We begin with ourselves, a lofty proposition

Shifting this intention to the loves we have known, those who’ve shown us the way

We pass through gates of uncertainty and benevolence, arriving to meet the ones cast from our heart

Now sharing with all who surround us, and in the end all sentient beings in existence

With a fierce heart, your ever well-wishers

May you know boundless love

May you find relief of your burdens

May you break the chains

I am sorry for what we have done to you
I mourn the loss of your short lives, nullified for our barbaric arrogance and gluttony
Your children taken to meet the same fate as you
Your bodies eviscerated, never knowing the hand of compassion or a ray of sunshine

There are no merciful abattoirs

No red barn with it's open doors, and no motherly blue sky

There is only brutal indifference

Mechanized slaughter

The lies we tell our children and ourselves will breed this hell on earth into our legacy
And we who see ourselves distinct from beasts prove with our actions otherwise

This is not food

This is war on the sanctity of being

Bowing deeply, invited by the sound of a distant bell.

Sitting with the masters, or staring at the wall.

This silent illumination reveals equanimity in bedlam.

What is this?

It is not perfect, but we are in the business of efforts.

Softening the shell of our perceptions.

To one, a noxious ****, but to her the building block of civilization.

Her children would starve before trying another.

Eradicated by heedless consumption.

Their future is uncertain, but we can help them along.

One patch at a time.

With the first glow warming your trees, I hear your voices.

Calling out to any who would listen, staking your claims.

This is mine, for now.

Your reign is ephemeral by nature, but that could never stop me from loving you.

Not to net or grasp, but to admire your beauty without custody.

Your songs are my bells of mindfulness.

I welcome you with all of my heart, and hope to hear you again.

Coming into this world with nothing, save for the benefactors who receive us

Slowly multiplying in an amalgamation of felt experience and ancient conditioning

Do we know the proliferation of thought?

A gradual awakening unfolds, with no beginning or end

She seeks the thermal column.
Spiraling upward, realizing a panorama of her domain.
Perfect paradox, the effortless grace of flight and the harbinger of death.
She subsists on the rot of nature, continuation of the life cycle.
Untouchable of the firmament.

Archaic comfots

Onward to antiquity

Acts of simplicity to heal the mind

Write the letter, read the book, cut the cord

Revelation of silence for a brain rubbed raw

From drowning in an ocean of trivial madness, to reclaiming our birthright of peace

It is not just good, it is absolutely indispensable

Privacy is a relic
Living vicariously through a piece of blue glass
Shameless exhibitionism, our every move, thought, opinion, judgement, like, and dislike screamed into the void
Demanding validation
While the algorithms tell us what to think, buy and feel we shun reality more every day
Cognitive incarceration
Wake up!
What comes of all this is a chronic dissatisfaction, always begging for more
Hungry ghosts, we will never be satisfied

Enthusiasm

Try too hard, I understand

Take a step back, kid.

The light is pouring in, and it is a blurred line between hope and fear.
A fissure in this casing grows into a crack, and then it all lets loose.
Like waking up in fog, the light burns it away.
This separateness is a killer, severing my connection to God, and all
of the loss that entails.
But now instead of seeking solace in a chemical illusion, I can look  
within and just watch it go.
This is what you wanted.
An open heart, a willingness to learn acceptance.

These are days I am fed inspiration by every fraction of light that passes through the field

Everywhere my eyes fell there was life

This corridor between lanes of madness and ineptitude

Natural tranquillity creeping back in on the margins, wherever a berth is given

Gnarled cypress, veteran, relic of time before the decimation

A ****** of fish crows is not burdened by the thinking mind

They disappear into her embrace because they were born knowing what to do

Big mind, open mind, beginner's mind,

Do you MIND!?

Y(our) stance, y(our) opinion, y(our) ideologies are worthless.

Y(our) hate, y(our) judgment, y(our) dogma is worthless.

Jolly Roger flag

Fat boy, but don't tell me ****

Nails on a chalkboard

Cooler than cool, larger than life.

Too freaked out for the squares, too square for the freaks.

White panther wisdom.  

What it means to be a father and a man.

We always knew, big boy day.

Boundless memories since the beginning of time.

Lucky monkey, Pair-O-dice.

We here now.

Round peg, square hole, benevolent giant.

Kick out the jams *******!

Here I am today

I'd rather be somewhere else

Coffee breath, *******