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Then & Now

www.thegateless.org

Then & Now

11/19/2022

Con/Jur/d
Nov 19, 2022
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A mere three years ago
I was captivated by light — why does it seem impossible now?

(HER

E)

We all have passed through a portal in the intervening years
What’s on the other side feels a bit dystopian
I know — I know — “As you return/Remember/Choose beauty — so you define ugly/Select good — so you create evil/As you choose your joy — so you design your sorrow” Tim Leary “Psychedelic Prayers”
We adapt easily — sometimes we forget how beautiful it was / is / can be
Don’t let your ability to adapt change your perceptions of beauty
or confuse you into thinking this is all there is
“Reich created the term character armor — He meant that we all have coping patterns – stylistic character defenses that we develop throughout our life, usually starting before we can think or talk” — “The original word for suffering is dukkha — often expressed as a wheel with its axle out of kilter”
Like you — when I say you — I usually mean me — the me that is we

the me that is we

Much love,

Con/Jur/d, 11/19/2022

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a merry blaze
Nov 19, 2022Liked by Con/Jur/d

In art school my comrades always said 'cheat to win'... xD

my dad taught me, by example, to always find the present to be the best time of his life-- he really believes it, no matter how many times he has claimed to be having the best time of his life-- so I try to use that adaptability in my favor, try to see how right now is absolutely perfect and how I never could have imagined how good it would feel to be here, but-- miracle of miracles-- here I am.

Perhaps even better: it's 'good enough', a concept I have finally realized has an even greater application than 'perfection', which will always be my obsession, but also a distraction-- from 'good enough', which actually requires quite a bit of precision to identify and execute...

Is the painting done? Yes, it's 'good enough', and in retrospect, given enough distance, finally I am able to see that I had achieved perfection, it was only the desire to keep going, while refusing to let go, that caused me to tear it up and remake it so many times instead of saying 'right, good enough' and then moving onto the next vine.

Monkey medicine... when to hold on, when to let go. Keep up the momentum through the jungle. It's okay to always want that next fruit or that next laugh. But you won't get there if you're holding onto the empty branch...

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