CXXXVI
Why
bother getting rich
If
you’re likely going to dress
In
grubby clothing, wander aimlessly,
And sip
bad coffee anyway?
* * * *
Observe
the stillness moving
And the
movement still.
* * * *
You
never know, the next moment
Could
change your life dramatically.
* * * *
Amazing
thing how the mystery of existence
Dictates
your time and molds your illusion.
* * * *
Watch
your mind like you would a ping pong ball.
As it
wanders to and fro, back and forth, here and there,
Your
task is to follow it wherever, however it goes.
* * * *
That a
computer will ever achieve virtual reality
Is the
fantasy of programmers and writers
Whose
connection with the real thing
Is as
tentative as floating dust.
* * * *
Some
spend their lives building empires,
While others
are content just to watch
The sun
disappears into the horizon.
* * * *
So many
things you can ponder,
So many
you never will.
* * * *
Sometimes
you wish you’d never bothered.
* * * *
Why
this all-consuming craving to be entertained?
* * * *
One soap
opera after another
Without
any discernable end.
* * * *
In a
smoggy valley, it’s easy to forget
The
mountains on the horizon.
* * * *
How
often a deep understanding of the motivation,
The
line of thinking, the frame of reference
Behind
another’s vexing actions
Softens
the judgment.
* * * *
Death
will finish you at its leisure.
* * * *
Neither
memories nor piles of gold
Mean
much when it’s all said and done.
* * * *
Unless
we get past our self-absorbed greed,
This
consuming need for continuity and security;
Unless
we transcend into a more egalitarian paradigm,
The
time of man will end on a destructive note
Which
will make the Twentieth Century
Look
like a walk in the park.
* * * *
Those
who have not, those who cannot,
Recognize
early the boundaries of their existence.
* * * *
Only in
death is the deck reshuffled.
* * * *
Oh,
grand impermanence.
* * * *
The
tension some feel even in the most relaxing moments.
* * * *
A
forgone conclusion is unfolding.
* * * *
And
what havoc will that little misstep wreak?
* * * *
In the
right state of mind,
Anything
can be an adventure.
* * * *
Trusting
those who would lead you
Can be
naive and perhaps even lethal.
* * * *
What’s
the fucking point?
* * * *
Detours
happen.
* * * *
Flies, cockroaches,
crows, seagulls, vultures, rats…
And
other opportunists are the legacy of the human drama.
* * * *
More of
what you’ve already seen too much of already.
* * * *
Why be
Jesus or Siddhartha?
Be what
they were.
* * * *
Not to
be confused are having balls
And
being just plain stupid.
* * * *
Vision
and lack of vision sum up the human paradox.
* * * *
What
fools we mortals be.
* * * *
Sometimes
you’ve just got to wait for the universe
To
catch up to your fear, will, and desire.
* * * *
Tis the
destiny of the day.
* * * *
Why in
bloody god’s name
Do you
require some authority,
Be it
family, church, state or other,
To
affirm you are doing the right thing?
* * * *
Another
unintentional child born into the circus of man.
* * * *
It
didn’t take faith to birth you.
* * * *
Along
for the ride, are we?
* * * *
Process
always seems to continue after all "The Ends."
* * * *
History
doesn’t matter much to those
Who
don’t know or understand it.
* * * *
Faith
is really some sort of Santa Claus thing, ain’t it?
* * * *
Be wary
of those who manipulate history to their own ends.
* * * *
Only
fools and cowards imitate.
* * * *
Santa
Claus, Puff the Magic Dragon, Peter Pan, Cinderella
Buddha,
Lao Tzu, Krishna, Jesus…ad infinitum.
Stories
for those who need stories.
* * * *
Believe
what you want,
It does
not matter one iota.
* * * *
Bought
into the fear again, didn’t ya?
* * * *
Follow
the desire.
* * * *
So
often at the root of humility resides a snob posing.
* * * *
God
isn’t the one judging you.
* * * *
Wisdom
is boring to most.
* * * *
Every
generation sees only the world time has left them.
* * * *
Don’t
hold your breath for anything or anyone.
* * * *
To cut
yourself off from nature
Is to separate
from godness unfolding.
* * * *
Is any
delusion superior to another?
* * * *
Is a
religion that puts mind above all a true religion?
* * * *
Too
many blind following the blind..
* * * *
Infinity
has no bounds but imagination.
* * * *
In
every thing, paradox.
* * * *
Life is
full of waiting.
* * * *
After
awhile, you just don’t really want to know
What’s
going on in some people’s heads.
* * * *
The
challenge in life is learning to discern the difference
Between
reality and delusion, and not getting all caught up
In all
the falseness, the ridiculousness, and the pettiness.
* * * *
Another
just-in-case moment.
* * * *
There’s
nothing to have.
* * * *
Play
out the role you’ve been given,
And
discard the mask when you’re done.
* * * *
Do you really
believe any human law means squat to god?
* * * *
If this
is a world created by a loving god,
Then
god forbid we ever have one who hates us.
* * * *
Superstition
will win out
Because
it suits the ignorant
Of
which there are so many.
* * * *
Time to
wake up, folks, time to wake up.
* * * *
Ironic
how human beings across the world
Make
god as petty as they are.
* * * *
A nice
demon, but a demon, nonetheless.
* * * *
No
house is built in a day, nor a universe in seven.
* * * *
It
takes a moment.
* * * *
There
is no solution in time.
* * * *
Have
patience
For
that which you so desperately crave
Will
soon come and be long past.
* * * *
You
haven’t even begun to unfurl.
* * * *
Your
psychological struggle
Against
the tide of time
Is
utterly futile.
* * * *
Look
too many directions,
And you
see there are none.
* * * *
Another
inexplicable fate.
* * * *
Ain’t
no going back.
* * * *
Moderate
the wearing of corporate logos.
Only
one at a time, no more than two a day.
* * * *
Third
existential crisis today,
And you
haven’t even finished your first cup of coffee.
* * * *
Every
port an adventure.
* * * *
The
target of so many failed expectations.
* * * *
How
loose and flaccid the body becomes.
* * * *
Lost
and confused, tired and bemused.
* * * *
Don’t
need no more stuff.
* * * *
Cigarette
after cigarette,
Pleasure’s
exchange for life.
* * * *
Do you
see how the fear,
The
worry, the guilt, the passion
Chip
away at your well-being?
* * * *
Death
just got a little closer.
* * * *
Without
a witness,
It
never happened.
But
then again,
Even
with a witness,
It
never happened.
* * * *
Death
just takes you back to the ground.
* * * *
How
many dances in the mating ritual.
* * * *
To be
young is to be carefree.
There
is no tomorrow, there is no yesterday.
Even a
desolate pile of mud is gold.
When
you’re old, there is only
Yesterday
and tomorrow,
And
every penny is counted.
* * * *
Mother
Nature is not touchy-feely,
Warm-fuzzy,
romantic, or merciful.
* * * *
There’s
a little Rip Van Winkle
In all
who return to memory’s youthful preserve.
* * * *
Anyone
can have a lucky day.
* * * *
What is
it to be truly, completely alone?
* * * *
A
little more flesh to sell the wares, please.
* * * *
Can’t
make a good sculpture with the wrong material.
* * * *
The
vanity of mind and mirror.
* * * *
Even in
the cruelest lie
Dwells
the truth.
* * * *
Most
need the order of the story.
Few can
see it in the dust
Whipped
by the wind.
* * * *
The
only absolute in consciousness
Is its
source.
* * * *
All stories
are written upon the face of essential nature.
* * * *
Watermelon
sugar everywhere.
* * * *
Can’t
sell if the item’s not on the floor.
* * * *
What a
bother things can be.
* * * *
Separate
soul,
Or just
a bubble of time
Floating
through infinity’s maze?
* * * *
Why
some accept so much
While
others leave no stone unquestioned
Is
indeed a mystery.
* * * *
A
little education all too often
Goes an
unintended direction.
* * * *
Whether
or not you believe in anything
Does
not matter one iota.
* * * *
Can you
trust someone who doesn’t trust you?
* * * *
The
irony of faith is that it requires so little.
* * * *
What’ a
cold greasy meal to a cockroach?
* * * *
You got
yours, so why worry?
* * * *
Be
happy, if you can manage the endorphines.
* * * *
Imagine
Jesus in Wrangler’s, a baseball cap,
And a tin
of chew, all part of the timeless disguise.
* * * *
Life is
a dust storm come into form.
* * * *
Few
will ever even begin to ponder, begin to care,
What
you have done with your brief little existence.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Stillness Before Time (Compendium)
© Michael J. Holshouser 2009
World Rights Reserved