Pulling Onions Again

Freedom opens a few doors and closes many more. 
My mind is a sea I cannot see into; I merely skim along its surface.
I think, therefore I am a living person; dead bodies don't display thinking, just stinking.
Sometimes the present alters our interpretation of the past; most often the past surrounds and infects the present. 
Wherever I go, something new becomes me. 
Be careful not to stand up for that which will cause your downfall.    
God may be very smart, but he is a poor communicator.
What ought to be cannot be derived from what is the case, but a reasonable person ought not to ignore what is the case.  
I can admire a few great persons or heroes, but seldom have much desire to try and imitate them. 
Disrespect and contempt for the body is a common trump card for spiritualists; but, our game of life does not use trump cards. 
Nonsense can sometimes improve our sense and senses. 
Prohibitions focus our aim on better choices and actions. 
Don't sell the present short on the promises of "when." 
Most tire from hatefulness; cheerfulness is abiding.
Stubborn facts are loosened up with novelty.
A sure path to the perversion of truth is to make it a belief. 
The act, the deed, the doing are the primary considerations. 
My body gave birth to my mind, is in my mind, and my body-mind thrives in our world of lived experiences. 
Objectivity is a product of our agreements, and an important feature of my imagination. 
R. Buckminster-Fuller once suggested that "God is a verb, not a noun."  Which verb?  Pretending?  Storytelling?  Fantasizing?  Believing? 
My consciousness is a vegetable soup, and the water in the soup is what I do. 
Yes, I am just this and that; but, I am also not just that and this. 
Hearing the cat purr when we pet them gently matters far more to us than whether the cat's fur is black, white, or orange. 
If you think you are damned if you do or damned if you don't, your not thinking creatively enough. 
The ten thousand things are more enchanting than the Silent One. 
To lift the mind, move the body.  

Pulling Onions: The Quips and Sayings of an Old Gardener.  Over 840 quotes.  By Mike Garofalo

Layers of Life

The Onion of Being
Never stops growing
Layering layers over layers---
Giving us one peel a day
On our life's way

Pulling Onions

 

 

Familiar Tai Chi Chuan Ideas

Tai Chi Chuan Practice and Training

Common Themes, Topics, Ideas, Suggestions, Principles, Concepts, Tips

One Sentence Taijiquan Notes by Mike Garofalo

Lift the head, tuck the chin, extend the neck, feel upright and rising.
Stand strong and balanced, then move slowly and gracefully.
Imagine resistance, water boxing, dealing with an opponent, Da Lu, pushing hands, sensing incoming energies, feeling the Other.
Be loose and relaxed, avoid over-exertion, use coiling energy.
Keep moving, flowing, shaping yourself in body-mind.
Shoulders down, gentle breathing, energized back, dignified bearing.
Be more stylish, artistic, beautiful, sensuous, dancing, formal.
Yin more than Yang, soft over hard, water over stone, gentle over muscular.
Follow the Teacher, coordinate, create unity, move together, act as one.
Act from the center, find the Dan Tien, Centering, secure internal energy.
You are responsible for your own self-defense, safety and fitness.
Develop and maintain the Inner Smile, positive disposition, enthusiasm.
Work within one's steady breathing, learn different breath/movements.
Enhance and maintain one's potential energy reserves for power.
Keep the knees over the feet, and don't over-extend in lunges.
Taijiquan, Tai Chi Chuan, Shadow Boxing, Grand Ultimate Boxing, Cotton Fist, At the Edge Fist, Mind/Fist Arts, .... whatever.
Differentiate between solo and group practices and training.
Learn the names of each numbered movement sequence.
Learn offense and/or defensive applications for each named movement.
Daily practice, review, and repetitions are essential to progress.
Distinguish substantial from unsubstantial, weighted from empty, rooted from moving, stable from unstable.
Be delicate, be gentle, be refined, be fluid, be slow.
Concentrate, remember, embody the patterns, display the Form.
Strengthen the glutes, quads, calves, ankles, and feet; Legs Powers, Thigh Chi.
Stay level, avoid to much bobbing up and down, smooth level movement. 
There is a natural automatic discomfort with falling, we wanting to stay standing and moving upright, we want to work effectively with the forces of gravity.
Working within and slowly out from your current limitations, injuries, mental or physical health problems, or other obstacles. 
Appropriate music might make your Taijiquan practice enjoyable in new ways.
Inhale while pulling in and gathering, exhale while pushing or striking out or blocking; sometimes holding breath; sometimes the opposites. 
If your huffing and puffing, breathing to fast, then you are out of shape but persist after resting and slowing down some; vary and improve your workouts. 
Think process, think evolving, think changing, think becoming; then stop thinking.
Keep a Beginner's Mind, Learn Something, relish the experiences.  



Repost from July of 2020


Tai Chi Chuan Website

Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan 24 Short Form

Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan 108 Long Form

Tai Chi Chuan Quotations and Classics

Pulling Onions Again 2025

 

Pulling Onions
By Mike Garofalo

Pulling Onions Again

Perfection can be the opponent of betterment.
Without vagueness we are bored with literalness.
Borderline cases are where events become really interesting.
I may not be able to precisely define religious nonsense, but I know it when I hear it. 
A coastline may be impossible to measure, but is still beautiful. 
You can’t slowly boil the frog unless it can’t jump out of the pot. 
A “heap” of something desired becomes an issue when the price is discussed.
Gratefully, shit happens!
The ten thousand things are more enchanting than the Silent One.
Walking needs earth, space, and the walker.
Sometimes, just one 'thing' is critical because twenty other 'things' are just so.
Take the time to melt into the Details.
Gardening is a kind of deadheading - keeping us from going to seed.
Don't interfere, be still, and listen to the litanies of bees.
Tooth and nail, and the stench of a dead animal on the wind.
When life gives you onions, it stinks.
A rake is spaces held together by steel.
In the student's mind there are few possibilities, in the teacher's mind there are many; but only time to realize very few. 

Mother Nature is always pregnant. 
Time creeps, walks, runs and flies - it is all about moving things. 
Chaos breaks its own rules to allow Order to play. 
Dogmatists are less useful than dogs. 
Take life with a grain of salt, and a icy margarita. 
The best things in life are more expensive than you think. 
Rather than "love mankind," I'd rather admire a few good people. 
Some flourish when crowded together, others don't. 
Garbage In, Compost Out. 
It is more about You and Now, rather than Them and Back Then. 
A pocket knife will be its dullest at just the right time. 
While gardening the borders between work and play become blurred.
When gardening, look up more often.
Just the right words can be worth more than a thousand pictures. 
Death's door is always unlocked. 
A flower needs roots; beauty a society of minds. 
A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb. 
A working hypothesis is far better than a belief. 
Only two percent of all insects are harmful.  Why are they all in my garden? 
Create your own garden, the god's certainly won't. 
That something is eternal is unverifiable. 
Most laws of Gardening are merely local ordinances.  

Too save some time, don’t let them get a foot in the door.
Some slippery slopes are actually improvements or fun.
Butterflies and bees flapping their wings don’t actually create hurricanes, but we are very thankful they facilitate the emergence of fruits in the billions.
Without metaphors we can barely speak.
Just because you reject the big request, don’t be fooled into accepting the smaller request.
Finding a middle ground for agreement may be just half of a solution, and the wrong solution.
Sometimes the wisdom of the crowd is quite unwise and unfair.
Chaos breaks its own rules to allow Order to play.
Failures, disorder and death are the Grim Reaper of Entropy at work. 
Somehow, someway, everything gets eaten up, someday. 
The meaning is lost in the saying - a nature mystic's dilemma. 
Vigorous gardening might help more than a psychiatrist's couch. 
A gardener is no farmer, he is much too impractical. 
No garden lasts for long - neither will you. 
Shade, in the summer, is as precious as a glass of water. 
A wise gardener knows when to stop. 
Gardens are demanding pets. 
Unclench your fist to give a hand. 
The little choices day after day are the biggest issue. 
Gardening is but one battle against Chaos. 
When life gives you onions, you ain't making lemonade. 
Many friendships are sustained by a mutual hatred of another person or group.
Read until you go to seed. 
What you see depends on when you look. 
Beauty is the Mistress, the gardener her slave. 
One's "true self" is changing and elusive. 
A little of this and a little of that, and some exceptions - these are the facts. 
Does a plum tree with no fruit have Buddha Nature?  Whack!  

Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo
Over 799 random quips, one-liners, sayings, and "insights" from an old gardener.

Pulling Onions Again and Again

When Death grins at you, grin back; when death beckons you, run away.
Thankfully, we can imagine nearly everything─ which helps prevent boredom. 
A garden is a Romantic's parádeisos.

It's over when it ends.
Act on your knowledge first, your common sense second, and your best guess third.
Wear a variety of masks; acting is essential to coping.
A garden is a feeling.
Acknowledging that you might die today has stopped few from trying to stay alive to 80.
Dreams are our imagination at play while we sleep. 

You can train yourself to eliminate bad habits and useless thoughts; for example, stop attending any more church services starting today.
Seventy percent of "good luck" is following reasonable plans and working diligently; the rest is often beneficial circumstances outside of your control.
No garden lasts for long - neither will you. 
Shade, in the summer, is as precious as a glass of water.  
Fear may keep some stupid people in line, but virtue for virtue's sake attracts the allegiance and support of most intelligent people. 
The most important Master to seek and follow is Self-Mastery.  
There is no 'i' in "team," but there is an 'm' in me, my, and mine.  

Sometimes it is best to walk away and never walk back. 
Exercise is a way of making the unconscious body very conscious. 
A wise gardener knows when to stop. 
Gardens are demanding pets. 
Unclench your fist to give a hand. 
The little choices day after day are the biggest issue. 

Gardening is but one battle against Chaos. 
When life gives you onions, it stinks and you ain't making lemonade. 
Many friendships are sustained by a mutual hatred of another person or group.
What you see depends on when you look. 
Beauty is the Mistress, the gardener her slave. 

Wishes are like seeds, few ever develop into something.  
My mind is a sea I cannot see into; I merely skim along its surface.
Absolutes squirm beneath realities. 
There is not much to say about "The Unknown." 
Objectivity is a product of our agreements, and an important feature of my imagination. 
Hearing the cat purr when we pet them gently matters far more to us than whether the cat's fur is black, white, or orange. 
If you think you are damned if you do or damned if you don't, your not thinking creatively enough. 
The ten thousand things are more enchanting than the Silent One. 
To lift the mind, move the body.  

Mother Nature is always pregnant. 
Time creeps, walks, runs and flies - it is all about moving things. 
Chaos breaks its own rules to allow Order to play. 
A flower needs roots; beauty a society of minds. 
A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb. 
A working hypothesis is far better than a belief. 

One's "true self" is changing and elusive. 
Stupidity and shallowness are increasingly popular. 
The News Media feed our ravenous obsessions with shock, surprise, and slander.
A little of this and a little of that, and some exceptions - these are the facts. 
Does a plum tree with no fruit have Buddha Nature?  Whack! 
-  Mike Garofalo


Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo
Over 888 random quips, one-liners, sayings, and "insights" from an old gardener.

"An Onion Garden,"  a concrete poem by Mike Garofalo

Pulling Onions Again - Religion

 

Pulling Onions

By Michael P. Garofalo
Over 1,055 Sayings, One Liners, Adages, Quips, Observations
Obviously, I'm a more philosophical rather than a religions person.  

Life after death is armchair speculation; life before death requires intelligent engagement, practical actions, and the cultivation of virtues. 

To put a bigger hat on an idea─Capitalize its Key Words.

Talk of God's Commandments and Church Doctrines often gets in the way of charity, compassion, fairness, and reason.

Some former widespread "truths" are now abandoned, discarded, or irrelevant, just historical oddities. 

Non-believers can become virtuous, and devout believers can become evil; and vice-versa.  

One Book is better than none; but, more books introduce one to other facts, ideas, information, and wisdom. 

Doing well, acting well, may increase individual happiness or it may not; duties often drive us to sacrifice our contentment.  

Absolutes squirm beneath realities.  9
It is better to cultivate spiritual fruits than religious nuts.  523
I believe in "God"; I just spell It "Fiction."  756   
When the Divine knocks, don't send a prophet to the door.  48
Dogmatists are less useful than dogs.  711
Gardens are more useful than churches.  787 
The City of God does not meet any of our current building codes.  890 
God and I get along quite well, he ignores me all the time and I ignore him.  845
Perfection can be the opponent of betterment.  788
We did not come from dust, nor shall we return to dust, nor are we dust in the wind.  23
There is not much to say about the "Unknown."  3  

R. Buckminster-Fuller once suggested that "God is a verb, not a noun."  Which verb?  Pretending?  Storytelling?  Fantasizing?  Believing?  833
In general, be more specific.  79 
If the first man was created in the image of God, then it is obvious that God is mediocre and prone to evil.  786
Nothing grows in Hell.  134
The fear of the Lord is a corner stone of indoctrination and the beginning of the end of wisdom.  850 
After understanding thousands of the details, a common variety god is really quite superfluous.  725 

The root illusion is a belief in that which does not change.  451 
Roundness is the Holy Shape.  629
God may be very smart, but he is a poor communicator.  779
There is absolutely a place for Absolutes and Ideals in our rational/logical way of choosing to think about our experiences.  982
We already live in the Garden of Eden, but we now have to work to keep it growing.  136
God may have created the first garden, but, typical of Him, He got bored with trying to keep it up and make it better.  149
Say a prayer for a good harvest; but don't forget to weed and water.  288
The Bible is morally inconsistent and often morally reprehensible.  842
I never found God in my garden, but goddesses and gods and faeries dance everywhere.  492
Yes, God and Allah are both still dead, yet plenty is still not permitted and virtues and ideals still persist.  330   
Before you swear at the overgrown ivy, beware of Dionysus.  602 

The Garden of Eden is a badly painted backdrop to a lousy stage play.  860 
Even a god cannot listen to a billion prayers a day.  412
Beware of the man who speaks of God only as a father or a son.  573 
The real "miracle" is cause and effect.  584
Christians and Moslems love to lie about their own righteousness, and rant about the immorality of the non-believers in their fantasies.  986

The "eternal truths" are sometimes clearly false.  430
Have you noticed that people praying close their eyes?  People, please open your eyes and think instead.  444
If God existed it would be necessary to have a Goddess because God is just to lazy and incompetent.  471
If God gave us technology, why did he wait so long to give us a box of matches or solar power panels.  454 

What?   Another damn Garden of Eden analogy!  476
The seed idea for "God" is springtime.  596 
A God who is understood is really misunderstood ... actually no God at all.  598 
Variety, Creativity and Fertility are the Songs of the Great Goddess.  509
Hell is a silent dark world where nothing grows.  512  
Even Allah cannot alter the past; but our knowledge of the past changes each year.  549   
Is the the God of scriptures the Absolute?  Absolutely not!  996
Stop looking for the Green Man and He will appear.  601 

The gardener is a priestess, the garden her temple and followers, gardening her liturgy.  603 
Religion is intimate with awe, anxiety, fear, danger, and death.  608 
Avoid dogmatists, they often end up treating you like a dog.   623 
What good is All Powerful and All Wise "God" or "Allah" who can supposedly count every hair on your head, but can't find
a house for a homeless family, stop terrorists, get rid of the alcoholic thief next door, or save your citrus trees from frostbite?   681

Mother Nature is always pregnant.  702
It is best to shut one's mouth in face of the sacred.  719   
Create your own garden, the god's certainly won't.  736 
That something is eternal is unverifiable; it is one premise.  746  
If there is a "Divine Lawgiver," then He/She/It seems a rather poor judge and inconsistent.  978
Ordinary reality is good enough for most sensible people; a "higher" calling is answered by few.  759 
Don't kid yourself: seeing is not necessarily believing.  761 
To many the sun is a god and the earth is a goddess; and, our imaginations are boundless.  762 

To save some time, don't let them get a foot in the door.  795 
I may not be able to precisely define religious nonsense, but I know it when I hear it.  791 
I think, therefore I am a living person; dead bodies don't display thinking, just stinking.  826 
Disrespect and contempt for the body is a common trump card for spiritualists; but, our game of life does not use trump cards.  829 
Is the the God of scriptures the Absolute?  Absolutely not!  996 
A sure path to the perversion of truth is to make it a belief.  841 
The Bible is morally inconsistent and often morally reprehensible.  842
God is not dead─ he never existed in the first place.  887 

"Just believe" is the weakest argument for adopting an opinion.  888 
Seeing the "Big Picture" is just viewing a pleasant painting created by your imagination.  846
I have faith that science will help explain our world; but, I don't "believe in" or worship science.  908
Some questions just dissolve─when our spell is broken.  921 
Spinoza's God was Nature─by definition.  937 
Rather than seeking an answer we sometimes need to stop asking the question.  938 

I am not a marionette in the Hands of Deus (or Zeus, Yahweh, Allah, God, Shiva, Coyote, Great Father, etc.)  940 
Beliefs tend to channel the mind, wonder opens it up.  953 
If you are seeking certainty, the search will likely be tiresome and futile.  955 

Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo

Here are a few selections from a collection of 1,043 one-liners (i.e., quips, quotes, aphorisms, jokes, observations, etc.) from Pulling Onions by Michael P. Garofalo:

Mother Nature is always pregnant. 
Time creeps, walks, runs and flies - it is all about moving things. 
Chaos breaks its own rules to allow Order to play. 
Dogmatists are less useful than dogs. 
Take life with a grain of salt, and a icy margarita. 
The best things in life are more expensive than you think. 
Rather than "love mankind," I'd rather admire a few good people. 
Some flourish when crowded together, others don't. 
Garbage In, Compost Out. 
It is more about You and Now, rather than Them and Back Then. 
Hunting for tomato worms- no mercy. 
A pocket knife will be its dullest at just the right time. 
While gardening the borders between work and play become blurred.
When gardening, look up more often.
Just the right words can be worth more than a thousand pictures. 
Death's door is always unlocked. 
A flower needs roots; beauty a society of minds. 
A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb. 
A working hypothesis is far better than a belief. 
Only two percent of all insects are harmful.  Why are they all in my garden? 
Create your own garden, the god's certainly won't. 
That something is eternal is unverifiable. 
Most laws of Gardening are merely local ordinances. 
Failures, disorder and death are the Grim Reaper of Entropy at work. 
Somehow, someway, everything gets eaten up, someday. 
The meaning is lost in the saying - a nature mystic's dilemma. 
Vigorous gardening might help more than a psychiatrist's couch. 
A gardener is no farmer, he is much too impractical. 
No garden lasts for long - neither will you. 
Shade, in the summer, is as precious as a glass of water. 
A wise gardener knows when to stop. 
Gardens are demanding pets. 
Unclench your fist to give a hand. 
The little choices day after day are the biggest issue. 
Gardening is but one battle against Chaos. 
When life gives you onions, you ain't making lemonade. 
Many friendships are sustained by a mutual hatred of another person or group.
Read until you go to seed. 
Death's door is always unlocked. 
Autumn Yellow, the mirror image of Spring Green. 
What you see depends on when you look. 
Beauty is the Mistress, the gardener her slave. 
One's "true self" is changing and elusive. 
A little of this and a little of that, and some exceptions - these are the facts. 
Does a plum tree with no fruit have Buddha Nature?  Whack! 

-   Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo  (1,043 One Line Quips)  

 

Prime Your Mind with Guiding Rhymes

Prime Your Mind with Guiding Rhymes: 

Find some beauty, it’s your duty.
Try your best to avoid excess.
Handle tools with respectful rules. 
Get your ass moving or you’ll be losing.
Take the halo off your heroes. 
Consider others as your brothers.
Your purpose in life should guide you right.
Walk your talk.
Be at ease often, please.
A smile walks woes away for miles.
Stand tall and embrace all.
Just sit and you won’t be fit.    
Smoker’s breath―coughing death. 
Booze your body, bamboozle your mind.
Goodness has a portion of badness.
The seasons give us many reasons.
Insight is often hindsight.
Just one word can unravel what we heard.
We cannot resist believing fictions exist.
We relish and repeat, we link with what we like.
Rigidity is stupidity.
Jumping to conclusions―pleasing your illusions.
Resist translating the implicit into the explicit. 
Slow down before you hit the ground.
Hate locks Love’s Gate. 
Norms are not Eternal Forms.
Ambiguity decreases perspicuity. 
Unbelieving is a source of relieving or grieving. 
Right brain, left brain: tracks below our Living Trains.
You can’t hide from the Big Surprise. 
Rather than cut and dried, favor the whole alive. 
For growth, balance either/or with and/both.
Get work done and have some fun.
Find our common ground―look down.
Alienation begs for imaginative mediation. 
Make history in some new way each day. 
-  Michael P. Garofalo, Pulling Onions

Pulling Onions   Over 1,041 Quips and Sayings by Mike Garofalo

Bowls of Cherries Coming On

Wise is the person who sees the cherry trees in bloom and does not say "life is not a bowl of cherries."

- Mike Garofalo, Pulling Onions

Pulling Onions

Stupidity and shallowness are increasingly popular.

When Death grins at you, grin back; when death beckons you, run away.

Thankfully, we can imagine nearly everything─ which helps prevent boredom.

A garden is a Romantic's parádeisos.

It's over when it ends.

Act on your knowledge first, your common sense second, and your best guess third.
Wear a variety of masks; acting is essential to coping.

A garden is a feeling.

Acknowledging that you might die today has stopped few from trying to stay alive to 80.

Dreams are our imagination at play while we sleep.

You can train yourself to eliminate bad habits and useless thoughts; for example, stop attending any more church services starting today.
Seventy percent of "good luck" is following reasonable plans and working diligently; the rest is often beneficial circumstances outside of your control.No garden lasts for long - neither will you.
 Shade, in the summer, is as precious as a glass of water. Fear may keep some stupid people in line, but virtue for virtue's sake attracts the allegiance and support of most intelligent people.

The most important Master to seek and follow is Self-Mastery.

There is no 'i' in "team," but there is an 'm' in me, my, and mine.
 Sometimes it is best to walk away and never walk back.
 Exercise is a way of making the unconscious body very conscious.
 A wise gardener knows when to stop.
 Gardens are demanding pets.
 Unclench your fist to give a hand.
 The little choices day after day are the biggest issue.
 Gardening is but one battle against Chaos.
 When life gives you onions, you ain't making lemonade.
 Many friendships are sustained by a mutual hatred of another person or group.
What you see depends on when you look.
 Beauty is the Mistress, the gardener her slave.
 One's "true self" is changing and elusive.
 A little of this and a little of that, and some exceptions - these are the facts.
 Does a plum tree with no fruit have Buddha Nature? Whack!
 - Mike Garofalo



Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo
Over 866 random quips, one-liners, sayings, and "insights" from an old gardener.

"An Onion Garden,"  a concrete poem by Mike Garofalo

Pulling Onions Again

Stupidity and shallowness are increasingly popular. 
When Death grins at you, grin back; when death beckons you, run away.
Thankfully, we can imagine nearly everything─ which helps prevent boredom. 
A garden is a Romantic's parádeisos.
It's over when it ends.
Act on your knowledge first, your common sense second, and your best guess third.
Wear a variety of masks; acting is essential to coping.
A garden is a feeling.
Acknowledging that you might die today has stopped few from trying to stay alive to 80.
Dreams are our imagination at play while we sleep. 
You can train yourself to eliminate bad habits and useless thoughts; for example, stop attending any more church services starting today.
Seventy percent of "good luck" is following reasonable plans and working diligently; the rest is often beneficial circumstances outside of your control.No garden lasts for long - neither will you. 
Shade, in the summer, is as precious as a glass of water.  Fear may keep some stupid people in line, but virtue for virtue's sake attracts the allegiance and support of most intelligent people. 
The most important Master to seek and follow is Self-Mastery.  
There is no 'i' in "team," but there is an 'm' in me, my, and mine.  
Sometimes it is best to walk away and never walk back. 
Exercise is a way of making the unconscious body very conscious. 
A wise gardener knows when to stop. 
Gardens are demanding pets. 
Unclench your fist to give a hand. 
The little choices day after day are the biggest issue. 
Gardening is but one battle against Chaos. 
When life gives you onions, you ain't making lemonade. 
Many friendships are sustained by a mutual hatred of another person or group.
What you see depends on when you look. 
Beauty is the Mistress, the gardener her slave. 
One's "true self" is changing and elusive. 
A little of this and a little of that, and some exceptions - these are the facts. 
Does a plum tree with no fruit have Buddha Nature?  Whack! 
-  Mike Garofalo


Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo
Over 866 random quips, one-liners, sayings, and "insights" from an old gardener.

"An Onion Garden,"  a concrete poem by Mike Garofalo

Pulling Onions Again

The most important Master to follow is Self-Mastery.
Freedom opens a few doors and closes many more.
A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a green thumb.
Don't sell the present short on the promises of "when." 
Most tire from hatefulness; cheerfulness is abiding.
As you move your hands so you move your mind.
Stubborn facts are loosened up with novelty.
A sure path to the perversion of truth is to make it into beliefs or dogmas. 
Wishes are like seeds, few ever develop into something.  
My mind is a sea I cannot see into; I merely skim along its surface.
Absolutes squirm beneath realities. 
The fear of the Lord is a cornerstone of indoctrination and the beginning of the end of wisdom.
The act, the deed, the doing are the primary considerations.  Stupidity and shallowness are increasingly popular. 
Wherever I go, something new becomes me.
Two essential tools for a lifetime of sexual pleasures are: vivid erotic fantasies and skillful masturbation. 
There is not much to say about "The Unknown." 
To garden is to open your heart to the sky. 
Be careful not to stand up for that which will cause your downfall.    
Borderline cases are were events really become interesting. 
Gardens are demanding pets.
There is no 'i' in "team;" but there is an 'm' in my, me, and mine.   
God and I get along fine, he ignores me all the time and I ignore him.  
Nonsense can sometimes improve our sense and senses. 
When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones. 
Prohibitions focus our aim on better choices and actions. 
Stupidity and shallowness are increasingly popular. 
Objectivity is a product of our agreements, and an important feature of my imagination. 
Hearing the cat purr when we pet them gently matters far more to us than whether the cat's fur is black, white, or orange. 
If you think you are damned if you do or damned if you don't, your not thinking creatively enough. 
The ten thousand things are more enchanting than the Silent One. 
To lift the mind, move the body.  

Pulling Onions: The Quips and Sayings of an Old Gardener.  Over 852 sayings.  By Mike Garofalo

Absolutes Squirm Beneath Realities

Here are some excerpts from a collection of 785 one-liners from Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo:

Mother Nature is always pregnant. 
Time creeps, walks, runs and flies - it is all about moving things. 
Chaos breaks its own rules to allow Order to play. 
Dogmatists are less useful than dogs. 
Take life with a grain of salt, and a icy margarita. 
The best things in life are more expensive than you think. 
Rather than "love mankind," I'd rather admire a few good people. 
Some flourish when crowded together, others don't. 
Garbage In, Compost Out. 
It is more about You and Now, rather than Them and Back Then. 
Hunting for tomato worms- no mercy. 
A pocket knife will be its dullest at just the right time. 
While gardening the borders between work and play become blurred.
When gardening, look up more often.
Just the right words can be worth more than a thousand pictures. 
Death's door is always unlocked. 
A flower needs roots; beauty a society of minds. 
A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb. 
A working hypothesis is far better than a belief. 
Only two percent of all insects are harmful.  Why are they all in my garden? 
Create your own garden, the god's certainly won't. 
That something is eternal is unverifiable. 
Most laws of Gardening are merely local ordinances. 
Failures, disorder and death are the Grim Reaper of Entropy at work. 
Somehow, someway, everything gets eaten up, someday. 
The meaning is lost in the saying - a nature mystic's dilemma. 
Vigorous gardening might help more than a psychiatrist's couch. 
A gardener is no farmer, he is much too impractical. 
No garden lasts for long - neither will you. 
Shade, in the summer, is as precious as a glass of water. 
A wise gardener knows when to stop. 
Gardens are demanding pets. 
Unclench your fist to give a hand. 
The little choices day after day are the biggest issue. 
Gardening is but one battle against Chaos. 
When life gives you onions, you ain't making lemonade. 
Many friendships are sustained by a mutual hatred of another person or group.
Read until you go to seed. 
Death's door is always unlocked. 
Autumn Yellow, the mirror image of Spring Green. 
What you see depends on when you look. 
Beauty is the Mistress, the gardener her slave. 
One's "true self" is changing and elusive. 
A little of this and a little of that, and some exceptions - these are the facts. 
Does a plum tree with no fruit have Buddha Nature?  Whack! 

Planting winter branch cuttings - talk about getting something from almost nothing. 
My mind is a sea I cannot see into; I merely skim along its surface.
Be careful not to stand up for that which will cause your downfall.    
God may be very smart, but he is a poor communicator.
What ought to be cannot be derived from what is the case, but a reasonable person ought not to ignore what is the case.  
Most tire from hatefulness; cheerfulness is abiding.
Stubborn facts are loosened up with novelty.
The act, the deed, the doing are the primary considerations. 
Keep moving― just like a cyclist that must keep pedaling and moving and avoiding falling down.
To many the sun is a god and the earth is a goddess; and, our imaginations are boundless.  
Don't kid yourself: seeing is not necessarily believing. 
If you think you are damned if you do or damned if you don't, your not thinking creatively enough. 
The ten thousand things are more enchanting than the Silent One. 
To lift the mind, move the body.
A calloused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb. 
Absolutes squirm beneath realities. 
The empty garden is already full.
Evidence may support the pessimists' views, but optimists get to smile more.
A gardener is no farmer, he is much too impractical.
The month determines the mood.
A leaf bud - hope visible. 

Pulling Onions: 785 Quips and Sayings of an Old Gardener by Mike Garofalo

Months and Seasons

The Spirit of Gardening

Pulling Onions: An Old Gardener's Epigrams

Planting winter branch cuttings - talk about getting something from almost nothing. 
My mind is a sea I cannot see into; I merely skim along its surface.
Be careful not to stand up for that which will cause your downfall.    
God may be very smart, but he is a poor communicator.
What ought to be cannot be derived from what is the case, but a reasonable person ought not to ignore what is the case.  
Most tire from hatefulness; cheerfulness is abiding.
Stubborn facts are loosened up with novelty.
The act, the deed, the doing are the primary considerations. 
Keep moving― just like a cyclist that must keep pedaling and moving and avoiding falling down.
To many the sun is a god and the earth is a goddess; and, our imaginations are boundless.  
Don't kid yourself: seeing is not necessarily believing. 
If you think you are damned if you do or damned if you don't, your not thinking creatively enough. 
The ten thousand things are more enchanting than the Silent One. 
To lift the mind, move the body.
A calloused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb. 
Absolutes squirm beneath realities. 
The empty garden is already full.
Evidence may support the pessimists' views, but optimists get to smile more.
A gardener is no farmer, he is much too impractical.
The month determines the mood.
A leaf bud - hope visible. 

Pulling Onions: 785 Quips and Sayings of an Old Gardener by Mike Garofalo

Months and Seasons

The Spirit of Gardening

Pulling Onions Again

Planting winter branch cuttings - talk about getting something from almost nothing. 
My mind is a sea I cannot see into; I merely skim along its surface.
Be careful not to stand up for that which will cause your downfall.    
God may be very smart, but he is a poor communicator.
What ought to be cannot be derived from what is the case, but a reasonable person ought not to ignore what is the case.  
Most tire from hatefulness; cheerfulness is abiding.
Stubborn facts are loosened up with novelty.
The act, the deed, the doing are the primary considerations. 
Keep moving― just like a cyclist that must keep pedaling and moving and avoiding falling down.
To many the sun is a god and the earth is a goddess; and, our imaginations are boundless.  
Don't kid yourself: seeing is not necessarily believing. 
If you think you are damned if you do or damned if you don't, your not thinking creatively enough. 
The ten thousand things are more enchanting than the Silent One. 
To lift the mind, move the body.
A calloused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb. 
Absolutes squirm beneath realities. 
The empty garden is already full.
Evidence may support the pessimists' views, but optimists get to smile more.
A gardener is no farmer, he is much too impractical.
The month determines the mood.
A leaf bud - hope visible. 

Pulling Onions: 785 Quips and Sayings of an Old Gardener by Mike Garofalo

Months and Seasons

The Spirit of Gardening