The Real Real

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I love to try things. I am a curious raccoon, if you will. There are types of supplements where I have tried them all. The language learning platforms— I have basically tried them all. Something else I have tried a bunch of are fitness platforms.

I have talked about this in the past. I am picky when it comes to who I work out with. What am I looking at when I try a program or platform? I pay attention to the music and sound of the program. Does the person have good taste in music? Is the mic going in and out? Is the person quiet and then suddenly wildly loud? Do they talk a lot? Do I like their voice? Are they yelling at me? What is the vibe? Do they seem rushed? Are they anxious? Do they discuss form? Do they have issues they make public? Do they do strenuous workouts but have a period that has been missing for ten years? Do they have variety and innovation? I get bored easily. Am I paying money to do the same thing over and over again? These are the things I am thinking about.

I am particular when it comes to wellness. I believe strongly in maintaining top mind and body because I strongly believe our mind is what connects us to God.

Recently, I tried two new fitness programs. I won’t name them, but it’s not hard to know which ones if you do your research. One was an established fitness trainer who has dedicated decades to research, and she creates new choreographies. She doesn’t talk during workouts. Her taste in music is top. The other experience, trainer #2, was different. She yells in a voice that does not match her general vibe. It felt militant. The music was weird, like the type you don’t have to pay a license fee for. The movements were done in a spastic manner, and yet, weirdly the movement style itself was similar to trainer #1.

This last platform left me not wanting to go back to it or go past the free trial. What was interesting was that it left me so weirded out, I started looking into it. (Curiosity killed the cat, but not me). What I found was more than interesting. Apparently, the creator and trainer in the last platform discussed (trainer #2) used to work for the first trainer. Then, she left and started a platform that was a fraction of the price with similar movements. There was legal action from her former employer against her for infringement of copyright of the choreographies. The employer lost, as these legal things are tricky (currently being appealed— they settled out of court for breach of contract, though), but it all sort of suddenly came together for me.

This post really isn’t about the fitness platforms; it’s about the reality in life. In life, there are people who take and imitate. The vibes are off, and they seem to be something they are not. The way they move is a copy of something else. It sits superficially above the water. It’s the cheaper version. And as some Reddit posts will reveal, lots of people are ok with cheaper versions and imitations. That seems to be a theme now with luxury items. People are ok with a fake Gucci.

But then, there is the real deal. The real reals, we will call them. They are the creators. The ones who show up as themselves. They cost a lot more, but there is an expertise that backs it. There is authenticity. They know the intention and meaning of every movement and every word. It’s original.

The world is filled with imitations and the real. And let me tell you, when you are faced with both, if you have taken the time to do your homework, you can tell the difference. It’s like when I worked at the store— they trained you on what a real $20 dollar bill looks like so you can spot the counterfeit. We have to do this in everything in life. It’s one of the most important things we can teach children.

Life requires discernment. It goes way beyond a fitness platform and getting the body you want. It’s about all decisions including the people we allow around us. Is what/who we are choosing in alignment with our values?

We’ve all fallen for the counterfeit on accident. It’s part of life. But when you find the real deal, don’t let it go.

May we all choose to be the real real. The world doesn’t need more fakes.

Dreamer DNA

“Keepers of private notebooks are a different breed altogether, lonely and resistant rearrangers of things, anxious malcontents, children afflicted apparently at birth with some presentiment of loss.” Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I saw this Didion quote, and I know there is truth to it. As a kid, I would write 15 pages a day in my diary. I would plop myself onto the couch or be lying in bed on my stomach swinging my bent legs scribbling down my thoughts and happenings. It was a *thing* for me. I do think I carried a sense of loss with me, even if it was superficial— I left behind a lot of people, places, familiarity— constantly.

The other day, I was remembering all the colleges I wanted to go to as a kid. Every state we lived in, I pinned my hopes on going to that one school (Michigan State, The Ohio State, etc., etc.). That was until I didn’t. When it actually came time to apply to college, I was far from every college I had dreamed of before. It just sort of happened. (By the way, I would never trade my time at the University of Florida for any other school (even an Ivy League). It was the absolute best).

As my birthday approaches this year, I have been thinking a lot about the way those two things sort of have to stay alive in us— the things we dream about and the stuff we allow to unfold as life surprises us.

When I went to law school, I knew something big would happen this year. I planned for it. This is the last year for me for something I had looked forward to since 2011, and now, it’s here. (Thank God). It sort of starts to feel like it’s time to dream up next chapters or at least envision them, while leaving space for awesome serendipity and providence in life.

Endings invite us to dream of other beginnings and transitions. My point is dreaming doesn’t end when we are kids scribbling into notebooks and playing M*A*S*H. Be like that ad with the Emu. Be a dreamer.

Every new season— hell, every new day invites us to dream again. Take it from someone who adjusted her dreams a zillion times in every category— it’s time to dream. Dream and leave space for the surprises.

I’ll be here, scribbling into my notebooks. And I am here scribbling into this post: don’t forget you have dreamer DNA.

Words for the Silence

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Two out of my three trains are on time. I am overcoming my shock. As I do that, I continue to reflect on a passage in scripture that deeply moved me this week.

You know, sometimes, you are in a weird season. You feel surrounded by an environment you could do without. You pray incessantly, but it feels pretty quiet and stagnant. It brings David’s writings into perspective— how despondent he was at times, begging God to help him, feeling the darkness all around.

Today’s words aren’t from David, but from the mother of the man who anointed him king (Hannah, mother of Samuel).

I read her prayer, as I have done many times before, but the ending gripped me:

“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I am sharing this in case it encourages you, too. He guards the feet of the faithful. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces (some versions say ‘shattered’).

Hannah was someone who very much felt God’s silence in a season of life. But through the perceived silence, God was bringing about something BIG. Because that is what God does. He isn’t hampered or stopped. He is always bringing about His purpose, which is love. The ultimate good. It’s not easy; it’s not by might— but it’s wrought in patience, our quiet working of the soul, and His certain guiding hand.

The Hard Way

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Some people look down on the ones who take the hard road. We live in a time where you can find easy if you want it.

These days, things are so convenient that we as a human race lack intimacy with each other (even in the nonsexual sense) because “real intimacy requires inconvenience” (David Leon). If you want to lose weight, you can follow the steps of celebrities who take a drug and drop all their stubborn weight. If you want longer hair, you can just clip in extensions. If you want a tan, you can spray it on. If you want to eat but don’t want to cook from scratch, you can order in or do a Sandra Lee semi-homemade situation. Kids these days use AI for their homework.

But there is strength and also deep satisfaction in the hard way. When you make a good home-cooked meal; when you get fit through hours of sweat; when you care for your hair and grow it out; a tan that shows hours spent in the sun having fun; an assignment where you poured out your creativity.

The hard way is important, Sahil Bloom writes, “We don’t value what’s easy. We value what we earn.

Because nothing feels better than a hard-earned win. Nothing. The pain. The struggle. The resilience. The grit. And then, the reward. The thrill of knowing that you paid the cost of entry for the thing you wanted to achieve.

Hard things are good for the soul.”

Chaos and Harmony

Words by: Alex Ikkon

“Life itself is the ultimate psychedelic.

No substance. No filter. Just this.

This breath. This moment. This miraculous now.

It’s the most exquisite trip we’ll ever take.

In its raw, unedited form-without enhancements, without escape—

Life is already the highest high, the deepest journey.

It’s art in motion. Chaos and harmony dancing as one.

The good, the bad, the uncertain-all of it-flawlessly woven into a masterpiece beyond comprehension.

And once I began to see it that way…

Once I let go of needing it to be anything other than what it is—

I see the design.

I see the brilliance.

I see God in the details.

This isn’t something happening to you.

It’s unfolding for you.

Because you, whether you remember or not, chose this.

You’re not just along for the ride-you’re co-creating

You are part of this ultimate creation.

And the way to navigate this sacred trip?

Not by resisting.

Not by clinging.

But by surrendering.

By trusting the flow, even when it feels like the current is pulling you under.

Especially then.

Ask yourself not, “Why is this happening?” But instead, “How am I creating this?”

The truth is-this life, your life, is a miracle in motion.

And the beauty you find in it

Will always reflect the beauty you choose to see.

So this morning, here in Madeira, I pause.

Not to chase meaning, but to feel it.

To marvel at the ordinary, made extraordinary simply by presence.

And I just wanted to share that with you—

This quiet knowing.

This wild grace.

This sacred, beautiful ride we’re all on.

I am grateful for each moment and the journey that I am on.”

Necessary People

“Some of you were lessons, some of you were poetry, and all of you were necessary. Either way, you gave me a story to tell. No royalties will be issued. Wishing you all the best (but mostly therapy).” Cara Alwill

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I can hear Fergie’s Big Girls Don’t Cry being blasted by my neighbor. She has the best taste in music. I swear we would be friends.

I think often about the paths that cross in this life. There are the friends, family, acquaintances. (Like, where is that girl who loved fairies and fantasy novels in high school? Or the girl in jr. high who would pick at her eyebrows until they were all gone?) This reflection was amplified as I read Cara Alwill’s latest book.

We reflect on how things started and how things ended. We think about whether we were right about people from the beginning. We wonder if people did their best by us and vice versa.

That saying that says people do the best they can is delusional. It’s something we say to mask reality. I don’t believe that. Some people are really trashy. I have seen people purposefully give zero effort.

For example, yesterday marked the end of an era for Sam Rosen and the NY Rangers. The Rangers won the President’s Trophy last year, and this year, they were one of the worst teams (with the team intact at the beginning of the season— same people). They didn’t do their best. They gave up. (Exception of the fourth line). People do this in life all the time. They settle for mediocrity.

This whole web of stories and lives shapes us. It softens us or hardens us. Sometimes, it’s more of an automated choice, a dangerous seeking of the familiar, and a method of survival. Survival never justifies anything, though.

I feel like we move through life slowly making decisions that either bring us more into alignment or more out of alignment. Alignment with what, you may ask? With our values. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you profess. What matters is whether your life matches those ideas. We either do the hard thing or we start desensitizing ourselves to who we want to be and fall short. We are always moving in some direction; we are seldom truly stuck.

In the end, we keep making choices and rubbing elbows with people. Some we want to stay with; others we need to escape. Even the ones we leave behind teach us something about the world or our simple act of leaving builds the person we are. And little by little, our stories unfold. Our characters keep evolving.

We keep writing the pages until we reach the last one.