Things life has taught me lately

1 - Wear the most unflattering clothes in your wardrobe to the gym. (You will work out harder and not pause to stare at yourself)

2 - Caffeine is a covert drug. Most of us are addicted to it.

3 - Surfing articles on the internet is not the equivalent to reading a book.

4 - Only when we are sick do we realize how fantastic a clean bill of health truly is.

5 - When you think negatively - sooner or later you will act negatively.

6 - Life is short for a reason.

limmerick

There was a young man from Lahore
Whose limericks stopped at line four.
When asked why this was,
He responded, “Because.”

Summer of 2000 Anthem

My city's still breathing (but barely it's true)
through buildings gone missing like teeth.
The sidewalks are watching me think about you,
sparkled with broken glass.
I'm back with scars to show.
Back with the streets I know
Will never take me anywhere but here.
The stain in the carpet, this drink in my hand,
the strangers whose faces I know.
We meet here for our dress-rehearsal to say "I wanted it this way"
Wait for the year to drown.
Spring forward, fall back down.
I'm trying not to wonder where you are.
All this time lingers, undefined.
Someone choose who's left and who's leaving.
Memory will rust and erode into lists of all that you gave me:
a blanket, some matches, this pain in my chest,
the best parts of Lonely, duct-tape and soldered wires,
new words for old desires,
and every birthday card I threw away.
I wait in 4/4 time,
Count yellow highway lines that you're relying on to lead you home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgJ6soX18R8

Insomnia Inspired

On the cusp of saying something charming,

Moments before appearing as brave.

Awaiting another shining moment,

Whilst attempting to behave.

The world smiles for all who take the time to realize that they are being smiled upon.

Poetically Incorrect

Poetically Incorrect

I worry constantly about my bank balance, and yet I sneer at those who feed their families by making change.

I eerily stare at the homeless, and spend countless hours decorating to ensure my feeling of homeliness.

I owe nothing, though I have it etched in my conscience that the world owes me more opportunity, more options, and more attention. I am gravely disappointed when my self conceived expectations are neglected.

I fail to see the plan, and then afterwards I assure myself that I did not plan to fail.

I listen to the comments that I wish to hear - the compliments, the one liners - with full attention. I over-talk or tune out utterances that bore me, or those that I feel are less pertinent to my current situation.

I wander when I feel the need. Occasionally, I hurt those who deeply love me.

I play the hypocrite, the devils advocate, and the yes man where I see fit.

I believe that I am original, and singular. But reality shows that most of my actions are non-linear.

I expect too much of myself, and those around me. I recognize that I must realize needed change - before changing my station.

Or maybe I need to simply adjust my settings.

All of this is possible as I am still the holder of my remote.

5 things that have stuck

1 - Say what you feel without regret. "Those who mind don't matter, those who matter don't mind." Dr. S.

2 - People can, and will be obnoxious. This is a sad fact. Don't try to change it - deal with it.

3 - Nothing is truly amazing - if you have no one to share it with.

4 - "Everyone likes someone who gets to the point quickly." David R.

5 - There will always be another green light.

"Material development only brings us physical comfort........."

We all like stuff.

The latest and greatest sweater, the new and improved ergonomic kitchen whisk, or a new flavor of lavender bath salt. (wow these examples are incredibly random)

The one thing I feel we all need to remember this holiday season is that our economy is run by brilliantly implemented push/pull strategies.

The North American market is covertly and continually 'pushing' us to purchase crap that we don't need. Think about how you feel it to be necessary to buy the improved version of a cell phone, or the larger plasma, or ahem excuse me, the LED tv. We don't require these items for existence, but we feel the internal desire to go out and purchase them because the market has told us, reiterated, and then told us again that we can't survive or be sociable without them. We fall for the bait because we strive for acceptance and short term physical comfort.

Companies pitch new products to be sure that it is understood that clients simply can't imagine being 'established' without them. Take for example - Apple's iPhone 4.0. The pitch included many features that had been amalgamated into one expensively elegant device. Convenient? Yes. Necessary? No. The product was directly pushed onto millions of customers with the main selling feature, social acceptance, in the forefront. This acceptance status and the physical comfort is short term - as there is always a new model in the pipeline.

The economy also churns by utilizing nicely played out pull strategies. A good example of a pull was utilized during a promotional campaign for pre-school toys and educational products. Marketers flooded children's programs with product placements and adverts on multiple children's shows on the BBC.

The marketing team originally placed the items - showing children playing with the action toys or learning tools in brief product introductions. The adverts then moved into a full swing 'buy now or miss out on your childhood' psychological messages that captured millions of children. This then forced parents to shell out over 90 million pounds in the 2002 holiday season to appease their little ones wants.

One may argue that we aren't as susceptible as children - but look at how Christmas, Valentine's Day, and other holidays have been implemented to push sales of unneeded products.

It has truly been a beautiful scheme that we all play into swimmingly. Maybe we can at least take a step back this year, and be aware of what is taking place.

The title of this entry is a DalaiLama quote, but it ends with a bit of a twist - "Material development only brings us physical comfort; mental development depends on training the mind. "

Maybe we all should be focussing on training our minds instead of the next 'necessary' purchase.