Musings

This section gathers the philosophical reflections, observations, and wisdom — both borrowed and original, that have shaped Mark Jones’s approach to art, life, and the pursuit of excellence. Drawing heavily from Chinese martial arts philosophy, particularly from the teachings of his teacher B.P. Chan, as well as from Taoism, Buddhism, and a lifetime of experience across many disciplines, these musings represent his ongoing meditation on what it means to live and create with integrity.

On Learning and Practice

The arts — all arts, demand a lifetime of devotion. There are no shortcuts, no substitutes for genuine practice and genuine experience. The masters I have been fortunate enough to study with all shared this understanding: that mastery is not a destination but a way of traveling, and that the quality of one’s attention to the practice is everything.

On Art and Commerce

In 1975 I made a vow to never compromise the integrity of my art for commercial gains. I have kept that vow. The result is that what I have created is genuinely mine — it comes from an authentic place, uncontaminated by the pressures of the marketplace. This purity has a cost, but it also has a reward: the work stands on its own terms, not someone else’s.

On the Chinese Internal Arts

The internal arts — Tai Chi, Ba Gua, Xing Yi, and Qigong, teach us how the body was designed to move. They reveal principles that are dictated by nature itself, principles that, once understood, transform not only how you fight, but how you stand, walk, breathe, and ultimately how you live. My teacher B.P. Chan embodied these principles completely. To have studied with him was one of the great privileges of my life.

On Learning

After having studied Chinese philosophy for nearly 40 years, I’m intrigued by how different their system of learning is. Unlike the Western paradigm, it is non-linear and indirect. Just giving someone an answer to a question does not necessarily ensure that the person is going to really learn the answer. The best way to learn is to figure out the answer for oneself. The teacher should be a guide to help facilitate this process. When one figures out something for oneself, they really know it. They’ve eliminated all the unnecessary data, like a sculptor carving away all the pieces of the stone that are not necessary, and leaving the essence that was there all along — the figure. But there is an even greater benefit from this process: My teacher B.P. Chan used to say that we should “invest in loss.” When we make a mistake, we should say, “thank-you, now I can learn.” You can’t learn if you never know where you have room to improve. Your ego is the biggest impediment to your learning. Of course the process is never complete, because things are always changing in life, and so must your learning. It must adapt, adjust, and never worry about arriving at any finite “truth.” What was right for you 10 or 20 years ago may not be right for you today. James Joyce considered errors to be “the portals of discovery.” Mr. Chan used to urge us to keep tenaciously working on exploring problems; to keep trying all kinds of imaginative, different approaches. Learn by trial and error.

Understanding who, what, when, where, and why tells you how.
The four stages of learning are: Believe, Analyze, Do and Prove.
If you cannot do and prove something with action, you do not know it.

He informed us that honest, relentlessly hard work and self-examination will reap rewards. “You might not find the answer you are first looking for, but you will find a thousand other things.” I believe that this is the best way to learn. To paraphrase Elie Wiesel, “Every question possesses a power that does not lie in the answer.”

Wooden’s Wisdom

John Wooden, the brilliant coach who led UCLA’s basketball team for over 25 years allegedly always carried around a piece of paper with a message from his father that stated the following:

“Be true to yourself. Make each day a masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day.”

A Pound of Insight

The poet Ezra Pound noted that poetry is a sort of inspired mathematics that “gives us equations for the human emotions.”

In addition, he noted that “Literature is news that STAYS news.”

Painting and Poetry

The Chinese poet Guo Xi (ca. 1000-1090) stated that “Poetry is formless painting. Painting is poetry in form.”

On Preparation

Cecil Taylor, the great avant-garde pianist and composer once stated that “The joy of practicing leads you to the celebration of creation.” The implication of this statement extends far beyond music, into everything you do. The more hard work you put into something, the more you get out of it, whether it’s an art form, a business or a relationship. The trick to achieving it, as Taylor implies, is to shift your view of the grunt work from, well, “grunt work,” to joy – the joy of preparation for freeing yourself up from the bonds of the future.

Transformation

Charles Bukowski, in a letter sent to my household, wrote “As the spirit wanes, the form appears.” What I took it to mean is that if one can consciously harness what Nietzsche termed “the will to power,” one can transform the negative into a positive form. This is, incidentally, the gist of the title of my poetry book, “The Cry of the Lonely, the Song of the Poet.” Loneliness is transformed into the art of poetry. Eternal beauty. But this can only happen if one is aware of it and consciously wills it so.

Your Self

The ancient Greek poet Pindar stated, “Become what you are, having learned what that is.” Let go of your ego and look inward. Perform an honest self-evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses. Try to work on strengthening your weaknesses pursue something useful and creative with your strengths. You can call it, “human potential” or anything you want, but try to be the best you can be once you find out who the “you” is and what attributes you engender. As my Uncle Marvin used to say, “Do the best you can with what you got.”

What an Artist Does

While I have written a great deal about art and the role of an artist, I would like to paraphrase some based upon his thoughts freely interjected with my own:

An artist records all of his subjective reality from deep inside experience and thought. This includes the news from around the world, what he’s read from history and what he’s personally experienced.

An artist gives expression to the dreamlike logic of our private worlds.

An artist does not impose an order on things as propaganda or persuasion, but rather tells the truth as he sees it in order to make a genuine connection with other people.

An artist – a true artist, that is, is protecting something precious that has no inherent monetary value.

An artist tries to get at the core of what it means to be a human being – a being who loves and suffers.

An artist tries to capture life and share it, helping others learn that they’re not the only ones who feel a certain way, who have endured a hard or pleasant experience.

An artist creates a parallel world as an alternative reality; an experimental lab where any subject matter or actions can be employed without the possibility of any actual danger being posed to those who engage it.

An artist can dazzle and inspire with creations that come across as magical. As Donovan put it, make them “see with eyes they’ve not used yet.”

Unfamous Wise Sayings

Everyone is familiar with the famous quotes from famous people throughout history. But it doesn’t take Sun Tzu, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, Fredrich Nietzsche, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill or FDR to come up with profound statements. Many wise things are said by ordinary people in the course of everyday life.

The following are a handful of sayings heard or read by me from people I’ve met, studied with, read what they said in interviews, people in movies or TV shows, or people I am related to, followed by a bit of annotation:

“You can’t tell kids what to do. They have to figure it out for themselves.”

—My brother Richard

Despite the logic in welcoming the advice of someone much older than you who has already found out what works and what doesn’t work the hard way, most younger people simply refuse to believe it and cling to an unrealistically idealistic pursuit that experience and data has shown to be highly unlikely to succeed. The only way they can truly understand and believe such advice is by trial and error – reinventing the wheel as it were, and find out for themselves. And as they age and give advice to their kids and others of a younger generation, the same cycle will unfortunately continue.

“People don’t change. They just get better at what they do.”

—My friend Darryl

Peoples’ personalities are largely formed in their late teens to their early twenties. Some even earlier. If you meet someone you knew when you were both 23, and you both are now 50, it is unlikely that they will be a different person. In fact, they may even display their characteristics in a more pronounced manner now than they did back then. Change is easy to talk about, but difficult to implement. While I’ve seen some dramatically change, most just become caricatures of what they were seen.

“If something bothers you enough, you’ll do something about it.”

—My martial art instructor Richard Satlow

This saying was spoken in the context of us students trying to learn tai chi and other arts, but is most useful in all facets of life. Rich would correct us on a move or posture, and it would be our responsibility to implement those corrections. What was an important skill to learn was that of self-analysis and critical thinking. What he was saying, in effect, was “if you get tired of doing something wrong, you’ll make it your business to change it.” So, I apply it to looking at a messy kitchen or my bedroom and if it bothers me enough, I’ll straighten it out. But it has to come from me – not someone else telling me it needs to get done.

“There’s a science for everything.”

—My cousin Gary

For everything we do in life, from auto mechanics to cooking to working a computer to painting to playing an instrument to shopping to driving to reading, etc., there’s a best way of doing it that can be distilled into a method. Trial and error usually will result, eventually in the most efficient, effective paradigm.

“I just ignore her and the next day she doesn’t remember anything she said.”

—My brother-in-law Fred

In dealing with relationships, we find ourselves taking things very personally and getting very emotional over them. Part of it comes from not having control to get our way. In the end, it is certainly not pleasant to get into heated arguments. My sister can be quite a handful to deal with, so I asked her husband how the hell he does it. He’s a very laid back guy who finds solace primarily in work and golf, and he responded with the quote above. I’ve found it to be quite useful in my relationships – not letting the other person get to me and just letting them vent. Usually they act completely normal the next day and you can appreciate the good things they bring to a relationship.

“Are you a piano player or a schmuck?”

—Pianist and pedagogue Leonard Shure

This story was told to me by my classical piano teacher Anthony Smetona in Cleveland. When he was studying at Julliard with the eminent pedagogue Leonard Shure, he complained that he couldn’t master a certain passage in a sonata. Shure answered with the quote above. Anthony was expecting some kind of methodical instruction about breaking the passage down into groupings, playing slower, playing one hand at a time, or something like that. But then he thought about it and realized, “yes, of course – a schmuck wouldn’t be able to play this but a piano player would!” If you want to be a piano player, then you make it your business to figure out how to play it.

“If you wait until you feel like running, you’ll never run.”

—My brother Richard

There will always be an excuse for us not to go jogging or for that matter, lifting weights, swimming laps, or any other kind of physical exercise. If you wait until you’re in the mood, you will never do it. It’s too easy to be lazy and complacent….and to contract cardiovascular disease. You have to make it a nonnegotiable part of your routine regardless of what goes on in your life other than sickness or injury.

“Everyone can spend a few minutes every day practicing something. You brush your teeth everyday don’t you”

—A long forgotten dog trainer

When discussing how to train a dog, a trainer in Youngstown, Ohio once said something along the words of that quote to me. He had a great point. We somehow manage to brush our teeth every day, so if we can do that, we obviously have the discipline to do anything else every day, from practicing an instrument to writing to building something to working out to eating healthy food. All we need do is to apply that principle.

“I don’t understand it, but I get it”

—My friend JD

Jeff is a music lover extraordinaire, but not a musician himself. One time, after I explained something about music using technical terms, he said the above quote. Without understanding the technical details, he got the gist of what I was saying. He definitely connected with it. I think this can be applied to many things including science, business and of course the arts.

“The most important thing is harmony in the family”

—B.P. Chan

In addition to being my martial arts teacher and my teacher’s teacher, Mr. Chan taught me a plethora of philosophical insights that mostly were drawn from Taoism and Confucianism. One day, I went to him with some difficulties I was having with my parents, and he made the above statement. It obviously is Confucian in nature but since I so deeply respected his wisdom, it resonated with me and I came to realize that although you can choose your friends, you can’t choose your relatives. They are the only ones you are given, and there’s a kind of blood that only exists between family members. So despite all the annoyances they can and usually do cause you, you should try to overlook them – let them slip off like water on a duck and try to not hold things they do or say too seriously against them. Try to forget them, value them as kin, and make each encounter a fresh one.

“The masses is asses.”

—Bill “Mr. Stress” Miller

Stress was the most important Cleveland blues band leader and a friend of mine. His observation on mass culture hit the nail on the head. With rare exceptions like the Beatles and other great rock bands in the sixties, a couple of television shows like Seinfeld, and a few other exceptions in film and books, most popular culture is garbage. The vast majority of the public displays no ability nor interest in critical thinking and just goes along with whatever everyone else embraces like lemmings. The only metrics appear to be popularity and how much money someone or something makes, and the greedy “suits” who create this garbage do it only to line their own pockets with zero regard for aesthetic or meaningful quality.

“Look before you throw.”

—My Dad

When I was a kid, I was playing catch with my dad in the driveway our house. I threw the ball way over his head and it rolled up the driveway of the house across the street. My dad was pissed and told me look before I throw. Fast forward 50 years and in my tai chi studies, I learned that one of the principles is that the eyes guide and guard. Your actions will always follow your eyes, which will in turn, activate your central nervous system. So being aware of always guiding with the eyes, whether in standing up from a sitting position to throwing a ball will be not only more effective and efficient in its performance, but healthier for your body. And you won’t get your dad pissed at you for throwing a ball over his head.

“Don’t ask permission. They will always say no.”

—Aunt Gertie

There was a party for my father who was born on the Fourth of July, and a spread of food was laid out on a few tables in our living room for later. Something on one of those tables looked awfully good and my “good old “Aunt Gertie, who was my grandma’s older sister, told me to just take it. She said, “honey, if you ask, they will always say no.” And later in life, I applied that principle. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not advocating thievery or anything like that, but within the realm of common sense, just doing something or taking something that will not cause any harm to anyone else but doing it without asking whether you can first. People love rules which do nothing except exhibit control and make them feel superior – that they have “the power.” It’s nonsense. One example: There’s an intersection near where I live out in the country. At night, there are absolutely zero cars on the road. When I come to the red light at that intersection at night, I go right through. To sit there and wait is something a moron would do, despite it being technically illegal. In that same vein, who would actually drive the exact speed limit? As Dylan said, “to live outside the law you must be honest.” And I ask you, how many writers do you know that could connect Bob Dylan with Aunt Gertie?

“What do you care?”

—My martial art instructor Richard Satlow

I was a senior student teaching tai chi to another student as directed by Rich, and I got frustrated by this pig-headed German guy who questioned everything I tried to show him. We would call Richard over and he would verify that what I showed was correct. Only after Richard verified it would the guy listen to me. Afterward, I asked Rich how to deal with such a difficult person. He said, “what do you care? Your obligation is to show him. His obligation is to listen and apply what you showed him. Once you’ve fulfilled your obligation, the rest is up to him, not you.” In a related quote, or rather words of wisdom, my piano teacher Sal Mosca instructed me to not let ignorance or wrong views go by. He said you should always state what’s right. Then it’s up to the person to either understand or keep being mired in ignorance. But at least you fulfilled your obligation.

“Getting old is not for sissies.”

—My Mother

In her later years, my mother was suffering from a plethora of ailments from arthritic knees to respiratory problems. She did nothing to help her cause like exercising and eating right, but as I grew old, even with exercising and doing everything else you’re supposed to do to be healthy, I find Martin Mull’s quote to be very relevant – “When I wake up in the morning, I know I’m driving a used car.” It sure ain’t easy, but it’s a lot easier than not trying to stay in shape. And at age 74, I can still run 5 miles and have a ripped gym body through daily disciplined exercise.

“There are no victims. Only volunteers.”

—Ricardo Tubbs

This quote came from Philip Michael Thomas’ character in the TV show, Miami Vice. It’s a great line. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions. It’s always someone else’s fault. They take drugs or drink themselves to death because it’s “a disease” they can’t control. No, it’s not. You can control it if you try hard enough. It’s called “the will to power,” as Nietzsche put it. Stop being a lazy wimp and exert some discipline in your life. People only have themselves to blame with most things. Like Rita Hayworth sang, “Put the blame on Mame, boys.”

“It’s the team that has the momentum at the end and the least injuries.”

—Uncle Marvin

This quote is really funny because my Uncle Marvin would say it all the time in such a way that he acted as if he was letting you in on some deep, profound advice for the very first time, despite the fact that he said it hundreds of times to me and my cousin (his son). Yet when you get down to it, he was right. The team with the best record will collapse in the playoffs if their star quarterback or pitcher is injured and can’t play or if the team suffers from fatigue. And some teams that start off with losing records end up going on a winning streak in the last quarter of the season and find their mojo. They can end up beating the team with the best record.

“Well, here’s a hammer.”

—My friend Mark D.

In the early 1980’s I was at a rehearsal with a couple of musician friends. The drummer was named Kevin and we were at the cottage that he was renting. Kevin was a bit of a bullshitter whose eyes were bigger than his stomach, so to speak. He told us that he wanted to build a big performance center on the property behind the cottage that was owned by his landlady, an elderly retired social worker. The other friend who was there named Mark, saw a hammer sitting on a table and picked it up and handed it to Kevin saying, “well, here’s a hammer.” The implication being, “start building then!” So next time someone tells you about some big dreams they have, hand them a hammer. It’s fine to dream, but without action, it’s just talk.

“Don’t say chance. Say opportunity.”

—My Dad

When I worked for my father in the scrap metal business, I was writing a letter to a purchasing agent to try and persuade him to let us buy his scrap metal. I wrote something to the effect of “I would like a chance to bid on your scrap.” My father told me that using the word “chance” made it sound risky, or something to that effect, and instead, to use the word “opportunity” which sounded optimistic and upbeat. Who ever would have guessed that my father had a knowledge of rhetoric?

“You’re playing my game. You need to make me play your game.”

—Sensei Bill Marcum

Bill was one of my karate instructors in the early ’70’s at Kent State. Nearly 50 years later, he attended a workshop that I gave on tai chai chuan, so I got to return the favor and teach him. Back when I studied with him, he was sparring with a student and he began to walk around him in a circle. The student was completely disoriented, so Sensei Bill made the above comment, implying that the student needed to cut him off from the circle and impose his own will. At the time of his visit to my class, I was reminded of this saying when a student kept mirroring what I was showing him and was making it impossible for me to demonstrate. I had to step back and realize the truth of what he said. It applies to life as well. You can’t always do things the way others want you to. You have to assert your individuality and at some point, draw the line and say “no, we’re going to do this MY way!”

“I don’t take crap from any inanimate objects.”

—Alan Stolowitz

Alan is a friend of mine who had a long, successful career as a craftsman, designer and contractor. Anyone who has tried to build or repair anything has run into resistance from the tools and objects they are working on or with. Alan’s quote optimistically gives one the resolve to forge on and figure out a way of solving the resistance in the problem and overcome it to successfully complete the project.

“You can live in heaven or in hell. The choice is yours.”

—B.P. Chan

My teacher made one of the most profound statements touching on our lives being subjective, and that we possess the power to determine how we choose to perceive our life. I was amazed seeing some of the poorest people from the favela (slums) in Rio de Janeiro frolicking on the beach, singing, dancing, kicking a soccer ball. It’s what you make of it and you can decide whether you want to be happy or miserable. As the saying goes, “count your blessings.”

“Keep one foot in the known and one in the unknown.”

—Sal Mosca

This is something Sal said to me when I studied piano with him for 7 years. What he meant was to not stay stagnant within your usual routine, only doing what you know and are used to. On the other hand, don’t make a complete break and jump into something you know nothing about. It touches on the Buddhist “doctrine of the means,” or Aristotle’s “golden mean.”

“Anything you do is everything you do.”

—Anonymous, but often quoted by me

I have no idea where I heard this many moons ago, but it’s one of my favorite sayings that I’ve since appropriated. It points to one’s character. Those who do one thing to the best of their ability while putting little care into how they do other things, as well as how they treat certain people but not others demonstrates to me, low moral character. One should stand for something righteous and have pride in what they do, how they look and how they conduct themselves in their job and interpersonal relationships. In my view, not returning a friend’s phone call is no different than not returning a found suitcase with the owner’s name and phone number on it. Having respect for yourself and others. Doing the right thing when nobody’s looking is an embodiment of this principle.

“Don’t loan money to someone unless you plan to never get it back.”

—My Dad

This was something he told me that his dad told him. Many people will never pay you back, so unless you want to get all stressed out about it or risk losing a friendship or your good relationship with a relative, if you should choose to loan them money, look at it as a donation that you won’t get back.

“When you think about it, does fairness really amount to much?”

—Cecil Taylor

Although I studied music with him, this quote I got from him was from an interview with him that I read in 1979 or the 1980’s. He was giving the interviewer a bit of a hard time, and the interviewer said, “That isn’t fair.” That was Cecil’s response, and it’s certainly true. Everyone expects things to be fair, but life does not work that way. The sooner you learn that people are essentially Machiavellian in nature, the sooner you’ll be better off protecting yourself by expecting that kind of behavior and acting accordingly. Life ain’t fair! As the saying goes, nobody promised you a rose garden.

“Don’t spend tomorrow’s energy today.”

—B.P. Chan

Another one of Chan’s great sayings, of which there were many. Interestingly, my piano teacher Sal Mosca also cautioned about trying to master something in one sitting. After a while it will be counter-productive. Better to allocate a finite amount of practice or study to each session, yet be consistent and keep doing it every day.

“I’m building a fire because I want one.”

—Alan Stolowitz

Another great quote from my friend Alan. At first, this appears be an insignificant statement, however the context within how it was said is what matters. I generally build a fire in my towering granite fireplace on cold nights. Obviously, I do it to keep myself warm – and it looks awesome. One time when I questioned Alan’s wanting to build a fire on a relatively warm night, or even afternoon, he replied with that statement. What it meant to me, however, is that sometimes it’s beneficial to do things for yourself just because you want to, and without any practical necessity. In other words, if you spend enough of your time with self-sacrifice to get things accomplished, you deserve to spoil yourself once in a while doing something just because you want to.

“You can suffer a little bit now or a lot later.”

—Richard Saltow

People seem to be perplexed that I look fit and healthy in my 70’s. Well it didn’t just happen by magic. For the past 50 years I’ve worked out every day, eaten right, slept 8 hours and meditated. Do I like working out? NO! I never feel like doing it, but I suffer through it every damn morning and it beats the hell out of being in the hospital or assisted living.

“If you stop looking for excuses, you won’t need any.”

—Rabbi Mat Hoffman

For a number of years I attended Mat’s services and I like that quote of his. So many people shy away from taking responsibility for their actions. If you screw up, then just own up to it and try to do better next time. That’s the only way we grow, and if you don’t grow, then you ripen and then rot.

“That isn’t funny. It’s a perfectly respectable occupation.”

—My Grandmother

When I was a little kid, I went to a day camp called Camp Red Wing in Ohio. A fellow camper named Ricky Katz sang this goofy song to me that went, “My name is Ricky Katz, beep beep. I drive a garbage truck, beep beep.” I thought it was hilarious. One day I sang it for my grandmother who brooked no bullshit from anyone. Much to my dismay, instead of laughing, she came down hard on me, telling me in no uncertain terms that a garbage man is a perfectly respectable occupation. As far as euphemisms go, in future years the job description got altered or shall I say, “refined,” to “sanitation engineer!” But they were still garbage men. I really had nothing against them back then. I just thought the song was funny. Maybe it was only funny the way Rick sang it? At any rate, as an adult, I came to enjoy the company of blue collar workers such as plumbers, contractors, road crew guys, electricians, and yes, garbage men more than that of other artists and musicians in many cases. Maybe it was the “woke” movement that I found so repulsive that I found enjoyment in the company of those possessing common sense. Then again, I had to do a lot of dirty work myself to earn a living.

“The dedicated take care of time. Time takes care of the undedicated.”

—Phil Rizzo

I heard this from my friend Darryl who studied music with Rizzo, who was a jazz educator and a clinician for the Stan Kenton Jazz Orchestra and who famously declared, “When Herbie Hancock came to me, he didn’t know a C7 from a banana.” The meaning of the quote is pretty self-evident. The only way to improve is through serious dedication to your craft.

“They’re not issues; They’re problems”

—Richard Satlow

In recent years, euphemism, the art of evasive language, has become quite fashionable. George Carlin did a marvelous bit about it. One of the great lines Richard came up with called out the word “issues” that became fashionable to use instead of problems. A problem sounds too harsh so it gets softened by the cushier “issues.” But it doesn’t make the problem any less of a problem, just because you call it something else. Rich used to say that life is a series of problems that confront you and you just have to solve and overcome each one until the next one confronts you. I look at it like a steeplechase or hurdle race. It’s just reality and the sooner you come to terms with it, the sooner you’ll learn to accept and deal with it.

“You’re crying with a loaf of bread under your arm.”

—My Dad

My dad used to say this to remind me to appreciate the things I have and stop fixating on the things I didn’t have or other problems I was complaining about. Unless you’re living in a gutter in the slums of Calcutta, you should appreciate the abundance of things you have. Stop complaining! When you think about it, isn’t that one of the primary tenets of Buddhism?

“Well, we’ll just have to try harder.”

—Andy Warhol

Although I never met Andy, and his one quote about everyone having 15 minutes of fame does fall somewhat into the category of famous quotes, I prefer this lesser-known quote I read in a book about him. It was said early in his career as a commercial artist when he was struggling to achieve financial success. Instead of blaming anyone, he just put it on himself to try even harder and as history will attest, it worked for him. Also of note is how he referred to himself with the so-called “royal we.” He isn’t the only person I’ve heard use it. I’m not sure why he did so unless he was referring to collaborators, but I found it to be kind of charming – almost like a football player or coach who never refers solely to themselves because of it being a team effort.

“I don’t know but I’ve been told, it’s hard to run with the weight of gold. Other hand I’ve heard it said, it’s just as hard with the weight of lead.”

—Robert Hunter

This is a lyric by the Grateful Dead’s lyricist that I always got a kick out of. It takes to task the sin of greed, yet also acknowledges the fact that given a choice of performing two identical tasks, the one that pays more money is preferable. One’s time is valuable and it should be spent in the most efficient and effective manner. At the risk of overstating the obvious, money, while not the end all, be all, is still important and there is nothing to be gained by false modesty.

“Never judge a man until you’ve walked in his shoes.”

—Video Bob

I remember one time in Rio de Janeiro, kvetching to my friend Video Bob, who was from my parents’ generation about my father’s “less than” ethical behavior. Bob responded with that quote that made me think deeply about it. It’s not an original quote, but it was the first time anyone addressed it to me with regards to a specific action. Although my final determination was still that my father had acted, shall we say, dishonorably, it at least made me try to look through his eyes – to imagine what experiences he’d been through that made him act the way he did. Naturally, I internalized this into an axiom and employed it with everyone I engaged with, especially those who were unpleasant. As the U.S. legal system dictates, or at least used to, everybody is innocent until proven guilty and is entitled to a fair trial. Sometimes what seems obvious is not so when one hears the opposing side’s point of view.

“He hits a high note over and over and makes you think he’s good.”

—My cousin Kenny

When I was in my last year of college, my cousin Kenny lived in the same apartment complex. There was a local blues band called “15-60-75” A.K.A. “the Numbers Band.” Me and my friends never thought much of their acumen, but once I ran into Kenny and he said he’d go down to this local bar called The Kove and watch them. I explained why I thought the leader was crap and he politely listened to my point of view. A few weeks later, I ran into him and he told me he saw them play again and remembering what I’d told him, he realized that the leader would just play a bunch of high notes and make cringing faces that made it look like he was doing something good, but if you listened objectively, you would realize he sucked. I am reminded by the Seinfeld episode where George has it figured out that every time the boss walks by you assume an upset look on your face. That makes it look like you’re working really hard. But kudos to Kenny for respecting my insight and learning from it.

“We get confronted with all these miserable things but the next day, we wake up and the sun is still shining.”

—Sal Mosca

This quote pretty much speaks for itself. Sometimes things get so unbearable that you don’t know how you can go on, but you do, as Samuel Beckett put it: “I can’t go on. I can’t go on. I’ll go on.” No matter what your day is like, there’s always a new one and the world won’t stop just for you.

“Invest in loss.”

—B.P. Chan

A very useful saying that refers to changing one’s outlook on failure to one’s advantage. When something goes wrong in your life, instead of dwelling on the negative feeling you get from it, look at it as an opportunity to correct whatever caused it to happen so it won’t happen again. If you make a mistake playing a piece of music, say “thank you.” Now you know where your defect lies and you can take your time to improve it to make your skill stronger. Investing in loss is a process that leads to personal growth. If someone just tells you something, you won’t learn as much as if you experience it and figure out a way to correct it.

“Finding the energy to act is easy. Giving meaning to your actions is the hard part.” / “What you do is not important. It’s what you do next.”

—Both quotes from a French film – (Possibly The Last Deadly Mission)

Wisdom can be found anywhere – not just from a professor or a book or some guru. You can harvest it from novels, television shows, movies, newspapers, magazines, interviews, folks you chat with or work with. Anywhere. When I come across something that moves and inspires me, I grab a pen and paper and jot it down. These quotes came from a film I was watching on a DVD that I had recorded many years earlier. Always strive to do better!

“Information is useless unless it’s attached to something meaningful.”

—Keith Jarrett

This quote was from a 2008 Downbeat interview with Jarrett. He was referring to the so-called “information age.” While there’s a great deal of information available via the internet in this era, it is meaningless unless it is harvested in a way that contributes to something that means something to you, and contributes to useful knowledge. Most people seemingly use the internet to view insipid photos of their friends or videos of cats falling off a tree, or playing stupid games instead of using it to enlighten themselves with knowledge as people used to do when researching material in libraries.

“Everybody right, everybody wrong.”

—B.P. Chan

This is a very complex statement, coming from a Chan (Zen) Buddhist master. There are several implications in it.

First of all, it addresses the issue of certainty of judgement. When one encounters someone who does something differently than you, or even thinks differently than you, rather than immediately dismiss it, look at it as now “having two ways instead of only one!” Yet there are things that are, in fact, objectively wrong. If you have an open mind, perhaps something done differently than you, or thought differently may actually be a valid alternative, or even a better one. You would never find out unless you tried it out without any close-minded pre-judging. One does, obviously need to be aware of that too. So one could just make that statement in a way of playing one’s cards close to the vest and allowing the other person to save face, as well as to not start an argument. Most people’s beliefs are immutable and trying to persuade them to see the light of truth can be but an exercise in futility, so why even bother? In other words, “agree to disagree.” As Chan used to say, “you go your way and I’ll go mine.”