Hello, Stranger.
Your gracious presence on this page is delightfully noted — and quietly appreciated. If my verbosity hasn't already dampened your avidity to contact me, I would like to invite you to read 24 distillations of thought from 8 minds whose words have earned a permanent residence in my attention.Choose one. Let it live in your subject line — or your correspondence will dissolve into the void before I so much as cast an inattentive glance upon it.
Should your wish to reach me continue to solidify, here is a small puzzle standing between us — a worthy toll for the road.
The Cartographic Cipher
Russia ༓ India ༓ Germany ༓ Denmark ༓ Zürich ༓ Italy ༓ Netherlands ༓ Kuala Lumpur ༓ Argentina ༓ Romania ༓ Moldova ༓ Alaska
Nudge the capitals of those nations & cities. Sequence them together to reveal the name of a Dzogchen practitioner that matches major colophons on this blog. Apply a case-insensitive regex as wisdom dictates — then proceed to the post office of Alphabet Inc., where your letter may find its way to my rather unhurried stack of envelopes.
One final note: as a practitioner of the dharma, I hold a profound and utterly unconditional distaste for attachments — so kindly send none.
No AI-composed messages will be read, acknowledged, or dignified with a response.
With measured warmth,
Nudge the capitals of those nations & cities. Sequence them together to reveal the name of a Dzogchen practitioner that matches major colophons on this blog. Apply a case-insensitive regex as wisdom dictates — then proceed to the post office of Alphabet Inc., where your letter may find its way to my rather unhurried stack of envelopes.
One final note: as a practitioner of the dharma, I hold a profound and utterly unconditional distaste for attachments — so kindly send none.
No AI-composed messages will be read, acknowledged, or dignified with a response.
With measured warmth,
An Infinitely Void One
Choose one of the 24 distillations of thought as the subject line. These are not necessarily the exact quotations attributed to the individuals named; rather, they are poetic distillations of their ideas and thought.
Plato — 428–348 BC
“We can readily forgive a child who fears the darkness; the true tragedy of life is when grown men become afraid of the light.”
“The beginning is the most important part of every work.”
“At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.”
Socrates — 470–399 BC
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
“I know that I am wise because I know that I know nothing.”
“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
Carl Sagan — 1934–1996
“The cosmos lives within us. We are made of star-stuff; we are a way for the universe to know itself.”
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be discovered.”
“We are like butterflies, fluttering for a day and imagining that the day will last forever.”
Albert Einstein — 1879–1955
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited; imagination embraces the entire world.”
“A human being is a part of the whole we call the ‘Universe,’ a part bounded by time and space.”
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”
Lao Tzu — 6th century BC
“To know others is wisdom; to know yourself is enlightenment.”
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
“When you realize that nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”
Leo Tolstoy — 1828–1910
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, yet no one thinks of changing himself.”
“All great literature tells one of two stories: a man goes on a journey, or a stranger comes to town.”
“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”
Fyodor Dostoevsky — 1821–1881
“Beauty will save the world.”
“Pain and suffering are inevitable for a great intellect and a profound heart.”
“To love someone is to see them as God intended them to be.”
Franklin Clinton — 1880–1970
“The moment the powerful decide that a powerless man must be silenced, they unwittingly crown him.”
“Power does not waste itself upon the truly insignificant. When it does, it reveals the weakness of those who wield it.”
“Persecution is the tribute that hollow authority pays to genuine truth. The significance of the hunted is measured not by his station, but by the fear he awakens in those who hold power.”