T.A.O.
Wisdom Comes from Experience,
Knowledge Comes from Others.
Genius is their Unison.
Charlie Provins 2001
The spirit of this website is to provide information about quitting alcohol and cigarettes from the perspective of a real person, me TAO. I included some very real details about myself. Additionally, there is a calculator to help you understand the money saved, extra life available, and count the instances of using your vices to pass another day. I am a Taoest, which is different than a Taoist...the latter is an ancient philosophy that is no longer practiced and the former is my update of this ancient philosophical construction to the modern problems we have in modern societies.
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A series of reflections are available as long stories, blurbs, and poems. Have fun exploring! The point of this website was not to sell you on something, someone, or otherwise lead you from point A to point B. Rather, this website is a reflection of life...it meanders with moments that may be truisms or otherwise forgettable given the reader's preferences. I feel compelled to be transparent and share my struggles with alcohol and nicotine, which honestly are/were not so severe given my general health, lack of prison time, my quotient of happiness, and sincerity. However, I do not want to underestimate their deleterious effects given that I am where I am, which may have nothing to do with my former passionate embrace of alcohol and nicotine.
I quit drinking alcohol so I could successfully quit smoking cigarettes.
And I am really glad I did, because Neither is Beneficial.
*smile*
is a moniker I use to break up the monotony of a long message and imply that I am in fact smiling as I write.
These days make me whole again
Working in the dirt knowing my shovel
Topography excavated and redeployed, total strain
My grip is calloused and filthy, the total grit
The rains could not wash away even the crust
My mind is rested in this refrain, all alone working
Everybody knows this is fun, at least for those that can
Fatigue replaced by tomorrow’s tonnage and breadth
The prize is forever and memories are fond
These days make me whole again.
Time Flies...Yet My Rhythm is the Same
What did I learn? Not that much to be honest. Yet, this year marked serious reinforcement of an ethos I have been endeavoring to test over years. The trifecta is powerful to practice with a hope to eventually master this Tao: Graciousness, Generosity, and Genuineness will lead to Inspiration.
