positivity

daddy mosquito sent baby mosquito out into the world for his first flight.

daddy mosquito asked, "how was it?"

baby mosquito replied, "it went great! everyone was clapping for me!"

there is always a different way of looking at things :)

(nyc)

letting go...

two zen monks, tanzan and ekido, were walking along a country road that had become extremely muddy after heavy rains. near a village, they came upon a young woman who was trying to cross the road, but the mud was so deep it would have ruined the silk kimono she was wearing. tanzan at once picked her up and carried her to the other side.

the monks walked on in silence. five hours later, as they were approaching the lodging temple, ekido could not restrain himself any longer. "why did you carry that girl across the road? we monks are not supposed to do things like that."

"i put that girl down hours ago," said tanzan. "are you still carrying her?"

(nyc)

boldness

"until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. all sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. a whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way." -- w.h. murray from the scottish himalaya expedition, 1951

"whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. boldness has genius, power and magic in it. begin it now." -- johann wolfgang von goethe

(nyc)

smartypants

some people are seriously smart. i am in awe of the processing power of their brains, the depth and breadth of their knowledge and the myriad of their accomplishments.

but the thing is...

sometimes these same people are just a little too smart. because most really intensely intellectually smart people have a problem letting go. they feel the need to control everything, everyone and all situations, b/c in reality, they are almost always right! especially when it comes to work situations and business decisions.

but being in control and being right are the direct antitheses to letting things happen in your life... the unpredictable messy ones i mean. like falling in love or taking emotional risks in general. opening yourself up to hurt, to chance. letting your heart and guts make the decisions instead of the brains. nurturing that little voice inside your head that is your soul. the problem with being so smart is that you can extrapolate every possible scenario out into the future, ten, fifteen, fifty chess moves ahead of everybody else. and when you do, reasons can always be found to justify a no.

how is that, in the grand scheme of things, considered smart?

i have one life to live, no dress rehearsals. i will never get this second back, this minute, the one i just spent writing these sentences. you, who are taking the time to read this, will never get this time back either.

so what if i get burned? so what if my heart shatters into a million pieces? so what if i fall? isn't that what all of this is for? this thing called life? isn't that why i have a heart, a body, a soul, a brain? to use it all to shreds before all my seconds are gone and the lights go dark?

maybe i'm one of the dumb ones. but for every yes i said yes to, and for every no you said no to, my life has been that much fuller, deeper, darker and brighter. my scars are beautiful. my compassion has been stretched to encompass more than you have yet to know.

take a chance. just jump.

(nyc)

two wolves

one evening an old cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

"my son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all. one is evil. it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

the other is good. it is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

the grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "which wolf wins?"

the old cherokee simply replied, "the one you feed."

(nyc)

new.

past choices
past mistakes
벗어나
일어나

또다시
한번더
두번더
go.

..........

past choices
past mistakes
(shed it)
(get up)

(again again)
(one more time)
(two more times)
go.

(nyc)

create it. raw.

conceive it, think it, pray it, breathe it, eat it, sleep it, try it, fry it, write it, act it, dream it, cook it, draw it, load it, speak it, sing it, play it, be it, fuck it, make it, live it.

i create, therefore i am.

-youri

(nyc)