PROMPT: 10 Things

List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.

1.) Nothing is permanent.

2.) The world is not what it seems.

3.) One’s subjective experience is not determined by the state of the world.

4.) Nobody grasps enough truth to be intolerant.

5.) Uncertainty is the root of all fear.

6.) Fear is the root of all hatred.

7.) Hatred is a subjective experience (See #3.) Also, uncertainty is the root of all hatred (by the transitive property,) hence the benefit of travel.

8.) Any who: a.) has suffered a string of hardships; b.) allows themselves to believe that some “other” is wholly responsible for said hardships; and c.) who lacks a sufficient sense of self-empowerment to avoid surrendering entirely to a group identity can (and likely will) become a Nazi (or the equivalent of their day.)

9.) No one can predict the future. [Regardless of how much we all love to try. (See #5.)]

10.) Entropy increases (ultimately, in a closed system.)

NOTE: I remain ready to abandon any certainty in the face of better information.

PROMPT: Security or Adventure

Daily writing prompt
Are you seeking security or adventure?

Not sure what to do with this one. It reads to me much as would, “Would you prefer air or water?”

PROMPT: Better with Age

Daily writing prompt
What do you think gets better with age?

Equanimity and emotional resilience — i.e. the ability to give fewer f___ks.

“Death” by William Butler Yeats [w/ Audio]

Nor dread nor hope attend
A dying animal;
A man awaits his end
Dreading and hoping all;
Many times he died,
Many times rose again.
A great man in his pride
Confronting murderous men
Casts derision upon
Supersession of breath;
He knows death to the bone -
Man has created death.

PROMPT: Bed

Daily writing prompt
What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?

When I can’t read two sentences without drifting off, I sleep. When the sun comes up, I awaken.

PROMPT: Comfort

Daily writing prompt
What strategies do you use to increase comfort in your daily life?

I never writhe in a tub of broken glass… anymore.

The End of the World as We Know It [Free Verse]

Humans have been hunters,
gatherers,
farmers,
machines,
thinkers,
and creators,

And have no idea what we'll next be.

I think that people will next be
-- simply --
Human Beings,
Full-time Human Beings --
More Human,
More Being...

And many will fail spectacularly.

Dance, Dance, Dance, Surrender [Free Verse]

Moving through the Great Spontaneous,
Blender blades barely missing --
In fact, sometimes nicking.

The accumulation of those nicks
Is aging.
It takes an ever-defter dance to keep
The damage buildup to a constant pace --
Not letting it blitz one,
Or pull one into the turbine:
Like a goose through
The turbofans of a 787.
A goose may kill a plane,
But becomes dust in the process.
When one surrenders to the choppers
One will not have the satisfaction
Of killing the vehicle,
Of bringing it all down.
The Universe will go on,
And one's molecules will become
Something new.

PROMPT: Passionate

Daily writing prompt
What are you passionate about?

I’m passionate about being passionate about anything worth doing (and half-ass everything else.)

PROMPT: Season

Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite season of year? Why?

For over a decade now, I’ve lived with two seasons: dry and monsoon. I’d have to give the edge to dry, but the hot bit of the dry season has its own challenges.

Where there are four seasons, I tend to favor those in the Goldilocks Zone (not too hot & not too cold — i.e. Spring & Fall.)

All that being said, as a matter of philosophy, I try my best to avoid having favorites.