As I gaze at a cherished photographs
of my youthful travels,
I review the experiences
I enjoyed while they were happening
and now reviewing and savouring
the details of the experiences
I enjoy the experiences again.

The full moon
looks pretty
in the night sky
backgrounded by stars.

Should architecture
be stimulating
and pleasing
to the mind and heart?

I just read the first page
of James Joyce’s ‘novel’
Finnegan’s Wake;
Joyce makes up new words
and uses so many new words
that I could not comprehend
what Joyce had written.

Should authors make effort
to use words
which their audience
can understand?

I just watched a news report
that infections of ebola virus
are spreading out from
the Democratic Republic of Congo;
1700 people have died
in the last year of infections;

I saw a man lying sickly
in a quarantined hospital bed
suffering from vomiting and diarrhea
mourning his dead wife, sister, brother,
all lost to ebola in recent days.

I wonder
how does the world protect us all
from ebola?
Fortunately, there is a vaccine
which makes people immune to ebola,
but there is only enough vaccine
to vaccinate thousands of people
when hundreds of millions are in danger.
I wonder
when and how will the world produce enough vaccine
to vaccinate all the millions in danger
from ebola?

Quapaw is an extinct language
of an American Indian tribe
of Arkansas U.S.A.

I wonder
how many other languages
have humans spoken throughout history
which are now extinct?

I wonder
what secrets
did these lost languages contain
about how to live
a joyful and happy life
within Destiny?

In a joyful and happy society
should every person
who works 5 days a week
be paid enough
to buy all the products and services they need
to live a joyful and happy life?

Destiny seems
most of the time
to progress
not in quantum-leaps
but in effort-won increments.

Poetry is like flowers
growing in the trees;
Poetry is like flowers
fragrant in the leaves;
Poetry brings sweetness
to philosophy;
Poetry leads people to think
what life means?

Enjoying the experience
of loving
and being loved
is one of the privileges
of being alive.

When people say
“I know you”
what does that mean?
Do they have a concept of you
in their mind
which they have reified
as their reality?
Does the real you
exist only in the minds of others?
Or, are you something
which precedes the concepts of others?
Is the authentic you
only discoverable by you
by introspective self-awareness
and self-discovery?

My hot steaming coffee
is wafting a beautiful flavour
into my nose
and I feel energised
as I breathe in.
Sipping my coffee
is a delectable experience:
Nutty, fruity, sweet with milk.

My coffee
tastes beautiful,
energises me
and is good milky nutrition.

I like to enjoy washing dishes
so it doesn’t become a chore,
as living is for enjoying
and I seek to enjoy every moment
of being alive,
even washing dishes!

But how to enjoy washing dishes?
I focus
on enjoying the experience
of the present-moment,
like meditation.
I enjoy cleaning my dishes
to protect me from disease
and keep me healthy.
I enjoy the feeling
of warm water on my hands
as I rinse the dishes before washing.
I enjoy the rhythm and sound of squeaking
the sponge makes as it scrubs the dishes.
I enjoy feeling
the smooth texture
of the ceramic dishes.
I enjoy exploring the shape
of every dish with my hands as I wash.
I enjoy
seeing my reflection
in the stainless-steel spoons
as I wash
enjoying the experience.

A father carries on his shoulders
his 3 year old son,
as the father walks waist deep in
monsoon floodwaters
seeking to escape the floods
and carry his child to safety.

Monsoon floods
happen every year in India
and every year people are in flood-distress.
I wonder
what is the solution to flood-distress?
Better infrastructure like concrete drains
linked to concrete waterways
linked to reservoirs
which save water for the dry season?
I wonder
who will build this infrastructure?
How will this infrastructure be built?
Who will pay for this infrastructure?
The development of poor nations
like India
is a mystery to me.
I wonder
how poor flood-prone villages in India
will develop the needed infrastructure
to prevent monsoon flooding?

I just watched a news report
about ‘Direct-Air-Carbon-Capture’
which removes carbon dioxide (CO2)
from the Earth’s atmosphere
to reverse climate change:
Big fans **** in air
which is passed through liquid
which absorbs some carbon dioxide (CO2)
then the CO2 is extracted from the liquid
by chemical reaction to form
solid pellets of calcium carbonate,
thereby removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

One Direct-Air-Carbon-Capture (D-A-C-C) plant
can extract 1 megaton of CO2 every year
from the atmosphere –
which is equivalent to 40 million trees;
It would take 40,000 D-A-C-C plants worldwide
to stop further climate change.

I wonder
when will global society
become desperate enough
to avoid bad climate change events
like cyclones, droughts, floods
that governments will spend the money
to build these 40,000 plants
and save us all from climate change.

Should I sell my subservience
of my mind, body and soul
to boss at work?

How much freedom
should my self retain
from my boss?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we have the right
to life, liberty and security of person.

When I have the right
to life,
do you have the duty
to keep me alive?

When I have the right
to liberty,
do you have the duty
to give me liberty?

When I have the right
to security of person,
do you have the duty
to give me security my person?

What does it mean
when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we should
‘act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood’?

Should we be peacefully cooperating
to achieve our mutual happiness?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we are all born free,
but what do we mean by ‘freedom’?

Is a baby starving in a slum
free from poverty?

Is a baby dying in a war-zone
free from violence?

Is a baby crying in a refugee camp
free from persecution?

Should we be striving to improve our world
until babies are born free
from all the situations which lead to
our unhappiness?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we are all endowed with Reason,
but what do we mean by ‘Reason’
in everyday life?

Is Reason:

Logically relating concepts?

Or

Being strategic
in pursuit of selfish interests?

Or

Philosophically discovering
wisdom
about what practical activities to do
to achieve joy and happiness?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we all should have equal dignity,
but is that the way we think
in everyday life?

I live in a big house in wealthy suburb
and you live in a small house in a poor suburb:
Should I have more dignity than you?
Or should we have the equal dignity of fellow human-beings?

I drive an expensive sports car
and you drive a second-hand sedan:
Should I have more dignity than you?
Or should we have the equal dignity of fellow human-beings?

I wear a bespoke suit
and you wear an off-the-rack:
Should I have more dignity than you?
Or should we have the equal dignity of fellow human-beings?

A mother is dragging her toddler
through a supermarket aisle
on a shopping trip
and toddler says “Mom, I’m tired”
and mother says
“Be quiet, you’re being abnormal!”

A worker says to his boss
“I’ve discovered a bright idea
for how to improve our workplace”
and the boss says “I’m the boss,
be quiet, you’re being abnormal!”

A politician says
to protesters against his policies
“Stop protesting, be quiet, you’re being abnormal!”

A hurting patient says to his doctor
“Doctor, I don’t like the treatment
you have chosen for me.”
And the doctor says
“This is the normal treatment for your condition,
be quiet, you are being abnormal!”

When authority makes the norms,
should we allow
freedom of abnormal speech?
To achieve
for subjects of authority
a society which listens,
a society which cares for needs,
a society which is kind,
a society which is progressive,
a society which is happier?

Save your self
from your suffering
by seeking liberation and relief
through philosophy.

I play jackstones
to relax and rejuvenate:
I hold one stone in one hand
with 4 stones on the floor,
then I throw the one stone in the air
and before I catch it
I grab off the floor as many of the 4 stones
as I am able to
then catch the one stone too.

Playing jackstones
is the simple joy
of enjoying the agile exercise of my hands
and enjoying focusing attention like meditation
on my hands and stones
instead of focusing on my struggles and sufferings.

While playing jackstones
I am simply enjoying
being alive, and
I am happy.

Gilberto Luna
was a Mexican pioneer farmer
who lived in an area of Texas
which is now Big Bend National Park
and Luna’s 130 year old Jacal (hut)
remains to be seen today.

Luna’s Jacal
is built with
walls of sandstones and limestones,
wooden poles as pillars supporting a roof
made from tree branches
weighed down with earth and stones.

Luna’s Jacal
like many other
pioneer huts
was built from materials
found in his environment:
We strive to build our happiness
from opportunities found
in our environment.

Today in Texas
people live in skyscrapers
built with concrete, steel, glass,
materials produced by years of
discovery, innovation, adaptation
of new ways of using materials
from our natural-environment
to improve our built-environment:
We strive to
discover new ways
to improve our environment
to improve our happiness.

I just watched a news report:
Global numbers of insects are halving every 25 years
Bees Butterflies Moths and other species disappearing
which is a problem because
it kills Birds Reptiles Fish which live off the insects,
and insects pollinate 75% of crops which humans grow,
and 87% of all plant species on the planet need pollinating;
if insects die then flowering plants will die,
most plants will die.
Why are insects dying?
Farmers are blamed for using pesticides
but there may be other causes too.

I was left wondering:
Is there something we can do
to save insects and plants?

I just watched a news report:
A father and 3 year old daughter
lay dead
half-submerged in the Rio-Grande river
over which they tried to cross
from Mexico into USA,
fleeing from poverty
and violence
in their central American country of origin.

I was left wondering:
Is there something we can do
to relieve poverty
and achieve prosperity,
and stop violence
and achieve peace
in central American countries?

I just watched a news report:
In southern Pakistan
a mother cries sitting on a hospital bed
watching over her malnourished daughter
who is laying in bed dying.
The mother sobs uncontrollably
as her 3 year old daughter
slumps after her last breath.
The child’s father
wraps his daughter’s limp body
in a blanket
and carries her out of the hospital room
in which scores of other malnourished children
lay dying.

I am left wondering:
Is there something we can do
to feed the malnourished children
in Pakistan
and around the world?

Sharon posts a photo of her new baby
on social-media and
Nasty-Jim comments
“That’s an ugly baby!”
Sharon feels shocked, insulted, appalled.
She hugs her baby protectively,
feeling hurt.

Sharon posts a photo of her new baby
on social-media and
Civil-Sheryl comments
“Congratulations on your beautiful baby!”
Sharon feels joyful and happy.
She hugs her baby warmly
kisses him on the head
and says “I love you little one”.

I just watched a mini-documentary
on pig factory farming using
extreme confinement of individual pigs
in ‘gestation crates’:
I saw each poor pig
trapped within metal box-grates
which pressed against their flesh
stopping the pig from turning around
stopping the pig from walking around,
each pig suffers their whole life
standing in one direction
or slumped down on the ***** floor.
I saw pigs with open wounds, pressure sores, infections,
bleeding gums from biting the metal bars.
I saw pigs screaming in distress
Or suffering slumped down depressed.
I saw trapped pigs going mad
banging on the metal grates
distressedly trying to break free
and failing and slumping down depressed.

I ask myself
is there a humane way
to farm animals?
Such as free-range farming?

I am a toilet cleaner’s daughter
My dad’s occupation isn’t cool
I am a toilet cleaner’s daughter
So I work very hard at school
I am a toilet cleaner’s daughter
My family struggles to survive
I am a toilet cleaner’s daughter
I dream and strive towards a better life
I am a toilet cleaner’s daughter
I dream of doctor, lawyer, even cooking food
I am a toilet cleaner’s daughter
I don’t want to be a cleaner too

If
I like ice-cream
and
All ice-creams are sweet,
Do I like sweets?

If
I like riding horses
and
All horses are animals,
Do I like riding animals?

If
I like driving cars
and
All cars are motor-vehicles,
Do I like driving motor-vehicles?

Lorikeets on my windowsill
Tweeting out a tune
Lorikeets on my windowsill
Green, red, yellow and blue
Lorikeets on my windowsill
Eating a bowl of seeds
Lorikeets on my windowsill
Make me feel happy.

A parent in a supermarket aisle
slaps her toddler hard and
the child screams in pain and shock.

A teenager walking along a busy street
drops the wrapper of his chocolate-bar
on the footpath.

A woman in a cinema-theatre
in the middle of the movie
calls on her mobile-phone
her son to tell him about the movie,
disturbing the other movie-watchers.

A man walking his dog along a street
takes his dog off the leash and
the dog barks aggressively and lunges
at frightened pedestrians.

Boom! Crash! Crunch!
A bombshell hits the top floor
of a concrete house
in an opposition held area of Syria.
Two childhood brothers
sheltering in the room
are now buried under rubble,
the sharp heavy concrete chunks falling
tearing their flesh and
breaking their bones.
The 10 year old brother
struggles to raise his head
above the concrete and
sees the hand of his 3 year old brother
sticking out of the rubble,
he screams for “Heeellllppp!”

A female concert pianist
is playing at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan
Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and
Debussy’s Clair de Lune and
other romantic melodies
which soothe the aching modern hearts
of her modern urban audience.

She’s 35 and still unmarried.
She’s never met a romantic man
who loves her
like she enjoys being loved:
Romantically like the Moonlight Sonata and
Claire de Lune.
It’s difficult to find a loving husband
in an unromantic world.

During the concert
in breaks between playing pieces
she longingly scans the audience
for a handsome romantic single man
who’s waiting to love her
like she enjoys being loved:
Romantically like the Moonlight Sonata and
Clair de Lune;
but all she sees are couples, mostly old.
It’s difficult to find a loving husband
in an unromantic world.

After the concert
on the taxi-ride to her hotel
the bubble of romantic melodies has burst
and she inures herself once more
to the modern car-horns and truck-roars
of busy city streets.
It’s difficult to find a loving husband
in an unromantic world.

She gazes out the taxi window
at modern urban pedestrians
hustling and bustling on crowded sidewalks
rushing to their business appointments
ambitious for their career success.
It’s difficult to find a loving husband
in an unromantic world.

I compose songs
which express how I live.
I compose melodies
which joyfully exercise the heart.
I compose rhythms
which move the heart to dance.

I just watched a news report:
13 million people are hungry
in the Philippines
and cannot afford three meals a day.
I watched a grandmother
picking through others’ garbage bags
to find food waste:
She found a half-eaten chicken
partially-decomposed
and took it home to feed her grandchildren
for whom she is the sole provider
after her husband died
and as the children’s parents look for work.
The brave responsible grandmother says
“Life is hard”
as she smells the stench of the decomposing chicken
then boils it to **** the bacteria
then fries it with a little onion
to improve the rotten taste.
Her four hungry grandchildren
sit quietly around the small dining table
eating the partially-decomposed chicken.
The heroic grandmother says
“the stench of the food
is something you never get used to
but life is hard
it’s either rotting food
or nothing.”

I was left thinking:
Is there something we can do
to feed the hungry
in the Philippines?
Is there something we can do
to feed the hungry
around the world?

I am drinking
a canary yellow mug of
hot Ceylon black tea
wafting fragrant tea-steam into my nose;
as I sip the tea into my mouth
the water nourishes my thirst and
the hot tea warms my lips, teeth and tongue
and as I swallow
spreads warmth
into my throat
and down across my chest
and into my stomach.
I feel
nourished,
refreshed,
rejuvenated,
warmed-up.

Writing a poem
read by friends
who smile
laugh
cry
think
feel
what I wrote.
And talk to me
about my poem.

I am
40 revolutions
around the Sun
today.

I am
molecules of water
flowing
within the river
of Destiny.