FOR A LONG TIME I felt stuck in a rut. The past couple of years seemed like a game of Super Mario, where I couldn't quite get past Bowser and was playing the same stage over and over again. Only in real life I didn't have any fire flowers or 1-ups.

What I was wrestling with was a sense of direction. I know, it sounds just like every other millennial's life narrative. But the inner turmoil was no less real. I had no idea which path I was supposed to take. I didn't know what I wanted my career to look like, or what kind of girl I'd want to marry, or where I even wanted to live.

Have you ever felt that way?

I could not shake the sense of having wasted time and opportunities. But instead of playing the victim, I decided to do something about it. I recommitted myself to basic principles like giving more to others, loving people better, and reconnecting in my spiritual disciplines.

The Greater Verse is the fruit of this journey, which started from that hungry place. It is the answer to which Walt Whitman alluded. That I am here, that the powerful play goes on and I will contribute a verse. My words, my life, are far from perfect and rarely smooth — but it is the verse I alone can contribute.

It is my belief that you have something unique to donate to this desperate world. I hope I can help spark whatever that is in you. The words I offer here are carried in buckets deep from the well of my personal ups and downs. May they refresh you with inspiration, hope, and meaning in your journey.

Godspeed,