la tabla rasa

Blank slates
We use this expression as an analogy for 'starting over' such as moving to a new town
Or a new job
Or a new lover
What we are missing is that the slate is always blank
We are not born to knowledge,
we are born of it
It is as we gain and assimilate new information and experiences that we become more human
Our humanity and our individuality stem from our ability to emotionally interpret and process our experiences
As well as our ability to intellectually critique, if you will, the world around us
many animals can 'learn', a matter of repetitious programming, but we are different in that we can UNDERSTAND the conceptualized ideas of existence
We are aware that we are gaining knowledge which was heretofore not present in our psyche/brain/soul/mind or what have you

We are sentient beings and as thus we have the capability of recognizing our own growth
So why are we not growing at a perceptible rate

before and after
9/9/10
There are those moments, brian speaks of them often, when you know that the rest of your life is  'before this moment/after this moment'
Nyc was one of those moments for me
Leaving richmond was one of those moments

Those moments permeate the fabric of who you are
There is a hollywood-esque quality to them, 
an incendiary nature that lights you from the inside 
and
 tells you that, where you are, 
right there, right then, 
is profound beyond the simple grace of existence,
 it is a designation, a reminder,
 a 'drop pin here' kind of moment 
that you will forever refer
 back to 
because of the people, 
the place, 
and the experiences that you had, 
there, in that 
moment, when all 
the world made sense
 on chelsea piers,
and we were young and knew
 only that we had our whole lives
 in
 front of us...

Social Poetry Defined

Social Poetry Defined

so·cial

   [soh-shuhl] Show IPA
adjective
1. pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations: a social club.
2. seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly;sociable; gregarious.
3. of, pertaining to, connected with, or suited to polite or fashionable society: a social event.
4. living or disposed to live in companionship with others or in a community, rather than in isolation: People are social beings.
5. of or pertaining to human society, especially as a body divided into classes according to status: social rank.

po·et·ry

   [poh-i-tree] Show IPA
noun
1. the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by   beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts.
2. literary work in metrical form; verse.
3. prose with poetic  qualities.
4. poetic  qualities however manifested: the poetry of simple acts and things.
5. poetic  spirit or feeling: The pianist played the prelude with poetry.



there are a lot of ways that one could choose to put these two together. i do it like this - actions and intentions given to a dispersing of consciousness expansion, uplifting happiness and growth through the sharing of gratitude, joy and love.
that is social poetry; and much as with literary poetry, it is a difficult, if fun, entity to attempt to narrow down.
so i will do the opposite. i will expand it, because that is at the center of it all, is it not? growth. uplifting. expansion.
from running a hostel, to writing poetry, to running a nonprofit, to working with the music community, we find that we and those around us can usher our social poetry into existence in a myriad of different mediums and methods.
“...but i know we can’t all stay here forever, so i wanna write my words on the face of today...”
shannon hoon said those words in a well known blind melon song, Change, and those words ring true just as much now as ever they might have.
are we writing our words on the face of today?!?
first we step up with occupy, then we step back as we allow rick perry and herman cain to dominate headlines, and congress to pass the NDAA...we are pouring our civil liberties and our basic rights out into the abyss of virtual disposal...what many of us are forgetting is that once we give these rights and liberties away, history has proven repeatedly that they are next to impossible to regain without a major upheaval.
maybe its what we need.
we are raping the land with corn, a crop that is carbon negative to such a degree as to be unconsionably detrimental, while it is next to impossible to get INDUSTRIAL hemp claused into legislature for commercial usage, despite hemps versatility, sustainability and carbon neutral potential, as well as its many health benefits and textile uses which are considerably more environmentally conscious that their alternatives, i.e., replacing wood and forest cutting to make paper, utilization in paints and other liquid textiles, fiber for rope and clothing fabrics, as well as the benefits of hemp oil and the broad array of nutritional properties of the plant and its seeds.
although there are ample technologies and materials available to expand solar energy and wind energy to mass continental levels, and electric and hydrogen batteries are currently already viable options, the petroleum industry continues to thwart attempts at ‘going planet green’
WAKE UP
oil men have KNOWN for years we were headed this direction
they are ringing every last gasp of pennies from us in order to extract whatever income they can before making the big jump and leaving the training pants behind
when we as a society take the jump to global green, to symbiosis with gaia and mother earth, we will me taking a step towards happiness, towards god, towards grace.
this is our social poetry...so, tell me what is your poetic license????