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  <id>tag:dreamwidth.org,2013-05-12:2014669</id>
  <title>Journey to Ixtlan</title>
  <subtitle>(are we there yet?)</subtitle>
  <author>
    <name>kokopelle</name>
  </author>
  <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://kokopelle.dreamwidth.org/"/>
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  <updated>2015-03-04T04:39:33Z</updated>
  <dw:journal username="kokopelle" type="personal"/>
  <entry>
    <id>tag:dreamwidth.org,2013-05-12:2014669:503769</id>
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    <title>Poem - Just Me</title>
    <published>2015-03-04T03:21:42Z</published>
    <updated>2015-03-04T04:39:33Z</updated>
    <category term="things"/>
    <category term="poem"/>
    <category term="poetry"/>
    <category term="god"/>
    <category term="self"/>
    <dw:mood>contemplative</dw:mood>
    <dw:security>public</dw:security>
    <dw:reply-count>0</dw:reply-count>
    <content type="html">I watched Jason Statham in the 2013 “Redemption”.  One of the films characters, a nun, remarks “I use God as an excuse not to look at myself”.  Heavy stuff.  The poem “Just Me” was inspired by this thought.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Just Me&lt;br /&gt;Poem for Day 062 – 20150303&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Where can I hide&lt;br /&gt;from a world I disbelieve?&lt;br /&gt;Submerge myself fully in &lt;br /&gt;life's best retreats!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Throw I some religion,&lt;br /&gt;heavy with guilt transmitted.&lt;br /&gt;Laden on the belongings,&lt;br /&gt;shiny toys most beloved.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now I only know burden,&lt;br /&gt;oppression of the heart.&lt;br /&gt;Distracted by bangles,&lt;br /&gt;too many to be counted.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pledge my soul to the heavens,&lt;br /&gt;burn the sage on the hearth.&lt;br /&gt;Build the stack of belongings,&lt;br /&gt;to the sky it will climb.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The more I raise up the holy,&lt;br /&gt;the shallower it becomes.&lt;br /&gt;Treasure of the kings,&lt;br /&gt;dust blown by the wind.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Who are the shadows&lt;br /&gt;to whom I'm pledged?&lt;br /&gt;Rust and tatters remain&lt;br /&gt;of treasures put aside.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Support is a wonderful thing&lt;br /&gt;But it is not me, not me at all!&lt;br /&gt;Don’t need no god &lt;br /&gt;Don’t need no things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Strip away the divine,&lt;br /&gt;Strip away precious things&lt;br /&gt;What do I have left?&lt;br /&gt;Just me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;© 2015. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=kokopelle&amp;ditemid=503769" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/&gt; comments</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>tag:dreamwidth.org,2013-05-12:2014669:499443</id>
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    <title>Poem - Bones in Boxes</title>
    <published>2015-02-18T21:40:24Z</published>
    <updated>2015-02-18T21:40:24Z</updated>
    <category term="poem"/>
    <category term="stuff"/>
    <category term="things"/>
    <category term="burden"/>
    <dw:mood>contemplative</dw:mood>
    <dw:security>public</dw:security>
    <dw:reply-count>0</dw:reply-count>
    <content type="html">I personally struggle with getting rid of things.  This does not go well with my past affliction: retail therapy.  I’ve gone cold-turkey from the latter, but I still struggle with having stuff I don’t need.  The poem “Bones in Boxes” is a reminder to myself of the work I’ve yet to do.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bones in Boxes&lt;br /&gt;Poem for Day 048 – 20150218&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bones in boxes, ashes in urns,&lt;br /&gt;dust in my mouth, what have I earned?&lt;br /&gt;I have so many possessions,&lt;br /&gt;yet I still feel empty inside.&lt;br /&gt;Where is the contest I saw?&lt;br /&gt;Only a grasping illusion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Step one, stop getting ever more.&lt;br /&gt;Draw the line at the today’s treasures.&lt;br /&gt;So large the pile, heap no more on.&lt;br /&gt;Step two, bid things a fond fare well.&lt;br /&gt;Goodbye gains of shopping therapy.&lt;br /&gt;No longer needed, bid adieu.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I’ve earned my overdue forgiveness.&lt;br /&gt;It is time to heal and move on.&lt;br /&gt;I will have needed possessions,&lt;br /&gt;they will not own my human soul.&lt;br /&gt;No contest at hand, none to see.&lt;br /&gt;Only a chance to be free.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;© 2015. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=kokopelle&amp;ditemid=499443" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/&gt; comments</content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <id>tag:dreamwidth.org,2013-05-12:2014669:388414</id>
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    <title>Zero to Sixty</title>
    <published>2014-01-18T15:12:25Z</published>
    <updated>2014-01-18T15:12:25Z</updated>
    <category term="things"/>
    <dw:mood>contemplative</dw:mood>
    <dw:security>public</dw:security>
    <dw:reply-count>0</dw:reply-count>
    <content type="html">The thing about choosing to live is that there is just SO MUCH TO DO.  Getting older doesn't help, given all the accompanying aches and pains.  There is a joke that goes something like this... when I was young all I wanted to do on the weekend was party, now I just want a good night's sleep.  The trap that I need to avoid is the "coulda woulda shoulda" lure.  I could do this, would do that, and should do it all.  While this mantra can be motivating, it can also dispirit a person who just wants to move forward and be productive.  The answer?  I'm not sure.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=kokopelle&amp;ditemid=388414" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/&gt; comments</content>
  </entry>
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