What is this?
Hey y’all!
Ben here. If you’ve stumbled upon this blog, you may be one of the many folks who’ve been wrestling with… a lot of things, really. Especially internal things, like
Who are you? Do you love yourself? What does that even mean?
What is your place in your community? Do you have community?
How do you find work that inspires you? Does such work even exist anymore?
Why do things around the world seem to be spiraling in the wrong direction? Why do those in power tell you that everything is okay when your entire body tells you it’s not?
We’re tired. At least I’m tired, and I’ve been working through this sense that something is missing in our lives, in our world.
We live in an age of constant connection yet feel more isolated than ever. We have endless choices yet struggle to find meaning. We work harder and harder, but often without the sense that our lives truly belong to us.
I’m just a guy, but I’ve spent years studying philosophy, religion, ecology, and politics in order to try and find some satisfying answers. I wanted to not just learn theory but to apply it and improve my life, mental health and wellbeing in general. How do we live more joyfully in a world defined by stress and speed? How do we care for each other in a culture that teaches us to compete instead of cooperate? How do we nurture and cooperate with the Earth that sustains us, rather than strip it bare?
In trying to find answers and taking notes, eventually I began to compile lessons I’ve learned into something I’m calling The Commons Guide.
It’s not a religion and it’s not a self-help program. It’s a set of principles for living well together: caring for ourselves, each other, and the Earth in ways that make life fuller, calmer, and more sustainable. It blends insights from Buddhist philosophy, ecological wisdom, collective traditions, and even modern critiques of burnout culture. While this sounds heady, this is also backed by scientific studies that have slowly helped us learn about ourselves, what works and what doesn’t (often applying scientific understanding to wisdom that has been passed through cultures for millennia).
At the heart of it is a simple truth: we thrive best not as isolated individuals, but as communities rooted in care, curiosity, and responsibility.
This space, blog, project, whatever you may call it isn’t about me giving you all the answers. It’s about beginning a conversation, planting seeds, and cultivating new ways of living in common. I’ll be sharing short reflections, practical exercises, and community experiments that you can try wherever you are. Whether you live in a city apartment, a small town, or closer to nature, I’m hoping at least some of this helps you. If nothing else, there might be something here that gives you language and perspective to examine your own thoughts, feelings and life in general.
If you’re reading this and nodding along, I hope you’ll stay. Subscribe, comment, share your own thoughts. Try out a practice, or join a conversation. This only works if it’s a we.
In time, I hope we’ll grow into more than words on a page. Maybe the goal is a living network, and eventually living communities. But for now, it begins here with you and with me. With shared questions and a shared commitment to find a better way.
Welcome to The Commons Guide.
- Ben