Paradise (re)Discovered

Welcome notes, reflections, and living into what calls you.

Where home is: a New York City sunset skyline with a 2026 World Cup bracket, a México-USA-Canada ball, coffee, concha, and A Life Aligned by a Querétaro tile.

Where home is, and what a hard return north taught me

I am writing from Long Island, back in the place that raised me, here for two weeks in the middle of summer while the World ...
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The Peña de Bernal monolith rising over the Querétaro valley in warm evening light.

The summer solstice and the door we open

The summer solstice gives its fullest light on the day it begins to turn. A reflection on Bernal, Tijuana's welcome, and the doors we choose ...
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Family in Mexico jerseys walking across a rain-soaked plaza in Querétaro at sunset, with the illuminated cathedral, dramatic clouds, and reflections stretching across the wet stone streets.

The long middle

The long middle Every real change has a long middle, and it is the part we are least ready for. México opened the World Cup ...
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Featured image for the essay “What It Means to Belong.” At sunset in Mexico City, Estadio Azteca and a Pride celebration appear side by side, connected by crowds carrying Mexican and rainbow flags. In the foreground, a leather journal, fountain pen, espresso cup, and folded Pride flag rest on a wooden table, symbolizing reflection, identity, hospitality, and belonging. The image explores the shared themes of the 2026 World Cup, Pride Month, authenticity, and finding a home where one is welcomed fully as oneself.

What It Means to Belong

This Thursday, México opens the World Cup and holds its doors open to the world, while June fills the streets with a second kind of ...
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Día de las Madres still life: bougainvillea in a terracotta pot, a Mexican ceramic coffee mug, a woven serape, and a leather journal on a stone ledge at sunset, with a colonial church featuring twin bell towers and a dome rising over rooftops, mountains in the distance, and olive branches framing the upper right.

What a fixed date asks of us

What a fixed date asks of us On Día de las Madres, two Sundays sharing a calendar, and the first place we ever lived Two ...
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Staying present when the world shakes — blog title graphic for Paradise (re)Discovered by Dr. Mark Arcuri"

Staying Present When the World Shakes

There is a particular quality to a Sunday morning in Querétaro that I have come to love. The streets carry the unhurried sounds of families ...
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