Payment & Quality

To pay well
For what’s done well
Preserves quality;
To pay poorly
For what is done well
Destroys quality.
01.30.15  

Poverty & Conscience

When cornered by poverty:
Poverty of body and intellect
Poverty of skills and options
Poverty of support and love
Poverty of art and beauty
We justify the unethical life
And turn to violence and crime
With a clear conscience.
01.30.15

Living & Worth

Some live to live
Some live to love
Some live to serve
Some live to create
Some live for power
Some live for wealth
Some live for beauty
Some live for worship
Some live for pleasure
Some live for knowledge
Some live for success
Some live to conquer
Some live to plunder
And they all believe
They are pursuing
A worthy cause.
01.29.15

Titles & Language

Titles
Figments of our language
Unshared by the inhuman world
Are uniforms that identify us
But not when we are alone
Or when we return home
Or when we share love
Or when we go to bed.
01.28.15

Desires & Motives

Our desires drive our motives
And when they change
Our motives change;
At every living moment
We are motivated by our desires.
01.27.15

Faith & Hope

Seeing a loved one suffer and decline

Teaches us to put faith and hope

Ahead of scientific realities;

By their very nature

Faith and hope

Are indefeatable.

01.26.15

Love & Freedom

Love of others

Tethers us;

Love of self

Releases us.   
01.25.15

Loneliness & Decisions

Loneliness
Renders us vulnerable;
Most of our pathetic decisions
Are provoked by craving company.
01.24.15

Learn & Primitive

We learn cheerfulness, insouciance
Contentment, simplicity, and joie do vivre
From those who are more primitive
Than we think we are.
01.23.14

Blame & Destiny

If we blame our parents
For how bad we have turned out
And for all the bad that has befallen us
Then they, in turn, can blame their parents
The chain of blame would continue ad infinitum;
If we would, instead, dare blame ourselves
We could change our destiny.
01.22.15

Conversation & Relationships

The art of conversation
Memorable and binding
Takes time to cultivate;
In our fast-paced world
Making time to converse
Rather than text or e-mail
Is best food for relationships.
01.21.15

Words & Music

Human ears value music more than words;
Good music can carry the poor words of a song
But poor music cannot carry a song’s good words.
A speech, if read, can only impact through substance
But if heard, the music of eloquence can impact
Regardless of substance.
01.20.15

Spider Song

Spider, spider, in the tree
Lurking where no one can see
Eat the insects ere they flee
Ere they dive to dine on me
Spider, spider, spin and fend
Thank you for being my friend.
01.19.15

Noise & Pollution

Noise pollution
Increases nervousness
Reduces tranquility and creativity
And is the archenemy of peace and beauty.
01.18.15

Far & Near

We travel far to find what’s best
When what is best is near
We hark and eavesdrop for the truth
When truth is close to ear
We roam and wander round and round
Running away from fear
And when no better life is found
We find our heaven here.
01.17.15

Wise & Generalize

Not all that’s green is beautiful
Nor all that’s brown is old
Not all that’s bright is wonderful
Nor all that’s ice is cold;
One does not generalize
If one is wise.
01.16.15

Play & Prayer

We need to relearn from our childhoods
That play may be as essential
As fervent prayer.
01.15.15

Violence & Enlightenment

Violence and enlightenment
Dwell on opposite poles
Of human nature;
The enlightened abhor violence
And the violent abhor enlightenment.
01.14.15

Trouble & Cheerfulness

If we continue to wait
Until all is well with our world
We would never cheer up our spirits;
Cheerfulness in spite of ambient trouble
Should be the indomitable ideology
Of enlightened minds.
01.13.15

Humility & Learning

If we could view
Every individual
As a teacher of life
We would learn more
Through pure humility.
01.12.13

Control & Fate

If only we could gain control
Of our bodies and minds
We would humor fate
And render life
Un-daunting.
01.11.15

Conflict & Violence

Non-conflict leads to peace
Nonviolent conflict leads to progress
Violent conflict leads to destruction.
01.10.15

Acceptance & Surrender

It is wise to accept
That evil lurks everywhere;
It’s sinful defeat to surrender to it.
Life’s worth is the triple sum
Of the joy one creates
The suffering one elevates
And the evil, which one eliminates.
01.09.15

Simplicity & Joy

If we could teach our hearts
To enjoy the simple things around
We would not have to venture far
In search of happiness.
01.08.15

Nature & Tomorrow

Of love and joy and sorrow
Nature will have its way
We cannot know tomorrow
We only know today.
01.07.15

Response & Knowledge

Our responses
Denote our knowledge;
The deeper our knowledge
The more profound our responses,
And the more superficial our knowledge
The shallower and less wise are our responses.
01.06.15

Thoughts & Thinking

To actively think about things
Suppresses our intrusive thoughts
Which, otherwise, assail and bother us;
The crazy brain winds are never calm
Not even during sleep.
01.05.15

Beyond & Discovery

If we look beyond
The sad, the bad, and the ugly
We find the happy, good, and beautiful.
01.04.15

Cry & Sing

Each morning
We open our eyes
We should toast life
And every surprise
The day will bring;
To cry is to give up
A chance to sing?
01.03.15

LIfe & Surprises

Good news are seductive
Bad news, repulsive
No news, boring;
But, to expect almost anything
Without getting too excited
Nor too aggravated
Is to live well in spite of
Life’s unpredictable surprises.
01.02.15