Wake Up Tiger

as old as your fear

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:51:00 PST

You are as young as your faith,
as old as your doubt;
as young as your self-confidence,
as old as your fear;
as young as your hope,
as old as your despair.

When the wires are all down
and all the innermost core of your heart
is covered with the snows of pessimism
and the ice of cynicism,
then you are grown old indeed.

-- Samuel Ullman

the tinge of doubt ...

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:02:00 PST

I am the faceless

the nameless

the timeless

the ageless ...

I am the tinge of doubt in the back of your mind,

the panic attack waiting around the corner,

the bomb, just waiting to drop on your world ...

I am fantasy,

reality,

and insanity

I am fear

[click on image to enlarge]

the greatest fear ...

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:45:00 PST

Methinks the greatest fear we have is being ourselves. We want to be like everyone else, and we do what everyone else does -- even if it doesn't fit where and who you are.

You get nowhere that way. Your energy is weak and nobody pays attention to you. Because you're running away from the one thing that you own = WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE.

Lose that fear, and you will feel the power you have by showing the world you don't care for being like other people. Lose that fear, and you will never go back.

the waiting room

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:23:00 PST

In nooks all over the earth sit men who are waiting, scarcely knowing in what they are waiting, much less that they are waiting in vain.

Occasionally the call that awakens -- the accident which gives "permission" to act -- comes too late, when the best youth and strength for action has already been used up by sitting still; and many have found to their horror when they "leaped up" that their limbs had gone to sleep and their spirit had become too heavy.

"It is too late", they said to themselves, having lost faith in themselves and henceforth forever useless.

-- Nietzsche

our fear of old age ...

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:52:00 PST

The dread, always,
of coming to this:

to sit
day after day
chain smoking
in a soiled undershirt
beside the cracked window
of a fifth-floor walkup
on Railroad Avenue
with stains on the wall,
dead flies on the sill,
no hot water,
and the cold water rusty

to sit
smoking and coughing
watching dust settle down,
freights rumble by,
and beyond the tracks
the river flowing
gray and tedious

while on the other,
the opposite, shore
the distant lights
of someplace else
rise up in a glory
more awesome than Rome
and now unreachable
as anyplace anywhere.

A Fear of Old Age by Jack Anderson

a year of FEAR NOTHING ...

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:55:00 PST

2012 will be for me the year of FEAR NOTHING.

With the pervasive presence of the media and the visceral quality of its imagery, we are all given the feeling that we are living in a world that is filled with danger. And even though we live in a world that is infinitely more safer and more predictable than our ancestors ever knew, our fears and anxieties have only increased.

Fear infects our attitude towards life. We shift from feeling fear because of some perceived threat, to having a fearful attitude towards life itself. We come to see almost every event in terms of risk. We exaggerate the dangers and our vulnerability.

And deep on the inside, fear takes hold of our personal being. We are afraid of offending people, of stirring up conflict, of standing out from the crowd, of taking bold action. Our fears are, in effect, a prison that confines us within a limited range of thought, movement and action.

If there is one thing I have learnt over the past few years, it's that the less you fear, the more power you have, and the more fully you will live.

Nihil timendum est means "fear nothing". FEAR NOTHING is going to be my theme for 2012 -- on this blog, in my thoughts, and through my actions -- and I invite you to make it yours too ...

top 3 images courtesy of Banksy

LOVE in the time of Christmas ...

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 18:05:00 PST

All human emotions are motivated at their deepest level by one of two emotions = fear or love.

Fear is the energy which contracts, closes down, draws in, runs, hides, hoards and harms.

Love is the energy which expands, opens up, send out, stays, reveals, shares and heals.

Fear wraps our bodies in clothing. Love allows us to stand naked.

Fear clings to and clutches what we have. Love gives all that we have away.

Fear holds close. Love holds dear.

a matter of experience ...

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:02:00 PST

Babies are masters of trial-and-error learning. Which is why they fall repeatedly. They do it in a relaxed, almost confortable way, making it unlikely that they will be harmed. And sometimes they do hurt themselves.

Anxious, controlling parents, however, often induce shock or fear reactions in their children by communicating their own fear about what the baby is doing. "Oh my God! You'll hurt yourself" they exclaim as baby Jack starts his odyssey across the lawn.

And so, like a computer that has been programmed to believe "you'll hurt yourself", we believe this lie as we spend our whole lives avoiding trial-and-error learning, preferring instead to learn only from the stuff we read in textbooks, hear in the news, and are told by our parents and friends.

It is only the person who has had the experience of 'love' who knows what 'love' is. It is only the person who has experienced 'pain' who know what 'pain' is. It is only the baby who has tried to walk and fallen who knows what it means to fall, and to walk.

Your experience of life is the only basis for living your life, not what others tell you how. There is no other way. There is no other 'truth'.

the alien from inner space

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:18:00 PST

So I'm on a Qantas flight to Adelaide, and this five year old girl draws a tattoo on my hand.

"What is it?" I ask her.

"A alien" she tells me.

"Wow!" I say. "And where does this alien live?" I ask her.

"Inside you" she replies.

subtle and profound

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:46:00 PST

YUGEN

Yugen is a Japanese word that sits at the core of the appreciation of beauty and art in Japan. It values the power to evoke, rather that the ability to state directly.

Zeami Motokiyo, a 14th century Japanese actor and playwright, described yugen thus:

To watch the sun sink behind a flower-clad hill.

To wander on and on in a huge forest without thought of return.

To stand up on the shore and gaze after a boat that disappears behind distant islands.

To contemplate the flight of wild geese seen and lost among the clouds.

All these are yugen. And i fucking love it! Methinks we could all do with a little more yugen in our every day.

soul surrender

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:13:00 PST

We lie to ourselves to keep our soul from having an adventure.

The voice in our head says It's not safe to live on purpose; to stick my neck out; to speak before thinking; to take a chance; to back my instinct because it 'feels' right. I can't do that. That's too big an adventure for someone like me. That's too big a risk for a person like me to take. What if I'm wrong and it doesn't work out?

This is the voice of fear and passivity. It is the opposite of soul purpose = a soul surrender. It is like trying to get an overly active child to go to sleep. Lying to your soul is like saying to the child, "You are too tiny to know any better or make a difference. Sleep now."

Methinks it's time to wake up tiger!

ode to the Modern Man ...

noreply@blogger.com (Ricardo) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 14:11:00 PDT

I’m a modern man,

a man for the millennium,

digital and smoke-free.

A diversified multicultural postmodern deconstructionist.

Politically, anatomically, and ecologically incorrect.

I’ve been uplinked and downloaded,

I’ve been inputted and outsourced,

I know the upside of downsizing,

I know the downside of upgrading.

I’m new wave, but I’m old school,

and my inner child is outward bound.

I’m a hot-wired, heat-seeking, warm-hearted cool customer, voice-activated and biodegradable.

I interface with my database,

and my database is in cyberspace,

so I’m interactive, I’m hyperactive,

and from time to time I’m radioactive.

Behind the eight ball, ahead of the curve,

riding the wave, dodging a bullet, pushing the envelope.

I’m on point, on task, on message, and off drugs.

I got no need for coke and speed,

I got no urge to binge and purge.

I’m in the moment, on the edge,

over the top, but under the radar.

I wear power ties, I tell power lies,

I take power naps, I run victory laps.

I’ve got a personal trainer,

a personal shopper,

a personal assistant,

and a personal agenda.

You can’t shut me up,

you can’t dumb me down.

‘Cause I’m tireless, and I’m wireless,

I’m an alpha male on beta blockers.

I’m a hands-on, foot-loose, knee-jerk, headcase.

My output is down, but my income is up.

I read junk mail, I eat junk food, I buy junk bonds, I watch trash sports.

I’m gender-specific, capital-intensive,

user-friendly, and lactose-intolerant.

I eat fast food in the slow lane.

I’m toll-free, bite-sized, ready-to-wear, and I come in all sizes.

A fully-equipped, factory-authorized, hospital-tested,

clinically-proven, scientifically formulated medical miracle.

I’ve been pre-washed, pre-cooked,

pre-heated, pre-screened, pre-approved,

pre-packaged, post-dated, freeze-dried,

double-wrapped, vacuum-packed,

and I have an unlimited broadband capacity.

I take it slow, I go with the flow,

I ride with the tide, I got glide in my stride.

I don’t snooze, so I don’t lose.

I keep the pedal to the metal and the rubber on the road.

- George Carlin, edited by me

the doors of perception ...

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:42:00 PDT

If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.

-- William Blake, and Jim Morrison's inspiration for calling The Doors, The Doors

brand YOU

noreply@blogger.com (Ricardo) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:56:00 PDT

A few questions that reveal the real YOU:

Q. What is the strangest compliment you’ve ever received?
Q. What’s your little-known talent?
Q. What do you obsessively search for on eBay?
Q. When you were a child, who did you worship & want to be like?
Q. What was your palate band? Otherwise known as the first band you heard that made you realise the world of music was larger than the Top 20.

the splinter in your mind

noreply@blogger.com (Ricardo) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:17:00 PDT

What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.

-- The Matrix

when the lion feeds ...

noreply@blogger.com (Ricardo) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:07:00 PDT

When a captive lion steps out of his cage, he comes into a wider world than the lion who has known only the wilds.

While he was in captivity, there were only two worlds for him - the world of the cage, and the world outside the cage. Now he is free. He roars. He attacks people. He eats them.

Yet he is not satisfied, for there is no third world that is neither the world of the cage nor the world outside the cage.

-- Yukio Mishima, Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director

the story of our lives ...

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:53:00 PDT

Each of us has a personal story.

It lives in your mind, and it's a tale you tell yourself about your self. It starts off , "Once upon a time ...," and it talks about everything that has happened to you, when, how and why.

It is your internal narrative -- the voice in your head -- and it is a summary of the conclusions you have come to about your self; who I am, what I am, how I am, why I am.

These conclusions are not based on the truth about you, and almost always include your harshest judgements about your self.

Make sure YOU don't lose track of YOUR true self -- your BEST SELF -- as you wander around and get lost inside your story of failure and despair.

the biggest choice you never made ...

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:36:00 PDT

Who am I, and who do I choose to be, in relationship to the oppressed and downtrodden?

Who am I and who do I choose to be, in relationship to the disaffected and the disadvantaged, the disavowed and disconnected, the dispossessed and disenfranchised?

Who am I and who do I choose to be? That is the question.

And as in all things, there are two ways to choose anything. One way is to choose it, the other way is not to choose it. The key thing is not to allow yourself to be defined by default. If you think you're making no choice by making no choice, you're wrong, because not to choose is to choose. It is a choice not to choose.

And if you run your life this way the biggest choice you will ever make could be the choice you never made.

the bag lady

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:13:00 PDT

There is a bag lady who hangs around in Neutral Bay, all her worldly possessions in a supermarket trolley.

As I was sitting next to her having a smoke I turned to her and asked: "Why don't you just live in a house like everyone else?"

To which she replied "If I did that who would be here to let you see who you really are?"

putting time on our side

noreply@blogger.com (Ricardo) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:21:00 PDT

Daylight saving = when we get to play God by delaying the setting of the sun by one hour.

[Daylight Saving Time begins at 2am (AEST) on the first Sunday in October and ends at 2am (AEST) on the first Sunday in April]

rule number 6

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:42:00 PDT

Two prime ministers are sitting in a room discussing affairs of state.

Suddenly a man bursts in, apoplectic with fury, shouting and stamping and banging his fist on the desk. The resident prime minister admonishes him: "Peter," he says, "kindly remember Rule Number 6," whereupon Peter is instantly restored to complete calm, apologises, and withdraws.

The politicians return to their conversations, only to be interrupted yet again twenty minutes later by an hysterical woman gesticulating wildly, her hair flying. Again the intruder is greeted with the words: "Marie, please remember Rule Number 6." Complete calm descends once more, and she too withdraws with a bow and an apology.

When the scene is repeated for a third time, the visiting prime minister addresses his colleague: "My dear friend, I've seen many things in my life, but never anything as remarkable as this. Would you be willing to share with me the secret of Rule Number 6?"

"Very simple," replies the resident prime minister. "Rule Number 6 is 'Don't take yourself so fucking seriously'".

"Ah," says his visitor, "that is a fine rule." After a moment of pondering he enquires, "And what, may I ask, are the other rules?"

"There aren't any" replied the resident prime minister.

-- extract from The Art Of Possibility by Zander

the fool in YOU

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:31:00 PDT

learn to love the fool in you

the one who feels too much

the one who talks too much

the one who takes too many chances

the one who lacks self control

the one who loves and hates

the one who hurts and gets hurt

the one who promises and breaks promises

the one who laughs and cries

the fool in you

protects you from being a masterful tyrant

a control freak

and an arrogant prick

the fool in you

brings out your humility

keeps you real

and makes you alive

RUOK?

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 21:29:00 PDT

RUOK Day was this week.

Started by Gavin Larkin after his father committed suicide, RUOK Day is a reminder to all of us to ask someone we know who might be struggling with life, if they are OK?

While RUOK Day is a once a year event, asking someone if they are OK is not -- it's something we can and should do every day.

To me RUOK speaks to the power in each of us. When you understand that what most people really, really want is simply to feel good about themselves, and when you realize that with just a few well-chosen words [e.g. RUOK?] you can help virtually anyone on the planet instantly achieve this, you begin to realize just how simple life is, and how powerful you are.

Thanks Gavin, and thanks to all of you who show your care by asking the question 'RUOK?'

a brand called 'Charlie'

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:46:00 PDT

Now I know that everyone is not a Charlie Sheen fan, he can be a bit of a dick head from time to time, and he is quite 'blokey'. He does, however, have the most awesome brand = himself.

Charlie is the unequivocal, in your face, bad-ass kid who every other kid hates to love. His Linked In profile lists his job title as Winner At Life. His specialities = Tiger Blood Producer. Warlock Master. His Experience [1965-present] = Team Sheen [Entertainment Industry].

This is Charlie's appeal -- his magnetism -- his brand. And it 'works' because deep down inside every one of us there is a Charlie Sheen [a sleeping tiger within, as we vicariously live out our lives through Charlie's bravado].

That doesn't mean we all want to do the things Charlie Sheen does. It just means we all want to be a little more like 'Charlie'. Like Charlie, we all want to be own person, who does his own thing, in his own way. And if you don't like it, sucks to you! [and fuck you too]

There's a tweet going around that says "when I die I want Charlie's life to flash before my eyes".

My response to that tweet is "when I die I don't want Charlie's life to flash before my eyes". And I reckon that's what Charlie would want too.

the game of life

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Mail Account) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:29:00 PDT

There is a game we play called Monopoly.

Monopoly is a game about winning and losing; about making and breaking; about success and failure.

More than a board game made by Hasbro, Monopoly is the game of our lives. Monopoly is the game that causes shit to happen -- like 9/11.

Please look carefully at the cover of the box. And if the rules don't light up YOUR life, put it away, take out another game you like better, and play the new game.