Questions

I have begun to ask myself how can we balance
our need to live in the present
with our desire to project into the future
as well as remember the past?
Does one hinder another?
How do the creatures of our world
exist without the weight of
consciousness on them?
Perhaps I do them a disservice
and they bear the weight
differently.
Would I feel differently
about this life
if I had wings with which
to view the world
from the air?
Or would I feel differently
if I could live beneathe
the waves of the ocean?
We live and fight
through the days we've been given
because we must
because happiness is never something
that merely is
it must be worked on
and earned.

Question for a Philosopher

Can it be said that I am writing quickly
when in fact all I am doing
is typing 
and watching words appear
on a screen?

Socrates In The Modern World

I told her that I am not so wise.

She said “How can you say that?”

“Very easily,” I said, “with words.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

This all started because we had been

talking about Socrates. He famously

said that all he knows is that he knows

nothing. We can be reasonably sure

that even if Socrates didn’t phrase it

like that he did say something to that

effect. What hope do us mortals have if

such a vaunted mind felt so confident

about his own lack of knowledge?

If Socrates were alive today I wonder

if he would still feel the same. If he were

alive today there are many other things

which he would be ignorant about, such

as the last two-thousand or so years of

history. What would he think of the

monotheism of Christianity and Islam?

Would he convert to either faith?

Or would he find comfort in Buddhism?

I’m sure he would find Scientology to be

a hard sell. I do. He could easily become

a media sensation and have plenty of quick

one line sound bites ready to be easily

digested by any of the news shows. They

would need to find someone to translate

his colloquial Latin. I don’t think most news

outlets would be ready, but it would give

Latin students new job opportunities aside

from the usual high school teaching gigs

to uninterested students who are more worried

about the breakout probabilities of their skin.

I am still not sure why my friend thinks me

so wise. I am glad to be thought of in such

a way but those thoughts don’t seem to take

into account my shortcomings. I wonder what

was Socrates least favorite thing about himself.

Perhaps he never learned to properly tie his toga.

“I am not wise,” I told her, “I am merely a man.

Because of this my existence will always lack.

This is not the worst fate that could befall me

or any of us, it’s just the state of how we exist.

We live in tiny bubbles floating through air

that could burst at any moment. The miracle

is the continued state of the bubble. It is no

less beautiful because of it’s short life, in fact,

it is more beautiful,” I said.

We sat in the silence of the city, the sounds

of wind muddled with the mass of purring

engines and voices blurring into one sound.

Act in kindness with no expectations.

Epictetus In The Modern World

Epictetus In The Modern World: A Novel in 18 1/2 Chapters


I. Breaking the Wheel.

II. No More Why.

III. Onyx Index

IV. I'd Rather Have a Smart Girl than a Pretty Girl.

V. The Past is No Place to Live.

VI. Gardeners of Our Own Lives.

VII. Dyslexicon / Lexigraphical / Hyperlexical

VIII. The Waves Paint the Shore in Foaming White.

IX. Painting Memory

X. A Clock Echoing in an Empty Room

XII. A Lost December

XIII. I Don't Need To Know The Truth To Know What Is Real

XIV. Vatican Talisman

XV. Kiss Your Lemon Lips (a.k.a. A Conjecturing Glance of Half-Formed Attraction)

XVI. Always More Water

XVII. This Illusion Meant

XVIII. This Page Intentionally Left Blank

Post-Script: "... a chain of flowers into the mysteries of life."

What It Is To Be

To be

To have been

To want 

To accept 

To reject

To watch

To participate

To plan

To desire

To need

To be needed

To harm

To forgive

To heal

To listen

To run

To ache

To do

To drink

To order

To write

To erase

To you

To no one

To myself

A Concise Philosophy on Writing/Art

It doesn't matter if it's good,


is it honest?

A Musing On Music

Music is Magic


&


Musicians are Magicians.

Frail Strength

Next Time

You Drive

By A

Car

Accident

Think

Of The

Snail.

How I Am Starting This Morning

I'm awake and alive. What more could any of us ask for at the start of any day? The blurring of the line between what we need and what we want is probably one of the leading causes of unhappiness in the modern world. I am by no means perfect but I recognize that I still have the chance to make my life better as we all do.I will not define my life by my possessions but rather by the experiences I have had & those people that enrich my life.This is how I decided to start my day. I hope you do too.