Writer Ghost

Here’s a strange fact. Writers, for the most part—especially writers of fiction—are doomed to be ever on the fringes of recognition, unknown, struggling, invisible.

It is not a myth. Most of us stay “starving” if we don’t have some other job to pay the bills.

But, don’t despair.

You and I may be a writer ghost (as opposed to a ghost writer—even those people seem to get more out of their careers than we do!). But the things we have to say are as corporeal and powerful as anything on the bestseller list.

Sometimes more.

So, keep on speaking to the clean vista of blank journal pages and the wordprocessor screen.

Eventually your ghost words will haunt someone.

Tease

Dangling a carrot in front of a donkey—or anyone else for that matter—is not nice, and not fair, unless you eventually plan to give it up to them.

The Fastest Things

The only thing faster than the speed of thought is the speed of forgetfulness.

Good thing we have other people to help us remember.

Main Course

Some people prefer eating dessert to the main course.

These people have never been really hungry.

Shoes and Purses and Pretty Rocks

Okay, why is it that women are supposed to love shoes and purses and shiny expensive trinkets? Seriously. Do you, if you’re a woman? I mean everyone loves a little bling, but do we pretend we love it more than we really do?

Also, is it the object itself that we are assumed to passionately crave, or what it represents? Status, prestige, beauty, youth, vigor, popularity, attractiveness, wealth . . . A little of everything?

Did women always love these things, throughout history? Or were we taught to love and covet them in order to put us in a certain delineated frame of being, to contain us, and keep us “occupied” and easily defined?

And, as times change, will these specific material objects of desire give way to some others, such as fancy smart phones and gadgets?

It seems, the objects we covet represent society’s current ideals.

What about our own true ideals? What do we really want?

Alphabet

Each letter of the alphabet is a steadfast loyal soldier in a great army of words, sentences, paragraphs, and stories.

One letter falls, and the entire language falters.

The Point

Why does every road eventually narrow into a point at the horizon?

Because that’s where the point lies.

The Bell

The great miraculous bell of translucent ice is suspended in mid-air.

It rings to announce endings and beginnings. And it rings because there is fresh promise and wonder in the skies.

Its clear tones resound in the placid silence of the winter day, and echo long into the silver-blue serenity of night.

The bell can only be seen at the turning of the year, when the days wind down into nothing, and get ready to march out again.

When you hear the bell, you feel a tug at your heart.

It is your immortal inspiration.

Annoying Optimist

People who are too optimistic seem annoying. This is an unfortunate misinterpretation of what an optimist really is.

An optimist is neither naive, nor blind to the facts, nor in denial of grim reality. An optimist believes in the optimal usage of all options available, no matter how limited. As such, an optimist always sees the big picture. How else to keep track of all that’s out there? An optimist is simply a proactive realist.

An idealist focuses only on the best aspects of all things (sometimes in detriment to reality); an optimist strives to find an effective solution. A pessimist sees limited or no choices in dark times; an optimist makes choices.

When bobbing for apples, an idealist endlessly reaches for the best apple, a pessimist settles for the first one within reach, while an optimist drains the barrel, fishes out all the apples and makes pie.

Annoying? Yes. But, oh-so tasty!

A Long Time Ago

A long time ago people believed that the world is flat and the moon is made of green cheese.

Some still do, to this day.

The man on the moon is looking down and laughing.

Dreamers

It is interesting that we call something good a “dream,” but being called a “dreamer” is somewhat of a putdown.

Without dreamers, no dream would ever be given reality, and we would live in a very small and shallow world.

If you are a secret dreamer, it’s your time to announce yourself.

The Stranger in the Rain

On the late afternoon streets, everyone hurries along, going about their own business.

Who is the person walking in front of you on the rain-drenched sidewalk?

He is covered with an umbrella, and all you can see is a dark coat and the shoes striking the puddles.

And yet this person is the hero of his own life story.

He is the love of someone’s life.

And what he can do may change the world.

Imagine being him for a moment.

And then continue on your own way.

The Heartland

The heartland lies where the heart longs to be.

Sometimes it takes a lifetime to find the true place to plant it.

Golden Reverie

Snowflakes swirl down gently in the deep blue haze beyond the window. The outside world is a dream.

Inside, the fireplace is brightly lit, and the Yule log crackles with orange and crimson sparks.

There’s a steaming mug in your hands, warming your fingers.

There’s a friend seated across from you in the cozy chair, warming your heart.

There is mystery unfolding.

The Wisest King

One true king knew when to step aside and give up the reins of power—to remove his crown and relinquish his kingdom—all for the sake of glimpsing, just once in a lifetime, the face of a holy child.

He was the Fourth to follow the Star.

His gift was a secret.

The rest of his journey is unknown.

The Compass Rose

The compass rose is nothing but a star with an infinite number of rays pointing in all directions.

It is the one true and perfect symbol of the universe.

And it is the one most accurate symbol of you.

Spread your arms in an embrace, throw your head back, and prepare to receive and send coordinates of being. For, at last you know—you are the navigator, the captain, and the ship.

The Nutcracker

The nutcracker sits under the holiday tree, a guardian of childhood stories.

Feed him walnuts and he will crack open a tale . . .

A Reindeer Tale

Once upon a time, the Reindeer took a running leap and jumped over the Northern Lights.

But he jumped too low, and the long fur of his beautiful flowing tail got singed by the rainbow fires of the aurora.

To this day the reindeer has no tail to speak of. But he is too busy pulling the Important Sleigh to notice what is lost. And he certainly doesn’t complain.

What’s your excuse?

The Smile

Withhold a smile only when the smile can hurt someone.

Otherwise, let it bloom forth in a riot.

Meditation

Meditation is a mysterious method of self-restoration.

It involves “shutting” out the outside world, and by that means sensing the universal “presence” which is, incidentally, absolute perfect peace.

It is basically an existential “time-out”—a way to “come up for a breath of air” out of the noisy clutter of the world.

But don’t be afraid, there is nothing arcane or supernatural or creepy about the notion of taking a time-out. Ball players do it. Kids do it, when prompted by their parents. Heck, even your computer does it (and sometimes not when you want it to).

So, why not you?

A meditation can be as simple as taking a series of easy breaths, and slowly, gently counting to ten in your mind.

Remembering the Dream

When you wake up from a dream you have only a few precious moments before the details of the dream begin to dissipate and the memory fades.

Not all dreams are significant or worth remembering.

But the ones that are . . . happen again.

So, wait for the dream to return. And never be afraid. Instead, consider it an opportunity to learn something profound and possibly wondrous about yourself.

Perfect Justice

Justice based purely on laws is about as accurate as a portrait created out of large low-resolution color pixels.

If you stand back far enough it looks good.

Come any closer and the glaring approximations overtake all semblance of the original.

Justice should be viewable under the microscope, not from a telescope.

And for that it needs to be based not on law but on truth.

Invisible Tuxedo

What is it about wearing a tuxedo or that little black dress, that makes us feel confident, beautiful, splendid, even invincible?

We put on formal wear and suddenly we become extraordinary.

On the days when you feel low and invisible, why not try this on for size: imagine you are wearing a fantastic tailored tuxedo or a stunning formal gown.

And then proceed with your day.

Gingerbread Room

The Gingerbread House has four walls, a roof, a door, a window, and a chimney. It is decorated with many sweet culinary delights on the outside.

But on the inside there is nothing—only the bare gingerbread walls.

It is not a real house—not until you decide to add a Gingerbread Room.

That’s when the stories can move in.

They will stay in residence for as long as you abstain from taking the first gingerbread bite.

Frost the Architect

Frost grows on the window glass, forming whorl patterns of lovely translucent geometry.

Breathe on the glass, and you give frost more ammunition.

Now it can build castles and cities and whole ice continents with your breath’s vapor.

In a few blinks you can almost see the winter fairies moving in . . .

But first, you hear the crackle of their wings.

Winter Fireworks

Colored lights blink on and off, racing across the green boughs. Their reflections dance across exquisite glass globes and splinter into shards against tinsel thread and garlands of metallic filaments that disappear underneath the other ornaments and finery.

Shadows follow, joyful, laughing sprites.

The tree is rich with potential wonder.

All it needs is a glance from you to come alive.

Faced with a Mountain

If you are faced with a mountain, you have several options.

You can climb it and cross to the other side.

You can go around it.

You can dig under it.

You can fly over it.

You can blow it up.

You can ignore it and pretend it’s not there.

You can turn around and go back the way you came.

Or you can stay on the mountain and make it your home.

The Hourglass

The sand in the hourglass runs from one compartment to the other, marking the passage of moments with something constant and tangible.

If you watch the flowing sand, you might see time itself riding the granules.

Contrary to popular opinion, time is not an old white-haired man, but a laughing child.

And time sings.

Ice and Memory

Ice is most welcome in a cold drink on a hot day.

But in the heart of winter, you want a warm hot mug with your favorite soothing brew to keep the chill away.

When you don’t have anything warm at hand, even a memory can be a small substitute.

Remember a searing look of intimate eyes.

Receive the inner fire.

Gift Giving

Gift giving is a true art.

1. You need to understand the person to whom you intend to give the gift.

2. You need to know what they truly want.

3. You must be able to give it to them.

Anything less is a symptom of varying degrees, on your part, of ignorance, distance, or insult.

But if you cannot afford the right gift, telling the person what you would do if you could, justifies everything—as you present that not-so-perfect substitute.

Earth Mother Days

Some women seem so voluptuous in every sense, richly bountiful and fertile with generous gifts of plenty, sensual and confident in their female strength that they are called “earth mothers.”

That’s how some days feel—when they are bountiful and fertile with the power of our imagination.

Authorization

Respect the young and chastise your elders.

It’s about time the world was set aright.

The Speaking Trees

Listen to the trees as they sway in the wind.

Their leaves are telling secrets. Their bark sings songs of olden days as it grows around the trunks. And their roots give names to all things.

Their language has been lost.

But not the gestures.

The Fountain

Unlike a fountain that circulates the same water in an enclosed, perpetually recycling system, a human being circulates thoughts in an unlimited reservoir of self.

Don’t limit yourself to being a mere fountain when you contain an ocean.

The Road

The wide open road is the single most hopeful thing in the world.

Look straight ahead and see it disappear into a point at the horizon.

That point is the future.

Seeing it, your lungs swell with joyful breath and buoyancy, and your heart feels a sweet nostalgic tug forward.

The road is calling!

Sometimes, it is the road home.

Afraid of the Dark

Don’t be afraid of the dark.

Shine!

Museum Awe

Some people think that museums are boring places filled with old things that no one cares about.

Tell them this:

The next time you enter a museum, walk quietly with stilled breath and sacred awe.

A museum is a holy shrine to the achievements of the human race.

It is in fact the most mind-blowing place to be, because it contains the only human-made things that are truly immortal.

Super Us

Ever been a one-person marching band? These days many of us are.

The last several years of financial, emotional and motivational turmoil have been incredibly challenging and tough in so many ways, which of course makes it very difficult to be creative. And at such a time, being creative is the one thing we have to be.

Almost requires a person to be superhuman to do it all.

You know what? Many of us are. What we do every day in order to pursue our dreams and at the same time hang in there and keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies, is amazing. At one time or another, most of us are fulltime laborers, professionals, homemakers, nurturers, teachers, healers, inventors, providers, creators of artistic beauty, urban jungle warriors, saviors of the universe and everything else—all crammed into one person.

This really is the age of the super being. No wonder media supernatural heroes are so blazing-hot right now.

The world requires it.

Your Best Friend

Your best friend is sitting on your lap purring, and at your feet wagging his tail.

Curled in a soft ball, your best friend lies on the windowsill, or perches on top of the stuffed chair, to be near you.

When you come home, your best friend greets you at the door, dancing with joy, and watching you with impossible attention.

When you cry, your best friend gets up and comes to you unconditionally, so that you can put your hands on the warmth and rest against the beloved fur.

Don’t ever forget.

Don’t ever abandon them.

Treasures

The greatest treasures cannot be stolen because they cannot be re-sold.

They can only be given away.

Signs

Signs of all great things are written right before our eyes, in a near invisible code of strangeness, wonder, and beauty. Sometimes it’s a shape, at others, a color, or a sound, a single pure note. It is also a scent, or a brief feather touch.

We look upon the world every day and see something simple, ordinary and commonplace.

But occasionally, something takes our breath away.

That’s when we are given a glimmer of the true signs.

Today, watch closely.

Elemental Feast

The Snow Queen married the Rain King.

Their children are Hail and Storm.

Behold their Feast.

Love at First Sight

Falling in love at first sight is no different than picking out the prefect dress.

It can happen.

But you still don’t know for sure until you’ve taken it to the dressing room and tried it on in front of a mirror.

Author’s Secret

No book is ever truly finished—the author simply makes the conscious agonizing choice to stop fiddling with it . . .

. . . and then there’s this thing called a deadline.

For that matter, no book is ever truly begun—the author stares at the blank sheet, starts drawing stick figures and monstrous ducks on the corners . . .

. . . and then there’s this thing called a deadline.

As the Rain

Rain beats against the world outside in torrential streams of sky water.

It washes away everything.

May our forgiveness do the same.

The Queen of Flowers

The rose is the queen of flowers.

She is an amazing blossom that embodies beauty, elegance, and love. And pride—don’t forget the thorns. No other flower carries so much complexity, meaning, and impact through the ages.

What is this something about the regal rose that gives it such potent magic?

Look closely at the rose and answer for yourself.

Sense of Security

A sense of security is a precious state of mind—labor-intensive to achieve and precarious to sustain.

So many of us work hard for most of our lives just for a glimmer of it.

Security comes in so many flavors—personal, financial, emotional, spiritual, intellectual.

Never take your sense of security for granted.

Be a security guard for all.

Well Groomed

The next time you visit the cosmetics counter, browse those rows of powders and creams, and are overwhelmed with a million shades of lipstick, blush, foundation, and eyeliner—consider the cat.

All it needs to stay well groomed is its own saliva.

The Entrance

The still surface of a lake is a membrane separating the worlds of air and water.

It is a hair-thin sliver, as fine as a breath, the thickness of a blink, a single molecule of difference . . .

Along this edge lies the entrance to Faerie.

Some Puzzles

Not every puzzle is intended to be solved.

Some are in place to test your limits.

Others are, in fact, not puzzles at all . . .

Smooth Polished Rock

A wise person is like a smoothly polished rock: it takes time to become either.

Coliseum of the Surreal

The poets huddle together in the corner like football players.

And the ball players are out before an audience, performing modern poetry in motion.

You sit watching, with your thumb ready to signal victory or defeat.

Reaching for Everything

When you reach for the stars, you are reaching for the farthest thing out there.

When you reach deep into yourself, it is the same thing, but in the opposite direction.

If you reach in both directions, you will have spanned the universe.

The Fern and the Cactus

The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland.

The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.

The florist will sigh and add a wall divider and proper soil to both sides.

The grandparent will move the flowerbox halfway out of the sun.

The child will turn it around properly so that the fern is in the shade, and not the cactus.

The moral of the story?

Kids are smart.

Tornado and Earthquake

A tornado of thought is unleashed after each new insight.

This in turn results in an earthquake of assumptions.

These are natural disasters that re-shape the spirit.

Love Potion

Once upon a time, a young man obtained a magic love potion and gave it to the young woman he loved.

The next day she left him.

Don’t worry about either one of them.

The Hat of Inspiration

When you need a bit of inspiration, put on a hat.

And now imagine what it would be like to wear this hat every day. Imagine how the hat might change you, if you had to wear it always and could never take it off.

Now take off the hat.

Aren't you glad you can?

Tough Times

When tough times come, it is particularly important to offset them with much gentle softness.

Be a pillow.

Motion Sensors

We are all glorified motion sensors.

Some things only become visible to us when they undergo change.

We take for granted all the constant, fixed things, and eventually stop paying any attention to them. At the same time we observe and obsess over small, fast-moving, ephemeral things of little value.

The trick to rediscovering constants is to stop and focus on the greater panorama around us. While everything else flits abut, the important things remain in place.

Their stillness appears as reverse motion to our perspective, as relativity resets our motion sensors. It reboots us, allowing us once again to perceive.

And now that we do see, suddenly we realize that those still things are not so motionless after all. They are simply gliding with slow individualistic grace against the backdrop of the immense universe.

And it takes a more sensitive motion instrument to track this.

The Point of Light

The star is a tiny point of light in the deep that is the night heavens. Its distant neighbors are more distant than the farthest thing on earth we know.

The star is surrounded by an infinite number of other stars in a stream of light that is the galaxy.

The galaxy is a point of light and its closest neighbors are other galaxies in a cluster.

The galactic cluster is a point of light forming a sea of membranes and strings wound and coiled inward and outward.

The strings and membranes recede into a point of light that is but one in a shower of the sparks hitting the grate of your fireplace.

You blink.

Sugar and Salt

Neither sugar nor salt tastes particularly good by itself. Each is at its best when used to season other things.

Love is the same way.

Use it to “season” people.

The Master of the Garden

The master of the garden is the one who waters it, trims the branches, plants the seeds, and pulls the weeds.

If you merely stroll through the garden, you are but an acolyte.

In the Plains

In the plains the grass grows tall, since there is no one to cut it.

There is no one to water it either.

Darkness and Radiance

The autumn wind blows numbing cold and twilight paints the evening indigo.

The orange carved pumpkin sits on the windowsill, grinning like the moon’s strange cousin, and its teeth are flames.

Don’t be afraid.

You carry our own heat inside you, and it is stronger than anything.

In the closing darkness, radiate the sunflower-golden warmth and put the Jack-o’-Lantern to shame . . .

Fascination

Fascination can lead us into really strange places.

Some are marvelous, some are dangerous, some are fascinating in themselves.

Fascination is one of the many faces of inspiration. It is the first glimmer of the great shining golden hoard just around the corner . . .

Just be prepared to find fool’s gold most of the time.

Mobile Riches

It's easier for a rich man to ride that camel through the eye of a needle directly into the Kingdom of Heaven, than for some of us to give up our cell phone.

Indirect

Never look directly at the sun.

Instead, look at the sunflower.

Exception to the Rules

To every rule there is an exception—and an idiot ready to demonstrate it.

Don't be the one!

Vegetable Secret

No one hates vegetables.

Instead, everyone hates to eat boringly prepared, bland, sterile, flavorless, washed-out, unseasoned food.

The vegetables are crying out to you:

“Spice me up! Pour interesting sauce over me! Mate me with compatible flavors! Put me in worthy recipes! Treat me as a worthy main course, not an afterthought side dish! Oh, and enough with that dull horrid steaming already!”

Listen to the vegetables.

Then, prepare to be amazed.

Urban Unicorn

The unicorn flickers in and out of your field of vision. It is white, or possibly steel.

Watch from the corner of your eye as it soars past the cars and the landmarks, as the streets unfold and the buildings tower.

The unicorn cannot fly.

But it moves faster than you can imagine, creating the illusion.

No one else can see it but you. And even you may not see it again, unless you feel the same moment of perfect clarity that allowed you to remember everything—to hum the perfect song and pronounce the unicorn's true name.

And discover yours.

The Best Things

The best things—both material and intangible—in life are earned.

But occasionally certain unexpected good things come to us as a rare and precious gift, almost out of the blue.

How does that work?

To find out, give a small heartfelt gift to someone, today.

Playing

There’s a difference between playing and playing games.

The former is an act of joy, the latter—an act.

Regardless of Season

If you feed the birds and squirrels regardless of season, if you set out a dish for the possums and the raccoons when the weather intensifies, you are the secret master of the world.

Don’t tell anyone how it works. They may only figure it out for themselves.

Maps

Maps are things of magic.

You look at the world flattened into two dimensions on paper, and yet imagine it in infinite layers, directions, and transparencies.

What is a map of a human being?

The palm of your hand.

Good Book

Whenever your read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.

Far Seeing

Sunlight shimmers upon the waters like broken shards of a mirror.

Squint and look out across the ocean at the horizon.

You are seeing the future and the past, rolled into one.

Somewhere, thousands of years ago, another stood in your place, and looked and saw the same horizon.

The First Tree

The first tree grew in a forest of grass and lesser shrubs.

At first it was like all the rest. And then it kept growing, rising to tower over the other vegetation.

At some point it knew it was tall and different and strong.

The tree, new and self-aware, defined and named itself.

So must you.

The Pyramid

The pyramid shape is said to hold many secrets and amazing properties.

One of them is a sense of wonder.

The City

In a haze of fog and smog the city shapes itself in the distance, angular skyscrapers marking the skyline with dreary man-made geometry.

But with evening, golden lights appear in windows, winking into existence like fireflies, until the city is a jewel of infinite blinking eyes.

This is what takes place inside us at the moment of insight.

October Moon

Something wonderful happens to the moon in October. First it grows plump and yellow, transforming into a juicy peach, then into a bright orange pumpkin—great and fat and ripe like the last harvest.

The full moon floats in the cooling sky that has lost the last of its bright summer blue, and can only display the indigo and silver grays.

The season of depth has arrived.

Time to turn inward.

Home

One of the most difficult things in life is losing a home for which you’ve worked all your life.

There are no words.

The heart bleeds.

Then you pick up the objects that mean home to you. And you pack them up, and you uproot yourself and your loved ones.

And you go to plant your heart in a new spot of earth. Good thing the world is a big wondrous place.

And every inch of it is home.

The Invention

A very long time ago, when the world was plain, a brilliant scientist invented a wonderful mysterious device. When touched, it inspired you.

People from everywhere came to touch the device—and were inspired to create problems, solve all masterpieces, heal the hungry and feed the sick. Others were inspired to invent even more amazing inventions. Soon, the world filled with technological wonders.

Because so many people touched it, the device eventually wore down and stopped working. And when the oceans rose to swallow land and rearrange the continents, everything that was left of the inspired civilization sank to the bottom.

But the memory of inspiration remains to this day. It’s why so many of us unconsciously reach out to touch the things of the world, and why we reach out for each other.

There’s something to be invented.

Honeymoon

Every year, the sun goes on a honeymoon to warmer climes—or is it that it brings the warmth with it, transforming the places it visits?

We, meanwhile, are left to bask in the residue of its loving glow.

It is just barely enough.

But love always returns the following year.

Abilities

A great ancient poet was blind.

A great classical composer was deaf.

Many of us are dumb.

What have we to show for it?

Broken Vase

A fine glass vase goes from treasure to trash, the moment it is broken.

Fortunately, something else happens to you and me.

Pick up your pieces.

Then, help me gather mine.

Message in a Klein Bottle

An infinitely self-replicating yet unending pattern suggests something about the flow of our lives.

Truth is inside-out.

Freedom

Freedom is not a license to act but a license to exercise free choices in any given situation.

It is not a “free-for-all” but a “free-to-choose.”

Always use tact, subtlety, mercy, compassion—in other words, your best judgment—to interpret your final choice wisely.

Because everyone else is making the same difficult choices as you are.

Freedom is a thing shared.

The Weight of the World

The weight of the world is a trifle, if we all put our two fingers under it and try to lift together.

Hold the Moon in Your Hand

Who says you cannot hold the moon in your hand?

Tonight when the stars come out and the moon rises in the velvet sky, look outside your window, then raise your hand and position your fingers around the disk of light.

There you go . . .

That was easy!

From the Potbellied Jar

Find an ancient potbellied jar buried in the sand. Rub its sides to clear the dust, and uncork it, to release a genie.

When the genie offers you three wishes, tell him you will think on it. Meanwhile, ask the genie about his own life in those thousands of years gone by—stories of the ancient sunlit times, and the days of legend.

As the genie settles next to you, you listen. And the two of you sip tea and share secrets, while the years again pass by.

When your first gray hairs appear, tell the genie you no longer need three wishes granted, only one. And then, spend the remaining days of your lifetime deciding on that one wish.

In the end, you thank the genie. And with your last and only wish you set him free.

He did grant you, after all, exactly what was unasked.

The Dark Secret

The dark secret is buried in pride, but it's not what you think. Pride's nothing more than a tantrum.

Sure, pride elevates you and sets you apart.

But pride also keeps you alone.

Do you like being universally alone, forever? Enjoy the sense of isolation from the rest of the universe? Bored to death yet, as your quite possibly brilliant mind turns into a sterile echo-chamber?

Well, you can stop it at any moment. It's completely up to you. And herein lies the dark secret.

Simply break your pride.

Grovel.

Grovel with all your heart before the universe.

It's only excruciating for the first few moments as the shell breaks… Then, you are filled with warmth and glorious light.

And you are once again as big and full as the universe.

Seriously, it's worth it.

The Difference Between Love and Passion

Passion makes you vulnerable.

Love makes you vulnerable and hence, strong.

People and Dry Skin

When dry cracked skin itches, it should not be scratched but soothed with moisturizing lotion.

The same goes for itchy, irritated people. Soothe them with the lotion of acceptance.

Otherwise there will be a wound.

Fear and Frugality

Fear and Frugality go hand in hand.

Notwithstanding one's means, poor or rich, it's those of us who are most afraid that hold on the tightest to their savings.

It's a risk to give, and an act of courage to thin down or even part with that external layer of material safety padding, by sharing it with others.

This holiday season, remember to make a personal sacrifice. Because you will almost certainly need help one day and then you can hope with all your heart there is someone out there brave enough to help you.

Be that brave someone now, for a friend in need.

Spark of Insight

All the verbal pyrotechnics of poetry in the world do not measure up to one spark of insight.

Yet, insight framed by beauty flares from a spark to the brightest beacon of light.

A Different Kind of Faith

Despite what you may have been told, faith does not constitute a belief in a Deity.

Faith is believing in your own hunches, your instinct, your true gut. Because no abstract disconnected notion of Deity "out there" tells you more about truth and the way things are than that small voice inside of you that cries out to you, nags to you, whispers to you when you make any given choice -- good bad, or indifferent.

Trust and listen to it. It is never wrong. What is that voice anyway?

However, be careful that you don't get "radio interference" from all other things stuck inside your head -- hangups, biases, needs and desires. The voice of true faith is clean and impartial.

And it is always right.

Why Not?

For as long as there's anyone to ask 'Why?" the answer will always be, "Why not?"

Love Triangle

Love is made up of three unconditional properties in equal measure:

1. Acceptance
2. Understanding
3. Appreciation

Remove any one of the three and the triangle falls apart.

Which, by the way, is something highly inadvisable. Think about it — do you really want to live in a world of only two dimensions?

So, for the love of a triangle, please keep love whole.

The Child and the Adult

The child lives in this moment.

The adult lives in the contemplation of the past and future moments.

Key word: "lives"

Which of the two?

Two Voices

You know how we sort of have these two voices in our heads?

No, this is not about crazy people hearing things. And it's not about the devil or angel on our shoulder, the aftereffects of intoxication or sleep deprivation, or even split personality disorder -- no, this is all quite normal stuff.

One voice is what some people refer to as the voice of conscience or reason. And the second voice is the one that we mostly associate with the self, the so-called real you that is living in the here and now, and suffering or enjoying the moment.

So what happens is, we end up having these dialogues in out heads, pretty much unconsciously. But we hear the two voices become distinct only during particularly important decision points in our daily lives -- the moments when we have to choose one thing or another, one way or another.

The "higher" voice of reason is usually making running commentary when we are unsure about what to do, when we are torn, lost, confused, hurting. It keeps is from jumping off a cliff or eloping to Vegas with the cute bartender. In the process of this mental dialogue and weighing of options, we justify our behavior or decisions to ourselves.

One of our voices -- the immediate self -- is usually emotional, impulsive, the one most in need of help or guidance. The other voice -- which is also the self but a bit more detached, it seems -- is consolatory, helpful, or critical, judgmental, supervisory. One is weak, the other strong. They constantly talk to each other, a sort of director's cut commentary track of our lives. But instead of being mere commentary, they are in fact making that movie on the fly.

Both of these voices are us -- two equal sides of ourselves. Psychologists might assign various labels to this, our daily process of internal reasoning, while popular culture has other terms such as common sense, impulse, guts, dick.

How about a new pair of terms, using metaphor?

Let's think for a moment of the self as a team of two techs on a mission. One tech is actually sitting back at the dispatch tower, watching the terrain. The other tech is down in the field, armed and equipped, and running through the jungle. The tech up in the dispatch many miles away -- let's call him the Voice of the Absolute -- sees the big picture and the progress of the tech who is on site. The tech in the jungle -- let's call him the Voice of the Relative -- is fully immersed in the moment, in the dangers of the jungle, the snakes and the vines and the bugs and the humid heat, and also the pleasures -- the fresh balmy air, the song of the forest.

It's rather easy for the jungle to overtake all senses, which is what happens to us in life as we live it. We are overwhelmed and forget the reality of the big picture beyond us when we can only see the mud at our feet as we wade through the swamp and the mosquitoes.

However, the guy at the dispatch tower, an equal part of our team, can see all this too, except he also knows the reality of the sterile control tower and the equipment, the panoramic vista of land for many miles around, and he is also connected to a huge communication network. When he sees a snake hanging on a nearby branch he can warn us without panic. But he also does not feel the heat or the painful rocks beneath our feet as we run -- that's up to the guy on site to figure out and handle.

The Voice of the Absolute is our voice of greater perspective -- reason, common sense, conscience, reality, and grounding -- and he can give great mission support to the Voice of the Relative, the one who's in the thick of it all.

At any given moment of our lives we can chose to listen to that distant team member or not. If we do, we usually feel less lost and more in control. We also can avoid pratfalls and reduce the amount of stupid mistakes we can make if we're stuck only within the narrow immediate perspective.

For best results, we're a team.

Next time we hear that dialogue in our head, let's not discount it. Instead, let us take the moment to listen to both voices -- not only do things sound clearer in stereo, but it can be a great relief when we are feeling most alone.

And no, we're not crazy, merely human.