… And why it’s not what you think
Let’s cut through the noise —“health and wellness” is starting to feel like background static. Meditation. Mindfulness. Breathing techniques. It’s everywhere. And somehow, it’s still missing the point.
I’m an active firefighter. Still on shift. Still answering calls. And I run a magazine literally built around this stuff. But half the time? I’m just as numb to it as you are.
Not because I don’t care, but because the way it’s being served up feels soft, recycled, and disconnected. We’re not wired for fluff. We respond to pressure. If ignoring it worked, we’d be golden by now.
But it doesn’t. So here’s where I’m at:
The other day, someone tossed out the word “resilience,” and I cringed. Not because it’s wrong, but because it’s been used so much and explained so little. We’ve heard it all before. So why does something that’s supposed to keep us alive feel so easy to brush off?
Because we only care about health when we’re chasing it. Not when we think we’ve got it handled. When things are running smoothly, we don’t want reminders of fragility. We want to stay in rhythm. Stay tough. Stay unbothered.
Until it all cracks.
Until you’re staring at the ceiling in a hospital bed wondering how the hell you let it get that far. Been there.
Congestive heart failure stripped it all down — not with a warning, but with silence. The kind that forces you to finally listen to what you’ve been dodging for years.
Now I live in the middle: I don’t want to be soft. But I’m not willing to break again just to prove I’m hard.
That’s the real struggle. Not the buzzwords. Not the slogans. It’s figuring out how to stay in the game without losing yourself in the process.
So here’s the real question: What’s the thing that keeps coming up when it’s dead quiet? That thought you avoid? That truth you won’t say out loud?
Because maybe that’s where the work actually starts — not with checklists, not with lectures. Just with one brutally honest moment — between calls, in the truck, or right here.
Kory Pearn is a career firefighter and captain; and the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of CRACKYL Magazine.
