Life is short,

though I keep this from my children.

Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine

in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,

a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways

I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least

fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative

estimate, though I keep this from my children.

For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.

For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,

sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world

is at least half terrible, and for every kind

stranger, there is one who would break you,

though I keep this from my children. I am trying

to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,

walking you through a real shithole, chirps on

about good bones: This place could be beautiful,

right? You could make this place

beautiful.

Maggie Smith

Every

little thing is

sent for something,

and in that thing there should be

happiness and the power to make happy.

Like the grasses showing tender faces

to each other, thus we should do,

for this was the wish of the 

Grandfathers of the

World.

Black Elk

Thunder

before dawn,

thunder through dawn, 

thunder beings they were called.

It had to be a person or animal up there.

Outside, walking to my work shed the clouds

were low, almost black, and turbulent. You could

nearly jump up and touch them. I love thunder.

I could listen to it all day long. Like birdsong

it’s the music of the gods. How in childhood

I adored these cloud voices that could

lift me up above my troubles, far

above the birds. I’d look down 

at their flying backs, always

in circles  because earth

is round. What a gift

to have my work

shed shudder

with thunder.

Jim Harrison

learn it. live it. give it.

“we never fired a shot, but still achieved our goals”

The general

who advances without

coveting fame, who retreats without

being ashamed, whose concern is to keep the

people safe and honor the sovereign —

he will be the treasure of

the nation.

from The Art of War, Chapter VIII

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