Desire & Age

In youth we desire
In age we desire to desire.
01.31.11

Religious & Spiritual

One can chose to be either religious or spiritual—
The religious vision insists on its given beliefs
And accepts no arguments against its truths;
The spiritual vision forges its own beliefs
Which change as the mind grows wiser
And the conscience, nobler.
01.30.11

Competence & Tests

Good medicine is cheap
Compared to bad medicine,
Which is horrifyingly expensive;
The competence of physicians
Is inversely proportional
To the number of tests ordered
Before correct decisions are made.

Beliefs & Peace

As long as believers
Refuse to revise their beliefs
Humanity has no hope for peace.
01.28.10

Treatment & Relaity

When there is no treatment
We seek all kinds of treatments
With myriad irrational justifications
Rather than accept and capitulate
To intransigent realities of fate.
01.27.11

Accept & Pretend

We are most comfortable
With those who accept us as we are
And are most uncomfortable
With those who cause us to pretend.
01.26.11

Without & Within

If one’s estimable worth must come from without
Then one cannot have sufficient worth within.
01.25.11

Seals & Disfigures

A good death
Seals a good life
And a bad death
Disfigures it.
01.24.11

Enjoyment & Pain

What ever we enjoy once
We want to enjoy again and again
Until the excess of enjoyment is shrouded by pain.
01.23.10

Wisdom & Hubris

I trust those
Who know when they don’t know
And mistrust those
Who don’t know when they don’t know
For there’s more wisdom in not knowing
And more hubris in knowing.
01.22.10

Alcohol & Punishment

Lucky are the ones
Who do not or cannot drink
For they will not have to endure
The myriad punishments of alcohol.
01.21.10

Death & Way

As long as there is death
There’s a way out.
01.20.10

Cyclic & Noise

We are cyclic beings
We swing back and forth like bells
But only make noise at impact.
01.19.11

Importance & Fame

Populations
Don’t recognize importance
Unless what’s important becomes famous.
01.18.11

Resolves & Light

Morning resolves
Swoon in the afternoon
Die in the lap of darkness
And then resurrect at daybreak.
01.17.10

Living & Dying

As soon as we begin living
We also start dying
For dying is but a living act
That has everything to do with life
And nothing to do with death.
01.16.10

Power & 'Trust

Nothing powerful
Can ever be trusted
Yet we naively believe
That powerful nations
Are trustworthy.
01.15.10

Hope & Reality

Hope is good
But false hope is bad
Because it bribes the minds
And detracts them from facing reality.
01.14.10

Complexity & Frailty

Our brains,
The most elaborate organs in the cosmos,
Are also, because of to their infinite complexity,
The most vulnerable to distortions and dysfunctions
Rendering mental & emotional disorders the commonest
And also the least acknowledged frailties of humanity.
01.13.11

Tragedies & Victories

Tragedies are safer than victories;
With tragedies we unite, mature, and develop
With victories we become effete, excessive, and fragmented.
01.12.11

Beliefs & Viruses

Beliefs are nervous system viruses;
Once they invade the brain
They colonize it for life.
01.11.11

Forefathers & Obsolete

Much of what we learn from our forefathers
Becomes obsolete during our lifetimes
If we can learn to think for ourselves.
01.10.10

Much & Cost

The price of having too much
Is too costly for the spirit.
01.09.10

Corruption & Age

Corruption is inevitable
And grows steadily
As systems age.
01.08.10

Open & Closed

A made-up mind
Is a closed mind.
01.07.11

Acceptance & Wisdom

To accept
The inescapable
Is wiser than anger
And braver than rage.
01.06.10

Death & Growth

Natural death
Is necessary for natural life
And should not be resisted;
It clears away the old shrubs
And paves the way for new growths.
01.05.10

Joy & Simplicity

There is greater joy in the simple
Than there is in the elaborate
But only a few know that.
01.04.10

Counter-natural & Evolution

Unlike the rest of the animals on planet earth
The fact that we, alone, need to be governed
Tells us how counter-natural we have evolved.
01.03.11

Superiority & Fortune

If you ever think
That you’re superior
To the less fortunate others
Shed your blind hubris and think;
Exchange genes, habitat, and nurture
With those you’ve deemed inferior
And you’d soon discover that
We’re naught but the fruits
Of our chance moments
In time and space.
01.02.11

Violence & Enlightenment

Violence is primitive
Enlightenment is meek;
Those who resort to violence
Especially, purported self defense
Be they individuals, groups, or nations
Are intellectually and spiritually bankrupt.
01.01.11