Writings » Miscellaneous » My Personal Tao

1.
The fox who accepts nothing less than perfection
bites off more than he can chew.
The fox who sets no goals
ends up with a mouthful of naught.
Find middle ground.
If you say you’ll scale Everest,
you’ll freeze on the way.
If you say you’ll be a billionaire,
you’ll have trouble paying the bills.
Set easy goals.

Resolve to make it to tomorrow,
or tonight,
or even to the next hour.
You’ll succeed every time,
complete every goal,
except one.
Those are terribly good odds.


2.
Humans are most unfortunate
to have been slapped on Earth,
where a computer image replaces
real life.
Where machines simulate nature.

Take technology out of its outlet
and throw it out the window.
Which would be better then---
A rose bush or a broken scanner?
A cloudless day or telephone wire?

Seize nature by the mountain peaks
and stare.

It was put here for some reason
by some guy,
some time ago.
Don’t question the reason.
Just question how long it will be here.


3.
Things are always how they seem;
They’re just wrong to begin with.

For without television,
we live better.
Without politics,
we live happier.
Without pollution,
we live healthier.

But without sex,
we still live, though unhappy.
Without love,
we still live, but see no reason to.
Without water,
our intestines stop functioning.

Get your priorities straight,
but keep them in your head;
For those who carry maps
never find the adventure of being lost.
Nature remains a shadow.


4.
If you know exactly what you are doing,
stop and confuse yourself.
Monotony is fatal.


5.
Imagination is the sword
that etches your personality in stone.
What you say
and how you act
are parasites of your own imagination.

A mute still talks,
Paralytics move well,
But those without imagination are
already dead.

Make the most of the mundane,
or else become it.

Fences, walls, doors,
chalk lines, imaginary lines,
police tape, barbed wire:
All rendered helpless
because imagination is omnipotent.


6.
Tens, twenties, fifties, hundreds,
nothing.

A wanton desire for material possessions
is only a bookend:
It can be pushed to an extent,
but anything thereafter causes ruin.

Money is paper,
Paper is not money.
CD players are music,
Music was never a CD player.
A car gets you there,
But to get there, you need no car.

Nature is good,
Good is not man’s nature.
Ironic, isn’t it?


7.
Time is merely a squirrel:
It darts by at high speeds
before you even have a chance to alter it.
But when you look around,
Notice how much time has been killed.

Then why waste your ration?

Stop reading this
and go outside.
There’s more there than you’ll ever find on paper.