For Kristen and Emily

I want you to know in all ways

just how loved and missed you are.

The distance that divides us 

is merely land.

There will be greater distances

one day, but not today.

I am thinking of what 

I should say.

Be good, be kind, 

to yourselves and others

in all ways.

It won't be easy but try.

There will be days and nights

that will cause you to think

you should give up.

The darkness will bathe you

at those times.

Bear it, endure it, 

and let it mold you

into someone 

stronger and wiser.

Your strength

will be revealed to you

in this way.

Strive for perfection

but know none of us

can ever fully attain it.

It's ok to not be perfect.

Learn to be yourselves.

Wear different guises

at different times.

Some will stick,

some won't but that's ok.

You're loved no matter what.

Don't allow yourselves to hate

without depth.

Your time and energy 

is too precious to waste

on such negativity.

In place of anger or hatred

create art, or involve yourselves

in helping others.

Push back the darkness

with kindness and creativity.

If it feels hopeless 

do it all the same.

You are the beacon of light

for yourselves and others.

Learn every day.

To learn and educate yourselves

is far more than merely

what we are taught in school.

Observe others. Learn from their mistakes.

Make your own mistakes and learn from them.

Let no moment be wasted.

Allow yourselves to fully inhabit the present.

What does that mean?

Listen. See. Hear. 

Every moment is a gift.

Every moment is the only moment.

If the past haunts you

know it has passed.

If the future troubles you

know it is not yet here.

If the present troubles you

know that it will pass.

Always prepare but know

that everything and everyone

is subject to change without notice.

Be able to adjust at a moment's notice.

Some of life's greatest adventures

will begin in this way.

Know that not everything 

will be known to you.

Allow for mystery and wonder

to be part of your life.

Go to the beach, close your eyes,

and listen to the waves.

Go to the forest, close your eyes,

and listen to the wind in the trees.

Go to the desert, close your eyes,

and listen.

Those who loved you most dearly

when you were born

will most likely not be the same

as those who love you

when we meet on the other shore.

Learn to let things go.

Learn that holding on 

can be the thing that hurts us most.

Laugh every day. Laugh the kind

of laughter that makes you gasp for air.

Remember that so much of life is play.

Be joyful.

Take only what you need.

Give the rest away.

Be kind.

Be kind.

Be kind.

I love you.

Listen and Go

Rise with the sound of your beating heart
Move to the rhythm of the hope inside

If the day has come you know what to do
Take my advice my son and go where the wind calls you

Don't be afraid
Don't be scared
Go where the wind calls your name

Sunlight will illuminate the day
Moonlight will shine at the hour of the wolf

You weren't to be here forever
Go where the wind calls your name

We will always be here
Living on in heart and memory

The wind calls your name
Listen and go
The wind calls your name

Advice for a Better Life

Go to bed at a decent hour.
Get a full nights rest.
Wake up decently early.
Leave with plenty of time
for work every day.
Eat more fruits and vegetables.
Drink less or just cut it out.
Exercise more.
Tell your loved ones
that you love them.
Read more.
Write more.
Continue the inward path.
Go to the beach more.
Make more music.
Make more art.
Keep constantly learning.
Face your fears.
Remember that the only
thing truly ours is
our own actions.
Be grateful.
Be kind.
Be kind.
Be kind.
Be kind.
Be kind.

Stay focused on the small tasks
in order to slowly achieve the large ones.

Be the love you seek.

Advice to Self

You will not like the fruit 
of bitterness if you decide 
to plant its seeds.

Please Remember...

Never forget the joy found within. 

Never forget the peace of solitude. 

Define yourself and only worry about 

meeting your own standards. 

Society can get fucked. 

Honor the self you know to be true. 

We can't predict the strength 
of the waves but we can always 
be assured they are coming. 

My One Bit of Advice For My Infant Niece to Remember Me By

Never lose sight

of the good in yourself

or in others.

Give up everything that doesn't matter.

My ABC's

Accept consequence.

Be ready to let go.

Change by force or will.

Do not be the flame to extinguish itself.

Exemplify your values.

Fear less, live more.

Give without judgement.

Help often.

Inspire others, be inspired.

Just in all things.

Know the depth of experience.

Love without restriction.

Move briskly.

No is as powerful as Yes.

Observe everything.

Print legibly.

Question your motives.

Refrain from excess.

Surrender thoughts of how things should be.

Trust.

Understand limitations.

Value Silence.

Wander with purpose.

X: account for it.

Your life is yours alone.

Zero is an acceptable starting point.

don't call this advice

They say it could be worse

and sometimes it isn't

though oftentimes it is.

They say things will get better

and sometime they do, though,

often they remain unchanged.

Let's not give hollow platitudes

in lieu of advice.

It will be hard.

There will be uncomfortable sacrifice.

There will be fewer friends and family

after large reorganizations.

The right ones will remain.

Take my advice when I say

stop listening to the voices

that populate our cities,

that fill our eyes with flash.

Turn off your computer,

your phone, your television,

your car, and walk outside

for a moment. It might be sunny,

overcast, rainy, nighttime,

it doesn't matter. Listen to the world

around you without headphones,

see the world around you

without a screen between you.

What you hear and see

will be more honest than

what is given to you, to us,

every day. It is not my place

to tell you what to do then.

There will be a voice speaking

once you have agreed to listen.

It will know what needs to come

next. It may be wrong, but more likely,

it will be right. Excuse me.

I need to leave right now.

There is some place I need to be

with someone I have yet to meet.

Ignore All Advice

Don't confuse understanding
for a deeper attachment.

Write freely as often as you
right freely.

Talk slowly enough
so that you are understood.

Think in metaphor,
write in abstract imagery.

Imply meaning,
never state it directly.

Regard all rules thusly:
never trust them.

Kiss lips as often as possible,
let your lips be kissed in turn.

Hide any sense of worry behind
a placid smile and pleasant demeanor.

Do not worry about death
if you can help it.

Sing, especially if you have
no ear for music.

Originality is to be strived for
until it is achieved,

once it has been reached
it must be discarded and sought again.

Cut out the deepest parts of
yourself from your chest,

from your skull, reach in and grab,
rip, tear out all the hidden worlds,

find yourself to be newly unencumbered,
free from everyone and yourself.

A Reminder

It is important to remember

that we are the sum of our choices-

as such

it is imperative to also remember

that the power to change

our lives is always

within our grasp.

Rules For An Interesting Journey

Make plans and break them.

Never play with anyone's heart but your own.

Don't give advice not won through experience.

Cry from time to time.

Be nostalgic.

Burn a favorite picture to ash.

Give a cherish possession to a loved one for no particular reason.

Speed along an empty freeway at 100m.p.h.,

stick you hand out the window.

Contemplate the death of roadkill.

Fall in love at the most inconvenient time.

Forget something important on purpose.

Improvise.

Teach someone one of your skills.

Say hello to the stranger who makes eye contact,

smile.

Don't ignore pain.

Don't shy away from self-doubt.

Make out with a stranger at a bar.

Create in order to please only yourself.

Write something with no intent to ever show anyone.

Take this advice

You know what you need to do
yet, you always find a way 
to undo your work.

Motion is not perpetual, neither
is willpower. It must constantly
be reforged.

Remind yourself of this: there
is constant struggle in the soul,
it suffers self-inflicted stings  

for trespasses others have no
understanding of having 
committed. 

Compassion and Kindness 
are your strengths. Give some
to yourself time to time.

Let the inner gaze find the clouded
mirror. Clean it. See things 
as they truly are.

Rely on your strength, reinforce it
with that of those around you.
No solider fights alone.

Lose your desperate pose, 
remove the poison from your blood-
WORK, WORK, WORK.

Don't/Do (a short one)

Don't give in to the forces that profess

creativity which are not found within.

Do trust in yourself.

What You Do With Advice

Advice is only 


as good


as what you do 


with it.

your situation at hand

make the right choice dear.

the answer couldn't be more

obvious than if it were

lying next to you in bed

snoring so loudly

that you woke into a fit.