Category Archives: Philosophy

PROMPT: Three Years

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What will your life be like in three years?

I have no idea. That’s the beauty of life, and the curse of living during period in which technology will soon grow completely beyond our control. Life might be an ever-better version of what it is now, or I might be living in a cave trying to stay out of the way of the war between Skynet and our would-be Alien overlords. Or I might be farming in a world that has EMP’d itself back to the Stone Age to avoid being overtaken by technology. Nothing is certain but that change will come.

PROMPT: Everyone Should Know

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Daily writing prompt
What’s something you believe everyone should know.
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While any individual’s ability to substantially change the world is minimal, one’s ability to change how one experiences the world is vast. Cultivate the dispassionate witness. #Sakshi Bhava

Also, how to swim, change a tire, and juggle while riding a unicycle.

PROMPT: Magic Genie

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Daily writing prompt
You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for?
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For any wish number one, wish number two always has to be that one suffer no adverse consequences of the law of unintended consequences (i.e. like Midas who turns his food and even his daughter into solid gold.) Wish number three should be that the receipt of wish number one does not rob one of any experience that makes one a better version of oneself in the long-run (e.g. like the lottery winner who had been chugging along through life just fine and then ends up broke and suicidal because of both the additional pressures and the lack of need to be frugal and satisfied with simple things.)

Personally, I don’t know that it’s worth it. The bill always comes due.

But, if forced:

1.) To be contented with what is.

2.) Healthfulness all around.

3.) To die a good death (in due time.)

PROMPT: Moon

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Daily writing prompt
How much would you pay to go to the moon?
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Nothing. My philosophy is that if I need technology to function flawlessly every second to keep me alive, I don’t need to be in that place.

PROMPT: Working On

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What have you been working on?

Being…. POW!… more spontaneous. 自然 (zìrán) in the Taoist conception.

PROMPT: Don’t Know

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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.]

PROMPT: Lazy Days

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Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

Rested. Like Mondays, they never get me down. [Or is that “rainy days?”]

PROMPT: Neighbor

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What makes a good neighbor?

Neither a borrower, nor a lender be… plus, has good judgment about when to call the cops.

PROMPT: First Time

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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.]

PROMPT: Principles

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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.