Don't underestimate your own strength to persevere, to make it through the most difficult of times.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup final takes place today, Sunday, July 19, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. ET, featuring an epic clash between European champions Spain and South American defending champions Argentina.

Hosted at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, this match concludes the largest, longest, and most viewed tournament in football history, spanning 48 nations and 104 matches across the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Smoke from Canadian wildfires and other climate changes have been worrisome for today's game, but as I said here, looking out, the sky has cleared.

Lionel Messi enters the pitch today having already scoring a tournament 8 goals - positioning him to claim the Golden Boot - while chasing his second consecutive World Cup trophy.

Before the World Cup began, myself and others predicted a successful tournament for Lionel Messi and Argentina. Today's final will prove if those predictions were right.

Through it all, history was made, memories created, friendships developed, as the world's most popular sport proved its unique power to unite a fractured world. When the final whistle blows, the true legacy of World Cup 2026 won't just be the scores or the trophies. It will be the resilience of the human spirit - the athletes who pushed through physical exhaustion, the cities that stood up to protect the vulnerable, and the millions of fans who crossed borders to share a simple, universal passion.

An historic first-ever World Cup 25-30 minute final halftime show features a star-studded, Super Bowl-style lineup co-headlined by Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira, Burna Boy and BTS.

The New York Philharmonic, Venezuela's Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra (both conducted by Gustavo Dudamel), and Staten Island's PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay.

Beloved characters from Sesame Street will join in - including Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

Thursday July 18, 2026

Presently millions of people across the northern United States are moving through a hazy, uncomfortable blur of oppressive heat, stifling humidity, and thick smoke drifting south from Canadian wildfires. Just this week, New York City's heat index soared to a blistering 108°F, marking yet another intense heat wave gripping the Northeast.

The wildfire smoke has become an exhausting added burden. Even on days when the haze isn't visually obvious, billions of tiny, invisible microscopic particles (PM2.5) are suspended in the air slipping deep into your lungs and bloodstream, easily irritating your eyes, nose, and throat, triggering coughing fits, and making it tough to breathe.

It is a particularly dangerous environment for children, older adults, and anyone managing asthma, allergies, or chronic respiratory conditions.

Outdoor exercise has been replaced with indoor workouts, daily errands are meticulously planned around the coolest hours of the morning, and even a simple routine like walking the dog requires extra caution and shorter routes.

Because of this brutal combination, most of us are rewriting our summer plans. Instead of enjoying breezy summer walks, backyard barbecues, or afternoons at the beach, we are choosing to stay indoors where the air is cooler and cleaner.

I experienced this firsthand yesterday. I had planned to visit a friend on the North Shore of Long Island, but after checking the heat and air quality indexes, we decided to postpone.

Instead of the great outdoors - many people who embrace the energies of summer - are spending their time in air-conditioned spaces. (Be sure AC filters are clean)

If you are currently living under domes of heat and/or wildfire smoke - please prioritize your health. If you absolutely must be outside for a prolonged period, consider wearing a high-quality, well-fitted mask like an N95 or KN95. How wildfire smoke harms the body, and how to protect yourself

The most dangerous pollutants are the ones you can't see.

This takes me to ... the most dangerous events shaping our reality are also invisible to the people of planet Earth because they are the ones you also cannot see until their collective consequences manifest.

Wildfire smoke drastically disrupts and alters flight patterns for birds. Because they possess an incredibly efficient respiratory system to power flight, they inhale far more air - and therefore significantly more toxic particulate matter - than mammals. This high vulnerability forces them to change how, when, and where they fly.

I hadn't seen nor smelled anything like this since 9/11. The sun appeared orange then totally disappeared in a puff of smoke. Is that a hint as what's to come?

By Saturday, Canadian wildfire smoke combined with severe thunderstorms featuring 170 mile an hour winds, tornadoes in areas that don't normally experience them, flash flooding, and huge bolts of lightning carving holes in the dense smoke.

What came to mind was Zeus reminding humanity of end times - perhaps because the Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey premiered in the United States on Friday. It's the story of one man's 10 year journey to find his way home - his adventures, and the real and mythical characters he meets along the way.

In many US states, particularly Texas, flash flooding continues to accelerate - reminding me of biblical end-time flood stories which allegedly washed away a chapter in Earth's history (the end of that insert in the simulation) to create anew. All flood stories follow the same algorithm - but with different characters. Perhaps that's why people sometimes say, "History repeats itself".

Tornadoes always take me to the spirals of consciousness - wherein souls spiral down into physical form to experience adventures in third dimension the home of emotions. At the end of the journey all gets swept up in the spiraling illusion of time - first as small events then culminating in one final massive event that sweeps everything up in its wake.

My daughter Tracy in Arizona reported a week of monsoons which brought relentless rain, lightning, and dust storms - offering some relief to areas affected by active wildfires.

The bottom line is ... there is no escaping the whirlwind of events that is facing Earth as the simulation comes to a close. Climate change and natural disasters speak to us by way of accelerating extinction level events that by now most people know cannot be ignored. Every soul can put the pieces of the puzzle together and drawn their own conclusions based on their programming for closure. I realize that most people know we're at the end of something set against emotional programming in its many facets that keep them caught up in the daily quagmires of their experiences.