danscreativeoulet

To make this world work, it takes all different kinds We all have different tastes, different strengths, different minds — Kimya Dawson Oolong and Rooibos At a hostel in Seattle, I signed up for the city tour led by one of the hostel workers.

An unexpected knock came at our door on Father’s Day.

In college and med school, I’d check out hundreds of library books.

“Because my eyes are not yet accustomed to the desert,” the boy said.

When I look back at a period of my life and think to myself: “I spent my time well,” then I’m filled with a sense of meaning.

Universe bloom We are small in time and space But how to see it How to really feel it?

No different from the banana tree Streaks of grey in my hair Wrinkes on my face Chips in my teeth Turning yellow Planted a banana tree And now, a year later, it's dead But dozens of keiki Are growing All around I used to lament The wrinkles and the grey T…

What if mountain goat Took a note From Sapien And strove towards The magazine cover?

sex makes me think of the stars surrounding our pale blue planet in all directions sex makes me think of the lonely possibility that another pair of eyes will grow up here gazing out at it all

The arrow of your life is not locked, yet Thoughts within your mind still freely swim The key to make you speed has not been turned, yet You look up at the tall plants as a seed You have not been pressure-packed and shipped, yet

While paddleboarding in the ocean today, a metaphor came to mind.

"I'm having a lot of forgetfulness.

A typical Tuesday night at An Beal After driving home from work in New Jersey back to the Bronx, I would often feel an impulse to go hang out at An Beal Bocht, our neighborhood Irish Pub.

Just as the camera lens puts the focus on the orange flower in this photo, a mental lens puts the focus on one aspect of reality or another It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but…

Yesterday, I finished reading the book Strange Rites which makes the case that there are lots of new secular religions cropping up in America.

Indra’s net, one of my metaphors. image source In the book Metaphors We Live By, the author George Lakoff makes the case that humans best understand abstract ideas through physical metaphors.

I recently have been learning about the TESCREAL bundle of philosophies, having, myself, partaken in at least 3 of them: transhumanism (through the anti-aging scene of Aubrey DeGrey), rationalism, and effective altruism.

The metaphors we live by are significant, consequential.

I think one of the nice things about animals is that they’re unapologetically themselves.

Parables are stories that contain within them a philosophy of life, a worldview.

I was talking to a friend yesterday who remarked that if she only had 15 years left to live, she’d choose depth over expansion.

The only way to know what you like is through experience.

I listened to a podcast yesterday where two former addicts were discussing how self-love was so hard.

I’ve mused about my definition of spirituality a bunch on this blog.

Here’s my minimal and intuitive “annual post-it note” — the things I want to focus on in 2025: Theme for the year: Make my decisions right Intentions for 2025: — Practice noticing — Use my toolbox — Open up to newness, do something — Move all the time, not

Everything is a tool. — Mark Manson Or: every practice, lens, philosophy is a tool in the toolbox of life.

In response to my recent post about death, a friend said, “Our ego’s hope for a grandiose legacy isn’t what we’re here to do.

“What’s wrong with pleasure?”

I’ve been thinking, of late, about who will show up to my funeral.

In our plane coming back from Japan, this video played for all the passengers: To me, this video emphasized working together towards a common good.

The wedding band Hangs with the keys In my keyring I put it there So I wouldn't lose it During my swim in the ocean This little action Weaving it into the keyring Weaving it out Putting it back On my finger again Is symbolic Of the fact: A big part of life

Yesterday I had a new kind of thought A new kind of feeling I approached the car and Realized that my keys Were back in the locker room My feet started to run Nervous system Going into high gear I slowed back down The new thing came over me: If I lose my…

Yesterday, I mailed a gift to my parents by boat.

Jack Gilbert Would not have Wasted the experience Of peeling the clementine Strands delicate and white breaking As flesh separates from carapace He would not have wasted The sensuality Of exploding droplets Citrus fresh Aerosol fireworks Did it matter That

A year and a half ago, I fell from the top of a 20-foot bouldering wall onto a foam mat.

Clowning with my grandma and brother, one day shy of her 95th birthday It’s been a year and a half since I delved into the world of clowning.

You must invent your own religion, or else it will mean nothing to you.

The gray sky I used to think Was just the grey sky The winter cold Just the winter cold But as I bite into an apple This October I see that in order For this apple to be The grey sky And winter cold Must be, Too

Right now Wonder wander is happening Nicole is going to NYC And I'm drinking tea Doing none of the above Pursuing the social, novel and exciting To the exclusion of rest Leads to burnout An overstuffed sandwich The movie is always playing Learn to take br…

One day shy of 95 My grandma Fell ill I held her, thready pulse Do you want to go to the hospital?

On a plane yesterday, I read most of the book 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman.

Getting Married!

I’ve been in some mental prisons chronically for the past years, decades.

The sine wave of life goes up and down.

Yesterday morning, my friend Ethan was reflecting on a perspective he used to have for life: “Live a good story.”

‘Cause it’s getting kind of quiet in my city head It takes a teenage riot to get me out of bed right now –Sonic Youth, Teenage Riot A few years back, I went to Wonder Wander, a gathering of people who I hadn’t met before.

A very rough emotional plot of the bands that have made me, me.

I have this tendency to judge myself harshly for “not doing enough.”

All the world is a very narrow bridge / the important thing is not to make oneself afraid.

What happens when you see That the water in the tea You are drinking Was once a cloud What happens when you see The soil that Your urine flows into Will feed a tree?