Tag: buddhism

Ideology makes great armor, but it’s heavy as Hell.  Rather than spend a ton of energy trying to hold each clunky piece of it vainly in place, I’d rather let it slough off, suffer the sting of contrary evidence, then build a lighter, more protective ensemble with that same evidence.  (I believe this leads to…

In my opinion, perspectives/philosophies are simply tools that fits certain circumstances.  Each one can be used to help or harm, but the idea that everyone must see reality from one singular perspective seems to invite ruin, no matter how “good” that perspective or philosophy may outwardly seem.   (And yeah—in writing, it helps to see…

I like to call a failure a failure—without denial, and without glorification.  If I feel it might be constructive, I’ll indulge in a short (five minutes seems appropriate) period where I berate myself, but from what I’ve seen, viewing a failure as some romantic anecdote where I demonstrated toughness, or some catastrophic loss where all…

When I first started writing, I was enticed by the idea of making money—not being rich, necessarily, but living off my books and making an amount comparable to a mid-tier salary.  Then, as the stories took hold in my mind and I grew out of the need for an outline, I became taken by some…

I think the best approach to any craft is to become undeniable—to live life in a manner where you glaringly demonstrate assiduousness and discipline.  Maybe someone can say that your results/products aren’t worthy of greatness, but they should never be able to say that your EFFORT isn’t.  And the key to ignoring unwarranted criticism (IMHO)…

What if every ideal you held sacred was revealed to be a fraud?  What if every theory you venerated, every premise you clung to, was revealed to be nothing but an empty lie?  Honestly, I don’t think it would change a thing.  We still live finite lives in a mostly unknowable existence.  I take that…

When it comes to leisure, I’m a perfectionist.  I LOVE watching the clouds, or an episode of Family Guy, or zoning out by the beach.  But because I’m a perfectionist, I REALLY enjoy those things after I’ve done the work I’ve assigned to myself.   So yeah—I work hard so I can enjoy being lazy.…

If you’re able to perceive everyone/thing you hate/look down on as an inadvertent guru, then you will never lack instruction, and you will always find guidance.

Being loyal to a given paradigm/model of reality is admirable…until one blindly defends it against solid evidence, or refuses to question any of its discrepancies.  Once that happens, the trap of mindless zealotry has been sprung.

Perhaps I won’t be some massively lauded success—that’s fine; that’s something I can’t control.  But what I CAN control is my day-to-day actions.  I can live my life in such a way that—to anyone who observes me on a day-to-day basis—I am undeniable.  I can live my life in such a way that before I…