THOU ART

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THOU ART

You might think that art would be drawing or sculpting

True, but it is much more than that

It is everything you do, every choice you make

Everything can be elevated to the state of art

With mindfulness and attention, focus

The arrangement of food on your plate

The clothing you chose, your style

The aesthetic placement of objects

Art makes life nicer, more orderly, calmer

It can tame chaos, make safety accessible

Art infused into everyday life, simple necessary tasks

Is useful, fun, and uplifting to the Watcher

The one inside you who sees and hears everything

Your everyday art is unique because you are unique

Express yourself, invent yourself as you go

Look over your ordinary day and sprinkle it with the fairy dust

Of your artistic vision

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THE LAND OF NOW

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THE LAND OF NOW

Every step we place our foot

Is Now

Every necessary breath we take

Is Now

Every thought about the plans we make

Is  Now

Every memory about the past happens right Now

Now is the most valuable piece of cosmic real estate

There is because it is the only plot of reality

On which to build a life

We all live in the land of Now

Now can be so many things

It is all we have, all we will ever have

Yet it is enough

It can not be hoarded

The wealthiest most powerful people in the world

Have the same Now as you or me

The same Now as the squirrels in the yard

Now is the fertile soil where a seed might be planted

From which the next Now, slightly better, can grow

As it appears, in an endless progression of the most valuable

Rarest, uncapturable, ever-renewing Nows

Let us take our Nows, to have and to hold this reality

Richer or poorer, in sickness or in health

We are pronounced full citizens of Now

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NOTHING REMAINS

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NOTHING REMAINS

Why should I wander around morosely 

In the broken shards of my past?

Ruins so old they have stopped smoking

The fires cold, the dust settled

Nature already efficiently reclaiming them

With new life and growth

Let these shattered remains resolve themselves

Do not seek me there, I am gone

To a new place in the welcoming woods

To a life I built myself with my own hands

A home comfortable and fitting

For who I am this fine and glorious new day

A day my reinvented self will celebrate the best ways I can

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WHY WE ARE TIRED

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WHY WE ARE TIRED

We must be diagnosticians and doctors if we have symptoms

Lawyers when we read contracts or speak with authorities

Nutritionists to plan out healthy meals

Therapists who treat demoralization

The cleaning crew when the place is a mess

A detective when something mystifies us

A philosopher for life's big questions

A banker and accountant for finances

Fitness coach for exercise

Diplomat to get along with others

An inventor for our unique projects

Counselor for our fears

Tech support for our gizmos

Driver and trip coordinator

Entertainment committee

Time management specialist

Fashion designer, gardener

Personal shopper, hair stylist

Teacher of the young, vet care for the critters

Chief chef and bottle washer

Event planner, stunt person and philanthropist

Political analyst and a decent judge of character

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YIN YANG BABY, YIN YANG

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YIN YANG BABY, YIN AND YANG

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You noticed when you sneezed

But do you notice when you are pleased?

You know when you're royally miffed

But do you see this day as a gift?

We might put some of our dreams on the shelf

Yet you can still encourage yourself

You remember how you made that mistake

Do you recall all the good choices you make?

Life is both happy and sad

Things happen that seem good or bad

Though we have our ups and our downs

Let's have more smiles than frowns

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AVOIDING DEMORALIZATION

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AVOIDING DEMORALIZATION

The counterattack

That accumulates casualties

Without producing any benefits

Is a losing strategy

A better strategy is to wait behind fortified entrenchments

Gathering strength and ammunition

Until the moment comes when an attack, now perfectly timed

Can recapture what has been lost

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YOUR GLIMMER

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YOUR GLIMMER

You do not know who you might inspire

With your difficult problem, your brave struggle

Your clever solutions 

The many attempts you made before success

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You do not know who might be going through the same kind of thing

Who is silently watching your progress, who is carefully storing away

All the information you share, all the things to try

No, what is a leaden burden in your life right now

Might be turned by alchemy into the golden spark of hope 

A living light, a good orderly direction

In what can seem, at first, like endless darkness

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