Reality

Science suggests that we can only see 10% of all the matter in our Universe. Matter is all the "stuff" that makes up our world, which includes liquids, gases and solids - The Universe contains 90% more "stuff" than we've discovered (called Dark Matter).

Reality is bigger than we can imagine. Even when we're trying to open our minds and look at the big picture I'm sure we're only seeing a fraction of what's out there and of what's possible.

Maybe animals really can talk. Maybe things like telepathy, intuition, psychics and hypnosis really do exist. Maybe God is sitting right next to me. Maybe there are such things as ghosts or alternate universes or magic. Maybe there used to be dragons in the time of the dinosaurs.

Maybe not. There's no proof for any of those things. But we're never going to discover the things we're missing if we dismiss ideas too quickly and limit ourselves to the status quo of common perceptions.

No Handlebars

Lyrics to Handlebars (Flobots)--
I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

Look at me, look at me
hands in the air like it's good to be
ALIVE
and I'm a famous rapper
even when the paths're all crookedy
I can show you how to do-si-do
I can show you how to scratch a record
I can take apart the remote control
And I can almost put it back together
I can tie a knot in a cherry stem
I can tell you about Leif Ericson
I know all the words to "De Colores"
And "I'm Proud to be an American"
Me and my friend saw a platypus
Me and my friend made a comic book
And guess how long it took
I can do anything that I want cuz, look:

I can keep rhythm with no metronome
No metronome
No metronome

I can see your face on the telephone
On the telephone
On the telephone

Look at me
Look at me
Just called to say that it's good to be
ALIVE
In such a small world
All curled up with a book to read
I can make money open up a thrift store
I can make a living off a magazine
I can design an engine sixty four
Miles to a gallon of gasoline
I can make new antibiotics
I can make computers survive aquatic conditions
I know how to run a business
And I can make you wanna buy a product
Movers shakers and producers
Me and my friends understand the future
I see the strings that control the systems
I can do anything with no assistance
I can lead a nation with a microphone
With a microphone
With a microphone
I can split the atoms of a molecule
Of a molecule
Of a molecule

Look at me
Look at me
Driving and I won't stop
And it feels so good to be
Alive and on top
My reach is global
My tower secure
My cause is noble
My power is pure
I can hand out a million vaccinations
Or let'em all die in exasperation
Have'em all healed of their lacerations
Have'em all killed by assassination
I can make anybody go to prison
Just because I don't like'em and
I can do anything with no permission
I have it all under my command
I can guide a missile by satellite
By satellite
By satellite
and I can hit a target through a telescope
Through a telescope
Through a telescope
and I can end the planet in a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handle bars
No handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

The "What", Not The "How"

"I have a great idea for a story..."

"Oh yeah? How the hell are you going to write this story? How could a 20-year-old female possibly know what an 80 year old blind man feels like when he's bitten by a lemur?"

"Um...
So hey, I have a great idea for a story."


Dreams and goals are made of "Whats". Obstacles and deterrents are made of "Hows". It's easy to get bogged down in the technicalities (the "hows") and forget to keep looking at the big picture; the future; your biggest goals and dreams; the "What's" that you really want. It's hard to keep going.
Shoulder Devil says: "You've already worked hard. You've gotten this far. You could just settle with getting by. You'll survive if you never know what it feels like to be bitten by a lemur once you're an 80 year old blind man."

But... that would be boring.
(NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN ACTUAL STORY IDEA, NOR DO I PLAN ON GETTING A SEX CHANGE BEFORE I TURN 80)

But if I want to write a story about a transgendered geriatric with a love of lemurs, there's absolutely nothing standing in my way that I can't overcome. No matter what I choose, society will have it's perceptions: You're insane. You're weird. You're obsessed with lemurs. How do I overcome these obstacles? I don't. I keep my eyes on the "What", ignore the "How", and the world will deal with it.


"I'm going to be with my boyfriend again..."
"How are you planning on supporting yourself in a different country?"
"... And we're going to go to the zoo and find a lemur and..."

"Whatever happens, make it your decision"

Life sucks, if you let it. But there are always two aspects to life - the sucky stuff and the fantastic stuff. Sometimes I need to hunt to find the fantastic stuff (whilst being bombarded by sucky stuff) but my mind-set is my decision, and I've made the decision to pull myself up and keep hunting. Even though:
My boyfriend just left the country
I don't know how to accomplish my dreams
I'm still learning to balance my time and energy

The flipside:
I have time to write today
All I need is patience and time and everything will work out
It's sunny! And I'm going to eat some vegetables =)

When I'm riding a tricky horse, lots of times things happen that are outside my control. The horse decides to gallop when I'd been planning on an easy trot; or stops dead; or decides to veer left instead of right around that pole. The best advice I heard was:

"Whatever happens, make it your decision."

Roll with it; reassess the situation; be willing to adapt and, most of all, keep moving forward.