Author Archives: diestl

The coin buys bread, yet leaves the soul famished. The job keeps the lights on. But it dulls the edge of who you are. Your real life isn’t in the paycheck,  it’s in the notebooks you bury until tomorrow, the words you silence, the music vibrating, No one is coming to set them free, butContinue reading “The manifesto of permission”

I drove past an Italian restaurant today, one that had stood for forty-six years. A fence now circles it, and plywood pressed against the windows. No warning. No farewell. Just gone. It was a place my daughter loved, she adored the lasagna. We’d sit together in the warm hum of conversation, while celebrities of anotherContinue reading “Progress without soul”

We are the architects of our own captivity. Machines grow clever, while our minds forget their strength. A cleverly designed plan.  I never asked for AI, I never asked for cell phones, I never asked for computers and electric cars with computers controlling them. However, I’m wrapped tight in their circuits and screens, because fascinationContinue reading “The Paradox of Progress”

On the surface, it sounds like solidarity: “These are my people.” But in propaganda, it can work as a shortcut to emotional alignment, grouping you with others based on one shared trait, belief, or preference, even if that commonality is shallow or irrelevant. It’s tribalism marketing, using belonging as bait. The cause may have littleContinue reading “Tribal huskstering”

Man wasn’t meant to wake to a blaring alarm in darkness, jolted into fight-or-flight mode before the day even begins.  The soft changes in light and temperature should be our only alarm clock, the way humans woke for thousands of years. Anything else is a jolt to the nervous system, pulling us out of nature’sContinue reading “Blinded by indoctrination. Indifference refilled with prescriptions”

People often say, “I’ll meet you in the afterlife” or “I’ll see you again on the other side.” It isn’t based on evidence, it’s a way of holding on to someone we’ve lost, a psychological tether to something we know nothing about, and a way to avoid facing the finality of death and just lettingContinue reading “Will there be an ovation?”

The Clown Who Bought a Seat at the so-called Grown-Up Table. There was a time when hearing Howard Stern’s voice on the radio felt like tuning into a live wire. Raw, dangerous, unfiltered. While living in Boston, I’d listen to the replays on the WBZN, because that’s all I had at the time.  When IContinue reading “King of All Mediocrity”

It seems in today’s society we have lost use of moderation. Moderation of thought moderation of consumption moderation of technology moderation of politics. Do you think this is happening because of a plan or a scheme? Because this cannot be truly evolving. In an economy driven by attention deficits and consumerism, moderation is bad forContinue reading “Lost in moderation”

Tony Soprano is a narcissistic, violent, lying, self-serving sociopath who betrays nearly everyone who loves him and yet, we root for him. Why? Because we’ve been emotionally manipulated to see complexity as justification, and dysfunction as depth. It’s not storytelling anymore, it’s psychological engineering. What does it say about society today? It says we’re desensitizedContinue reading “Weaponized empathy”

Why did you want to become a Freemason? Networking? Riches? Fame and Success? World domination? This is why a waiting period for prospects is a must. Six months minimum. There should be no shortcuts as patience is one of our virtues. We shouldn’t encourage the mentality of instant gratification to gain membership. We are notContinue reading “The conveyor belt of Freemasonry”