Let me tell you the truth. The truth is, what is. And what should be is a fantasy, a terrible terrible lie that someone gave to the people long ago.

The world is like a ride at an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it, you think it's real, because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round and it has thrills and chills and it's very brightly colored and it's very loud. And it's fun, for a while.

Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: 'Is this real? Or is this just a ride?' And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and they say 'Hey! Don't worry, don't be afraid - ever - because... this is just a ride.' And we kill those people.

'Shut him up! We have a lot invested in this ride! Shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry; look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real.'

It's just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that - ever notice that? - and we let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter, because... it's just a ride, and we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort. No worry. No job. No savings and money. Just a choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.

Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, into a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defense each year and, instead, spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would do many times over - not one human being excluded - and we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever. In peace.

shutdown. logout. restart?

I feel as though this is the blog equivalent to having the training wheels removed from your first bicycle. After having been a rabid eljay addict through college, I want to trade in. Trade up, hopefully. I've been window-shopping for awhile now; Sarah brought her musings over here well over a year ago, I found Val's secret art journal here and Deanna was the last one I know who's made the jump.

I guess a real blog is starting to become part of growing older. Not that my livejournal has been deleted or utterly abandoned -- it's just time for something different.

There's no shortage of things happening in my life, for better or for worse. Maybe I should start keeping track.

Here's hoping that a year from now there's more than three entries in this blog. Cheers.