What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?
I have no interest in tattoos. I’m with the Buddhists on “all is impermanence” and the idea that there is some message that would be poignant for the rest of my days seems silly and unlikely.
Plus I’ve seen so many bad ones: faces that look demented, Chinese characters that make no sense (and/or are upside-down or sideways.) So, no thanks.
A practice of feeling gratitude is extremely beneficial in that regard. Simple meditative practices help one become aware of thoughts and feelings more quickly, before they are fed through rumination, making the down-spiral cycle easier to disrupt.
And, sometimes, I rant. This usually veers quickly into comedic territory and I’m reminded of the ridiculousness of taking human life too seriously, given the absurdity of being primates in pants who love shiny things. (It would be unimaginable if human life weren’t absurd.)
Heavy Indian Club movement patterns and the core tenets of Perennial Philosophy.
All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time,
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.
Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.
For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.
Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.
In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.
Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.
Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.
Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall tomorrow find its place.
Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.
I’ll need some sort of container capable of holding water, some variety of pointy stick, and something sharp like knapped flint or a length of hard metal.
Imagination: A Very Short Introduction by Jennifer Anna Gosetti-FerenceiDo you believe in fate/destiny?
No. Life would be hard to bear if one believed one were just playing out a program, and was not a free agent.
That said, I can’t say I have enough information to have a strong belief in the opposite (i.e. free will.)
So, like a number of other big philosophical questions, it is one for which I prefer ignorance over delusion.
"The ignorant speak, while the wise keep silent."
I read the words of Laozi.
But if Laozi knew the Way,
Why did he write those five thousand characters?
If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?
I would ban the word ban because banning is not a thing that should exist. It is not an impulse one should have.
Eat more veggies, mind your joints, beauty is everywhere, all is impermanence, and very few things in life actually matter (see item 4.)
Tiger Riding for Beginners 