Many miles from home, Atalwin Pilon recalls a teacher’s wisdom: Clean up the relationship with your parents and you can do the marriage with your left hand.
The Shadow of Beauty
Atalwin Polin talks about a reader’s kind contribution to his journey and the movement again Islamist free speech in Turkey.
A Sad Day with a Silver Lining
Atalwin Polin shares his story of globe-trotting, heartbreak, and new friends.
Maybe I Am a Good Guy
Atalwin Polin talks about how to love others and yourself in the face of trauma, loneliness, and feelings of inadequacy.
My Suffering Is Better Than Your Suffering
How is it, Atalwin Pilon wonders, that in a world where some people starve to death and are blown apart by landmines, other people are pushed to their limits by the sound of one song bird?
You Should Really Open Up
“What I am finding over and over again is that honesty heals.”
Bearing Witness in Beirut
I am starting to realize that the countries I choose to visit make it impossible not to think about conflict. Reading that sentence makes my laugh. How ignorant can a human being be? I went from Athens to Tel Aviv and from Amman to Beirut and after Beirut I will go to Baghdad via Cairo. I…
Visiting Enemies: On Walking the Streets of Beirut
“I noticed something beautiful. People don’t smile here.”
Being in a Difficult Place With Beautiful People
Atalwin Pilon can’t tell you where he is right now.
Everything I Want to Do for the Rest of My Life
What do you want?
The Fear of Visiting My Grandparents’ Graves
Atalwin Pilon experiences some mixed feelings as he visits the burial place of his grandparents.
It’s All About Accepting and Rejecting
When a married woman looks you in the eyes and tells you she’s uncomfortably attracted to you, Atalwin Pilon writes, you realize some things.
It’s OK to Be Abandoned
Atalwin Pilon came to terms with the end of a relationship once he realized we were all free.
How to Stay Dry When It’s Raining Inside
Atalwin Pilon lends insight into obtaining daily happiness and inner stability, even on the gloomiest of days.
The Black and White Wolf Within Each of Us
Which wolf will you feed?
The Battle Between My Heart and Ego
“Sometimes we see something that is very pure, very fragile, and we realize it’s perfect—even if it isn’t.”