Two questions to live by

I have reached something of a turning point in my life recently. My love of art and spirituality, my dispassion for the current culture and priorities of the world, and my own deep capacity for love and empathy have combined over the past year or so to decimate most of what I thought about myself and the world at large. This has significantly intensified during the current year.

When I look around at people I mostly see wonderful creatures, with power and potential beyond their wildest dreams, who spend much of their lives in pain and suffering and weakness. Not only is most of this agony self inflicted, it is done so willfully, and (at least ostensibly) in an effort to avoid the very thing created. Through fear, denial, violence, and rationalization, we wreak emotional and physical havoc- least of all on perfect strangers, more on those we profess to love, and most of all on ourselves. And somehow we manage to convince ourselves that this is the only way to live. Like the puritans of old, through fear of hell, we create hell. It's an obsolete occupation and it needs to go away. There are quite enough ways to suffer- we don't need to create our own.

I believe the world is ripe for an advancement in consciousness like it has never been before. Contrary to the "hell in a handbasket" theory, I believe the world is almost ready to become a much nicer place to live. I would like to help.

It is a fallacy to presume that life should be painless. Clearly, life is not without pain, and never will be. If it were, there would be no pain involved in birth or death. The idea is, that instead of denying that pain, perhaps you should accept it. Perhaps you should use your pain to bring more beauty in the world, instead of trying to slough it off onto your fellow man, and creating more pain in the process. It's emotional alchemy!

To this end, I would like to give you two questions that, if used wisely, will change the way you see your life, and may just serve to unlock your truer power and purpose.

Be cautious, though... rationalization is a powerful tool. Just because you can think of a logical response doesn't make it true. This exercise requires that you listen to that naive childish voice deep inside you that seldom speaks safe, and always speaks true. And if the answer is an honest "I don't know", that's good. Now you know to start looking.

The first question was asked me a couple years ago by a great friend and a true brother. At the time it was in discussion of a political agenda that (like all politics)  I still consider too narrow to bother with. But for all his talking, that question was perhaps the wisest thing he's ever said.

1. If you never had to worry about money or security again, what would you do with your life? How would you spend your time?




The second question is of my own contrivance. It is meant to deal with those situations where a choice must be made, an answer provided, or action taken, and the path is not clear. Stop, take a breath, and ask;

2. Where is the love in what I am doing?


If these questions do not seem very reasonable, realistic, or logical, good. They are meant to appeal to a deeper part of you- one beyond rationalization.

Try it out. If it works, tell your friends. Remember, there's nothing I would love more than to see you peaceful and happy.


Here is an awesome song that deeply represents the emotional alchemy I refer to. This, at its best, is what art is. As an artist, I'm proud to say it's what I do.

         Love
             -Mojoe