I give my attention to

poetry, love, philosophy

and contemplation.

My colleagues

want attention and promotion.

I enjoy these benefits too

but not at the expense of negative emotions.

I don’t limit myself.

I set my eyes on loftier goals.

Any resentment, I feel

or injustice, done

I use

as emotional fuel

for my art.

Who are the people we encounter on the road?

Their rage comes from impotence and impatience

Am I helpless, if I don’t compete?

What can I win, if I don’t act?

I don’t want to pretend.

If someone deals with me, disrespectfully

and they do it again and again

What does that say about me?

Can I really stop someone, who wants to go?

If someone insults me, and I offer a cleverer insult

and then they pull a gun

who has won?

You don’t deserve it, but you tolerate it

because

what choice do you have?

You could move-on, for them

but you will find difficult people

everywhere you go.

Perhaps, they consider

your decision, not to react

a weakness

or you are shamed in a social situation,

because

group think, believes

you don’t know what you’re talking about

and the incompetent person does—

It’s frustrating…

until you recognize

the test; and what you need to know

to pass.

How do you navigate people?

Who are you? What weaknesses lie within?

Attacks are not deserved, but how we respond to them, tells us about who we are

Where does your power come from?

You can understand the intricacies of human nature

but that doesn’t change human beings

All it gives you

is the ability to respond

RESPONSE-ABILITY.

Nobody can make you feel bad about yourself

and when the collective attacks come

You stand alone.

I wish there was an easier message

but often, standing alone

makes you strong.

Believing in yourself, when no one else will

is what it takes.

The people who we deal with,

who don’t like us

take their cues from us—we don’t like them

and it shows.

This battle that we are in

tries to teach us, who we are

by giving us wounds.

We have to fight back, but with restraint

we must be cunning, turning our enemies into friends.

Honor, in combat—

it’s a social war

and if we learn to love reality

we can endure.

Most people can’t.

They burn out

bleed out

and don’t believe victory is possible

because they don’t know who the enemy is—

it’s yourself—it always was.

Was anything gained,

and why does it have to be this way?

It could be so simple, but it’s not.

Most people are overwhelmed

and their problems spill-over onto others.

Their enjoyment is gone

because they have too much.

Climbing higher, is a measurement tool

because it’s harder at the top.

I don’t envy a lofty position

because I see their torment

and their lack of tools

to deal with

their ambition

and where it has taken them.

When a person is ready

they should climb higher

to test their ability.

Admiration

in the eyes of men

is futility.

What matters in the end? –A superfast sports car, that has to go 35 miles-per-hour in town, with accompanying road rage?

No.

It’s the test that matters

and the grade you give yourself.