EVERYBODY DO THE LOCOMOTION WITH ME

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EVERYBODY DO THE LOCOMOTION WITH ME

A lot of what we do is picking up and carrying objects

From one place to another

Placing the object down in a new place

Or returning it to a previous location

A lot of what we do is moving things from one location to another

Some things we must be trained in (re) moving

Like removing a bad sparkplug and replacing it with a new sparkplug

We also needed to learn how to move from one location to another

Crawling, toddling, walking, driving, running

Transportation in a dazzling variety of ways

Meanwhile titanic cosmic forces are also moving the clouds

The Earth, the Solar System, the Galaxy

All constantly in motion

The teeny tiny things are also in motion

Orbiting. vibrating, splitting and regrouping

The greatest natural law might be movement

Constant change, rearranging endless variations

With one great over riding rule -

All movement can only go forward in time

Moving forward instant by instant is something we are required to do

Life is a trip, a road trip, carrying objects we deem as crucial

Let's make it a good trip, choose a good orderly direction

Choose carefully what we will burden ourselves with

Into the next exciting phase of our adventure.

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NO TYRANTS NO KINGS

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NO TYRANTS NO KINGS

How does a leader lead?

They can be an example

Like the general who stands at the front of the battlefield

Sword raised to the sky - "Follow me." 

His courage and willingness to face the same dangers as his troops

Inspiring the courage of the brave

A leader can lead with sagacity and wisdom

Like Solomon making decisions based on fairness

And good sense

A leader can lead by quiet excellence

No spotlight on himself but showing up to work

With dedication to the greater good

A leader is one who wins the hearts and minds of the majority

A leader can do much good, accomplish progress, leave a legacy

That history will grind down to the essence revealing a jewel

A name for the ages as the right person at the right time

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FORWARD

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FORWARD

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The Chariot of Civilization

Is pulled by two mighty steeds

The Betterment of Mankind

And Avarice Fueled Greed

They are harnessed together

Both of them in a race

To outrun death and ruin

To get to a better place

Who drives this Golden Chariot

Thundering along Future's Road?

Humanity is the driver

Survival is the payload

So we read and watch and listen

To understand which way to go

We have a Karma GPS

Progress seems so slow

Whatever our agenda

However we define our cause

We only have the moment

Ruled by Nature's immutable laws

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PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

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 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

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We get good at anything we do often enough, long enough

Day after day we hone our skills

Before you do something you suspect

Might be unwise, iffy, potentially diastrous

If continued unabated

Ask yourself if you want to get good at rationalizing this behavior

If these are the outcomes you wanted

Was all this effort put into digging a big hole

That you then fell into?

If so, I have good news - you can stop digging

And start crafting a way out of the hole 

If you want to get good at eating healthy, living sober

Staying on a budget

Then recoil from the first thought of rationaization

As from a red hot stove

We do this with great difficulty and struggle

At first

Then, with repetition and experience

We develop a method and get very good at the behaviors

We wanted for ourselves, for our futures

A version of ourselves we only dreamed of

Once upon a time.

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GOT MOTIVATION?

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GOT MOTIVATION?

We don't take action unless we are motivated

Fear, need, anger, love, altruism, pain

These motivations occur naturally

We just determine our response

Some motivations are based on the thoughts, beliefs and emotions

In our minds

If we believe in karma we are motivated to act out of kindness

If we believe in the Golden Rule

We try to treat others as we would like to be treated

If we believe in personal growth

We take our focus off others wrongdoing

And move our focus on to ourselves

Our beliefs, spoken or unspoken

Motivate us to behave in certain ways

While avoiding behaviors that are not in harmony

With our convictions and the morality we want

To see in the world

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VITAL

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VITAL 

The single most important event in your day, in your entire life

Will likely pass by unnoticed and unappreciated

It is more valuable than any gold or gem

It is only available right now, and nowhen else

Your next breath is your connection to life

An invisible thread, an umbilical chord

Connecting us to Mother Nature

Nature is our companion every second of every day

Giving us the air we need to sustain life 

Perhaps we could stop a second and appreciate

The next breath

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WHO WOULD YOU BE IF YOU WERE YOU

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WHO WOULD YOU BE IF YOU WERE YOU

If a creative person invents a character

Fleshed out in every detail

The inventor of the character would want to feature that character

In stories, plays, novels, movies, dramas

As they go along the character develops personality quirks

As well as growing in texture and dynamism

The same thing happens when we develop an ego-persona

A version of ourselves we invented to survive our early situations

Did we need to be tough, or compliant, or helpful or touchy

Do we need a snappy comeback, the readiness to fight

The pleasing child is not pleasing by nature 

They get their cues from their family and society

A criminal household will produce thug children

A religious family will have pious children

A reasonable family will have adaptable children

Then at adolescence the child rebels at their role

They want to be who they truly are

But this is impossible - the basic strategies are already ingrained

This is how people end up being the way they are

They are a character invented over the years to be either compliant

Or rebellious against the past

Just as an actor reads the script for their lines

The ego-persona reads the situation so they can play their part

Angry and belligerent, or would give you the shirt off their back

It doesn't matter, this is just the role they inherited

A role they are trapped in and doomed to repeat over and over

Unless

They wake up

Begin to wonder why they act this way

Once the role is questioned it starts to appear as it is

A knee jerk reaction that sometimes works against our best interests

A futile merry go round of behaviors that accomplish nothing

Are an embarrassment, and creates problems

The biggest surprise is the relief we feel when we go off script

We may not yet be our authentic selves but we are finally on the path

To finding out who we actually are

So we can live our authentic lives as our true selves

Before we take our last bow on the stage of others' expectations

And hightail it out of there to parts unknown.

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