the great american slicing, dicing, chopping, mixing, churning, beating, whipping, melting pot

here is my brilliant idea:
everyone should be able to choose their culture. well, bits of their culture. for example, if you're born a french catholic and you want to celebrate mexican holidays and be adept in italian cooking and practice buddhism and live in an igloo, nothing is wrong with that. i think a lot of people's unhappiness comes from sticking with their family culture. things would be so much nicer if you could pick bits and pieces from other cultures just because you like them. there would be so much more variety that way, and everyone could pick exactly what they wanted to be. the idea of separation and race would fade away to make way for the concept of individuality and oneness. for example, if i got to pick i would eat only indian and french food and have a quinceanera instead of a bat mitzvah and wear brittish 60's clothing and join a gospel choir.

there will be a meeting at 81st street and lavender drive to discuss the rights of werewolves.

you know, weather is really something that brings people together. when its 95 degrees and humid, who cares what your skin looks like? all people want is to get cool. and if that means running through a fire hydrant spray with someone you don't know, so be it.
same thing with cold weather. if its negative 20 degrees and the guy next to you is freezing, you're going to give them your spare heat pack. and then you will end up chatting with him for a while.
extreme weather brings out not only our need to survive, but our need to help others survive. i think that's because its really the only bit of uncontrollable nature we have left, so we get a glimpse of the way we acted a thousand years ago.
at least that's my experience.

the obvious secret

i have decided that the key to happiness, or at least contentment, is to do what you want to do when you want to do it. if you're hungry, eat. don't wait until the designated eating time. if you're tired, sleep. if you're excited, dance. if you want to talk to someone, talk to them. just do what you want to do without following guidelines or rules.
not that there shouldn't be rules to what you do. if everyone got to do whatever they liked, a lot of us would end up in pretty bad shape. what i mean is that you shouldn't do something simple because you feel obligated. do not be a slave to time.
time is unreal. time is something we made to organize ourselves. organization is not what is necessary to be happy. what is necessary to be happy is simply doing what you want to do. its ridiculously simple, but it works.

the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls

theres a type of graffiti that i like to call "public service graffiti". its the type of graffiti that says something clever, or is a really beautiful picture or design. i think that the world would be so much of a better place if everything was covered with art. if people were all trained in the skills of expression through imagery, and if every surface possible was covered with messages conveyed through their images. if the whole world was an art gallery. i think that that is what the real purpose of graffiti should be.
here are some amazing paintings by street artist banksy, of whom i am a huge fan.

the tao is like a stone, not a diamond.

she could see colors and light everywhere she looked-beautiful shapes and mystical symbols clouding her vision. when she looked through, she could see the world shifting and multiplying and shimmering with color and energy. and so she walked around all the time like this, seeing everything that was meant to be hidden, sensing auras and hidden energies.
and then one day she stopped looking through. and she saw only the simple stone wall in front of her, dripping with curly green vines. no light or energy or rainbows or auras at all.
and yet...
and yet it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.