What have you been working on?
Being…. POW!… more spontaneous. 自然 (zìrán) in the Taoist conception.
PROMPT: Working On
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Category Archives: Philosophy
PROMPT: Don’t Know
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I’m a genius. I know everybody always says, “If nobody recognizes your genius, you’re not a genius,” but…. [I can’t really think of a rebuttal, seems airtight, now that I think about it.]
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PROMPT: Lazy Days
Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?
Rested. Like Mondays, they never get me down. [Or is that “rainy days?”]
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PROMPT: Neighbor
What makes a good neighbor?
Neither a borrower, nor a lender be… plus, has good judgment about when to call the cops.
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PROMPT: First Time
What could you try for the first time?
My problem is that I’m old enough that all the low hanging fruit has been consumed, meaning most “first times” involve a serious time investment. For example, I’d love to go skydiving, but you can’t just jump out of a plane, you have to either watch a safety video or sabotage a plane. All for a five-minute experience. And if you don’t want to do it with a stranger strapped intimately close to you, you need to do probably watch several safety videos and practice pulling a cord over and over again. [Question: They sometimes ask if you’d like a male or female massage therapist when you get a massage, but I’ve never heard of being given the option when tandem skydiving. How come it’s ok to be homophobic, or hetero-phobic, in one instance, but not the other? Just asking.]
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PROMPT: Principles
What principles define how you live?
Before traveling, empty my cup. Before returning home, empty my cup.
Collect experiences, not geegaws.
Wishing for the world to be some other way is a grand waste of time.
If there is a river flowing toward where I want to be, surrender to it.
See humor everywhere, especially in myself.
Be content with who I am at the moment, while struggling to be a better version in future editions.
Strive to find the non-adversarial path.
Keep looking until I see what is beautiful in all things and creatures.
Don’t attempt to construct anyone else’s list of principles to live by.
Feel the sensations that arise without letting the mind amplify them out of proportion.
Seek only simple pleasures, enjoy them fully, and then move on.
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PROMPT: Putting Off
What have you been putting off doing? Why?
I’m putting off death for as long as I can remain healthy (by and large.) Because I like living.
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PROMPT: Million Dollars
Daily writing prompt
If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?
THE POOR.
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PROMPT: Guaranteed
What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.
Cast a magic spell? Everything I know of in this world comes with no such guarantee — at least anything worth one’s time. It’d be better to spend one’s time learning to thrive under uncertainty.
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UNITED STATES LIMERICK
There was a philosopher from the USA
Who was always charging into the fray.
He’d take either side --
Go deep or go wide --
So long as said fray didn’t come to gunplay.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 