I'm Not Lazy:

This is from a much longer post at Thought Catalog, which rings true (hat tip to a-thousand-words, where I first saw it):

It turns out procrastination is not typically a function of laziness, apathy or work ethic as it is often regarded to be. It’s a neurotic self-defense behavior that develops to protect a person’s sense of self-worth.

You see, procrastinators tend to be people who have, for whatever reason, developed to perceive an unusually strong association between their performance and their value as a person. This makes failure or criticism disproportionately painful, which leads naturally to hesitancy when it comes to the prospect of doing anything that reflects their ability — which is pretty much everything.

Choices:

You have a choice. Live or die.
Every breath is a choice.
Every minute is a choice.
Every time you don't throw yourself down the stairs, that's a choice. Every time you don't crash your car, you re-enlist.
-Chuck Palahniuk

I re-enlisted for another year of premium membership in Second Life today. While I appreciate Chuck's sentiment, living is the default state. It's what we do automatically, unconsciously. It's hard to overcome the will to live.

The Last Generation:

From Seth Godin:

What if, in some sort of sci-fi solar flare cataclysm, it was impossible for humans to have more kids? No more babies.

How would we treat the last generation? Would we say to the youngest student on Earth, "sorry the school is really run-down and crowded and poorly staffed, but we don't want to invest in you?" Would we let the last generation grow up in poverty, or would we do everything we could to ensure that this one last time, we did it right?

It's an intriguing question. I think we would do it right. Children would suddenly become the most important thing on earth.

The Speed of Darkness:

Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.

    -Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

The Horrible Truth:

Imagine you're stranded on an island. It's not unbearable. There's food. It's not really living, but you can survive. You would escape and never look back except for the impassable expanse of the ocean. You could make a raft, but you might die of thirst while lost at sea or drown if you're swept away from the raft by a storm. Escape is going to take more concentrated effort and will than you can sustain.

That's what my life is like. I'm slowly dying and I can't raise my energy to escape levels. I just plod along, one foot in front of the other. That's the horrible truth of my life.

Please Come Back:

I know you have almost given up. You barely come around any more. It's okay if you've been missing. We've all had our hearts broken too many times. Sometimes we need to get away by ourselves for awhile. Sometimes a long while.

You are whole, complete, perfect and have always have been. I would never try to improve upon perfection. If I could change anyone, I would change myself. But I think the greatest chapter of your life story has yet to be written. And if you'll let me, I'll help you write it.

Please come back. I love you.

Bukowski On SL:

What Bukowski would likely have written about Second Life:

I've had orgasms that lasted longer than the average SL relationship.