Emancipating & Binding

To love
To give
And to serve
Is emancipating;
To be loved
To be given
And to be served
Is binding.
07.31.14

Waste & Time

Wasting client time
Is the only crime
Not punishable
By law;
However
It’s ripple effects
Bankrupts businesses.
07.30.14

Action & Reaction

Time exposes
Revenge incites
Aggression loses
Simplicity speeds
Complexity slows
Diversity expands
Suppression vitalizes
Censorship advertises
Freedom emancipates
And age ultimately wins.
o4.29.14

Work & Play

Hard work is essential for success
And so is regular, well-timed play;
Balancing work and play
Is more productive;
Working long and hard
Is more destructive;
And forgetting how to play
Is most depressive.
07.28.14

MIsunderstood & Self

If we feel misunderstood
We must care too much
About what others say;
In reality, no one knows
Our inner self but we
And at deep, personal levels
We are all misunderstood.
07.26.14

Saying & Meaning

Hearing is not listening
Listening is not understanding
Understanding can only be one sided
Because one cannot possibly know
What the sayer really means 
By what the sayer says.
07.25.14

Love & Corruption

Corruption begins
When we love ourselves
More than we love all others;
It is difficult to corrupt people
Who love and respect all others
Like they love and respect themselves.
07.24.14

Awe & Knowledge

If now we are awed
By how much we know
Shouldn’t we be more awed
By how much we do not know?
07.23.14

Elements & Time

The four ancient elements
Earth, Air, Fire, and Water
Have now been supplanted by
The four modern elements
Security (Earth), Freedom (Air)
Justice (Fire), Opportunity (Water);
There are no new ideas under the sun.
07.22.14

Time & Waste

Time, being our most valuable asset
And time-wasting, a squandering of assets
Think how much collective time we waste
In bureaucratic & electronic time sinks
In preventable illnesses & accidents
And still, no society has ever declared
Time-wasting as the arch enemy of progress?
07.21.14

Force & Change

Force
History teaches us
Is unintelligent and futile;
Good changes only come with
Freedom, security, opportunity
Justice, health, and enlightenment.
07.20.14

Languages & Oceans

Languages are oceans;
The deeper you dive
The more you find.
07.19.14

Future & Worry

Since the future is always unknown
Projections about the future
Are often inaccurate
And worries about the future
Are often exaggerated.
07.18.14

Fear & Faith

Subliminal fear is a great hindrance;
Overcoming it entails first recognizing it
As a tacit enemy of good progress
And smiting it with courage
That stems from faith.
07.17.14

Goodness & Strength

Being good is never enough
To remain good, one must also be tough
Unprotected goodness always invites abuse
Strength is necessary for goodness to persevere.
07.1614

Politics & Ethics

In politics, we only say
What we’re allowed to say
Because voters are dictators;
In ethics, we only say
What our consciences discern
Because consciences are dictators;
Dictatorships are not avoidable
In human societies.
07.15.14

Joy & Thrils

Joy is simple
Thrills are complex
Happiness is ephemeral
Contentment is humility
Excellence is ideology
Honesty is a journey
And courage is faith.
07.14.14

Strength & Tolerance

The strong
Do not notice slights
And welcome differences;
Fortitude is open-minded tolerance
And encouragement of debate.
07.13.14

Angles & Life

Inside the triangle of life
Within its three angels
Of love, like, and hate
We spend our times;
Those in the angle of love
Are sustained by joy
Those in the angle of like
Are sustained by thrills
And those in the angle of hate
Are sustained by vengeance.
07.12.14

Laws & Adverse Effects

Laws
Like medicines
Should be tested in the field
Before they are approved;
Untested laws harbor
Adverse effects.
07.11.14

Bureaucracy & Efficiency

Any bureaucracy
That reduces efficiency
Increases waste and cost
And becomes self defeating.
07.10.14

Cruelty & Pervasiveness

Cruelty is nonspecific;
Those cruel to animals
Are also cruel to humans
And those cruel when angry
Are also cruel when calm
And those cruel when defeated
Are especially cruel when victorious.
07.09.14

Aggravation & Reaction

Walking away from aggravation
May prove less expensive
Than fighting it.
07.08.14

Living & Space

Living in a big country
Or in a small country
Is about the same;
Regardless of borders
We only live in homes
And neighborhoods
Which provide us
With all the space
We need.
07.07.14

Age & Tax

Whatever ends quickly
Remains young in memory
And whatever lasts
Grows old in reality;
Age is the price that life exacts
From all things that endure.
07.06.14

Reconnecting & Discovery

Reconnecting with old friends
Can be enriching and joyful;
Reconnecting with old loves
Can be disappointing and painful.
07.05.14

Association & Worth

To look younger
We associate with the older;
To feel younger
We associate with the younger;
To feel smarter
We associate with the less smart;
To look important
We associate with the more important;
But to learn
We associate with the more educated.
07.04.14

Cycles & Behavior

One need not promise
Habits, urges, or inclinations
Never to succumb again
To their temptations;
One better say
I shall cycle in and out
Until I discover new ways
That block my cyclic behavior.
07.03.14

Overshooting & Undershooting

In recipes as in all processes of life
Experts use the right amounts;
Novices either use too much
Believing more is better
Or they use too little
Fearing to use enough;
When the goal is the bull’s-eye
Overshooting and undershooting
Equally miss the target.
07.02.14