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February 2018
- Feb 7, 2018 The End. Feb 7, 2018
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January 2018
- Jan 15, 2018 The best laid of schemes: Jan 15, 2018
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December 2017
- Dec 7, 2017 This broken body. Dec 7, 2017
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June 2017
- Jun 27, 2017 Tell me, dear master. Jun 27, 2017
- Jun 11, 2017 I used to be blind Jun 11, 2017
- Jun 2, 2017 The birds of Gifu Jun 2, 2017
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May 2017
- May 21, 2017 How would they react? May 21, 2017
- May 15, 2017 I forgive. May 15, 2017
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April 2017
- Apr 27, 2017 Fallen sakura. Apr 27, 2017
- Apr 24, 2017 I am not lucky. Apr 24, 2017
- Apr 11, 2017 They say I'm not smart. Apr 11, 2017
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March 2017
- Mar 24, 2017 Not long now. Mar 24, 2017
- Mar 20, 2017 Kanazawan tree. Mar 20, 2017
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February 2017
- Feb 22, 2017 To err. Feb 22, 2017
- Feb 15, 2017 My own bitterness. Feb 15, 2017
- Feb 8, 2017 Lay down your silence. Feb 8, 2017
- Feb 1, 2017 Okay: five minutes Feb 1, 2017
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January 2017
- Jan 25, 2017 A real mouse doesn't... Jan 25, 2017
- Jan 18, 2017 The mouse in the stream: Jan 18, 2017
- Jan 11, 2017 The closer we got. Jan 11, 2017
- Jan 4, 2017 That is it - enough! Jan 4, 2017
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December 2016
- Dec 28, 2016 Tightness of the head. Dec 28, 2016
- Dec 21, 2016 Good/bad. Fair/unfair. Dec 21, 2016
- Dec 14, 2016 I am not afraid. Dec 14, 2016
- Dec 7, 2016 Fragments of night sweats. Dec 7, 2016
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November 2016
- Nov 30, 2016 Dreams are a playground. Nov 30, 2016
- Nov 26, 2016 Go dare read our lives... Nov 26, 2016
- Nov 16, 2016 To own your own time. Nov 16, 2016
- Nov 9, 2016 In every case. Nov 9, 2016
- Nov 2, 2016 Regrets? Only one. Nov 2, 2016
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October 2016
- Oct 26, 2016 All this blind anger... Oct 26, 2016
- Oct 19, 2016 I may have my flaws - Oct 19, 2016
- Oct 12, 2016 If my one mistake. Oct 12, 2016
- Oct 5, 2016 Behind these young eyes. Oct 5, 2016
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September 2016
- Sep 28, 2016 Up ten thousand steps. Sep 28, 2016
- Sep 21, 2016 Look! They know no pain. Sep 21, 2016
- Sep 14, 2016 Principles? Sep 14, 2016
- Sep 7, 2016 I invoke my right. Sep 7, 2016
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August 2016
- Aug 31, 2016 Just jackals and sharks! Aug 31, 2016
- Aug 24, 2016 Grant me no free pass. Aug 24, 2016
- Aug 17, 2016 First signs of murder. Aug 17, 2016
- Aug 10, 2016 Curiosity. Aug 10, 2016
- Aug 3, 2016 I have said yes. Aug 3, 2016
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July 2016
- Jul 27, 2016 The world, everywhere sick. Jul 27, 2016
- Jul 20, 2016 In Nikko. Jul 20, 2016
- Jul 13, 2016 Tokyo, not one. Jul 13, 2016
- Jul 6, 2016 I cannot change... Jul 6, 2016
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June 2016
- Jun 29, 2016 No! I'll travel. Jun 29, 2016
- Jun 22, 2016 How many days lost? Jun 22, 2016
- Jun 15, 2016 One year. Jun 15, 2016
- Jun 8, 2016 I wander... Jun 8, 2016
- Jun 1, 2016 The news. Jun 1, 2016
Curiosity.
/I don't want MOR
Theirs is a pervading vision. A search for stability. For robustness and reliability. For the sameness of days.
Theirs is a search for more. For more of the same. And with greater regularity, ease and convenience.
The long plod of the middle of the road.
More Coldplay. More imitation Italian sausage. More health spas and house decorators and window shopping. More wine from countries they've never visited. More art without a message.
More safe choices. More safe choices.
MOR... is less.
Stability isn't always a virtue. It is homeostasis.
We sit, 72 monkeys in a speeding metal tube. A few droop-shouldered apes linger between the seats. There is the hustle of workday shoes at every stop.
72 monkeys, castrated. We castrate ourselves. We pretend that we're not sexual beings. That we don't have passions, and dreams, and a screaming fire to create. And to destruct. We wash it down with a white bread and cheese sandwich. We stare at the news and forget what we've read.
And... I've forgotten how to smell.
Some of us have adventurous genes. Maybe this leads us to unhappiness. A long aching for something that can never be fulfilled. But it's better to search the brambles at the side of the road for one chance berry. At least it keeps us from sleepwalking into oncoming traffic.
-R.
I have said yes.
/"No" is a four letter word.
As children we're taught that there are some words that we shouldn't say. Nice children say "yes", "please" and "thank you". Only in very rare circumstances is a polite refusal allowed.
In improv theatre, the utmost holy mantra is the concept of "yes, and...". Every improv game move is an offer to be embraced and built upon. Refusing someone's idea is a metaphoric slap in the face that will get you chased out of improv-town.
The art of refusal, is a lost art.
Every year I try to go one month without drinking alcohol. To many this might be a minor accomplishment, but: I'm from Glasgow. My Scottish liver does backflips that need at least weekly sedation. At the time of writing, I will have just ended a period of two months of alcohol abstention. As a special bonus, this year has been coupled with a stint of volitional celibacy.
Now, I can't take full credit this year for the alcohol part. A pesky thyroid and some Doomsday advice from of a couple of doctors were at least semi-responsible for that. But still I feel at least mildly proud.
My normal abstention month runs in the September-November timeframe. I've done it every year since 2010. I repeat it at this time of year to a) dry out my liver before Christmas and b) avoid the communal ease of attributing it to Lent.
This abstention isn't because of religious custom or because I believe that either alcohol or sex are bad, evil, or even best avoided for a happy and tranquil life. I enjoy alcohol. And I enjoy sex.
I do it because it's practice in saying no. The first two weeks of every abstinence period are always more challenging than I remember, and remind me of how often I do these actions without thinking. They are automatic responses; often due to stress or peer pressure. Or due to a lack of intimacy.
Alcohol becomes a Friday evening "reward" for a long week at work. Then it becomes a Wednesday evening reward for a tough day. Or a Tuesday evening reward for a difficult meeting. It becomes a polite acceptance to have "just one more" from a friend's fridge, when really I'd prefer a cup of fennel tea. It becomes the only way to feel comfortable in a bar.
Similarly, I crave sex the most when there's a lack of intimacy in my life. When I feel out of touch with myself or isolated from friends.
Again, I'm not hating on either alcohol or sex. When I'm in a good frame of mind, both can be an amazing compliment to life. But as trite as it sounds, relearning to say "no" helps me to reset the switch. And to put myself back in charge.
"No" is often portrayed as a challenge to authority. Or as a direct means to hurt someone else's feelings. But "no" is not a zero-sum game. The fact that one person doesn't participate or partake is not a threat to anyone else. Accepting all offers is a good way to live your life cleaning up after people. And to be unhappy. "No" is the sign of a healthy boundary. And maybe something we all need to say and hear a little more. We don't need to hear "yes" all the time from all the people.
So here's hoping you don't like this.
-R.