been hit by a car in the middle of the night and left for dead
had amnesia
been accused of murder, rape, arson and organized robbery
been reported more than once to American's Most Wanted
been interviewed extensively by the police regarding these accusations
been investigated twice by the F.B.I. because of where I worked
been betrayed by some of my closest friends
been robbed at gunpoint on my birthday
been in love three times
had my heart broken three times - once by a dog
known that a woman's breast is the hardest rock that the Almighty ever made on this earth, and I also can find no sign on it
had half of my face stay paralyzed with Bell's Palsy for three weeks
chicken pox, hepatitis, herpes, gout and a bad liver
two wisdom teeth and no appendix
broken my arm in two places trying to drive a motorcycle through a steel cable
had a bug crawl into my ear while I was sleeping and wake me up by eating my eardrum
had a dog bite me for no good reason
jumped over a rattlesnake while running through Chaco Canyon
been hiking at Land's End and witnessed the birth of a lamb with the sunrise
also witnessed the birth of humans, horses, cats, dogs, rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, chickens, cardinals, mockingbirds and snakes
wrecked several cars
had seven bicycles stolen
gotten drunk and forgotten where I left my bicycle, believed it to have been stolen, bought a new one, only to later find my old one safely locked up in front of another bar
woken up on a sidewalk in Barcelona in a dried pool of my own vomit with no clue and incredibly happy
screamed drunkenly at monkeys in Spain and been told to stop by the police
put my fist into a friend's mouth to stop him from screaming while we were on L.S.D.
lost most of my friends
cultivated the capacity for solitude
fed over 200 people at a Thanksgiving Dinner
been in jail twice
worshipped strange gods, made images of them, taken most of their names in vain, worked a month of Sundays, commited adultery, stolen, lied, cheated and coveted occasional items of my neighbor
never murdered or raped anyone
hitchhiked all over England
done most drugs more than once
seen more than a dozen people die
never wanted to leave the Black Sail in Cumbria, England, the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in New Mexico, Metora in Greece, Chania in Crete, Isla de Mujeres in Mexico, Santiago de Compostella in Spain and Austin, Texas.
walked across the North of Spain trying to remember god
biked through the deserts of New Mexico trying to forget god
fallen asleep at a crossroads in the desert
played guitar on the streets of Austin
been homeless - by choice - for over a year
spent of lot of time with a human skull in my hands
thought about suicide once a week for 25 years
read a lot of books
watched the sun rise over or set under the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Carribean Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean
had more good days than bad
been genuinely surprised and overwhelmed by an old friend
dreamed like you wouldn't believe
caught some really big fish
helplessly watched the best part of myself die in the Desert and burn for days on a pyre
found god, lost god and known the Grace of Just Being
