A poem by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day,
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains, and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sites!
You'll join the high fliers!
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to says so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lunch
wuth an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're dark.
A place that could sprain both elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you should go in,should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quaters? Or maybe not quite?
Or go around and back and sneak from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long and wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most usless place

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where boom bands are playing.

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not.
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, theres a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the whether be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though you arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike.
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many stray birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with you left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent garanteed!)

KID YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Alenn O'Shea
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So... get on your way!

Show me the Money!

I want to get rich cause I'm tired of being poor. Nothing original there, but lately the material bug has been nipping me in my sleep. I've tried being rich in character, but I'm finding the grind of my past choices have ground me into a grinchy, mildly nihilistic young-old man. I seem presently incapable of looking back on the past 10 years without regret of missed opportunities and wasted potential. That is no way to live and of course I will not dwell too deeply on past decisions, but in so much as they affect today I need to consider them. More importantly I need to consider now. What can I do now. Where can I go now. Do I need to go or do anything now?

Well, in considering what I am discontent with in my life I think some changes would be good, although most change needed is internal - my thought patterns, my clinging to what I think I want.

Step one, to recognize that what I thought I wanted in the past is what caused me to place these imaginary shackles on my life today, and thus to be more discerning between what I think I want and what I really want. It is surprising how difficult it is to tell the difference.

Secondly, I don't need to go anywhere or do anything, I am potentially complete within myself. The geography and decorations with which I adorn myself are only superficial in nature and do not add or take away from me beyond what credit I give them. Of course potential has a way of being missed so I need to be mindful of what value I place on the externals to my life. If I chase the externals too doggedly I take a giant risk of losing myself and missing the whole expereince of life because I am too busy chasing instead of expereincing/living it.

My life is composed of both the internal and external. The external is interpreted and experienced through the internal - body, mind, spirit. My perception defines life for me and so, if my perception (the internal)is poor or misdirected than my experience of the external will not be full and whole. In this sense, whether I am in paradise on earth or stuck in a dead-end city in Ontario is more of a matter of perception than geography.

Thinking just now, I need to recognize that the above is largely based on a spiritual/wholistic sense rather than the where and now of who I am. Inner freedom within the external is a place I have in the past dwelt and is certainly where I wish to dwell again, but the reality is that I have been bitten by the materialistic bug. And how did that happen? Because my perception has been pecked away by my attachment to financial security, family commitments/demands as they conflict with my professed dreams, goals, and interests. Clarification here, my attachment is to the desire for financial security in the context of my lack of financial security. Where once I rejoiced in my freedom from a 9-5 job I am now feeling the desire to be debt free, to be able to do what I want, when I want and so my sense of freedom has been lost to the new attachment - in fact I believe my sense of freedom is truly lost within my past attachment to freedom. I want to be free and am clinging to that want so tightly that I am defeating myself emotionally because the external is pushing against my sense of freedom. In short, I am not free to do what I want and so I am unhappy. How sad, that I can so bind myself with ropes I thought I had removed.

Step three - and this is tied to step one - recognize that I am not doing what I think I want to the extent that I am presently able. For example, while I cannot presently attend classes under the tutalage of my sifu, I could be practicing what I already know at home. I want to grow deeper in my practice, but curiously I am not practicing even what I know. So, if I am not doing the little that I can it is likely I will not apply myelf to greater opportunities if they arise, nor will I be prepared for them. Little steps will cross the distance as surely as a giant leap, just not as quickly. However, without a consistant application of little steps I will not have built up the strenght and endurance for a giant leap if opportunity presents itself. So, consistant application and discipline in the little things I can do now, with an unclinging eye to what/where I want to be later.

Step four - despite how I may see things when I am feeling discouraged my past is not wasted regardless of what it was. There are always things to build upon, and not all expereinces that felt bad at the time were in fact bad. Having changed directions from the pastoral track I am often guilty of looking upon my theologicaly based education as being essentially worthless now. However, what I need to do is accept that it contributed to my personal formation and to find out how it can be applied to my current situation and future goals. Education is only wasted if the educated has failed to learn how to think. There is a sense in which the content is less important than the process and the excersise of the mind.

Step five is essential to all other steps - discipline.