Admit It And Change Everything

Admit It And Change Everything
by: Rumi

Define and narrow me, you starve yourself of yourself.
Nail me down in a box of cold words, that box is your coffin.
I do not know who I am.
I am in astounded lucid confusion.

I am not a Christian, I am not a Jew, I am not a Zoroastrian,
And I am not even a Muslim.
I do not belong to the land, or to any known or unknown sea.
Nature cannot own or claim me, nor can heaven,

Nor can India, China, Bulgaria,
My birthplace is placelessness,
My sign to have and give no sign.
You say you see my mouth, ears, eyes, nose - they are not mine.

I am the life of life.
I am that cat, this stone, no one.
I have thrown duality away like an old dishrag,
I see and know all times and worlds,

As one, one, always one.
So what do I have to do to get you to admit who is speaking?
Admit it and change everything!
This is your own voice echoing off the walls of God.

50/50

The right balance and timing of comedy and drama. I saw a special screening of it last night and it is a must see. The actors - Seth Rogen & Joseph Gordon-Levitt - are perfect for their roles. Bring some Kleenex. A summary in one sentence from IMDB.com:

A comedic account of a 27-year-old guy's cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.

Running

In addition to being a health benefit, another motivation for running is the change of perspective. Although I have been in Raleigh for the majority of my life, driving everywhere and driving through the same roads many times over, I always see something new when I run the same path instead. The experience of "new" sights didn't really become evident until I started living downtown.

There are a few roadway characteristics native to all downtown urban areas: the roads become more narrow, the drivers seemingly become more aggressive (crazy would also apply here), a confusing-simple grid-like design, one way traffic flows, and abrupt pedestrian crossings. Oh and naturally, with increased population density comes increased "car density". So, with all these factors keeping all of your flight-or-fight senses occupied, it's no surprise that certain visual details are missed completely.

Substituting legs for wheels and eyes for rear-view mirrors, I've discovered a whole new downtown; I feel like some sort of explorer or adventurer when I go running. Apparently there is a public library downtown, which will be shut down in a few months due to lack of patronage (Hmmm, I wonder why?). I've discovered new food venues and being on-location is definitely much better than Google or Yelp. When I come across a cute puppy, I can actually pet it for a few seconds instead of stare at it from my car with my foot gently depressing on the brakes to slow the car and therefore prolonging my visual candy. Further, the landscape just changes with the simple act of standing instead of sitting driving by in the car.

So, one weekend, free yourself from the constraints of a car and use those legs.

If

If
By: Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!