when they insult you
smile back
when they hurt you
smile back
they don’t matter
you matter
so smile back
you will show them all
what you are made of

if you don’t play
by their rules
you can’t lose
at their game

it is easy to ride 
the wave of life
to let forces carry you 
from one place to the next 
and little by little 
you forget who you are
and why you are 
it takes great strength 
to step off this rollercoaster 
and embark on a new path
that is uniquely you

cool spring water
fresh ground flour
with love and time
growing a bit sour
a spectacle divine

everything you do 
(and don't do) 
will be interpreted 
by your peers 
for better or worse 
whether true or false

together we walk 
to our deaths
in this thing called life 
but somehow we forget 
we are in this thing
together

our body is the hardware
our food is the software
how are you programming
your health?

we are human
we cannot be perfect
but we can always be better

too many times 
we live to please others 
tailoring our vision
to meet expectations of the crowd 
but we feel a twinge of heaviness 
knowing something is amiss 
that we are prisoners in our life
 
defy the crowd
ignore everyone else
live for yourself and be selfish
let your light shine

the less we desire
the richer we are
but what is a life
lacking in desire?
must we become robots
to be enlightened?
or is there a place between
obsession and indifference
where happiness flourishes?

are we nothingness?
are we god?
or something in between?
i do not know
but we are so much more
than we think we are
that truth will reveal itself
upon our death

what is success you ask?
not sacrificing today
for a better tomorrow
when the elusive tomorrow
becomes a genuine today
then you have made it

alone at last
a blessing it is
to remove my masks
in solitary bliss
no more acting
and trying to please
just me myself and
my mind at ease

she will crash the party
and leave in haste
she will bring riches
and bleed you dry
she will take one form 
and depart in another 
she is lady luck 
and she will keep you alive today
but extinguish your life tomorrow

you are not sure
insecurity imprisons
between doing and not doing
but do not fear
no creative genius emerged
from blind confidence
it is the unsure artist
who tinkers and questions
that creates beauty
and yet
carries on insecurely

we all need a little chaos
a little crazy in our life
we follow that straight line
we know where it leads
same day in same day out
it is insanity
raise a little mischief
be a little crazy
if only to feel more alive
like spice brings food alive
chaos brings life alive

we sit in our gray cubicle
(or corner office if you prefer)
use up days months years
even decades of life
to reach the dream
oh, that elusive dream
dangling about in the unknown
forever in the future
forever out of reach
forever a mirage

when the people are rotten
fear yields more fruit than love
but to rule with fist and fear
is to become rotten inside
thus both ruler and populace
rot as one

just as the soft breeze
carries a falling seed 
of the maple tree
to a distant place 
with the sun's warmth 
and a gentle rain 
life sprouts anew
just as love's seed
opens in our hearts

the humble dandelion
a **** to some
but a wondrous gift to me
clusters of yellow flowers
decorating fields of grass
like tiny smiling faces
signaling the birth of spring
delicious bittersweet leaves
nourishing earthly roots
cleansing to liver and body
abundant and free
nature’s most overlooked plant

if you look back in time
whether near or far
you will see
we are all immigrants
it is a human need
to search for a better home
and be the change it needs

for who knew true love
while protecting their heart?

what is most beautiful in life
is that which is left unknown
that which must be imagined

this applies to all things
from romance to art
from science to philosophy

we are drawn
to the unknown
like moths to the flame

a man was tragically hit by a car
Death suddenly appeared to him
shocked, he fell to his knees
begging Death to spare his life

pleading for a little more time
to reach his dreams and goals
to love and cherish his family
to appreciate all that he had

Death smiled and replied
“that is what they all say”
as he dragged him
to the after-world

the pain we choose
yields the reward we desire

the process we embrace
yields the lives we dream

the journey we walk
yields the destination we seek

what are you willing
to struggle for?

the more importance
we place on something
the more resistance
we feel regarding it
to overcome resistance
better to know the truth
nothing is that important
do not take life too seriously
and you will sail through life
with winds on your back
and little resistance

i must be
who i can be

“daddy, i want to be an artist when i grow up”

“no dear child, you can’t be an artist
you won’t make any money and will struggle”

“but daddy, i love to paint
why can’t i make any money?”

“because artists are poor
haven’t you heard the term starving artist?”

“ok daddy, if that’s what you think is best
maybe i will do what you do”

“that’s my girl”

“i love you daddy”

everything you need
is inside you
you are a miracle
do not let this world
make you forget
who you are

my love burns brighter
when i must reach for my lover’s hand
my heart grows fonder
when the distance between us expands
my wants burn with desire  
while my haves are lost to the fire

what joy it brings
to step into yourself
to know what you stand for
to do away with nonsense
but this knowing takes time
and time is the cost 
of self-acceptance

with his heart broken
the artist sank inside himself
drowning in fear and self-doubt
once hopeful now defeated
inspiration abandoned him
unable to paint masterpieces
with the poisoned blood
gushing from his fragile heart
that now runs dry

do not force things
better to flow like water
moving around resistance
changing form
as the terrain changes

you deserve your best
it is your right to achieve
but your responsibility also
the world owes you nothing
take (or create) what is yours
forge your weapons
win the wars you wage
but remember to respect
the freedom of others
lest it comes back to you

we learn through
iteration and repetition
repetition hones your craft
iteration grows your craft

i will scream and fight 
i will stay silent and brood
i will suffer and hurt 
but my love will never die
my heart will not yield

alone in my room
and a blessing it is
to put away my masks
in solitary comfort
peace and freedom
to be exactly who i am
in this moment

this armor i wear
strong and solid
heavy and rusted
shielded me from
arrows of suffering
but i grow tired
carrying this weight
to continue on
the path of life
i must shed
my battle-worn armor
and be free once more

when we think
we are separate from
the world around us
pain finds its way in

to walk your own path freely
with a creative heart or

to walk the well-trodden path strictly
with control and ambition

the former breeds love
releasing buried tension

the latter breeds fear
stimulating addiction and paranoia

we live in a world 
of ones and zeros 
of science and theory
but only love will guide us
through darkness and pain
for its mystery is illuminating

what is the meaning of life?
whatever you want it to be
it is your life after all

how dismal it would be
if the meaning of life
was one size fits all

seek what makes you hungry
if you are not compelled
to act with obsessive vigor
if your curiosity does not
taunt you with madness
then keep on searching
for that elusive hunger
it is what rips open our chest
so our soul may shine

i laughed with demons
drank scotch in hell
conversed with the devil
danced in the firey flames
that is why I now see
the beauty of heaven

mankind is but a speck of sand
yet we are blind
to our insignificance
for we are only
what we know

fear is anti-fragile
the more we resist it
the stronger it becomes
let fear pass through you
feel it then let it go

a horde of hateful men
standing together resolved
on a platform of prejudice
each mind empty inside
devoid of substance
vessels to be filled
by the bitter hatred
of only one man

sometimes letting go
is the most courageous act

the distance between us
larger than oceans of time
yet she peacefully slept
beside me

it is always the lovers
the mothers and fathers
the friends and teachers
those closest to you
who plant seeds of doubt
in your mind
who push you away
from your dreams
only the strong (and stubborn)
may follow their heart
while those dearest to them
cast stones at their passion