A Thought

"Just think of the trees: they let the birds perch and fly, with no intention to call them when they come and no longing for their return when they fly away. If people's hearts can be like the trees, they will not be off the Way." - Langya

The wandering heart,
A fiery place.
Where cold tidal waves
Quench volcanic passions.

The wandering mind,
A conundrum-like maze.
Where fleeting thoughts
Cause permanent actions.

The wandering soul,
A lonely stranger.
Where going forward
Is the only way back.

A Solemn Oath

With my hand raised high,
I did solemnly swear,
To protect all people,
Near and dear.

But then came a time,
I did not foresee,
For me to leave,
Most suddenly.

Many farewells later,
As I sailed away,
I thought back to a time,
Both bright and gay.

And then it happened,
One cloudy morn,
Upon my return,
My people, forlorn.

Destruction and greed,
Had their lives imbibed.
Disease and suffering,
Their masters provide.

By reaching out
I could not touch them,
Their hearts of stone,
Did my care revoke.

So watching helplessly,
And holding dear my oath.
I saw them selling,
Their lives for groat.

Unbearable pain
And incredible suffering.
Reduced to chaos,
Unintelligible muttering.

Now raising my hand,
I do solemnly swear,
To each his own,
And thine own beware.

Truth, Justice and the American Way

So is anyone other than me completely outraged by Bush's last national address? As if the American people haven't been duped enough he continues to try and convince them that the "war on I-rack" is ultimately in response to the Septmber 11 attacks. Really, who does he think he's fooling? And the sorry thing is I know people that would blindly follow him into battle - not that he would ever want to get his hands dirty. This man has the gaul to pull a shroud of fear over people in hopes that the fear will have an effect similar to a deer in headlights. That paralyzed by fear and suspicion otherwise fully capable, responsible citizens (and those of us caught in the cross-fire) will simply succumb to the numbness that has become the American dream.

And to think he wants us to believe this drivel to fund this freudian nightmare further. Now that's what I call Truth, Justice and the American Way.

A Life Preordained?

Take the time to know good friends
chaste beginnings to immortal ends
for as it turns the world denies
those opportune moments
old, faithful ties

Now tomorrow's light may not see the day
your eyes in earnest anyway
create that moment
carpe diem
waning chance to live forgotten dreams

A junior of mine from high school passed away today. I wanted to take a moment to realize sometimes it is fate. 21 ... no one saw it coming at 21. But there is a lesson to be learned here. For every day that seems so pointless ... there is someting to be made of it. We go to work, we do our chores, we pay our bills. But when the day is done how do you make it meaningul? For a kid that just passed away suffering from a viral infection known to affect 1 in a million, how do you justify even a single, wasted second?

So many scoff at the thought of a preordained life ... purpose ... but is it so hard to imagine that we are all characters with a divine script writer?

Suffer me timbers...

Ok so here's a thought ... has anyone noticed that young adults of today just never seem to be happy? Have things really gotten so bad? Around every corner I hear a weeping sorority girl fighting with her mom about the relationship she should have ... girls at the office turning into emotional accordions post break up. Friends unhappy with their careers, their bosses, their friends, their lives. The women at the restaurant flagrantly voicing their disdain for the opposite sex and their inability to comprehend the concept of monogamy ... when .... when did it all get so complicated?

Ironic that I should bring this thought to light since I so wantonly admit I am one of the above. Always something to complain about ... corporate America ... the herd mentality ... the lonely apartment - the one that never changes .. the place that gives you a brief respite from the constant inconsistency that is life. The fickle minded fate of those that succumb to doing what everybody does. The emptiness in following the pack. The expendability, the conveyor belt, factory issue repetition that drowns us in routine to the point of dependency. Where do you go from there? Take the blue pill and blend into mediocrity with a smile? Or take the red pill and thereon condemn yourself to thoughtful, but undeniably perfunctory individuality? I'm not quite sure.

All I do know is that some of us do have it good - how difficult is it to drown out the white noise and simply smell the roses?