To thine own self be true

(prominent bust in my room)

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one place to find real Beauty, Heroism, Depth, and Truth is in an Elsewhere Country called The Complete Plays of William Shakespeare. There is no need to distract with or be distracted by clearly agenda-ed de Vereism wishful-thinking or the terrible light-weightedness of the recent Shakespeare’s Grave doc (BTW The King in the Car Park doc and the Richard III dig had way more basis, credibility, truth, and conclusiveness).

“The play’s the thing” as Hamlet and Shakespeare both declared. It is there you will find much worthy of pleasure, greatness, serious engagement, inspiring thoughtfulness, great ideas and meanings, rich fantastic words (the best of any writer in the English language), and much relevant purpose. That the author is a dead, white male is also very irrelevant. He is simply the world’s greatest writer and his remarkable canon is way beyond question and phony, jealous, uncontextualized criticism.

“Happy D-Day to Da Main Man.”

is a sparring match (not a real boxing match) photo op. A chance to show off his native tattoo.

Any pc agendas and victimhood agendas matter. People with non-pc agendas and who don’t play victim cards simply don’t matter. The latter’s opinions and positions are worthless or bogus unlike shiny, flawless, unquestioned, and unquestionable pc and victimhood agendas and cards. *There’s a failure to be honest and accept personal responsibility here.*

One forgotten precedent has long been in provincial human rights branches automatically assuming the innocence of any complainant playing those two cards to the ridiculous extent of government backing them automatically and paying their court costs!

“Some animals are more equal than others” (don’t ya know? Get with the program!)–Orwell, Animal Farm

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I sorely miss truly great folks like Martin Luther King who said that people should be judged on their character and not on the color of their skin (or gender) alone.

I have written about the former (Oct. 1. 2013), but the poetry festival functions much the same way. These are both significant cultural, writing communities that I am part of, compartments which complement my long-time poetry trajectory. I read Sunday at 1:30 this weekend at the Three Bananas Café on Sir Winston Churchill Square. Always a slice to rub shoulders with my poetic brethren.

Arraby’s Aromatherapy with four essential oils: (mostly) marjoram, eucalyptus, peppermint, and lavender.

Simply amazing. Tried it on evening of day 3 of a worsening cold that had plugged my nose and was starting to lead to throat buildup. Had it sitting open beside me as I watched a game on the tube. Immediately cleared both areas about 90% within 30 mins. Usually, a cold is a downhill trip from where I was at.
Then left it open in the bedroom all night and slept through the night–no runny nose, no coughing, no throat build-up. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my many years of cold. A major over-the-counter miracle. Into the day now with no runny nose, an intact voice, and still no cough. Hey, I’m a believer.

Not recommended for pregnant women or infants though, and because it’s an oils product, you want to put it where it’s not going to get bumped or knocked over. Definitely worth a shot for anyone with cold or breathing problems.

It is no longer for me to say for you.
You will need to fill in the blanks yourself,
to answer the remaining questions,
to find your missing peace
and decide which dream is worth
the living and dying for.

It remains but for you
to walk alone on that beach
with nothing but your thoughts.
It is up to you to decide if
touch is the best art of all
and If an old Inner Child still lives.

It is not in this poem then
that someone will smile fondly at you
and find all you say so interesting.
It is no longer the job of this poet
to free you, to whisper your name,
or tell you where all the treasure’s hid.

No, it is you alone who will write the last poem, love,
your very own, and tell all of us here today
who it is that you really are.

The recurring problem is other people.

What can one do in contexts in which other individuals lack imagination, desire to change, don’t want to explore, improve, or be unlazy? What can one do when others don’t think, don’t care, don’t empathize, think only of their own comforts, or are just plain ‘terminal’? The limits and limitations of others. With the result that one has choices to be made.

Perhaps you had to get up early to drive someone, let out the dog, or takes your meds.
Maybe you had to get going to get to work, and did some dishes in passing.

And then there are the natural limits of your imagination, imaging and planning what your day might be like.

You also have to think that a lot of people are limited by their experience which limits how they view things and others, how far they will travel, what their context for the day will be. There is simply a lot that people have not and will not experience–perhaps such things as going abroad or owning a car, or having a different face or body.

Love, belonging (an important Maslow feature) and relationships also come into the picture–whether you are living alone by default or by choice, whether you have been fortunate to have someone living in you or complimenting your life, values, and preferences.

The more you look at the day, the more you realize there are things that need doing, There are important things to be done, and there will be choices to be made with whatever free time or leisure. The more you think about your day, the more you realize how many limits there are, how many you impose on yourself, or let others impose on you. Sometimes you don’t have a choice that way as in the case of babies, children living at home, or aging parents who need your services.

Yes, many limits, imposed by self and others. In spite of this, many choices to be made. And above all, the ways in which a life is circumscribed by contexts. Leading to the importance of choosing a context right for you, one that works, one that satisfies and makes each day seem worthwhile.

Often I think to myself: “What got done today that really needed doing? What things did I do in my downtime? And how did I move forward, progress in the daily flow and process of daily living?” In that, perhaps, the most enjoyment, pleasure, and meaning of time well-spent, not wasted as one naturally has fewer of these days ahead. The biggest limit and limitation of all.