In my opinion, if everything is there for a reason—all my limitations and abilities, all my triumphs and failures—then it naturally follows that the ultimate act of faith would be to do what I can with what’s in front of me.

The challenges and tasks in front of me, after all, would have been placed there for a reason.

The act of writing is fairly accessible; it isn’t hard to acquire a pen and a pad.

Making writing into something visceral—drawing/cajoling/enticing/choke-slamming your reader into a whirlwind tour of your crazy-ass mind—that’s something else entirely.

I’ve worked with plenty of people who are deeply invested in being perceived as “right.”  I’ve worked with only a few who are deeply interested in GETTING it right.

I prefer the second over the first, hands down.

Every algorithm—society’s, science’s, spirituality’s, magic’s, philosophy’s, morality’s—seems to be subordinate to cause and effect’s.  If  I can figure out what works and what doesn’t, then I can use the resultant power to help others out…or crush them.

At this point, a higher test of character comes into play.  The lesser test of character is exhibiting the discipline and strategy to arrive at that point in the first place.

The  pursuit of pleasure has led me to misery, and so has the pursuit of toughness.  It’s the levelheaded pursuit of fulfillment and results that gives me a true sense of peace, and lets me rise above the fickle tides of cravings and whims.

I’ve got some plans I’d like to enact.  Existence doesn’t care; it’s marked me with an expiration date that will be honored, regardless of what I have or haven’t accomplished.

So I guess I’d better get to work.

The way I see it, everything is formed from a 14 billion year old expansion of energy, rendering the paradigm of “natural/unnatural” into an illusory misconception.  There are plenty of things in “nature” that can destroy us or drive us to insanity.

I prefer a less dogmatic set of terms:  harmonious and inharmonious.  That way, I can draw from “natural” and “unnatural” alike, fulfilling my intent of experiencing fulfillment, hopefully propagating it outward to others, and across time as well.

Actively seek to be humbled, actively seek to learn from it, and strength/will/worth will no longer be a concern; they’ll naturally pour into you.

When I can see that happiness and sadness are simply conditions—not goals/destinations to be attracted or averse to—meaningful strategy starts to fall into place. 

Fulfillment follows shortly after.