It was a Tuesday, and I was feeling blue.
My mind was littered with nothing new.
My bowl was half filled with cabbage stew.
That day I wore clothes of the dullest hue.
Only four beige walls were in view.
I was surrounded by books all shut with crazy glue.
There was really very little that I could do.
I was trapped in a box, that’s what I knew.

Together We Go

Together we go, you and I,
Together we must get by.
Together we live without fear,
Together we hold the little things dear.
Together our world becomes small,
Together, that is all.

Stuck

When you find yourself in a place,
A place with bad thoughts and false exits,
Do what you must to keep your sanity,
And by all means, don’t panic!

In the Darkness of the Light

I can see the light,
It is warm.
It is not so bright,
But i will weather the storm.
I do have hope,
With a healthy dose of doubt.
I know I must cope,
Either that or get out.

From the Shadows

From the shadows emerge
With all the promise of life
With eternal hope

About a year ago I decided to start a little online experiment that is centered on thought (particularly shared thought). I created a web site titled Think.as.MANY. The site currently has two components (or apps), Think.like.ME? and Think.of.a.STORY. Here’s a screenshot of the main page:

Think.like.ME? enables a visitor to enter a thought (a statement, question, anything – excluding profanity). In return the visitor is presented with other thoughts that have been entered prior that are similar. This is all done anonymously. The visitor can also browse through existing thoughts, and traverse through similar thoughts (thought tree). The idea is to see how thoughts are alike (or not). As more thoughts are added, the experiment becomes more realistic. Also, I have built a simple Android app for this. You can find it in the Android Market with the name think.like.ME?.

Think.of.a.STORY is about building a continuous story. Each visitor contributes part of the story on each visit. It’s a concept that has been done often in the past, but I thought it might be fun and interesting to visual the result across the vast Internet.

With both of these apps, the more participation the better. I encourage you to visit, participate and share with others.

You can find details of the contest here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/artworks-submission.

I don’t like plums, how about you?
If you don’t like plums, then I like you.
They are a bit distasteful, and looks shady to me.
If you take a quick try, you will also see.
Don’t tell me you like plums, because if you do,
I really can’t help but not like you.

I hate avocados, how about you?
If you hate avocados, then I like you.
They are the worst of the bunch – no good at all.
I’m sure you will agree that they make your skin crawl.
If you don’t hate avocados – unlikely as is seems,
Then you must be crazy – and not just in your dreams.
If you like avocados – I don’t quite see how that could be true,
Then, without question, I do hate you.

As with everything else in life, the measure of selflessness among us humans (I can’t really speak for the animals; shouldn’t speak for all humans either, but I will be so bold as to try) falls somewhere between (but not on) the two extremes – absolutely selfless and absolutely selfish. More-so, I believe that the innate instinct of humans for self-preservation pushes that measure much more towards the selfish extreme. There are moments when individuals or groups may slide significantly towards the selfless extreme – if only to satisfy our selfish need to feel good about ourselves – but that visit usually doesn’t last very long. And there are also times of stress and despair that individuals bunker-down on the selfish side of life – sometimes for too long a time.

It’s OK though. Absolute selflessness can only really work if absolutely everyone is absolutely selfless. In this “conceptual” state, I believe we reach what some call Nirvana. On the flip side, absolute selfishness by absolutely everyone can only lead to complete destruction.

So, the best that we can do is to strive for Nirvana, although it is unlikely we will ever get there. And we should capitalize on those rare moments that push a large number of us towards the selfless extreme.

Sometimes I sit and wonder why,
I have two arms and cannot fly.
I really wish that when I die,
I return as a bird and wander the sky.
I want to change, not just to be.
I want to examine, not just to see.
I want to go, not just to stay.
I want to relax, not just to lay.
I want to know that what i want may not be what I get.
I want to know that what I get has barely happened just yet.

I do not believe in absolutes.

I believe that no one is right and no one is wrong.
I believe in the awesome power of the human mind.
I believe in the resilience of the human body.

I believe that words, by themselves, are insignificant;
But when supported by our viewpoints they can elevate to magnificence, or sink to the lowest depths of despair.
I believe in the magic of a single instance in time – ever present, yet never captured.

I may not believe in your beliefs,
But I believe in your right to have them.

I believe in a fully connected physical world – we are but collections of atomic and sub-atomic particles floating in a sea of other particles;
Where we end and others begin disappears the deeper we go.
I believe that morality, however ill-defined and impossibly elusive it is, will shape our future existence.
I believe in the idea of me.