we die because we were born

Taylor Marie McCormick

breathe james breathe

breath is life

like the cactus flower that lives just one day

we are moving toward death with every second that passes

we do not die because of illness or violence or old age

we die because we were born

breath is life

every breath

-james lee jobe

***

Once we see that we are not solo improv stand-up players but rather members of a vast improv collective, we can recognize that the only way that I can succeed is if we succeed. 

-Jay Garfield, “Learning to Live Without a Self”

a clear mind in life    a clear mind at death

and in between I will love the earth below me

and the sky above me

I will love that water brings life

and that kindness heals the troubled soul

at night when I lay my body down

I will do my best to forgive people their slights

and hope that I am worthy of forgiveness

for my own slights

-james lee jobe

***

It's easy to have calmness in inactivity, and hard to have calmness in activity, but calmness in activity is true calmness.

-Shunryu Suzuki

Photograper Unknown

you close your eyes and the world is nothing   darkness is all

with your eyes closed you can feel your way through

you plug your ears with wax and life is silent    silence is all

a dull hum    without the use of hearing you learn to smell

you could stop thinking for yourself and simply react

this can be both a blessing and a curse

be careful    you live with the choices you make

and you'll never know which day is your last

-james lee jobe

***

If we can accept our imperfections as they are, then we can use them as part of the path. 

-Chogyam Trungpa

Photographer, ummm, me

those mornings in winter

when the mist of fog covers the sacramento valley

the early hours that pass like words between friends

the harvest is done

empty fields shrouded with the mist

-james lee jobe 

***

I don't know whether my life has been a success or a failure. But not having any anxiety about becoming one instead of the other, and just taking things as they come along, I've had a lot of extra time to enjoy life.

-Harpo Marx (Groucho gets quoted a lot, but Harpo? He was cool, too.)

Arthur "Harpo" Marx, 1888-1964

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James