals drifting through our drinking water. Someone else’s antibiotics coursing silently through our veins. Our filtration’s a facade as much as our Food and Drug Administration, never enough money to keep the poison out. When “government by the people” no longer means by theContinue reading “Ignorance is bliss”

“The loudest voices in the temple are not always the holiest. Sometimes, truth walks barefoot while virtue rides in a limousine.” In every age, the powerful have sought to appear righteous. In ours, that performance often comes wrapped in tweets, speeches, and statements from people whose lives are far removed from the consequences they lament.Continue reading “Performance activism.”