Compassion

 What if all the celebrations of wealth and power were converted to celebrations of compassion?

Art is life

 I’ve heard artists say, “Art is life.” But why is that?

Well…

Art and life are best when they are driven by purpose.
You get the best from both when they are done with passion.
When they seek truth, they are at their most powerful.
Both are after understanding what it means to be human.
Both are best when they are fearless.
Both are honest when they aren’t after wealth and power.

Founding Fathers

 Would the Founding Fathers, in any way, believe their intent in the Second Amendment was what we see today? They modified ownership of guns right up front with the “militia clause.” Militias are groups with leaders and purpose, not individuals with personal agendas.

Things seem worse now than in the days of the Wild West, considering the power, precision and capacity of modern weapons. Our frequent mass killings only bring shame to us as a nation. We are even exporting these tragedies to other countries.

The current Republican party line is that this is really a mental health problem. Like many others, I have a mental illness and have experienced many panic attacks, but I’ve never thought of killing anyone. The gun is the precipitate. It’s where solving the problem starts.

100 years from now

 Name 3 contemporary artists who will be considered masters 100 years from now.

New

 New for a better you:

LOVE NAILS
Have miniature portraits of your family and pets painted on your nails. Your loved ones always at your fingertips. Call 1-800-MYNAILS today.

NUDIST PREP
This workshop readies your body and psyche for a glorious arrival at your first nudist colony.
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PET RESURRECTED
Sad at the death of your beloved pet? Let us convert your cherished pet into a robotic reminder of your time together.
Call 1-800-PETPALS today

SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK
Boring and bland, but still dreaming of life as a social media influencer?
Enroll in our program to help you reach your goal with workshops on fashion, hair styles, social media lingo and posturing. We will even help you design a personalized dance move.
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HOME SEX TAPES
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We will provide an intimacy coach, a lighting designer and a videographer to bring out your most erotic selves. Call 1-800-SEXTAPE today.

Not a happy lot

 Americans are not a happy lot. They spend very little time looking honestly at themselves in the mirror, discovering and valuing who they are as human beings. (They don’t listen to Mr. Rogers telling them they are liked for who they are.) As a result, they are easy prey for the influencers, social media, corporate marketers and celebrity pitchmen telling them they are not thin enough, pretty enough, with smooth enough skin, sparkling enough eyes, fashionable enough clothes, fancy enough cars, smart enough kids, big enough houses, silken enough hair, spike enough heels, all guaranteed to make them feel good about themselves. It’s buying into the delusion that superficial beauty and material possessions will bring happiness, when all they do is create an armor against self-realization that is not easy to penetrate.

Disappearing

 The elders are disappearing across the world

There but not there, alive but not living
Theirs is slow marching into a fog
Of memory, confusion and time
They can never get themselves back
The architecture of their brains
Is crumbling unpredictably
No hope of repair
Once vibrant, they are now children
To their caregivers, daily sustained by love
Sleep for them is comforting escape
Dreams become hallucinations
Small intimacies may still accumulate
Who are you? Why are you in my house?
Will the TV harm us? Will the TV harm us? Will the TV harm us?
Why do I have to take this medicine?
Are our children dead? Can we go see them?
Questions requiring tailored answers
You must enter their world
A world as real to them as yours is to you
Smiles are little saviors
Something still alive in their eyes
Best to avoid any visions of their exit
Best with both feet planted in now