12/21/08
"Like an outdated map my borders are changing"
What does it mean to be finite?
To live in a lake, and hide
From waves, sharks, ocean’s wide
To travel down the same creeks
To abide by the same rocks
Take a leap beyond the rim
In the ocean you shall swim
Going beyond everyday whim
Just to find yourself scream
Rejoicing your infinite dream!
12/18/08
12/11/08
for or against
“If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be 'for' or 'against'. The struggle between ‘for’ and ‘against’ is the mind’s worst disease.” - Sent-ts’an, 700 C.E. China
12/10/08
the master
"You may be keeping accounts, and presently you shall walk out of the door
that for so long has seemed to you the barrier of your ideals, and shall
find yourself before an audience, the pen still behind your ear, the ink
stains on your fingers, . and after a time the master shall say, 'I have
nothing more to teach you.' And now you have become the master ..
that for so long has seemed to you the barrier of your ideals, and shall
find yourself before an audience, the pen still behind your ear, the ink
stains on your fingers, . and after a time the master shall say, 'I have
nothing more to teach you.' And now you have become the master ..
--Stanton Kirkham Dave
12/7/08
being a cynics
I recently set up a donation box in the main lobby of my dormitory to collect warm winter clothes for a local shelter. Today I saw my roommate donating a bag full of sweaters and shirt. The first think came to my mind was he’s getting rid of his old clothing. This thought was further reinforced with a piece of memory I had from his early Fall shopping spree. But, soon I realized I was labeling his actions as less than a noble act by attaching alternative motives to his maybe “wholly generous action”. Yes, I have become a cynic and I can’t find a way to escape from it! Why do I question people’s motive, and why do I give a higher weight to the less noble one? From a pragmatic point of view what difference it makes what the person’s motive is; all I’m doing is finding a match between a public need and individual’s desire to give away or to donate their belongings. There is no value judgment involved here!
12/6/08
Today
Yesterday is Already a Dream and Tomorrow But a Vision, But Today Well Lived Makes Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness and Every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope!
11/23/08
How's it your fault?
But, how is it your fault,
When you're blind by default?
Or the wind that blows
And it makes you wipe your nose
Since it's cold out there
And a shelter is nowhere near!
When you're blind by default?
Or the wind that blows
And it makes you wipe your nose
Since it's cold out there
And a shelter is nowhere near!
11/19/08
My Heart (by firstcomet)
My heart,
I see time
finding it's way,
through my veins,
my hands, my face,
And alas, my soul!
My heart, remember?
Taste of bygone seasons;
Apple ciders,
Hot Chocolates,
Mango lassies,
And Milky-way punches?
My heart,
I hear you,
Ticking, embracing,
The weight of time,
The senility of future,
And the amnesia of now!
Will you be there
Next midsummer night?
To share the scent of delight,
To wake a quiescent star,
To sing a song on your guitar?
I see time
finding it's way,
through my veins,
my hands, my face,
And alas, my soul!
My heart, remember?
Taste of bygone seasons;
Apple ciders,
Hot Chocolates,
Mango lassies,
And Milky-way punches?
My heart,
I hear you,
Ticking, embracing,
The weight of time,
The senility of future,
And the amnesia of now!
Will you be there
Next midsummer night?
To share the scent of delight,
To wake a quiescent star,
To sing a song on your guitar?
A Philosophy of Learning and Doing:
We can't learn everything at once. We can't do everything at once. We can neither learn nor do effectively without thinking about what we've done. So pick a goal that presents itself and try to meet it. When you have, stop and rest. Think about what you have done and see what you've learned from it. Then, after your mind is calm and thoughtful, go after another goal. And again. And again. And again
11/12/08
To pass another day (by firstcomet)
Bear with me, until tomorrow,
Or sometime near,
Meanwhile, do something
Shave your beard,
Raise those eyebrows,
Put a nostrum on those wrinkles,
The snake oil, the dead-sea spa,
clean the wax your ears
Then just relax ...
To fool another self,
To pass another day!
11/9/08
Conflicts
This is a new topic that touches a very deep behavioral trait of those grew up under rigid educational or parenting systems. In particular, the more of a conformist an individual in such systems is the more stress he/she will face.
One definition of stress is the amount of energy one spends staying in an uncomfortable situation. In this sense the pain caused by physical exercise is a stressor, and the heavier your bench-press weights are the higher the stress.
The problem with growing up in rigid systems is that the individual has to constantly flight against his/her natural impulses. Ironically, the smarter you are and thus the better your performance record within the system, the more expectations are placed on you to conform to the norms. Therefore, the more constrained and stressful your life becomes. Eventually, you become your own worst critic and in a constant state of worry about how others might react to your actions.
How much you’ll miss out by not exploring the boundaries of your perception of properness?
Stanley Milgram
"My only pleasure is to sit on a curbstone and watch the sky for an occasional bird flying south for the winter. I am not used to being so very much alone, and I can think of a few sweet faces with whom I wouldn't mind sharing my pillow when the hour for sleep comes around.... I'm listless, uneasy, dissatisfied, bored and fed up. I suffer from status insecurity, incipient mononucleosis, and sexual privation. I'm the little man looking around for some totalitarian movement I can join." –Stanley Milgram
10/25/08
Maturation
The rain drops dissolving the ice cubes of longing
And the orange colored mangos dropping
In a sudden season of maturation!
10/19/08
Imagine!
… that the brain needs to categorize. And yet, imagination stems from the ability to break this categorization, to see things not for what one thinks they are, but for what they might be!
1) Perception->Categories->bombard with new experience
2) Fear response->stress, group-think, reframing events
3) Social intelligence-> familiarity and reputation, iconoclasts need connectors, butterflies do not change the ecosystem of the jungle ... trees do.
9/28/08
Ego (by firstcomet)
Just as my toast popped out
out of mind, my ego unwittingly dropped out
I bended over to pick up the junk
Just to put it back where it belonged
But then I saw two mice
Pulling it on opposite sides
So, I reached to my plate
And picked the only slice of bread
Split into half; one for Tom the other to Ed
Then, they both fled
And so I was left,
With the insipid ego instead!
foliage
The oaks, maples, birches, and black gums are all on full blaze and the squalling firemen are close by. Soon the foliage will be gone and the acetone adulterated fall rain will wash away all these dazzle of the scenic roads of this great state.
9/18/08
The force field (by firstcomet)
I thought, beyond this point
The road is barricaded, barred
No other eureka, no ecstasy
My share the stillness of a stale yore
Inculcated in the essence of now!
Captured in a force fields
Pushed to the left, then right
Prone and then Supine
Between us an empty space
Empty as the expression on my face
It’s your move I say
It’s your reaction, you may
It’s our interaction, you weigh
I nod, then wonder
Which force caused this, I ponder
Reflecting upon your face
And the certitude of your faith
And the strength in your voice
I wonder if I had any choice …
Hands to the left, hands to the right,
You wave at me good night!
Out in the open I see
The twinkling starts to be
Pulled to the left, then to right
via an incredible cosmic might
Austere but urged is the world
And thus it’s constantly twirled
Days after days,
Years after years,
Or so it appears!
9/16/08
9/14/08
The Fog
The western rationale has stripped us from our value system and has not yet provided us with a substitute that runs or can potentially grow as deep within our psych; the only exception being science which provided us with a slow and tortuous road towards our fundamental quests (unfortunate is our dependence on our only source of inspiration to pay for our grocery bills). Materialism and sensualism has been offered as alternatives, but fall short in the grand meaning-ometer scale, in addition to being a game biased to the advantage of the westerners. There still remains those moments of emotional outbursts to fill the vacuum receptacle of our souls. So, we remain nostalgic and unsatisfied with the knowledge that the roads to past is not retraceable and the road ahead is covered by an impenetrable fog.
9/7/08
9/6/08
A tribute to the ignored:
You ignored me in the elevator because I wasn't your destination floor.
You ignored me in the corridor because you didn't have to pass me to get to your office.
You ignored me in the supermarket because i wasn't your favorite brand.
You ignored me while riding the bus, because I wasn't your destination station.
You ignored me in your poetry, because I didn't rhyme with the rest of your lines.
You ignored me while looking out the window, because i was below your field of vision.
You'll always ignore me since I'm always available, I'm always reachable, and always there.
You ignored me just because you're never content with where you are, what you want, and that which is at your presence.
Will you stop by someday? Will you touch me sometime? Will you glimpse at me just for a moment?
I am the flower in a corner of your resident's backyard.
I'm a butterfly in larva.
I am the painting on the other side of the wall.
I am the candy ready to be unwrapped.
I am the hour that just passed you by.
I am the music of the silence,
The flavor of the tasteless,
The fragrance of the pure air,
The essential ingredient of nothingness,
The quintessential essence of the ignored!
You ignored me in the corridor because you didn't have to pass me to get to your office.
You ignored me in the supermarket because i wasn't your favorite brand.
You ignored me while riding the bus, because I wasn't your destination station.
You ignored me in your poetry, because I didn't rhyme with the rest of your lines.
You ignored me while looking out the window, because i was below your field of vision.
You'll always ignore me since I'm always available, I'm always reachable, and always there.
You ignored me just because you're never content with where you are, what you want, and that which is at your presence.
Will you stop by someday? Will you touch me sometime? Will you glimpse at me just for a moment?
I am the flower in a corner of your resident's backyard.
I'm a butterfly in larva.
I am the painting on the other side of the wall.
I am the candy ready to be unwrapped.
I am the hour that just passed you by.
I am the music of the silence,
The flavor of the tasteless,
The fragrance of the pure air,
The essential ingredient of nothingness,
The quintessential essence of the ignored!
The Dreamland (by firstcomet)!
Looking at the clock, going tick and toc … I want to start a new poem. Then I’m reminded of the absurdity of lines, verses, and rhymes. Somehow we collectively managed to reduce the complexity of human life into a series of economical and political equations wherein poetry has no place. In reality, we have become obsessed with utility and the commercial relationship of "me" with "them", and I’m no outsider to this world. Flowing smoothly in the background is the music of a forgotten yore. It’s a nostalgic theme, though. It seems like art, in general, can eternally leech off sadness and despair. The crashing of the symbols and the march of the battle filed goes contrary to the state of the modern man’s mind; depressed and sinking ever deeper into slothfulness. The curse of the modern man is repetition:
The feather pillow on the bed
Head on the pillow,
Bird in the head,
Flying to the dreamland!
The clock is ticking,
A distance light is blinking,
And I’m thinking …
Another day has gone!
And the breathe-ins
And the breathe-outs
And the roll-lefts
And the roll-rights
And before I know,
The ticking clock
and the blinking light
Are all gone!
The catamaran standing tall,
The Great Wall,
And the Niagara Fall,
I hear them call!
The caul is torn
The baby is born!
It’s Time to sail
To the land of whales!
And then the ticking clock,
And the bright light,
And the apples jam delight;
A new day has begun!
The feather pillow on the bed
Head on the pillow,
Bird in the head,
Flying to the dreamland!
The clock is ticking,
A distance light is blinking,
And I’m thinking …
Another day has gone!
And the breathe-ins
And the breathe-outs
And the roll-lefts
And the roll-rights
And before I know,
The ticking clock
and the blinking light
Are all gone!
The catamaran standing tall,
The Great Wall,
And the Niagara Fall,
I hear them call!
The caul is torn
The baby is born!
It’s Time to sail
To the land of whales!
And then the ticking clock,
And the bright light,
And the apples jam delight;
A new day has begun!
9/4/08
The conversationalist:
Do we ask questions to extract meaningful information from others? Not necessarily, sometimes we ask questions to smooth out social contacts by eliminating those awkward moments of silence. To what category the question “Where are you from” belongs to? What kind of information does a person’s nationality covey about him/her? What are the characteristics of a lazy conversationalist? How about the question “Tell me about your background”? It sounds more intimate and an answer to this question tends to be more informative.
8/30/08
Reflections on expectations
Our natural desire to fit in is at it's climax in college parties. You step
into an space with people engaged in various acts of socializing. You take a
few steps forward and then to the sides ... Your mind being in an
anticipatory state waiting impatietnly to come ... a familiar face, an
smile, an invite. Hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching
you ...
into an space with people engaged in various acts of socializing. You take a
few steps forward and then to the sides ... Your mind being in an
anticipatory state waiting impatietnly to come ... a familiar face, an
smile, an invite. Hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching
you ...
8/24/08
underappreciated
The image in the mirror looked me in the eye,
Then she said you're underappreciated,
Do you know why?
Then she said you're underappreciated,
Do you know why?
Incredibly cute and unsung,
I muttered, while taking a sigh!
8/22/08
A unifying theme
We all have our own unique personal histories, cultural heritage, and aspirations. But, when the sun sets and all the classrooms and businesses close down, its 12:01am and you're thinking just one more day has passed and it doesn't necessarily mean you're one more day closer to graduation. Pretty soon (for a typical graduate student it means in 2-3 hours) you have to go
to sleep and put the alpha man in you to rest for the next 6:00 hours (if you're lucky). In those honest and pure hours what is that one thing that can bring us all together? The plunger at your building's front-desk!
I think this says something about our essential humanity.
to sleep and put the alpha man in you to rest for the next 6:00 hours (if you're lucky). In those honest and pure hours what is that one thing that can bring us all together? The plunger at your building's front-desk!
I think this says something about our essential humanity.
8/14/08
8/9/08
Breaking away (by firstcomet)
All will is the essence of this mass,
Austere but urged, like lavas,
beneath sober mountains.
impressioned persistently,
years-after-years,
Relieved in a coming encounter,
a place of respite, far a way!
Austere but urged, like lavas,
beneath sober mountains.
impressioned persistently,
years-after-years,
Relieved in a coming encounter,
a place of respite, far a way!
8/6/08
Missing
I came across this poem on some website by a person calling him/herself the emogirl and I thought it was a lovely piece! One of those poems that fills us up with a sense of solidarity, stemming from an affirmation of our very humanity, and simultaneously empties us from within ... ready to be filled up again ... or as poet Robert Hass would probably have it framed
"merely companionable".
"merely companionable".
I MISS U
as the SUN
misses sunflower during winter time........
as an icy Road
misses the warmth of summer time..........
as a Grown up
misses the time when he started singing his very first nursery rhyme.........
as a dark Night
misses the twinkling moon light...........
as a Lover
misses sleep during his long restless night........
as a wounded Knight
misses the will to win during his fight.........
as a Blind
misses the chance of seeing a dim light.............
as a Prisoner
misses the precious moments of being free...........
as a Fish
misses it's resting place in the quiet big sea..........
as an Orphan
misses the face of his affectionate mom........
as a Widow
misses the warmth of her husband's arms.......
as a lonely sick Man
misses the good company who used to ease his painful endless harms....
8/5/08
Splitting a moment (by firstcomet)
Thin is the glass window of my emotion
these days, I go about moments,
split into halves, the ego in full sail,
The heart, battered and frail,
The faltering wind blows,
Taking us where? who knows!
these days, I go about moments,
split into halves, the ego in full sail,
The heart, battered and frail,
The faltering wind blows,
Taking us where? who knows!
8/2/08
Fragments of time (by first comet)
Can you break a moment into halves?
A half to break down,
another to laugh?
A half to break down,
another to laugh?
Or am I doomed to only one;
the one that I'd like to shun?
I guess I will nerver know ...
Such is moments' flow!
7/31/08
The weight of time (by firstcomet)
Why is it that hours make my shoulders tense?
Why is that dealines make my schedule condense?
It think that time is heavy and it makes sense!
Why is that dealines make my schedule condense?
It think that time is heavy and it makes sense!
7/27/08
It ain't gonna rain (by firstcomet)!
The weather man said it will rain
And it added to my pain!
He didn't tell us when
Just suggested indoor we remain.
And it added to my pain!
He didn't tell us when
Just suggested indoor we remain.
I took a deep breath and said amen!
And then I canceled the date
And yielded to my uncompromising fate .
And even though,
Getting shot by a sudden tunder strike,
In the middle of the Charles,
With her by my side,
Was something I very much liked,
In the interest of her safety
By the rules of nature, I had to abide!
One rainy day (by firstcomet)!
Hello You!
The Postcard I mailed,
I wonder if you've got!
You might have thought .
I Forgot!
But, two cards I sent,
To fool my fate up to 75 percent!
The Postcard I mailed,
I wonder if you've got!
You might have thought .
I Forgot!
But, two cards I sent,
To fool my fate up to 75 percent!
I hope all is well!
And if one rainy day,
You hear the bell, or a yell,
By the residence you dwell,
It's gonna be me,
Yes, I've got your address baby!
And maybe, only maybe,
You'll drop your key,
After my extended plea!
And have me over
For a cup of tea!
I might be rather wet
But do not fret!
Just don't forget
To have your key handy
And I know, Your window,
Will be ajar,
Since You Don't own
That machine that blows
So You don't keep your windows close!
And that's why your room, always
Smells like a bouquet of rose!
...
In progress!
7/16/08
7/15/08
Framework (by firstcomet)
Synthesize a box,
to sojourn dynamically;
ears and eyes wide open!
And break away,
before the end of the day!
7/14/08
Hyperion's Song of Destiny
A place to rest isn't given to us.
Suffering humans
decline and blindly fall
from one hour to the next,
like water thrown
from cliff to cliff,
year after year,
down into the Unknown.
--Excertps from Hyperion's Song of Destiny, Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin
Suffering humans
decline and blindly fall
from one hour to the next,
like water thrown
from cliff to cliff,
year after year,
down into the Unknown.
--Excertps from Hyperion's Song of Destiny, Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin
7/10/08
Californication (TV series) - Wikiquote
Californication (TV series) - Wikiquote: "Here we are, she thought, at the edge of the world - the very edge of western civilization and all of us are so desperate to feel something... anything... that we keep falling into each other and fucking our way toward the end of days."
6/13/08
6/11/08
On limits of knowing
The idea that a first-person narrative story being biased by the narrator's limitted awareness of the whole picture.
6/8/08
Romeo and Juliet (by firstcomet)
It was twenty of us or maybe more.
When we arrived at the shore,
the beach was like a seamless décor.
But soon as the frisbees began to soar,
impressionist forms began to born!
There were pearls to unfold
There were scenes to behold
There were stories to be told
But then I felt something cold;
A nostalgic existential breeze!
Tears were falling
and I was on my knees!
Where the island met the sea,
in a moment of ecstasy,
too short lived an encounter
left a trace on the shore
that no traveler can ignore!
When we arrived at the shore,
the beach was like a seamless décor.
But soon as the frisbees began to soar,
impressionist forms began to born!
There were pearls to unfold
There were scenes to behold
There were stories to be told
But then I felt something cold;
A nostalgic existential breeze!
Tears were falling
and I was on my knees!
Where the island met the sea,
in a moment of ecstasy,
too short lived an encounter
left a trace on the shore
that no traveler can ignore!
6/2/08
Fly away (by firstcomet)!
A self without a wall;
like a balcony with no railing,
encourages a free fall.
Don't be afraid of failing,
the man without a wall!
Take a deep breath,
when the breath is caught,
between the lines of your thought.
Keep going till you have forgot
what all along you had sought:
A familiar face, an invite,
sharing a smile,
ending this fight,
catching a glimpse of that light,
escaping the everyday trite!
The conquest of a dream,
Good night!
like a balcony with no railing,
encourages a free fall.
Don't be afraid of failing,
the man without a wall!
Take a deep breath,
when the breath is caught,
between the lines of your thought.
Keep going till you have forgot
what all along you had sought:
A familiar face, an invite,
sharing a smile,
ending this fight,
catching a glimpse of that light,
escaping the everyday trite!
The conquest of a dream,
Good night!
5/22/08
I lost you!
Who am I?
A new definition to be defined,
To be associated with a word,
To be used in a sentence,
That will be uttered only once;
My life!
A new definition to be defined,
To be associated with a word,
To be used in a sentence,
That will be uttered only once;
My life!
5/10/08
Union (by firstcomet)
Now, still but fresh is my nostalgia
With cold hands I stand
Gazing at a hot cup of tea near me.
And the steamy swirling dervishes;
An ancient practice of rising to sublimity.
If I was that single thread of hair
That sets us apart, the cause of my despair
Although closer, still couldn’t bear
To engage in this clandestine affair
Hidden from me, hidden from my heart.
Sentimental I might, my expressions trite
Maybe I’m just the remnants of that aged tea
Sojourned still, my pals joined the sea!
With cold hands I stand
Gazing at a hot cup of tea near me.
And the steamy swirling dervishes;
An ancient practice of rising to sublimity.
If I was that single thread of hair
That sets us apart, the cause of my despair
Although closer, still couldn’t bear
To engage in this clandestine affair
Hidden from me, hidden from my heart.
Sentimental I might, my expressions trite
Maybe I’m just the remnants of that aged tea
Sojourned still, my pals joined the sea!
4/22/08
The Path
Perseverance, Rebellion, Depression, Resilience, Realization, Confrontation, Liberation ....
4/17/08
4/12/08
A discrete life! (by firstcomet)
That fragile muted mass
Dragged out of slumber
Lumbered to the point of exit
His reward: so fresh a breeze!
The long alley of Sunny Diners
His prize: scrambled eggs and cheese!
Flower trees in a perpetual dance,
Dandelions set free by a sudden sneeze!
In this minutely discretized interval
Abound were the rewards and
Numerous were the tease!
Dragged out of slumber
Lumbered to the point of exit
His reward: so fresh a breeze!
The long alley of Sunny Diners
His prize: scrambled eggs and cheese!
Flower trees in a perpetual dance,
Dandelions set free by a sudden sneeze!
In this minutely discretized interval
Abound were the rewards and
Numerous were the tease!
...
3/27/08
Sharing (by firstcomet)
What does it mean to be finite?
To live in a pond, and hide
From waves, sharks, ocean’s wide
To travel down the same creeks,
To abide by the same rocks …
The cold long winter left me weary
The alpha men’s ideals has made me leery
I want to hatch this shell and be exposed
To break the sphere I’ve been enclosed
To experience the old familiar afresh
To redefine my coordinates on this mesh
To travel down many creeks like a fish
Or like a flying kite that makes a swish
To take a leap beyond the rim
In the ocean I shall swim
Going beyond the everyday whim
Just to find myself scream
Rejoicing an infinite dream!
With you I want to share a tear my dear
I want this life o’vanity to disappear
I want to have this foggy head all clear
I can no longer run this show on fear …
To live in a pond, and hide
From waves, sharks, ocean’s wide
To travel down the same creeks,
To abide by the same rocks …
The cold long winter left me weary
The alpha men’s ideals has made me leery
I want to hatch this shell and be exposed
To break the sphere I’ve been enclosed
To experience the old familiar afresh
To redefine my coordinates on this mesh
To travel down many creeks like a fish
Or like a flying kite that makes a swish
To take a leap beyond the rim
In the ocean I shall swim
Going beyond the everyday whim
Just to find myself scream
Rejoicing an infinite dream!
With you I want to share a tear my dear
I want this life o’vanity to disappear
I want to have this foggy head all clear
I can no longer run this show on fear …
Gryzb and Chandler's 10-step guide to getting tough
1. Don't smile
Smiling gives someone permission to think you don't really mean what you say as you have this big grin on your face
2. Stand your ground
Backing off is wishy-washy. Standing your ground gives weight to your intention. This means both physically and verbally
3. Tell the truth
Let the other person know what you are feeling. Let them know you aren't comfortable with what they are doing
4. Agree when it's unexpected
If someone tells you you're being silly, agree. They have no place to go after that. "You're a bit touchy." "You're right, I am." It takes the wind out of their sails
5. Don't point fingers
If you intend to tell someone you don't like their behaviour, start sentences with how you feel, not what's wrong with them. Pointing an accusatory finger will only make them more defensive
6. Make up a list of handy excuses
This will get you out of situations long enough to see clearly what's going on before you put yourself back in the fray
7. Change your mind whenever you want to
You have the right to change your mind, whether it's two minutes, two hours or two months after the fact. There will be times when you don't want to honour your commitments
8. Keep things short and sweet
Gabbling won't help, it just gives the other person rope to hang you with
9. Don't engage
Never apologise or explain. Don't supply fuel for someone to use against you
10. Get your 'no' in quickly
Set your marker right at the beginning of the discussion. You can always change your mind later, but if you say it fast, it's out on the table and can't be ignored
Smiling gives someone permission to think you don't really mean what you say as you have this big grin on your face
2. Stand your ground
Backing off is wishy-washy. Standing your ground gives weight to your intention. This means both physically and verbally
3. Tell the truth
Let the other person know what you are feeling. Let them know you aren't comfortable with what they are doing
4. Agree when it's unexpected
If someone tells you you're being silly, agree. They have no place to go after that. "You're a bit touchy." "You're right, I am." It takes the wind out of their sails
5. Don't point fingers
If you intend to tell someone you don't like their behaviour, start sentences with how you feel, not what's wrong with them. Pointing an accusatory finger will only make them more defensive
6. Make up a list of handy excuses
This will get you out of situations long enough to see clearly what's going on before you put yourself back in the fray
7. Change your mind whenever you want to
You have the right to change your mind, whether it's two minutes, two hours or two months after the fact. There will be times when you don't want to honour your commitments
8. Keep things short and sweet
Gabbling won't help, it just gives the other person rope to hang you with
9. Don't engage
Never apologise or explain. Don't supply fuel for someone to use against you
10. Get your 'no' in quickly
Set your marker right at the beginning of the discussion. You can always change your mind later, but if you say it fast, it's out on the table and can't be ignored
3/9/08
Oh Boston!
Seeing you in your new dress,
Is taking away my breath!
Is taking away my breath!
Your amber adorned blue hat,
Beckons the end of old season's chat!
2/24/08
What is love?
Love is when the boy plays his flute after she departs
The essence of love is its self-sufficiency, being
Elementary and fundamental, where reason
Need not rule, where overwhelm are the senses!
In friendship we seek utility, in love we desire union
So is love so useless, so meaningless, and so pure.
The essence of love is its self-sufficiency, being
Elementary and fundamental, where reason
Need not rule, where overwhelm are the senses!
In friendship we seek utility, in love we desire union
So is love so useless, so meaningless, and so pure.
2/19/08
Missing out ...
I noticed I react to multiplicity and complexity of a situation by simplifying it, by the mean of cutting down on the number of involving characters or processes.
Such an attitude, while simplifying the situation, drains the set of possible outcomes from its richness.
Thus we see the trade-off between simplicity and richness.
2/17/08
Elsepath (A poem by firstcomet)
She was trapped in a dilemma;
life, so called, her share of the eerie
the repetition of a self, weary!
life, so called, her share of the eerie
the repetition of a self, weary!
The moment her back pain was back
the shared hurt of living, intact
the truth was what she lacked
In retrospect, these were the facts:
The back pain was to evade,
the rest was attention overpaid!
The boisterous everyday parade
to sense the real with reason
was to construct a new prison!
Or the search for the prose that rhymed
was nothing more than a waste of time;
a mortal's search for the sublime!
1/26/08
My grandfather's voice
"Searching for my grandfather's voice" is a book describing the journey of an Iranian expatriate to his birth-land after 25 years in search for a tape containing his grandfather's voice. The tape was seized from his family's private collection during a raid by the revolutionary guards years earlier. The book touches a variety of topics including the nature of truth, identity, sacrifice, simplicity, and happiness.
1/10/08
1/5/08
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)