In 730 days, I will have spent five years on that journey. I won’t be done, but I have a vision of what April 26th, 2018 will look like.

Our north pole of “good times” doesn’t have to have a south pole of sadness. There’s no physical necessity in play to force sadness to exist to counter balance happiness. We can have an emotional monopole.

My friend asked me to join her on a challenge: 30 days without booze, sugar, coffee, and pot. I understood her reasons and I wanted to applaud and support her pledge.

The last few years have left me really ragged financially, physically, cognitively. I have a plan for how to come of this rebuilt.

Can big changes come in small packages?

• you are art
• you deserve an artist’s statement

Our world is without ritual. Not the globe mind you, just the sphere that each of us North Americans / Occidentals cocoon ourselves within. New Atheists embrace the rational world without God and superstitions. They are free to be and do what they wish to do, without stopping to think about their imaginary immortal soul. Christmas boils down to being about gifts, food and maybe a flight down to Mexico. They don’t run the risk of gaffing on a ritual and earning the wrath of their parish or their God. You can imagine what a load off your shoulders a ritual free lifestyle can be. But I went another way and opted to build a rebirth ritual with the help of my friends.

Longevity is a curse.

Our lifespan has increased dramatically as a key benefit of civilization. The Tomb of the Eagles on Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland, produced the remains of 342 people. The most common age of death was early adulthood, between fifteen and thirty. Only 1.5% of people were over 40, and very few lived to reach the age of 50. Our longevity has hockey sticked in the last century. We’re saving children from an untimely demise and we’re keeping the old alive longer.