Of What's Around You

Things can be great examples,
Of what to and not to do,
Especially when taken from media,
Like TV and You Tube,

And news reports from any source,
As long as the example comes from a view,
That doesn't conflict with the perspective,
Already held by you,

And those around you, because unless you are,
Held captive against your will,
You will surround yourself with like-minded people,
Whose opinions help to instill,

That it's alright,
Believing what you do,
Especially when there's enough choice out there,
That you can ignore what doesn't appeal to you.

It's Not Always Refreshing

When your season comes a-calling,
In which all around you grows,
And the culmination of it all just proves,
How little your body goes,

To reach the heights that the world offers,
Both in what you can do and what you think,
Whether you blame the seed that gave you life,
Or the ground from which you drink,

Or the air that served to sufficate you,
Because it lacked the food with which to strive,
Those around you are on the same earth,
And use the same elements to survive.

And it's not alright,
To soothe yourself to say,
"If I look hard, I am just as robust".
Those are just words of escape.

You're Not Alone

Just because you're the most educated,
Doesn't mean you've the most independent mind,
In fact, chances are you are a good example,
Of the most mediocre kind,

Of human created by this system,
And it's not to say,
That those who've escaped are good humans either,
Because they're, in their own way,

Products whose destiny is to deceive,
To bring about their own ends.
And if you think living life with only love is gay,
You've your own deviance,

Making it alright,
That people live in fear and anxiety.
Is this really what should have become,
Of humanity?

Don't Stop

If you get to a point,
Where you actually know,
When you meet someone,
That they have a long way to go,

Before they get,
What you already have,
Then you've grown, my friend,
At last.

But before you start thinking,
That you have it all,
Don't forget you have a long way to go,
And keep your eye on the ball,

Because to be alright,
You have to stay on your toes,
Not like those other has-beens,
Who think they know it all.

Ariving At

The moment of great inertia,
Is the one of all moments,
That threatens to take over your life,
And show you what idle hands meant,

When they turned themselves over to you-know-who.
Not to say that they're the same thing.
In one you're makiing no contribution,
And the other, at least you're doing something.

That's one thing at a certain age,
And quite something else at another time,
What joy if one could simply press a button,
To randomly define,

What's alright,
And what should never be,
Like the nature of those moments,
Spoken of previously.

If You Want

To do the things you used to,
When you were someone else,
In someone else's body,
With a different sense of self,

And of where you're going, because at this time,
You've certainly ended up somewhere else,
Than where you thought you'd be at this time,
No matter what you tell yourself,

And to think of where you might be,
If you had done things like someone else,
As if there were choices other than you made,
Possible for someone other than yourself,

Is alright,
If you're someone else,
But, if you're the person you have always been,
You better stick with yourself.

Don't Worry

If you're wondering, 'What if?'
As if there's something you should have done,
Earlier in your life,
To give your life more completion,

Instead of just musing,
About life, itself,
In the context of observing that,
You still could have ended needing help,

Then you are not really living, at all,
Because you're ignoring the fact,
That every moment you choose a path,
And you can never look back.

But you're alright,
And certainly not alone.
Look around at all the lonely people,
And you'll feel right at home

Be Prepared For When

There are things that will happen,
That don't necessarily mean,
That it's the end of the world as you know it,
But they're things you've never seen,

And that will demand you reinterpret,
What you thought you knew about reality.
They're not magical or extra terrestrial,
They're just moments of clarity,

About why society is the way it is,
Not meaning some underlining conspiracy,
For nothing's ever done in secrecy,
That is done consciously.

And it's alright,
The realization doesn't mean,
There's anything you actually have to do.
Why change the way things have always been?

Ask Yourself

How do you get the best,
From any given one?
How do you get even better than the best,
When the best's only a smidgen,

Of what you need to get the job done?
Is there an untapped source in all of us,
Of incredible understanding and capability,
Waiting in the darkness?

Or is each of us just suited for one thing?
In that case, fascism be damned,
Let's use psychology to pigeon-hole,
And science to predetermine.

'Cause what's alright,
Letting things get half-assed done,
To give everyone an opportunity,
Or feeding everyone?

You Haven't Lived

If you don't have regrets,
You haven't lived,
You haven't tried something for the first time,
And learned more about what's within,

You haven't had desires that couldn't be fulfilled,
Which amounts to no desire at all,
Or no life, for consciousness demands,
That you've experienced dual,

Perspectives on at least one thing,
And that's to want and to not get.
There is no other kind of relationship,
That I've seen exist, yet.

And it's alright,
If you say, you've no regrets.
You're putting on a good show,
But your far away look can still be read.

Ever Notice

Things don't always work out,
As you planned they would.
isn't that the understatement of the year?
If not, then it should.

If not, then why is unhappiness so rampant,
And why is happiness so short,
And why is life so unpredictable?
And if it's not, what sort,

Of human are you that you don't experience,
The human condition?
Plans fall thrpugh so often for the rest of us,
It's like the effin' human definition.

Oh, right, it's alright,
There are a few who get just what they want,
But they only exist as ideals for the rest to strive for.
They may as well just be robots.

You Might Think

Some things aren't worth it,
In fact, probably most,
If you consider all the sweat that's shed,
For the most useless host,

Of material rewards purchased with money,
Which isn't even real.
"Oh, here we go again with some hippy shit,
About how we all must feel,

Happy with what we have, and want no more!
Well, that's just not the way it is.
The structure of the world is now about things,
No matter what you wish."

Hey, it's alright,
All I was going to say,
Was you better train your focus on the biggest prize,
And not let it stray.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Positive attitudes are real downers,
That's what everyone thinks,
Because somehow they think it's somekind of escape,
As if there is no real link,

Between real reality and happiness,
Because no one knows enough,
About the stuff that gave us existence,
Or make us up.

Though somehow cynicism is merited,
As if it's the only conclusion,
Once you realize there's no way to know,
Your soul's true composition.

Oh, it's alright,
Be whatever you want,
Whatever you consider quality of life,
It can't be taught.

You're Alone

In some ways you can't avoid,
Being either duped or the duper,
In on the joke or the butt of it,
Lacking confidence or being too sure.

And each position has its friends,
And its enemies, to be sure.
But which side you prefer to be on,
You only realize once you've matured.

And once the realization has been made,
You're either anxious or relieved,
Ready to make the most of it,
Or simply peeved,

That you're alright,
That you fall on a side,
Because everyone loves to be loved by everyone,
And life simply won't abide.

You Have to Understand That

There is something,
Everybody dreads,
Whether a type of person in life,
Or a specific one who's dead,

Because humans are unpredictable sorts,
Even though they all share,
The same uncertainty about why,
They are exactly here.

But that knowledge of their unknowns,
May be just the trick,
For helping you to deal with those who make you,
Feel like a little prick.

And it's alright,
If that is really, really hard.
No one hasn't had to deal with the hardships of,
Being faced with life's cards.

Have You Ever Wondered

If there is really a god,
Buried deep inside of you,
Embedded in the egg that was finally found,
By your daddy's sperm,

Or in the sperm itself, or in both,
So that when you were finally born,
Or even to entertain you in the womb,
With some etherial form,

That grows just like your fingers and toes,
In reaction to your environment,
So that its clothed with your experiences,
What could have its creation meant?

Maybe, so you're alright,
Once you're faced with self-consciousness,
Just like, once you start walking,
You discover your balance.

Surprisingly

There are those who say education,
In its present structure,
Was devised to control the populous,
To support Capitalism's future,

That it is no secret that there are those who believe,
That Darwin's evolutionary observations,
Can be artificially mirrored by mating strong humans,
And so, somehow create perfection.

But our ideals are so far from ideal,
And our judgement has so far proven flawed,
So, that we could deem what are the most advantageous traits,
Is a notion that should leave you awed.

And it's alright,
The irony of the whole thing is,
That evolution's bigger than anyone here,
And will ultimately rule, regardless.

When Dealing

With all the problems in the world,
Why to you come to me with this?
If you really want to solve this one,
You've already missed,

The point and are focusing on one,
That is further up the chain,
And will have hardly any affect,
Given the ultimate aim,

Of solving all problems, and I know what you're thinking,
'How could you possibly do that?
Especially when as you eliminate one,
Fifty thousand come right back.'

But it's alright,
Think about it for a little bit:
The fewer problems you acknowledge,
The fewer that actually exist.

Didn't You Know That

There comes a moment in everybody's life,
Well, there comes quite a few,
And each one has the potential to,
Change you,

In fact, each one does,
Because moments are all any of us are,
And it only takes one to realize it,
And another to make like a dinosaur,

And become extinct from another moment,
That sends hot lava and ash into the sky.
Though, since moments exist out of time,
Do any of us actually ever die?

And it's alright,
All of this is just to say,
Take every moment as it comes, without fear,
For life is useless any other way.

Let Me Know

The things that you really cherish,
That only ever did exist,
For the briefest moment in your head,
Is neither gone or missed,

Or any less real than the deepest moment,
Or the oldest formation on earth,
Or death and destruction, as it often happens,
Or the miracle of birth.

The only mitigation of anything,
Is in proportion to,
How few people have given it existence,
By learning it from you.

And it's alright,
It's gotta be,
That some of the things most real to you,
Are purely nonexistent to me.

Stop to Consider

When you're thinking of what could have been,
Make sure to include,
All those possibilities that would have destroyed you,
Along with the good,

Things that could have happened should you have followed,
Some other path,
Because you never know what leads to disaster.
Then be happy where you are at.

And when you're stifled by a particularly,
Difficult decision,
Ponder the fact that if you had crossed the road any sooner,
You might have been in a collision.

And it's alright,
If this seems a cop-out for running your life.
Go ahead and be obsessed with what-ifs,
And see if you're left with anymore might.

Ask Yourself

So what, if you lose everything,
You've ever fought for?
What you must ask yourself is, what do you have left,
And how can you get more?

And the answer is to let go,
Because holding on is not how you first got,
What you've now lost, so stick with what works,
Because, others don't really care a lot,

Becasue they have their own things to hang onto,
And have worked for them as hard as you.
But if you support them as you rebuild,
They will support you, too.

And it's alright,
If you lose some face on the way,
The best is to just put on a new one,
And just throw the old one away.

Try Embracing

The temptation to let it all go,
And start from a clean slate,
Is only tempered by the acknowledgement,
That it is not an easier way,

And that temptation, in the first place,
Is certainly laziness to the extreme,
So why you think you'd work harder from the beginning,
Is a mystery to me.

But there's something to be said for,
Not carrying the baggage that you accumulate,
Your first stab at life and how you want to live.
To start again is to escape fate.

But it's alright,
To take another tack.
How about simply doing what you want,
And simply don't look back?

You'll Get Farther

The more you learn about this world,
The more you'll be amazed,
At how that knowledge interfaces,
With what you see everyday.

And some people will call that coincidence,
And infuse it with an aura of fate,
But just like you think everyone's got a ring once you're married,
You're just beginning to relate,

To things you never noticed before,
Simply because you were not in the know.
So the more you recognize things in this world,
The farther you will go.

And it's alright,
If you're not interested in enriching,
Your understanding and empathy with others.
We can't all be improving.

One

Can't spend too much time,
Doing what you want.
What would people think, while they are doing,
What they must?

What would people think, when time should be spent,
Supporting the system in which we live,
And doing those things for society, like work for our money,
And then give,

It back to the government so that it can,
Squander it.
I don't mean to paint all politicians with the same brush,
The beaurocrats are also included.

But it's alright,
There are those who break the mold,
And do whatever they want.
But they still need those who do what they're told.

Despair

Just as a moment can last a lifetime,
A lifetime can go by fast,
And the speed depends on how often,
You reflect on the last,

Moment that you had,
That was worth the memory,
And ideally that moment's happeining now,
Because that slows down the speed,

And if you can move that last moment,
To the one coming up,
Then your life will never end,
Because that moment will never come.

Because, to be alright,
With where you're at in your life,
You need to forget want you want,
And cut demands like a knife.

What If

You could spend a life,
Trying to figure it out,
Without ever doing any of the things,
You thought you'd be all about,

And you thought you could excell at.
But, you know what some people say:
You live the first part of your life thinking you will succeed,
And the last half thinking of a way,

To make back the time lost,
Not going about things right.
How many times have you thought, 'what if,'
While you couldn't sleep at night?

And it's alright,
You can always distract yourself,
With doing things that don't mean much,
Just to maintain your mental health.

Too Much?

Try to keep up with the demands,
Of your daily maintenance,
From all the sectors of your daily life,
From bedroom to kitchen,

From kids to work, from friends to repairs,
To satisfying the government's,
Demand that you account for all you've made,
And give it its stipend,

From friends to family, from heart to soul,
From the environment to injustice,
From helping others to helping yourself,
When overwhelmed by this list's immenseness,

And you wonder if you're alright,
Or even what is there,
If you strip away all of these things,
And try to live without a care.