END OF LIFE

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END OF LIFE SITUATION

My heating pad died

Stopped working, will not heat

It still looks like my heating pad

But it will not get warm anymore

It remains room temperature

Useless as a heating pad

So, what is it?

Not a heating pad, it is a room temperature pad

Which is useless to me

I unplugged it and plugged it back in several times 

Nothing

Pushed all the buttons vigorously

Nothing

Whacked it with the flat of my hand

Nothing

So now it is a Nothing

Even if it looks like a Something

It is not what it was 

What it is now is simply something I must responsibly

Recycle

Return to the cosmos with my thanks

For all the coziness it provided

I am glad it didn't suffer

But now my mind turns, as it must

To the replacement for the now defunct 

Once-was heating pad 

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SHUFFLE

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SHUFFLE

Hell is lit with florescent lights

While insipid music plays

The damned walk down endless corridors

And dream of better days

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THE GIFT

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THE GIFT

If a guru offers you a gift 

Don't accept it

Unless you are prepared for everything to change

If your hands reach out and you accept the gift

The valuable, unique, mysterious gift

You naturally bring the gift back to your home

Set it down gently and reverently 

To admire it in its new location

Dazzling rainbow lights beam out from the gift

Filling your eyes with glory

Suddenly the room looks drab 

Your perspective changes, you instantly see

How much there is to be done

Who you need to be to own such a gift

Perhaps a guru someday, and you can give this gift

To some new unsuspecting soul who will be delighted 

At first

So stop and think before you accept the guru's gift

Because bit by bit, hour by hour

Everything will change, rise, unshackle itself

From the mundane world you see now.

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DAPPLE MAP

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DAPPLE MAP

The patterns of sunlight and shadow

Move across my floor

Until night glides in on slate blue wings

Then they are visible no more

The patterns of hopes and discouragements

Moves across my mind

Until sleep moves in on silent wings

And I leave consciousness behind

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THE MYSTERY

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THE MYSTERY

At the bottom of the rabbit hole

Is another rabbit hole

Oh yes

It is rabbit holes all the way down

But no matter how many we might explore

No rabbit will ever be found

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CENTER

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CENTER

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Where is the center of the Universe?

Right where you are is the center of the Universe

How can this be? you ask

How can there be billions of centers of the Universe?

Heisenberg or Schrödinger might provide an explanation

Perhaps Einstein could write out an equation

Until then you will just have to be the Center of the Universe

Without credentials or proof

Except for that tiny place in the corner of your mind

Which knows exactly who you actually are.

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THE MAD HATERS

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THE MAD HATERS

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The Mad Haters can't be reasoned with

The Hatefields and the Malfoys will fight without ceasing

They are a tribe from the Hell-With-These islands

Notable for their belligerent ignorance and violent tempers

Can they be soothed into pleasant compliance?

Can we convince them to try reasonable negotiations?

No.

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LAST RESULT

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LAST RESORT

When we have a lot of considerations to consider

In a complex, convoluted, confusing situation

And every plan ends in "Yes, but ..."

When we are dumbfounded and spinning in circles

There is always the Last Resort

To ask the Universe for help

A solution, a clear path, a guiding star

The right person with the right word at the right time

The Universe responds to a cry from the heart

So once you send out the requerst for help

Watch for a sign

Prepare yourself to accept the gift of what

The Universe might offer you, in whatever form that takes

Because our tiny voices are made enormous by a heartfelt

Request for guidance.

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DRIVEN

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DRIVEN

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There are people who want nothing more than to explore caves

Or arduously climb to a mountain top, 

Dive to the bottom of the sea, walk on the moon

Make useful robots or go faster than light

As much as any other urgent requirement

We have the compulsion to explore

As basic as the need for food or shelter

Or the necessary skills for our survival

But caving, diving, blasting off, or climbing

Do not promote the individual's survival

It only works for humanity's survival

In the long run

We not only live for ourselves but for the good of everyone

To come in the future

They can build on these discoveries

Thanks to those who must explore, expand, invent and know.

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BRAND NAME INFLUENCER

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BRAND NAME INFLUENCER

I put "Anti-Worry" cream on my forehead

And "It's a Beautiful World" drops for my eyesight

I slip on my "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" socks

I use "Kind Helpful Words" toothpaste, morning and night 

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GUARDIANS

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GUARDIANS

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A woman in a ponytail and a purple windbreaker

Ran down the road in front of my house

I saw her out the window and thought it strange

She wasn't jogging but running full on

I thought it was odd enough to step outside 

And see if she was being chased by something

She was just jogging along fine, no longer sprinting

I watched her swinging ponytail disappear down the street

She didn't know I was checking on her

Concerned for her well being and safety

It made me wonder if sometimes

When I am out and doing something 

There might not have been a Guardian watching me 

Concerned with my well being and safety

I will never know, as she will never know

About the invisible watchers, Guardians all.

Who are everywhere and anywhere, ready to lend a hand.

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BECKONING BEACON

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BECKONING BEACON

Even in my most troubled times

I can still see the light drifting through the pines

It might be the only light I see

But that light is enough to help guide me.

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AT THE BOTTOM OF MY GARDEN

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AT THE BOTTOM OF MY GARDEN

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What kind of bells do fairies prefer?

Silver or Gold?

How can we know, who can tell us?

We could ask a self identified Fairyologist

Someone who has studied fairies extensively

But half of them say definitively silver, the other half gold

In fact no one has actually seen a fairy to check their bells

We can not prove fairies even exist

There are those firm in their beliefs

That they are the fairy experts

Having read every book and treatise on fairies

Books which are rather unclear or self-contradictory 

On the life and preferences of fairies

If we can't rely on Fairyologists

We have no way of knowing what fairies want

Or what they consider to be an abomination 

We have to make up our own minds about fairy lore

But one thing we know for sure

It is ridiculous to get in a fist fight or war

Having people suffer and die over whether fairies

Want silver or gold bells.

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BLUB BLUB

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BLUB BLUB

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The thoughts that escape my subconscious mind

Rise like fizzy bubbles to awareness

My subconscious makes these thought bubbles

In some hidden process

Like the rainbow bubbles in pink champagne

Or the turgid green brown blubs of methane

From some hidden dismal swamp.

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WHEN A WOMAN STANDS IN THE DOORWAY

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WHEN A WOMAN STANDS IN THE DOORWAY

If a woman stands in her doorway

That can mean any number of things

She might be guarding the entrance to her home

Preventing entry by an unwelcome visitor

She might be waiting for the first glimpse

Of a beloved person she is eager to see

She might be surveying her surroundings

Out of natural curiosity or concern for something

That got her attention outside the house

She could be getting a breath of fresh air 

From a house filled with smoke or steam

Or unrest

When a woman stands in the doorway

It can mean many things

But if she looks at the horizon and sighs

She is considering leaving a situation 

She considers irredeemable

Her mind has already flown out the door

And into the future

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ENLIGHT YEARS

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ENLIGHT YEARS

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There should be a word for the feeling you get

When you finally figure out someone lives on

A planet in a universe you haven't visited yet 

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BREAD CRUMB HELPLINE

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BREAD CRUMB HELPLINE

The only way to love someone who is talking about ending it all

Is to believe that they won't really do it if they can only be helped

That they can be coaxed back from the edge

Farther and farther back, until we are in the woods together, holding hands

Looking for the Path to the Garden

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EYE OF NEWT

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EYE OF NEWT

The only one who understands what an alchemist 

Is really saying is another alchemist

Who can correctly decipher nonsense ingredients

Into a real life formula without a bit of nonsense at all

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SOOTHING SAYER

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SOOTHING SAYER

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The morning of the eclipse everything looked normal

The Sun rose as usual painting the sky with glory

If I didn't know there was going to be an eclipse

Today would be just another day

Only the sudden onset of darkness across broad daylight

Would have attracted my attention, caused a momentary pause

At the cosmic event taking place seemingly right over my head 

Even though the eclipse was precisely predicted a long time ago

A much longer time ago my mind would have wondered if the Sun

Would return to us once again and shine radiantly on all?

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ANNOUNCEMENT

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Once in a blue moon

We can get rid of a pesky problem

By simply declaring, "This is no longer a problem."

(You can use a loud booming voice if you like)

Suddenly

It's no longer a problem

That means you don't have to worry about it

Heck, you don't even have to give it another thought

Because there's no problem to think about

Where there used to be a problem

Now there is open sky, rolling hills, clear running water

Whatever you want because you are now officially free

By Declaration.

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ECLIPSE WISH

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ECLIPSE WISH

I see London, I see France

I hope that we all have a chance

To see the World at peace this year

We can almost see the peace from here.

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IDEAL vs REALITY

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IDEAL VS REALITY

How humanity should grow is to rationally and intelligently 

Evaluate and design society so all are safe, free, happy

Wishing to benefit all with improvements

How humanity actually grows is to build, learn or acquire something

Immediately get in a brawl over it, fighting until all is rubble and ruin

Aghast, we paw through the rubble for what can be salvaged

When the rubble is cleared, the bodies decently buried

New more modern things are built, learned, or acquired

New roles open up for the lower rungs on the ladder of life

Policies are put in place, programs are developed

Life is good until the next big kerfuffle when everyone goes

Ballistic again

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THE RULES

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THE RULES

Politics used to be a lot like sports

We were fiercely loyal to our teams

You had your team, I had mine

A good natured rivalry

Rah Rah Rah

With the rules of the sport and sportsmanship understood 

And understandable by all

No one would have gone to a pitcher's home 

And attacked their spouse with a hammer

Because that's nuts

No fans would have broken into a sports center to tear down 

Any mention of the other teams

Making violent threats to guards 

No, when politics was like sports

We were passionate about our teams

But abided by the rules of common decency

Now politics is more like a fanatical religion

With those who believe sure that they have a mandate 

To destroy the other "false faiths" - and launch

A crusade, a mission, to completely overwhelm the infidels

No room for compromise or negotiation

There can only be one Supreme Being

But there are uncounted politicos who come and go 

As the voters deem 

No real religion says to torch the churches of the others

Eliminate those who don't share your beliefs

Politics is not a sport or a religion, however

It is a method of making laws we will all live under

Lawful behavior is the rule, the doctrine, the political mandate

The most good for the most people, the least harm for the fewest people

The sacrament of politics is voting, the peaceful transfer of power

Our holy ideal

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DRUTHERS

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DRUTHERS

I would rather have a bunch of broccoli 

Than a dozen roses

Roses are lovely

But broccoli is healthy

And I can cook

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PATIENT WARRIOR

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THE PATIENT WARRIOR

The temptation to force things is strong

To insist on our way, right or wrong

To do whatever it takes

Until we collapse or it breaks

There is a gentler way

Patient kindness in work and in play

Mindfulness in all we do

The right results will come to you.

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BEGINNINGS

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BEGINNINGS

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Hang in there, you are molting

Getting rid of what no longer serves you

It is a chaotic time 

The value of a cup is its emptiness. 

You will fill your cup with what is right and fitting for you now 

Like the Fool we must leave things behind us 

Take the few important and relevant things in your little bag of tricks

 And move forward. 

The first thing the Fool does is come to the edge of a cliff 

So be aware of every step you take. 

It matters that you avoid that cliff

When the old gives way to the new 

Also don't let barking whining dogs trip you up

If any come to impede or discourage you

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NEW BEGINNING

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NEW BEGINNING

How do we get a new beginning?

We can't order one online

We can get the beginning of the beginning

With a decision formed in our minds

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First we form a specific goal

Then we will think of step one

The very first thing we must do

Then magic! Our new beginning has begun 

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HOT MIRACLE

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HOT MIRACLE

I took the teabag from my cup

A truly miraculous thing to do

The water I brought to a boil is the life blood of this planet

The microwave that heated the water 

Has tamed electricity like the Wizard at the top

Of Bald Mountain

The Pyrex cup, liquid glass poured into a mold

That fragile glass cup made its way without breaking 

Over hill and dale, sea and channel

To my hand

The teabag, filled with leaves grown on some far distant sunny hill

Harvested by people speaking a language I do not understand

The titanic forces of nature, the cooperation of nations

Come together in my house, my kitchen

Where I am able to ask the Universe for a cup of tea

And have one, steaming and restoring, in a few minutes.

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THOUGHT FACTORY

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THOUGHT FACTORY

When someone is looking for an excuse

They will find one

It appears in the mind like a vision of nope

When someone needs a rationalization 

They will invent one

Because the human mind is capable

Of rationalizing anything, no matter how far-fetched

But when we need motivation, inspiration

Wisdom

Our minds must learn how to create these things

Manufactured from our everyday thoughts

We take the raw material of our needs and dissatisfactions

And transform them into our inspiration and motivation

To grow, change, challenge ourselves

To do a little bit better than yesterday

Like Alchemists we transform the unsuitable

Into a plan to act, move forward

Achieve the goals we envisioned as a template

To make positive changes in our lives

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STAR LIGHT GUIDES ME

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STAR LIGHT GUIDES ME

I had no control over how I started out

The circumstances of my birth

My family of origin

It was what it was

(shrug of impossibility)

But I hope to have control over how things end up

Every day I take measures to insure

My today and tomorrow is better, brighter, more full of hope

Than my dark yesterdays, which are gone, gone, gone.

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ONE ANGRY NEURON

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ONE ANGRY NEURON

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Last night I was dreaming and I was angry in my dream

I am not actually angry at anyone in the day

All the anger was in the dream, 

As was the unknown target of my anger

I do not know why I was angry but I had the sense 

That I had been treated unfairly

In waking life I have been treated unfairly in the past

Before I got boundaries and found a voice

Now I am not treated unfairly 

Yet in my dream my anger was alive 

Perhaps one neuron in my brain 

One angry neuron has the historic record

Of wrongs committed against me 

And that one angry neuron picked last night

To sound off because it witnessed me treated unfairly

And only now did it feel safe to defend me in the liminal

Surreal world of my dreams

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