Indpendence is a myth.
We like to
believe that we
are free of the influence
or control
of others.
But we aren't.
Your thoughts are shaped
by your parents, teachers,
maybe even clergy.
Byt he books you read,
by the pundits you listen to.
We all are.

We are shaped by our traumas.
It becomes a filter.

We are all dependent,
though dislike admitting it.
We are dependent on mom from day one.
We depend on our parents, then teachers,
taxpayers to provide the school
then the electricity,
the water, the road, scholarships and grants
or a boss to hire, then a boss to hire,
and carpenters, electricians,
plumbers, trash collectors,
the military,
economists,
manufacturers,
could you even make a pencil?
Could you extract the rubber, brass, wood, and graphite lead
and mill it, shape it, form it,
all by yourself?

Do you program your own computer?

We all are very dependent,
inter-dependent,
and the lives of the rubber tree harvesters,
and ore miners, and loggers, and millers,
programers, builders,
public utility workers, and my neighbors
all come together as I scratch a note
on a piece of paper while
I write this poem on the internet.

A set of bluff stairs;
concrete sack on
the shoulder,
and go
down,down,down
and then get
uppity
there for
some lumber
and tools or a
battery.

I also repaired the
relationship
I damaged
by stopping what I was
doing
when my son came in
and gave him
my full attention;
and listening with
both ears
while my beloved
poured out her heart.

I confirmed what
my boss said,
so he knew
what he needed
would be done.
I passed on this bit
of wisdom to
the new guy,
and helped fix
a fractured culture.

I fixed the
words of this poem
as I wrote,
maybe a no-no
in the writers world,
but a lot like
my professional
standards:
don't leave it
for the next person,
do it right
the first time.

Standards I can
apply to all of my life:
my relationships,
volunteer work,
hobbies
and passions
and spiritual path.

Mastering one skill
opens the door
to another skill
and new tools.
From master
to grasshopper
to master....

So I guess what i mostly
fix is
myself.

Not content with my
level of contentment,
what to do with
ambition rising.

How can the
heart not soar
when the beauty
all around
makes the eyes sing?

Bliss is
an elixer,
an amrita,
a direct result.

As a person thinks,
so they are:
Leader or follower?
Successful or not?
Moving forward and up?
Full or empty?
Afraid?
All based on choice.

Be not attached
this way,
I tell myself.
Bliss is a result,
and will soon
enough come
to stay.
But like oil,
slips through the fingers
if I cling.

Is it a woman's lips,
or her breasts?
Certain politicians
might say so.

Is it being
in the presence of
the fire,
or the gasses that
ignite and roll over
your head?
I could think so.

Is it the
gun metal blue,
or precision feel
of a slide along
the barrel and receiver?
Confused young inner city youth
and middle aged militia members
might think so.

Is it the power of
saying so, and
seeing it happen?
Bill Clinton thought so.

Is it the
investor/entertainer/pro-jock
level of money
that commands the worlds
treasuries,
rarities,
and beauty?

It is none of that.
What is
dangerous
is the ego.

Well, what if I own nothing? It's somewhat a matter of perspective because surely I will go out the way I came in, to some degree depending on how I actually die, and since I have no idea, like everyone else when that moment really is, maybe I should have a different perspective, like say maybe that I just rent all this stuff and the space I use to store all the stuff in Carlinesque manner and then get on with developing true riches like virtue and happiness that comes from making choices to develop relationships and family ties and helping others in as many ways as possible because then I don't have the burden of actually having that pang of fear of even thinking about losing everything I think I own because I won't be attached to those things which are after all just things and will break and go away even if thats after I'm gone; not to mention the cost of fixing all those things.

Detachment from people and things means that I really own nothing. The only thing that I "own" is the conciousness that is hanging out in this body at the moment, and this body will, well, we've already been over the whole death thing so maybe we can just get on with it because really death and impermanence are realities so we could do with building a society that recognizes that and create one that has better values than spending all our resources and time on stuff, because that seems just a bit insane really doesn't it, whereas I want my legacy to be that even though I was opinionated I was willing to listen and learn and be corrected and wanted what was best for people and even that doesn't matter all that much because I won't be here to boast of my own legacy but I will have a lot of good karma and that will benefit me beyond the life in this body.

So we really can enjoy life if we just open up our hands, with our palms up and fingers outstretched and experience life which is going to happen anyway but if we make better choices as to how we respond then the whole attachment thing will change and our minds will change because isnt a person simply what they think about, I mean it's been said many times throughout history and then we spend all our time thinking about how to get stuff and we get back into the same cycle we were in before so, well, if we just let life be and look inward we will find the answers we are looking for.

It won't happen any other way.