DEEPAK NAIR

Category: Reflections & Essays

  • Your Work Is Invisible

    “Your work is invisible.” I talk and debate with AI everyday—we talk about life choices, thinking clearly, taking action, and other subjects.  I’ve spent years on inner work—meditation, mindfulness, learning, exercise. Even the writing on my website is shielded because not many people have discovered it yet.  “Exposure is a risk you need to take.”…

  • The Season of Almost

    Nonfiction Prompt: Tone: Honest, introspective, grounded, lightly poetic Theme: Life between chapters Write an essay about a period in your life when nothing dramatic was happening on the outside, yet everything felt like it was shifting inside — a season where you weren’t who you used to be, but you weren’t yet who you were…

  • Conversations With AI

    Prompt: “What’s a habit you do today that would surprise the version of you from five years ago?” Reflection: Artificial Intelligence.  I use AI to help with nearly every part of my life now, and the version of me from five years ago could not have predicted that. He’d be shocked to see how indispensable…

  • Goodbye Cravings

    Prompt: “Write about a moment when you realized you were becoming someone new — even if the outside world didn’t see it yet.” Reflection: I don’t get food cravings anymore. After a year of eating clean and working out, I noticed that candy bars, pizza, and sugary treats don’t pull at me the way they…

  • The Larger Amount

    Prompt: “Write about a rule you secretly follow that no one else knows about — a private code, habit, or superstition.” Reflection: If you are tipping and you have two numbers in your mind, pick the larger amount. It’s a small private rule I follow because practicing generosity creates its own happiness.

  • PURPLE FOR NO REASON

    Prompt: “Write about an everyday object in your home that seems like it’s secretly alive — not in a magical way, but in the way it behaves.” Reflection: My air purifier feels alive. It cycles through three colors: blue for clean air, purple for slightly dirty, and red for maximum purification. If I light incense,…

  • SILENCE IN MOTION

    Prompt: “Write about a moment in the natural world that feels like a small miracle — something almost no one notices, but once you see it, you can’t unsee it.” Reflection: They are everywhere on my morning walk. But the fascinating thing about squirrels is that for all the commotion they make each day, their…

  • THE STRANGEST NIGHT ON EARTH

    Prompt: Write about something humans do that would seem completely bizarre if you explained it to an intelligent alien — but to us, it feels totally normal and even comforting. Reflection: If you tried explaining Halloween to an intelligent alien, they’d think humans were malfunctioning. Once a year, little humans dress up like ghosts, skeletons,…

  • THE HUMBLE RUBBER BAND

    Prompt: Write about something ordinary that makes life feel magical. Reflection: The rubber band is an underappreciated hero in the world of office supplies. Staples and paper clips hold things using force. The rubber band does it by being flexible.   A paper clip bends out of shape under pressure, but the rubber band returns to…

  • THE KINDNESS TABLE

    In my building, strangers leave boxes of food and snacks on the main floor table. One morning, I was hungry and found a whole box of energy bars someone had left behind. It felt like Christmas morning. Since then, I’ve seen bags of kettle chips, cans of soup, instant meals — even a batch of…

  • THE VENDING MACHINE

    I am a Monster Zero Ultra guy. Any time I need a pick-me-up, this silver can does the trick. As luck would have it, when I moved into my new apartment building, I found a vending machine with plenty of Monster Zero in stock.  This bright red machine is like a tiny automated coffee shop.…