"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
i delight in what and when i write, and that, that is good enough for me. selfish as it may seem, i am not sure that i want anything beyond the opportunity to share what i see through my words. i do not trust the allure of what is not invisible.
for i've seen how money rots the soul, and how it takes control and supercedes what was originally worth wroughting.
and if my meaning is lost in translation while recklessly pandering for publishers and pursuing recognition across the globe, than may fortune shine light on me and give me the courage to forsake such worldly and unwieldy splendor.
recently, a few people have asked me for money, advice and empathy, and i have been at a loss as to what to say, for i run on empty beyond the playful phrases that parody my so-called insight. i am not a light at the end of any tunnel other than my own, and i would not purport to have grown to be other wise.
for i am not a rich man, when all my wealth is invested in my words. nor am i a wise man, because i still have much to learn. and i am certainly not a medicine man, for any power to heal is usually used during somnolent attempts to renew a weary self.
thus, i humbly ask that one take my words if she wills, but should she be compelled to ask for more, i cannot promise anything other than disappointment.
ah, and perhaps this is the lesson of this lost meandering, for maybe my musing is meant to convey the importance of asking and expecting less of those you love most.
because it is all too natural for us to want and ask for more from those whose unique supply and store of attention has satisfied us to the point where we ourselves feel special. which is why amidst our euphoric state of privilege, it is easy to fall and fell victims to the process of seeking affection.
for the greater our predilection toward another, the more dependent we become on them for everything, the more contrived notions of commitment we buy into— the more likely we are to be disenchanted as we tackle the big issues together. for it is inevitable, that quite often we are prone to ask too much of those who, alas, in the beginning, beguiled us with the little things.
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." ~ Robert Brault
the art of love
l.m