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.