Success & Predators

Anyone successful
Needs to become accomplished
In the art of self defense and be prepared
To defend success against the predation of failure;
As success renders us complacent
So failure foments predators
Of the successful.
11.30.14

Ignorance & Enlightenment

Ignorance is immortal and when deeply rooted
Becomes highly resistant to enlightenment;
Destructive, deadly, and indestructible
It endangers societies and nations
And the only way around it
Is to prevent it…
11.29.14

Expense & Enlightenment

Should we ever consider
Enlightenment expensive
We’ll change our minds
When we recalculate
The societal costs
Of ignorance.
11.28.14

Attitude & Pain

An attitude of gratitude
Dilutes the discontent and pain
Inflicted by distemper and disdain.
11.27.14

Anger & Destruction

Anger
Untempered by wisdom
Rages, and like a wild fire
Destroys indiscriminately
Everything in its path.
11.26.14

Laughter & Details

Laughter
Is the blithe abandon
Of life’s infinite details
That mire us in shallows;
To rise above life’s minutia
Is to laugh at frowns
That diminish life.
11.25.14

Love & Joy

Without feelings
We would be plants;
The king of feelings is love
And the queen of feelings is joy;
Between the open arms of love and joy
Life prospers and climbs to its zenith;
Between the fangs of anger and hate
It bites itself and bleeds to death.
11.24.14

Age & Life

The end of infancy is age
The end of youth is age
The end of adulthood is age
The end of old-age is age
But age never ends;
It continues after death
And comes back as new life.
11.23.14

White & Black

A little bad
Can erase a lot of good
But a little good
Cannot erase a lot of bad;
It is easier to blacken white
And harder whiten black.
11.22.14

Personalities & Consequences

Our programmed personalities are four:
Charismatic, which enhance image
Neutral, which insure normalcy
Repulsive, which isolate
Deadly, which punish.
11.21.14

Understanding & Distance

To understand
Individuals or peoples
We must live their lives;
The more distant we are
The less is our understanding.
11.21.14

Leadership & People

A leader is the spark, which lights the fuse
Nothing significant happens without leadership
Good leaders promote enlightenment and freedom
Bad leaders promote themselves and their supporters
And people are always at the mercy of their leaders.
11.19.14

Allowance & Surprise

One of the commonest blind spots
Which defeats our learning abilities
Is not making allowance for surprises;
We trust our routines and instincts
But are repeatedly taken aback
When we are ambushed
By the unexpected.
11.19.14

Gratitude & Humility

Gratitude
Grants us humility
If we can find it
Every moment
Of every day.
11.17.14

Places & Life

All of us think
That we live somewhere
In homes, towns, countries, etc.
But, in reality, we all live in only one place;
We live in our minds.
11.16.14

Love & Peace

If all humanity could be raised
To have one simple credo: to love
We would have peace on earth.
11.15.14

Judgement & Knowledge

We all pass judgements
On what we think we know
Only to discover later that
What we thought we knew
Was not or is no longer true.
11.14.14

Dark & Bright

The darkest alleys
And the brightest peaks
On earth and in heaven
Are in our minds.
11.13.14

Time & Wealth

Rich are those
Who spend time wisely;
Poor are those who waste time;
Happy are those who enjoy
Every sliver of time.
11.12.14

Enlightenment & Government

Human societies
When unenlightened
Will self destruct
When enlightened
Will progress
And when misgoverned
Will decay.
11.11.14

Dignity & Ridicule

To know when to bow out
And where next to go
Upholds dignity;
To cling to position and power
When one is faltering
Invites ridicule.
11.10.14

Quality & Time

Quality is long-suffering
It waits a long time
Often long after death
Before it is discovered.
11.09.14

Complicate & Simplify

To simplify is ingenious
To complicate is instinctive
To counter-complicate is courageous
To over-complicate is self-destructive.
11.08.14

Triangle & Harmony

The human triangle
Of instinct, intellect, and spirit
When it is lacking in harmony
Becomes self destructive.
11.07.14

Read & Retained

When a book sells
It does not mean it is read
And when it is read
It does not mean it is understood
And when it is understood
It does not mean it is retained;
Only what we retain from books
Remains with us to change our lives.
11.06.14

Time & Decline

When time and complacency
Erode honor, decency, and manners
Cultures flounder and decline.
11.05.14

Belief & Blindness

To have blind belief
Or blind confidence
Without skepticism
Without reflection
And without debate
Is most dangerous.
11.04.14

Betrayed & Chosen

When a younger friend dies
We feel betrayed for the loss
And happy for being spared;
But, when it’s our turn to die
We feel betrayed yet again
Instead of feeling happy
Because those we love
Have been spared.
11.03.14

Life & Vulnerability

When life tantalizes
Rendering us gullible
It takes many rounds
Before we can resist
Our vulnerabilities.
11.02.14

Love & Despair

When love turns sad
It still holds joy within its tears;
When there’s no love, there are no tears
And sadness turns to despair.
11.01.14