Wednesday, January 29, 2014

20140129: lodger, trumpet, toast, bar, submarine, survey

The lone lodger surveyed the empty bar and gave a toast, intent on submerging his mind in drink like a submarine in the ocean, hoping the hazy pressure would crush all memories of the strumpet.

To the list of other pieces inspired by random words.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Salutations, 2014.

Looking back on 2013, it has been a year that has been incredibly different in spirit than all of my years past. Before I had always put a lot of emphasis on body and mind, but in 2013 I made my emotional self the focus.

Thematically, 2013 was about interpersonal relationships. I wanted to:
1. make a conscious effort to be good to people,
2. seek out, enjoy, and appreciate the company of those people that are good to me; and
3. see myself grow and flourish as an emotional being.

And while I believe I made progress on point #3, I confess I didn't realize what being good to people was until I started feeling that the people whose company I was seeking were not being very good to me. This isn't to say that I and others were purposefully mean to each other. No, not at all. It's just to suggest that there is a fundamental difficulty in being kind to others because we are all each autonomous individuals that experience life subjectively. No amount of empathy can change that.

In 2014 I need to be more assertive. I've always been an advocate of "going with the flow," but there is merit in opposing it from time to time. I need to be able to assert myself and let my opinions and feelings be known so that all situations in my life can be steered to desirable ends. I need to change my habit of letting things happen and then coercing myself to accept all conclusions for the sake of my sanity. After all, what is the point of continuing to cultivate myself as an individual with creativity and intellect if I'm not able to get my life to reflect the complexity and richness of that inner-self?

And as usual, let peace, love, & prosperity find us all in this new year. Happy 2014!