Too hot to handle
We fly off the handle
Count to ten
Simmer down
Maturity is practicing
To respond, not react
The only way to show
Real love and respect
Emotions are important
In a primal sense only
To evolve we must think
Of the greater good.

Loving for you
Loving for me
Loving saves the species

Our big brains
Our big hearts
All looking out for each other

Abide by the law
And peace is yours
Make your own rules at your peril

Billions of eyes
Ears, hearts, and hands
Follow the yellow brick road

I’m tired of your drama
My burden is enough to bear
How do people do it?
How do two separate souls
Who have grown up worlds apart
Agree to get through life
Together?

Are you selfish for sharing your pain
Or am I selfish for not wanting it?
Is it worth the added heartache
To leave your lonely days behind?
Are my words an insult to the ones
Who’ve lost the one they loved?

A shiny red plane
Flies under the half-moon
As I walk on the clouds
Brimming with potential
A galaxy slips
Through my fingers
And I stand agape

You have to believe
You have everything you need
To meet the challenges of today

I look at what others have gone through
And wonder if I could win
In that situation

But the universe has strange and wonder-full
New things in store for me
Events I could not imagine

My brain only logs my experience
Who knows what paths will cross
Tomorrow

The moment you declare your intention
The testing period begins
If you decide to love
Prepare to be heartbroken
If you decide to live
Prepare to look death in the eye
If you decide to conquer
Prepare to fail and fail
If you decide to give
Prepare to have it all taken from you
The treasure of the champion
Is not the gold award
But the discipline, courage
And co-operation learned
Getting up each time one falls.

We do well with routines
Predictability
Things going well
One event rocks the boat
And we panic
As if faith in our welfare
Is a fragile egg in God’s mighty hands
When will we admit our nearsightedness
And daily wear our God-glasses
To see the drama
As Newton saw the law
When an apple hit his head

How much work is required
Of a human?
"Sometimes I try too fucking hard."
How sensitive must I be
To take the most efficient path?
If I am patient my route will be revealed
Just before I take a step
Or after
In any case my doubt
Just casts the question to the universe
It echoes off the farthest star
And I step where I hear no sound.

The sooner you realize
We’re just like the ants
The better you’ll feel about
Your life’s contribution

Each ant does a job
And no one’s the boss
They don’t worry, just work
And it all gets done

Each one to his talent
One note in a song
At the end a perfect village
A home for them all

What makes you think you’re so different?
We’re on the same Earth!
Take a lesson in success
From the modest workers

I think the problem with our present attempt at health reform is that Obama is trying to pass a bill quickly without "changing the way Washington works," as he promised to do in his campaign. Health care can not be considered independently of lobbying reform, campaign finance reform, lawsuit reform, or immigration reform. Six months was far too ambitious considering the steps that are needed to restore trust and fairness in and among our legislators. Congress still has too many strings attached to competing interests. It is also not helpful that the debate rides on the tail of government bailouts of industry. Whether or not a public "option" is considered, haste will make waste unless we give fair time to all the interrelated issues that challenge the country’s progress. I applaud the President’s demand for action, but he must take the proper steps to really change how Washington works in order to avoid a stalemate. It seems the only items that move quickly anymore are one-man czar-type decisions, such as the bank bailout, the Iraq invasion, etc., which have not yet proven to be cost-effective nor wise. Our credit rating in the world rose short-term, but is falling long-term. I hope there exists a congressional steering committee which is responsible for shaping the intentions of legislation and is looking at priorities in the context of interdependencies.