“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”
- William Faulkner
For charity, after all, is just a word.
“The little bum was sitting crosslegged at his end before a pitiful repast of one can of sardines. I took pity on him and went over and said, ‘How about a little wine to warm you up? Maybe you’d like some bread and cheese with your sardines.’
‘Sure thing.’ He spoke from far away inside a little voice-box afraid or unwilling to assert himself. I’d bought the cheese there days ago in Mexico City before the long cheap bus trip across Zacatecas and Durango and Chihuahua two thousand long miles to the border of El Paso. He ate the cheese and bread and drank the wine with gusto and gratitude. I was pleased. I reminded myself of the line in the Diamond Sutra that says, ‘Practice charity without holding in the mind any conceptions about charity, for charity after all is just a word.’” — The Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac
As a way to get the ball rolling, and when I need a little inspiration, I like to type out some of my favorite passages from some of my favorite books.
LOVE This Quote
“Life doesn’t give you dreams and aspirations for you to turn away and say ‘not for people like me.’ Your dreams are your real Self yearning to be followed with a courageous heart and unbending intent. Your own wisdom is more powerful than anything you see around you. The price for living your dream is facing your deepest fear; ask yourself ‘What am I afraid of most’? Facing your answer is the price of greatness.”
- Jackson Kiddard
JohnMark or Timba-tu
This is part of a project I worked on for a friend a few years ago. What a journey he’s gone through!
As the night begins to shine its light on the west– waking Pacific eyes, this one does not sleep.
But dreams in speeds brushed tight; the lure of stale nights.
Have another drink, just a taste to cure the nip– mixed with a lover’s hot breath and cotton briefs.
Learning as he goes, willing to con and weave, hiding his true self from the world. What a pity he cannot learn in mimsy when the day glows low and candles perk up flames burning spoons to bend and crust
his wild heart fills–lust for another man, suppression finally erupts from within.
And now he sits in wallows, makes treks in dirt and mud, up blood through veins he yearns and wastes away.
Tequila did not chase his demons out, just wines and dines them through another night on pills and fairy dust.
The beginning of a wonderful journey.
“Hopping freight out of Los Angeles at high noon one day in late September 1955 I got on a gondola and lay down with my duffel bag under my head and my knees crossed and contemplated the clouds as we rolled north to Santa Barbra.”—Opening sentence of Jake Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums. I like to remember how my favorite books begin.
“Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.”
“Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.” – Lao Tzu
Gratification a lifetime delayed.
Last night I could not sleep.
Today, when I awoke, you were there.
Looking in the mirror I saw only you.
In my hair you curled and I could smell the chard scent as I tried to straighten you away.
In my lips you grew coarse and chapped as I braved the harsh winter morning.
In my breath I suffocated on your life: wasted away in pursuit of instant gratifications left, even now, unsatisfied.
Falling asleep tonight I watch you walk out of the room to smoke a cigarette
away from my judging, saddened eyes.
And even though I cannot sleep when you insist on staying over, I do not get up to join in–
ease your worry. Instead I wait for you to return,
stand over and watch me as I stare back
at your never ending wait for satisfaction; gratification drifting through the air in a puff of smoke.
Gratification delayed for a lifetime.
The Saddest Line In The World
“One of the saddest lines in the world is, ‘Oh come now – be realistic.’ The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic. They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride.”
- Richard Nelson Bolles
Craving
The burning begins.
A canary bursting out of her core igniting flames reminiscent of the sunset in its path. This small creature had no idea the quake it had unearthed, swirling around
intoxicating,
making love in a robin’s nest. With enough patience you can start a fire by rubbing two sticks together, this little bird had been rubbing an eternity. It did not notice the grey bellows of smoke it was creating, nor the fire that came a century later.
Tearing deeper with every breath, Gaia’s flesh, inside out like the paper peeling back from a lit cigarette.
She became exposed ash—but not enough to fill the urn.
And so, I let the spider move in.
“Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that’s the one that is going to require the most from you.” - Caroline Myss
