The older I get, the more I find regret to be a sucker’s game. I was the me then that I was, wishing the me then was the me now is just a waste of angst. Learn and move. Learn and move. No regret.
the last two blossoms on the mountain,
bump petals on a common stem.
crisp leaves rattle in a gust,
but a chipmunk climbs in silence.
Poetry is poignant and ornate;
Essays are deep and content-centric.
Stele entries are true to the essence;
Paeans, moving and melancholic.
Inscriptions are concise and kindly;
Telltales have a logic and cadence.
Odes show great grace and refinement;
Op-eds are unrepressed and intense.
Music 's penetrating and stately;
Speeches must sparkle with cleverness.
Though there ever so many forms,
All thwart evil and allow release:
Expression, sans pride overweening,
With no waste of words or lost meaning.
Original in Simplified Chinese:
诗缘情而绮靡，赋体物而浏亮。
碑披文以相质，诔缠绵而凄怆。
铭博约而温润，箴顿挫而清壮。
颂优游以彬蔚，论精微而朗畅。
奏平彻以闲雅，说炜晔而谲诳。
虽区分之在兹，亦禁邪而制放。
要辞达而理举，故无取乎冗长。
All sorts of stuff — e.g. gabby strangers approaching me unexpectedly when I’m in a low mental energy state. But when I observe the sensation of that nervousness, without rumination or feeding of the feeling, it fades rapidly. As Twain [allegedly, but possibly never] said, “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”
insects unseen:
chaotic bird movement, a
bird battle royale?
lying on a hill,
eyes open to orange clouds:
how long was I out?
Reading is best for me. It’s low energy and as long as I don’t do it on the phone I’m not subjected to the blue light that they use in phone screens (specifically to keep one from unwinding.) Reading eases me to sleep, especially if I don’t pick writing that’s too stimulating.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 