In my dream world.

I find it necessary to occupy myself with kind and loving thoughts. Daily. Even if I’m not in a kind and loving mood. Invariably, that does the trick. I’m reminded that I’m capable of kind and loving deeds. That all I need do is focus. On my kind and loving nature. And presto. I’m back on track. Sure beats being cruel and hateful. Which I’m not. But occasionally I can be indifferent and uncaring. Residing in sort of a neutral zone. I suspect that’s where many of us hide out. In limbo. We don’t get turned on. We merely mark time. Maybe years and years ago, that was me. Marking time. Never bothering to truly fall in love. With life. Too easy to go through the motions. Then I discovered that falling in love wasn’t a bother. It lit me up. I was meant to not only be a lover. But a dreamer, as well. Kind dreams. Loving dreams. Amazing. They all come true. In my dream world. –Jim Broede

Learning to love, despite life in hell.

I wonder. About fates worse than death. Yes, there must be. That’s why people choose suicide. They’d rather be dead than alive.  Amazing, isn’t it? I’m in love. With life. But I can imagine situations in which death is the preferable alternative to aliveness. And there’s a possibility that death isn’t death. Merely a passage to another form of life. Endless life. For some, that may be scary. The inability to die.  To be cursed to everlasting life. In hell. Cruel and unusual punishment. That raises another question. Can one adjust to hell?  And learn to love. Despite life in hell.  –Jim Broede

The very odd nature of life.

Think of it. Being alone. Has its advantages. I can think of nothing worse than being with people. All the time. Round the clock. No break from togetherness.  Nothing wrong with togetherness. But one can get too much of it. Much easier to adjust to solitude. To solitary confinement. My favorite people are the ones capable of living alone. I like them so much that I want to be with them. Because they are my kind of people. Loners. Solitary souls.  Thing is. We can be with each other. And alone. All at the same time. Sounds odd. But then, that’s the nature of life. Very, very odd. –Jim Broede

Glimpses into my perfect world.

I’m always looking for a more perfect world. And generally, I find it. In a moment. Almost everyday. Just being alive. And feeling good. That does it. Maybe I become disenchanted in the next moment.  But there’s no denying the fact that I experienced exhilaration. And joy.  Even if for a fleeting moment. That’s proof enough. That life ain’t so bad. And I know that more than likely, I'll have other grand and precious moments. Later today. And tomorrow. And next week.  Yes, tastes and glimpses of a satisfying and perfect world. In which I reside. Alive. And conscious. And in love. –Jim Broede

On preparing for precious moments.

I’m a loner. In that I spend lots of time alone. Of course, it’s different when I’m with my Italian true love. Either in Sardinia. Or here in Minnesota. And when we’re not together in the flesh, we still make daily contact. On Skype. Therefore, in that sense, I’m not all that much alone. We’re really together in spirit virtually all the time. But I’m physically alone more than I’m physically with someone. Anyone. Doesn’t bother me. Really, I like the balance. The solitude. Gives me time to turn inward. To think. To write. To read. To pursue one of my favorite pastimes –  savoring solitude. In preparation for precious moments of togetherness.  With my true love. –Jim Broede

...in a very primitive stage.

The ‘have-nots’ of the world need to organize. Need to form a formidable and powerful union. To take from the rich and give to the poor. Yes, to redistribute the wealth of the world. To narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. It’ll be a hard goal to achieve. Almost impossible. But not impossible. No doubt, it’ll take a long, long time to achieve. But I can imagine it. And that’s good enough for me. For the moment. Yes, as long as I can create such a society.  In my mind. In my fertile imagination. A ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’ sort of thing. Maybe requiring a dramatic evolution in the essence of mankind. A spiritual upheaval. A coming of heaven on earth.  Coming bit by bit. Iota by iota. Maybe in a million years. Because we are still in a very primitive stage. –Jim Broede

The ultimate wacko.

Nelson Mandela. A communist. That’s what I heard a lunatic fringe Republican call Mandela the other night. That was supposed to make Mandela a bad guy. Rather than a great man. That’s the way Republicans talk and think.  They call Barack Obama a socialist. These are meant as labels that make Mandela and Obama unworthy. But as I see it, there’s nothing wrong with being a communist or a socialist or a Marxist. Call me a political  leftist or a progressive. And I’ll take that as a compliment. The last thing I’d want to be is a lunatic fringe Republican. The ultimate wacko. –Jim Broede