CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATE

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 CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATE

Even if we do not walk across a stage to applause

We are still graduates of the School of Life Experience

Perhaps you stopped punching holes in walls

Here is your degree in anger management

With a minor in drywall repair

Maybe you no longer get blotto on substances

When life gives you a hard time

You get an engineering degree in coping mechanisms

With a minor in practical philosopy

If we grow past any unproductive behavior

If we implement a better skill set, then congratulations

You get degrees in life skills, managing hazardous situations

And whole life development

Go forth, graduate, a new life and a community awaits

Your commitment to excellence

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ALWAYS A REASON

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ALWAYS A REASON TO LOOK UP

Every living thing has a biological imperative

To survive and reproduce when possible

Biological mechanisms born to make more biological mechanisms

Ad infinitum

Humans have that biological imperative

Superseded by a stronger drive than survival

That imperative is to advance, improve, move forward

Move on from the past and look to the future

Our vision of human life is far beyond the simple life of the animal

We are ambitious individually and collectively

The drive to improve is fueled by chronic dissatisfaction

Competition, an eye for the main chance

Fighting and struggling to get to the highest level of technology

We can attain

Everything can be improved for a cost, nothing is free

Every step forward must be forced and developed

No sooner do we get to a better vantage point

Than we struggle to develop a still higher level 

Of science, technology, civilization

One day we might change the very nature of what it is to be human

Until then we are naked apes

Clubbing each other while tinkering with immortality 

And rocket ships

More ambitious than Lucifer we are reaching

For the stars

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ETHICS

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ETHICS

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What if a truly loathsome immoral person

Came up with a cure for a deadly disease

Using unethical methods that harmed the test subjects

Stealing work from other ethical scientists

Scamming money from the elderly to fund the research

Yet, in the end they have truly invented a cure

Would you use this cure for yourself or your loved ones

Knowing how immoral, illegal, and harmful the process was

A cure held out by a despicable person for their wealth and benefit

But desperately needed by the blameless afflicted 

Who would suffer the worst and terrible consequences

Without this fruit from the poisoned tree?

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GHLURR

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GHLURR

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What is a ghlurr? - It's just a blur

It might be a him, it might be a her

It's moving fast, we don't know why

You can only glimpse it from the edge of your eye

There is no explanation why it comes and goes

What a ghlurr wants? Nobody knows.

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HOORAY FOR THE BLACK, WHITE AND GREY

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HOORAY FOR THE BLACK, WHITE AND GREY

There is a difference between judgement and judging

Judgement is what helps us decide what contractor to use

Which food choices are good for our health

If a symptom needs medical attention

How long we should wait for something

Judgement and discernment are crucial

Based on reason, research, life experience

Judging on the other hand is not fact based

It is based on our preprogrammed personal knee-jerk reaction 

It could be spot on, or wildly wrong

Judging requires an open mind

Time to consider the evidence on both sides

Coming to a considered conclusion to something

That we may not have understood

While judgement says that quantum physics is still progressing

Judging says all these scientists are crazy, making it up - a hoax

Just because I have not seen a true miracle I can believe in

Does not mean miracles don't exist

And what is a divine miracle to one way of thinking

Might just be a statistical improbability to another

It is crucial to have good judgement

While judging requires one to consider the possibilities

On both sides of the big picture yin-yang

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NOT ALL ROADS

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NOT ALL ROADS

We could settle our differences peacefully with a soccer match

Flipping a coin, spinning a wheel of fortune

A game of chess, using a magic 8 ball, an AI program

We would have to all agree on the method

However, we can never all agree on anything 

Even if we say we will all agree we will not abide by the answer

If it goes against us

Whichever side lost would reject the answer

The verdict was rigged, the program flawed

Some reason to refuse to abide by the former agreement

How can we force them to accept the answer?

By waging war on them until they complied

Do all roads lead to war?

It would seem that way to territorial apes whose might makes right

We all agree that the brutality of war is an abomination no one wants

Until now the best minds have not devised a way to avoid war

The masses and the power hungry have not listened to the peacemakers

For the time being

The path to the Garden is overgrown with the weeds of hatred, revenge, outrage

While the path to war is tramped bare by the armies of the brave

Asserting their territorial dominance and defending hearth and home

Endlessly

I do not despair though because we all clearly see the problem

Homo sapiens might be chest beaters, but they are also the problem solvers

Eventually we will find a way to prioritize peace, remove the troublemakers

Find a better way than the crude might makes right way we are stuck in now

We will eventually walk the path of peace because it is the only true path

To the future

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NEVER FORGOTTEN

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NEVER FORGOTTEN

Sometimes we are forced to fight

Then we wage war with all our might

When peace is not even a choice

Then bullets and bombs are our voice .

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So to those that fought and gave their all

Lest the bastion of freedom might fall

I honor your gift everyday

By being free in what I do and say

By your valor you saved our land

Where the gratefully free still understand

Just what you sacrificed for me

Because freedom was never free

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NONE SO BLIND

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NONE SO BLIND

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Every once in a while, we come across a not-see

Someone who does not see how their rude, rage-fueled, entitled behavior

Towards everyone that does not give them the right of way, first place in line

Special privileged treatment, the way lined with rose petals

They do not see they are outside the bounds of normal behavior in society 

Behavior more suited to an institution for the criminally insane

Nor do they see the impact on their own health, happiness or chances of success

They are easy to spot, there are not-see videos all over

The not-see salute is the middle finger

Their anthem a screaming string of curses

Their philosophy is me first, my way, me me me

If you come across a not-see

Avoid them, don't engage with them

But record them so we can all see

Just what they can not see about themselves

That they are ridiculous ludicrous clowns

Being laughed at for their out-of-control behavior.

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GAME OF CHANCE

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GAME OF CHANCE

People used to believe in a god that did everything for a reason

And if a god did it, then it was a very good reason

So back then, if someone's house was flattened by a tornado

God orchestrated that smiting for a good reason

Punishing the wicked, or their wicked fathers

So not only did we lack empathy for the one with a pile of rubble

Where their beloved home once stood

We might have secretly suspected that they deserved it 

For their wickedness, a higher court than any on earth

Ruled "Smite these evil doers"

And if a righteous deity also flattened some innocent people

That was just collateral damage in the titanic struggle between 

The Good and the Evil

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Now we understand that bad things happen to good people

Fickle fate and fortune rises and falls for everyone

Blame and shame do not attach themselves to disasters and misfortunes

The victims, or those caught up in disaster are not being singled out

With the lightning bolt of justice

It is a roll of the ever-tumbling dice which of us

Will make it through today unscathed

Not because we are holier than thou

But because we lucked out once again, thanks to the laws

Of chance, chaos, and probability

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DEVIL AT THE DOOR

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DEVIL AT THE DOOR

If a wild animal lived in your home

Dangerous, unpredictable, unreasonable

Attacking people and making a mess

You would want to catch the wild animal

To return it to where it belongs

The correct environment 

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Well, we do have a wild animal living with us

Fighting for survival and territorial rights

This is the aspect of the ego that is like

A Tasmanian Devil

A part of our ego that has limited usefulness

Fueled by anger, bristling with slow simmering rage

The devil ego springs into attack mode

At any perceived threat to life, limb, or rights

While self-esteem has a healthy ego

"You can't treat me that way"

The devil ego says "You must put my needs first in all things"

Quick to take offense, vigilant to any slight

The devil ego part must be tamed and trained

To only guard our boundaries and interests

Maturity is when we get the ability to restrain and control

Old Devil ego until it is a fine and loyal guardian 

At our four gates

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CONTAINMENT SPELL

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CONTAINMENT SPELL

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I contain (person's name) in this jar

Everything you do and are

If your vibes are bad you will be

Enclosed with what you tried to send to me

It stays with you, I am protected

All your energy is rejected

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OUR HIDDEN LIBRARY

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OUR HIDDEN LIBRARY

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Humans have a written record of sorts

Going back at least 45,000 years

Cave drawings, carved bones, chiseled and stacked stones

From earliest times we have tried to communicate our experiences

In writing, perhaps for posterity

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Nature has a longer written record

Detailed notes about the tiniest aspects 

Written in the DNA of every living thing

Information that is extremely valuable

We are just starting to decode the information in DNA

This brings up wonder in my mind

I like certain natural fabrics very much

Like silk, cotton, linen, wool, cashmere

Perhaps more than the average person

Just like my grandmother liked these same fabrics

Was this very specific detail written in my DNA

Since the get-go?

Every quirk and foible I have

Might be an inheritance from some unknown ancestor

Did they love the smell of lilacs as I do?

Were they unafraid of snakes as I am?

These details might be written in the hidden library 

We each carry in almost every cell of our bodies

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SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS

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THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS

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After we have done the homework

Stayed up sleepless nights cramming

Shown up for class relentlessly

Taken all the quizzes and tests

That is when we graduate

Although learning is a lifelong experience

There are certain defining moments when we know

In our heart of hearts 

We are well and truly done with this lesson

Finished the course, finito ad nauseum

We should put a diploma on the wall, put a few letters after our names

The things we learn in life are as valuable as a formal education

We have tried every whichaway, thrown ourselves into the effort

Performed countless trial and error experiments

Time after time until finally the big day comes

We learn what can not be successful, what didn't work

Is not working, will never work (sigh)

At that moment we have graduated from that class

We don't get a cap and gown, but we should get a diploma

"Successfully graduated from the University of Futility"

Congratulations, graduate, you are ready to move on 

To something new and wonderful

You have earned the right, through the blood sweat and tears

You put into your higher education in the University of Life

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SAFETY FIRST

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SAFETY FIRST

Accidents happen, that's a natural fact

We might reduce them by how we act

The dare devils dare because they must

I'm a daren't angel because I don't trust

The forces of physics to suspend

The rules for me, I can't pretend

To be wild and devil may care

An accident hides in wait for me there

Slowly and mindfully I go

As dawn lifts the curtain on the Penelope show

I don't want a mishap to slow my roll

Zero accidents today are my goal

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RECOGNITION

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RECOGNITION

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Have you ever walked a dog on a leash?

When it sees another dog, even far away

It begins to pull earnestly, to strain

To get to this other being of his kind

It is like that with some people

We see them from far away

And recognize them as our kind

We must try with all our might

To get closer

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MOTHER OF ALL MYSTERIES

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THE MOTHER OF ALL MYSTERIES

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Does the Universe have a mother?

I do not think it does

Nor do I think the Universe was created from nothing

In Nature there is never nothing

Only something that keeps morphing into new forms

Using the same ingredients

Stirred in the cauldron of time

A rich soup of atoms and titanic forces

Swirled with the wand of change and transformations

Scientists ponder this mystery

And people of faith have beliefs about the beginning

Yet nothing has solved the mystery of our origins for me

Good thing I am content with the mystery

I am a product of this mystery through the process

Of infinite change that has given birth to the splendor and awe

My finite mind admires from my tiny vantage point

Amid the stars

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THE BOUNDARY

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THE BOUNDARY

There are many boundaries between this and that

Someone can think weird thoughts

Plot bizarre plots, say disturbing things

Have flights of fancy that are so high they could orbit

The real world indefinitely

But if they stay within the fences and hedges of the law

Their inner life, no matter how peculiar, is not actionable

Prisons are not filled with people who only thought about mayhem

The prisons are filled with people who put their thoughts into actions

A clear line is drawn between violent ideation and violent actions

The iron bars between being eccentric and being so dangerous

They must be contained.

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PEEK A BOO

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PEEK A BOO

Sometimes things look like faces

They are not really a face, but they look like a face

Not only that

Often the face looks some kind of way

Happy, sad, angry, threatening

Yet we know beyond a shadow of a doubt

That this is not a face expressing emotions at all

Something in our own brains is hardwired to look for meaning

In what is essentially without meaning

A situation can look like one thing

While being something else entirely

A person can appear one way to us until they speak

Then we see we were mistaken

Everyone likes to think they are a good judge of character

But judging character takes a long time because some people

Make their way in the world by disguising their true nature

With an act

This is why the Cloud of Unknowing is such a valuable place

To hang out, maybe have a cuppa and just wait

Until we see what's what, how things will play out

Meanwhile we are not playing yoyo with our hopes and fears

Unknowing frees our minds up wonderfully

We are poised to react at the right time

If you find yourself in the Cloud of Unknowing you can relax

Until the winds of change and time

Blow it away and we can see the big picture

As it is

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PUGNACIOUS

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PUGNACIOUS

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Ready to fight and argue

At any time and at all times

With anyone and everyone

About anything and all things

Drunk or sober, in sickness and in health

Forever and ever, without pause or cause

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MY FAVORITE PANTS

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MY FAVORITE PANTS

The denim is of poor quality, kind of like burlap

The contrast stitching is barely adequate

They are devoid of style

And the fit ... well, they don't fit

Fit was never even an option

Yet they are loose, comfy, and my hand

Almost on its own

Reaches out to grab them for the day

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MAKE A FUSS

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MAKE A FUSS

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Make a fuss, raise a stink

Let your elected representatives know what you think

Voice your objections, speak your mind

Write strongly worded letters so they are not blind

They were elected to do our will

So air your opinions, complain until

Your representatives see you are displeased

Cause the squeaky wheel gets the grease

If getting re-elected is what they seek

Then we We the People must take time to speak

Our voices will be heard, guaranteed

We can vote in this democracy

Write and call them, and make a note

That you have opinions, and you vote.

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TRAFFIC TIME

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TRAFFIC TIME

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Who are the people that don't use turn signals?

Run red lights, blow past stopped school buses

As the children try to make it home alive?

Who drive twice the speed limit

Cuts other cars off in traffic

Races the train to the tracks?

Even if they don't care about their own lives

Don't they care about the lives of others?

Do rules irritate them and so they scoff at the laws?

Are these mistakes, lapses in judgement, driving impaired?

We could have much more safety on the road if we all

Obeyed the traffic laws.

Is there someone who doesn't want to get home in one piece?

I think some of this might be about time

Our limited time and the gut clenching feeling as our time runs 

Through the hourglass in our subconscious minds

Our mortal life is limited and when we are in traffic every second

Seems precious, like a prize worth fighting for

This causes angry hurried emotions that cause 

Risk taking, rude behavior, and fatal wrecks

Which smash the hourglass and spill the sand forever.

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