#117: Learning to trust the shifting self
Learn why every path has its own hard, how identity is always shifting, how mineralized water jumpstarts your day, and why being fully alive means embracing discomfort as a path to renewal.
Last week, I visited Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, and I walked away both puzzled and fascinated.
First surprise: the American vibe.
Wide roads lined with gas stations, drive-thru burger joints, giant malls, even police uniforms that feel straight out of New York. It’s like a slice of America quietly dropped into the Balkans.
There’s history behind it. After the Kosovo War in 1999, the U.S. played a major role in NATO’s intervention and has remained one of Kosovo’s strongest allies. In Pristina, streets are named after Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. American flags fly alongside Albanian ones. The influence is deep, cultural, political, and aesthetic.
Second surprise: the luxury cars.
Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with high unemployment and low GDP per capita. Yet the streets are filled with Range Rovers, BMWs, even the occasional Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Dubai was the only other place where I saw these cars so frequently.
Part of the answer lies in Kosovo’s massive diaspora, especially in Switzerland and Germany. Remittances make up nearly 20% of the country’s GDP. Many Kosovars working abroad send money home, invest in real estate, or return in the summer, in style. With relaxed customs rules for returning expats, importing a luxury car isn’t out of reach.
It’s a mix of pride, status, and practicality.
It doesn’t feel like a struggling country. The food is incredible. Nature, raw and untouched. Prices, unbelievably low. It’s the kind of place that makes you wonder how it’s stayed off the tourist radar for so long.
If you live in Europe and haven’t been, go! Kosovo is a paradox in the best possible way. Balkan roots with an American rhythm. Beautiful, affordable, and full of surprises.
This week at a glance:
🧗🏼 Choose your hard
😶🌫️ Learning to trust the shifting self
💠 Start your day with minerals
🔥 To be fully alive
🧗🏼 Choose your hard
When you drink water from a cup, it becomes part of you. When water falls on you like rain, it evaporates a few minutes later. Similarly, thoughts can be consumed or dismissed.
Is this thought nourishing? Is this feeling something you should drink? Or is it more like getting caught in the rain?
You'll always feel the rain, but you don't have to drink it. You can let the thought pass, and in a few moments the sun will return. You don't have to claim everything you feel.
The main forms of luck in life as an adult are having an amazing partner, loving your work, and having your health. Everything else is accoutrements.
Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard. Choose your hard.
Obesity is hard. Being fit is hard. Choose your hard.
Being in debt is hard. Being financially disciplined is hard. Choose your hard.
Starting a business is hard. Working a 9 to 5 job is hard. Choose your hard.
Life will never be easy, but you can choose your hard. Choose wisely!
✨From Out of Curiosity
😶🌫️ Learning to trust the shifting self
As I look out the window now, the fog has returned. The bright light went back into hiding for now. Goodness, none of it is permanent, is it? Not ways of being, not the weather, not a mood, not change, not identity, none of it. I am trusting that where I was a year ago and where I am now is simply a reminder that we are fluid, ever-shifting, never fully landing anywhere. I am feeling the gift of letting go of clinging to ways of being, of making room for something new to emerge, even if old ways return sometimes. I am looking toward nature as a teacher, a reminder, a steadying.
✨ From The Fog Dissipates and Returns
💠 Start your day with minerals
Starting your day with a small yet impactful habit can transform your energy and well-being. Drinking mineralized water upon waking is a simple way to replenish essential nutrients that your body often lacks.
Here’s how to do it: Mix 10 ounces of water with a pinch of high-quality salt, like Celtic sea salt or Baja gold salt. Unlike regular table salt, these contain 91 trace minerals, including boron, manganese, molybdenum, and selenium—critical nutrients often missing in modern diets. Baja gold salt, in particular, stands out for its purity, being free from significant microplastics and glyphosate, with only 75% sodium and the rest comprising vital minerals.
This practice not only rehydrates your body but also supports cellular function and overall health. By adopting this small yet meaningful routine, you lay the foundation for a more balanced and energized day.
✨ From Moment 181 — 5 Things Your Body Is Probably Missing, That's Making You Sick! Gary Brecka
🔥 To be fully alive
To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again. - Pema Chödrön
✨ From Continually Thrown Out of the Nest
🎵 Music I’m listening to
You’ll find mostly Ethnotronica, Organic House, World, Disco, and Organic Electronic here:
🎧 If you appreciate the music I carefully select and haven't followed my Spotify playlists yet, now is the perfect time to hit that follow button and join me on this musical journey! 🎶
🌒 Pano: Danceable and electronic obscure songs
🌓 Sisy: Ethnotronica and organic house
🌑 Berghain: Dark, minimal techno and tech house
🌕 Heide: Groovy soul and disco house
🌞 Sonntag: Afterhours shit
🦥 Slow rave: Sleepy techno for tired danced
🌎 World: From Latin jazz to Turkish psych
🌚 Super Slow: For your intimate moments
Previously on Pursuit:
