1.

Even during my lowest moments

I can feel the words

speaking to me.

2.

the dead don’t know the living

(if they do,

they’re not completely dead).

3.

I saw a man I work with

out of context

He’s tall

with thick-framed glasses

He teaches the musical arts

We have the same last name. Our first name is four letters.

I pretended not to see him

He pretended not to see me

It’s strange, that we can spend so much time with others

and not know them.

4.

Human experiences are so often outside of our control

and that’s what makes them human.

5.

I hope that I never lose the courage to give up control.

If I carefully plan an adventure, like a train schedule

I might be early, on-time, or late

but I won’t get-off the tracks.

6.

An adventure is about letting go of predictable routines.

7.

People are predictable

because

they make decisions

based on how much it costs.

8.

If I can live inside the fire of passion

and sustain myself in the cold

I have one of the invisible elements

that people want

which can’t be bought:

happiness

love

and fulfillment

are other examples.

9.

I am worried

that no amount of religious instruction

or change of heart

will prevent me

from wanting to have sex with all the women

at bible study.

10.

If I become famous, I will be infamous

there will be no middle ground

I will shrug-off the opinions of society.

People are conditioned

to worry about what others think of them

their whole survival is dependent on:

work evaluations

marriage counseling

and the court of public opinion.

11.

There is much that I don’t know about life

and much

that I think

that I know.

I never want to be one of those people who thinks that they know everything.

12.

I spend most of my life within a ten-mile radius

I love my library because it’s a way to explore with my mind

My routines, keep me from exploring.

13.

I dated an English Teacher once

who told me that she was never going to climb Mt. Everest

I was disappointed:

Here was somebody who read

so she didn’t have to take risks

I read to expand my awareness—to see black and white in color.

14.

We can decide to change in one moment—it’s invisible

the purest form of transformation is done because we must

and

the impossibility of long-term change isn’t considered

because we decide to change each day.

15.

Fear, keeps me from

scuba-diving

sky-diving

traveling

and asking-out strange women on dates.

I think that I’m a fairly wise person and this is probably why I haven’t done foolish things

but it could also be that I’m cowardly.

16.

A fair amount of laughing at myself

makes me invincible.