While I might flatter myself that I can recognize an asshole when I see one, the truth is that stealth assholes are real.
PROMPT: Judge of Character
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Tag Archives: perspective
PROMPT: Positive Events
Daily writing prompt
What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year?
Positive? Negative? Who’s to say? Like the Taoist farmer, I’ll withhold judgement.
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PROMPT: Animals
Sure, I just saw a bird fly past my window, and I’m fairly certain that it wasn’t domesticated.
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PROMPT: Routine
Daily writing prompt
What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?
The part that feels routine.
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FIVE WISE LINES [November 2025]
A thing is mighty big when time
Zora Neale hurston; Tell my horse
and distance cannot shrink it.
…if you want to be elected, it is better
hunter s. thompson; Better than sex
to be Mean than to be Funny.
And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile,
jesus; Matthew 5:38-40
go with him twain.
The only gamblers who will talk openly
Kit chellel; lucky devils
are the ones who don’t make money.
The successful ones keep their mouths shut.
To live a creative life,
joseph chilton pearce
we must lose our fear of being wrong.
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PROMPT: Time
Do you need time?
I suppose I do. Without it, instead of life being one thing after the other, it would be everything all at once. The latter seems chaotic. But maybe one could get used to being timeless. I have no basis for comparison. I’ve always been just in time. Come to think of it, it would be nice not to have to conjugate verbs.
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Chinatown [Senryū]
through the paifang*,
you leave your city,
but you're not in China.
*A paifang (牌坊) is the gate over a street or road that denotes the bounds of a Chinatown.
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“Who says my poems are poems” by Ryōkan [w/ Audio]
Who says my poems are poems?
They aren't poems at all.
Only when you understand my poems aren't poems
Can we talk poetry.
This translation by Sam Hamill in The Poetry of Zen (2004) Boston: Shambhala, p. 159
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PROMPT: Passionate
I’m passionate about being passionate about anything worth doing (and half-ass everything else.)
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PROMPT: Good Life
Daily writing prompt
What are the most important things needed to live a good life?
Right mind, healthy body, and good company.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 