Life Alert

Now that I’m dead, I want to tell you a few things. Live this precious life that you have now and for as long as you way continue to have as if it means something to you.

Go outside
Play in the rain
Swim in a lake
Hike a trail
Pick fruit, vegetable or your salad for dinner
Teach a … Continue Reading »

Fantasmagorie: Photographs That Fade In Smoke

Now that I am dead, I want to tell you a few things. Actually, that’s a lie. Now that I am dead, I can tell you nothing, but that’s hypotheticals for you. It’s the principle that counts.

Death has this irritating habit of defining life, driving from the backseat. It’s the finale, exeunt, end. Nobody really thinks of it like … Continue Reading »

Adulthood

Now that I’m dead, I want to tell you a few things.

Dear You,

No one knows when they become an adult. That’s because there is no obvious sign. You won’t find a magic door and walk through it and get a T-shirt or a special glow around your head. You won’t step across some mysterious line and discover you … Continue Reading »

You Already Have the Things You Need

Now that I’m dead, I want to tell you a few things.

But, first, please close your eyes and think about the things you love. Your favorite books or movies. Your favorite songs or sports. Your favorite toy when you were five. Your favorite cartoons and fictional heroes…

And now I want you to think about your favorite people. Real … Continue Reading »

Dear Everyone

Now that I’m dead, I want to tell you a few things.

Dear Greenhill Elementary School’s kindergarten class of 1980, I stole the bag of wool. Remember that  sheep farmer that came to our class and talked to us about shearing sheep? And she let us reach inside that big plastic bag and touch the lumps of yellow, oily fleece. … Continue Reading »

A Small List of Big Things

Now that I’m dead, I want to tell you a few things. No matter how young you are or how young you feel, you need to know this one true and important and unavoidable fact: you will end up dead, like me. Some day it will definitely and absolutely happen. It is an inevitability in the truest sense of the … Continue Reading »

Your Life’s Meaning Is Not You-Centric

Now that I’m dead, I want to tell you a few things-specifically about the meaning of life.

I must admit that I didn’t have an accurate view of my life’s meaning as a young man. Many from my generation, assumed that meaning is found by earnestly endeavoring to achieve several of the following :

Wealth – Amassing riches, luxury vehicles, … Continue Reading »

Beautiful Life

Now that I’m dead, I want to tell you a few things.

Charles Bukowski often wrote of an emotional core that he kept hidden from the cruelty of the world around him. He described it as a bluebird, as a fire, but really it was an inner kernel of kindness, passion, empathy, and hope. Call it heart, call it soul, … Continue Reading »

The Roar of Morality

Now that I’m dead, I want to tell you a few things.

If I were still alive I would begin by telling you what day and time it was. I would tell you where I was and what I was doing while writing this. That’s how I used to like to start. But I am no longer afforded the freedoms … Continue Reading »

On the Importance of Caring for Your Skin Suit

Now that I’m dead, I want to tell you a few things.

I want to tell you that we are nothing but auto-magic respirators made from soft organs and delicate hide, with bones like dry kindling and blood pumped through intricate and vulnerable tubing. If you are one of the lucky ones, your animated carcass will survive the dings and … Continue Reading »