(I take my inspiration from martial arts)  I try to make every response to circumstance an opening into a bigger move.  Just as the most advanced martial artists do not seek to JUST damage, JUST off-balance, or JUST evade/block and instead do all at once when possible, I endeavor to approach life in the same way.

After a certain point, it is not enough to just endure setbacks or just pursue opportunities.  All pieces of an event should be used down to the marrow and gristle, constantly giving me the tools to become what I originally set out to be.

At the edges of knowledge, logic breaks down.  In quantum physics, objects can be in two places at once; information can travel instantaneously.  And so there is a limit to logic and rationality.

And yet I firmly believe that to perceive beyond these limits, I must verse myself in logic and structure down to my very core.  Learn the rules…and see how to break them.

Know when to double down, and when to walk away; when to save nothing for the swim back, and when to get out of the water.

Spiritually, it’s about opening the consciousness to receive energy, and ensuring that it doesn’t instantly leak out.

Unlike the majority of humans, the dogs I’ve been privileged to know love their friends unconditionally.  They offer up their beloved food or worldly possessions (prized playthings and blankets) and even their life if they think it’s needed.  They take the greatest joys in the simplest pleasures.  I have never understood why “dog/mongrel/cur” has been used as an insult.  If anything it should be a compliment.

Now that I think on it, the best, most admirable people I have known come closest to acting like dogs.

Conflict is a form of communication.  War/killing/fighting/arguing is a delivery of energy that convinces your opponent that your view/position is valid.

I see it this way to study the rhythms of it; the grace notes, the pauses, the beats between the beats.  And that’s how I look at every exchange:  Writing, speaking, music, art…In the end they all become a magical swirl of energy that you endlessly experiment/play with.

Being part of a “pack” can be good or bad.  The bad ones drain you.  Feed off you simply to support the abstract construct of “pack.”

The good ones guide/support/teach you to feed yourself.

In the beginning, ideals push you to new heights; you believe that happiness lives within their illusory constructs.  In the middle, you explore ideals to their limits and realize they all fail, given the right reason/circumstance.  Be careful not to become jaded at this point.

In the end, you realize you don’t need ideals to be happy-you’re happy for no reason/all reasons.

You are just happy.