-Jim DuBois
October, 2013
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Monday, November 11, 2013
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Monday, September 30, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Friday, November 23, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Things Fall Apart
Things fall apart,
your initiatives fail,
your queries go unanswered,
your heart breaks,
your relationships suffer,
you despair,
and what do you do?
You start over,
you rebuild,
you make another plan,
you try again,
you open your heart,
you reach for more people.
-Jim DuBois
July 30, 2012
your initiatives fail,
your queries go unanswered,
your heart breaks,
your relationships suffer,
you despair,
and what do you do?
You start over,
you rebuild,
you make another plan,
you try again,
you open your heart,
you reach for more people.
-Jim DuBois
July 30, 2012
Friday, June 3, 2011
Reading Jean-Paul Sartre
I'm reading
Jean-Paul Sartre
for a laugh,
for the deep angsty zen,
for the anguish we can't escape,
for the anguish that we are.
-Jim DuBois
May 10, 2011
Jean-Paul Sartre
for a laugh,
for the deep angsty zen,
for the anguish we can't escape,
for the anguish that we are.
-Jim DuBois
May 10, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
mediocre
WHy keep on
with the mediocre?
Like this pen.
I feel like I shouldn't
waste things.
Which isn't a bad idea,
but if it is applied
too rigidly and keeps you
in a rut,
isn't so helpful.
-Jim
Dec 17, 2010
with the mediocre?
Like this pen.
I feel like I shouldn't
waste things.
Which isn't a bad idea,
but if it is applied
too rigidly and keeps you
in a rut,
isn't so helpful.
-Jim
Dec 17, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Like the Sun - #17
To lead people well,
you must be one of them,
no better or worse,
no more or less deserving.
Don’t glorify your achievements,
don’t hide your difficulties.
Who you are will be enough.
Let others go before you,
let others come after.
When you are just another person,
with no selfish desires,
your leadership will last and be effective.
- Jim DuBois
[This is an excerpt from my book, Like The Sun, from the section about leadership. Get the whole book]
you must be one of them,
no better or worse,
no more or less deserving.
Don’t glorify your achievements,
don’t hide your difficulties.
Who you are will be enough.
Let others go before you,
let others come after.
When you are just another person,
with no selfish desires,
your leadership will last and be effective.
- Jim DuBois
[This is an excerpt from my book, Like The Sun, from the section about leadership. Get the whole book]
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Like the Sun - #66
Have you seen the great canyons,
carved hundreds of feet through stone
into the earth?
It was only flowing water and time
that achieved such a spectacular result.
But on any given day,
you won’t see much evidence
of this occurring.
It can be useful to picture your efforts
in life similarly.
Each day you put effort into
your work, a bit here and a bit there.
Most often there is no immediate drama as a result,
but sometimes you can see the canyon-like effect,
stretching backwards in time.
You don’t need to do more
than to be persistent in your efforts to achieve something.
Indeed, there is hardly a way
you could force all the effort
required for spectacular things
into one day.
-Jim DuBois
[This is an excerpt from my book, Like The Sun, from the section about getting stuff done. Get the whole book]
carved hundreds of feet through stone
into the earth?
It was only flowing water and time
that achieved such a spectacular result.
But on any given day,
you won’t see much evidence
of this occurring.
It can be useful to picture your efforts
in life similarly.
Each day you put effort into
your work, a bit here and a bit there.
Most often there is no immediate drama as a result,
but sometimes you can see the canyon-like effect,
stretching backwards in time.
You don’t need to do more
than to be persistent in your efforts to achieve something.
Indeed, there is hardly a way
you could force all the effort
required for spectacular things
into one day.
-Jim DuBois
[This is an excerpt from my book, Like The Sun, from the section about getting stuff done. Get the whole book]
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Like the Sun - #1
The sun!
Radiating warmth to everyone,
sustaining life on earth,
needing no credit,
exerting no extra credit.
You can be like that:
Doing work that comes easily and naturally to you,
improving the lives of those around you,
changing situations for the better with your presence.
- Jim DuBois
[This is an excerpt from my book, Like The Sun, from the section about relating to people. Get the whole book]
Radiating warmth to everyone,
sustaining life on earth,
needing no credit,
exerting no extra credit.
You can be like that:
Doing work that comes easily and naturally to you,
improving the lives of those around you,
changing situations for the better with your presence.
- Jim DuBois
[This is an excerpt from my book, Like The Sun, from the section about relating to people. Get the whole book]
Sunday, June 27, 2010
no time to wait
There is no time to wait, no new day coming with the promise of liberation.
There is no time to wait for the right words,
no time to wait for the world to be ready.
There is no time to wait for audiences or art
No time to wait for fear to go away
No time to consider whether your actions will be right or wrong
no time for things to be finished
no time to wait for someone else to approve or say I love you
No time to rehearse for tommorrow
no time but imperfect now
-Jim DuBois
c1994 (originally written on the inside of old raisin boxes)
There is no time to wait for the right words,
no time to wait for the world to be ready.
There is no time to wait for audiences or art
No time to wait for fear to go away
No time to consider whether your actions will be right or wrong
no time for things to be finished
no time to wait for someone else to approve or say I love you
No time to rehearse for tommorrow
no time but imperfect now
-Jim DuBois
c1994 (originally written on the inside of old raisin boxes)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Like the Sun
I wrote a book of poetry philosophy, and will be putting up a few selections from it on this blog, but you can get a copy now:
Like the Sun
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Lessons
I remember
playing piano
onstage with Trevor
at Fire & Water*.
I was reluctant because
I didn't know much
about playing piano.
People liked our song,
and afterwords
Trevor said,
"See, it didn't matter
how much you know,
you could still
entertain them."
I also remember
Attaboy** giving me
a drawing lesson.
I brought
my pen and paper
to the cafe,
and he said,
"Ok. Now draw, man,
draw!"
Another time
I saw
some modern sculpture
and said
to my artist friend,
"I don't get it,
I coulda done that,"
and he said,
"Sure, but
the difference between
you and this guy
is that you didn't."
A few weeks ago
when I was having
an open studio
to sell my art,
Kathy told me
what her brother says
about pricing his art:
"Keep raising the price
until you get nauseaus
and then sometimes
double it."
-Jim DuBois
Feb 23, 2010
* Fire & Water was a cafe in Northampton, MA
** Attaboy is the name of a friend of mine who used to live in Northampton
playing piano
onstage with Trevor
at Fire & Water*.
I was reluctant because
I didn't know much
about playing piano.
People liked our song,
and afterwords
Trevor said,
"See, it didn't matter
how much you know,
you could still
entertain them."
I also remember
Attaboy** giving me
a drawing lesson.
I brought
my pen and paper
to the cafe,
and he said,
"Ok. Now draw, man,
draw!"
Another time
I saw
some modern sculpture
and said
to my artist friend,
"I don't get it,
I coulda done that,"
and he said,
"Sure, but
the difference between
you and this guy
is that you didn't."
A few weeks ago
when I was having
an open studio
to sell my art,
Kathy told me
what her brother says
about pricing his art:
"Keep raising the price
until you get nauseaus
and then sometimes
double it."
-Jim DuBois
Feb 23, 2010
* Fire & Water was a cafe in Northampton, MA
** Attaboy is the name of a friend of mine who used to live in Northampton
Monday, January 18, 2010
Identity
This is where you live
On this sidewalk
In this chair
Among these people
Wherever it is you actually are
This is who you are
With these thoughts
Eating this burrito
Making these minute by minute decisions
Doing exactly whatever it is you are doing
This is what you are
Temporarily animated matter
Atoms somehow made conscious
Not separated by the boundaries you think you are
Not different from other atoms
Unique but not different from the other conscious beings that surround you
-Jim DuBois
Jan 16, 2010
On this sidewalk
In this chair
Among these people
Wherever it is you actually are
This is who you are
With these thoughts
Eating this burrito
Making these minute by minute decisions
Doing exactly whatever it is you are doing
This is what you are
Temporarily animated matter
Atoms somehow made conscious
Not separated by the boundaries you think you are
Not different from other atoms
Unique but not different from the other conscious beings that surround you
-Jim DuBois
Jan 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Summer Musings
I. The Mountain
On the trip up the mountain,
I think about how, in life,
as opposed to in stories,
there are a lot of loose ends
and characters you meet briefly
that seem interesting
but play no further part.
I wonder about the people I met today.
Do they figure prominently?
Are they major or minor figures
in this mini-drama?
II. Skinny-Dipping
Sometimes, seeing girls naked is relaxing
because there are no longer any secret hidden mysteries
that they might have.
They are just people with bodies.
And boobs become just,
well, boobs.
III. The Neighborhood
Walking around the neighborhood,
I am amazed by the community and closeness
people could have, but don't.
There is so much quietness and distance
packed into a small area.
It's as if everyone is holed-up
in their own castle,
waiting out the siege.
-Jim DuBois
June, 2007
On the trip up the mountain,
I think about how, in life,
as opposed to in stories,
there are a lot of loose ends
and characters you meet briefly
that seem interesting
but play no further part.
I wonder about the people I met today.
Do they figure prominently?
Are they major or minor figures
in this mini-drama?
II. Skinny-Dipping
Sometimes, seeing girls naked is relaxing
because there are no longer any secret hidden mysteries
that they might have.
They are just people with bodies.
And boobs become just,
well, boobs.
III. The Neighborhood
Walking around the neighborhood,
I am amazed by the community and closeness
people could have, but don't.
There is so much quietness and distance
packed into a small area.
It's as if everyone is holed-up
in their own castle,
waiting out the siege.
-Jim DuBois
June, 2007
Monday, June 15, 2009
Already Broken
The glass
is already
broken
The house
is already
empty
My bones
are crumbling
to dust
-JD
April 5, 1998
is already
broken
The house
is already
empty
My bones
are crumbling
to dust
-JD
April 5, 1998
Monday, March 9, 2009
A World Full of Strangers
Time cracks the face of youth,
time cracks the images of your idols
– you’re not in love with
a person any longer,
just images
from years ago.
Even the people you knew,
you don’t still know,
they’re just distorted memories.
Who do you know?
Who do you think you know?
‘Cause you only know
who they just were.
-Jim DuBois
2005?
time cracks the images of your idols
– you’re not in love with
a person any longer,
just images
from years ago.
Even the people you knew,
you don’t still know,
they’re just distorted memories.
Who do you know?
Who do you think you know?
‘Cause you only know
who they just were.
-Jim DuBois
2005?
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