Passions & Wisdom

When passions rise

Wisdom falls.
11.01.13

Importance & Works

Even though
None of us is important
We are made to feel important
When we impact the lives of others
And we remain important only as long as
Our works continue to impact the lives of others;
Importance can outlive us only through our good works.
10.31.13

Elephant & World

The world is the elephant in the room
And we, the billions of blind human beings
Who feel only the parts accessible to our senses
And insist that our own worldview is correct
Whereas everyone else’s view is wrong.
10.29.13

Time & Life

Time is life
And life is plentiful
For those who waste no time.
10.28.13

Q uality & Numbers

Quality is subjective
Changes with times and peoples
And is most illusive to measurement;
Wisdom directs us to become suspicious
When ever quality is expressed in numbers.
10.27.13

Humanity & World Citizens

Rejecting identity labels is necessary
For those who wish to re-join humanity
And become citizens of the world at large;
Instead of being identified by their countries
Or their religions, political parties, ideologies, etc.
Which separate them into discordant factions
They will awe their allegiance to humanity
And to their ailing planet, instead?
10.26.13

Boiling Pots & Nations

In the boiling pot
High-energy molecules
Fly to seek other domiciles
While low-energy molecules
Languish behind;
Such is the competition
Among the boiling pots
Of the world's nations.
10.25.13

Speed & Time

Speeders
Waste more time speeding
Than the little time they gain doing so.
10.24.13

Self & Perception

If we are considered beautiful
We will feel and act beautiful;
How we perceive ourselves
Depends to a large extent
On how we are perceived.
20.23.13

Treason & Country

Treason
At war and in peace
Is the furthering of one’s personal ends
At the expense of one’s own country;
At war, traitors are court-martialed
In peace, they are rewarded.
10.22.13

Bureaucracy & Complexity

In attempting to stem abuses 
We implement bureaucracies
Which, because of their
Growing complexities
Invite more abuses.
10.21.13

Loyalty & Disloyalty

Un requited loyalty is very common;   
Many of us continue to bestow
Loyalties on certain entities
That are disloyal to us?
10.20.13

Greatness & Fame

Most famous people are not great
And most great people are not famous;
Humanity progresses and prospers
Through the tireless labors
Of ordinary people.
10.19.13

History & Justice

History is nature
And nature repudiates justice;
The history of humanity is nothing but
The survival and prosperity of the fittest
At the expense of the weak and unfit.
10.18.13

Thoughts & Interlopers

Our thoughts
Anguished or sad
Are not our thoughts
If they intrude, uninvited
Upon our happy temperaments;
Officious thoughts are interlopers
And should be shunned and repudiated.
10.17.13

Wine & Company

The taste of wine 
Is less wine dependent
And more company dependent;
In good company
Even bad wine tastes good
And in bad company
Even good wine tastes bad.
10.16.13

Cheerfulness & Violence

If maintaining cheerfulness 
Were our universal human ideology
The world would have more joy and less violence;
Most violent human deeds are committed with a frown;
It is almost impossible to countenance violence, cheerfully.
10.15.13

Societies & Decline

Human nature is such
That when societies reach their zenith
They become complacent, begin to decline
And, invariably, blame their governments for it.
10.14.13

Pretense & Like

When we behave 
Without pretense
Some will like us;
But when we pretend
To be what we are not
Some will pretend to like us
But no one really will.
10.13.13

Madness & Nature

Madness is not just natural
It also is inducible;
Keep us angry, hungry, and desperate
Until we reach our breaking points
And we will all go mad.
10.12.13 

Money & Life

Many of us
Who spend more life
Making more money
End up with less life
To spend it.
10.11.13

Speech & Impact

Why say anything
If it won’t make a difference?
Why waste effort if no good will come of it?
Because it’s our duty to politely express ourselves
And because impact is not predictable.
10.10.13

Masses & Misconceptions

Mass misconceptions
Are inapparent to their times;
In the twentieth century, for example
Tobacco killed more people (circa150 million)
Than all of that century’s wars combined (circa 123 million)
And we all still think that wars and violence
Are our greatest man-made killers.
10.09.13

Traditions & Beliefs

Traditions
Symbolize beliefs;
Our faiths and histories
Are resurrected on special days:
Death, birth, marriage, holy days, anniversaries
Are all memorialized by traditions
Which remind us who we are
And where we came from.
10.08.13

Brains & Computers

If we can think of our brains as computers
And think of our appearances, thoughts
Actions, and personalities
As living programs
We would find it easier to understand
And forgive others for what they are
And have inner peace.
10.07.13

Madness & Harm

Widespread madness is unavoidable;
Crusades, colonization, inquisitions, slavery
World wars, genocides, terrorism, fanaticism, racism
Illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol abuses, dangerous diets
Poorly-researched supplements, risky behaviors
Violent campaigns, hazardous fashions, etc.
All reek of harmful madness.
10.06.13

Broken Souls & Joy

A broken soul is one
That has lost its cheerfulness;
When one breaks a soul
Breaker and broken
Lose their joy.
10.05.13

Heart & Tongue

Whatever we say
With our calculating intellects
Is censored by society and situations
And what we really mean often remains unsaid;
Our tongues’ utterings are audible
Our hearts’ flutterings are inscrutable.
10.04.10

Intelligence & Biases

Unintelligent biases are as common
Among the intelligent and educated
As they are among the less fortunate.
10.03.13

LIke & Dislike

Those who dislike us
In time may grow to like us
But those who grew to dislike us
Seldom change their minds. 
10.02.13

Age & Desire

Passions and desires
Divide life into three stages:
Youth, a struggle to fulfill desires
Adulthood, a stage of mature fulfillment
Age, a stage of loss of desires and passions;
Nurturing passions, against age, keeps us youthful.
10.01.13