Hello, Stranger.
Your curiosity in reaching me is noted — and quietly appreciated. Below, you will find 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
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 subject lines from below.
Plato 428 – 348 BC
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."
"The beginning is the most important part of any 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 intelligent, because I know that I know nothing."
"Wonder is the beginning of wisdom."
Carl Sagan 1934 – 1996
"The cosmos is 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 known."
"We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever."
Albert Einstein 1879 – 1955
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
"A human being is a part of the whole called by us 'Universe,' a part limited in 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
"Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment."
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
"When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."
Leo Tolstoy 1828 – 1910
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
"All great literature is 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 always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart."
"To love someone means to see them as God intended them."
Franklyn Clinton 1880- 1970
"The moment the powerful decide a powerless man must be silenced, they have unwittingly crowned him."
"Power does not waste itself on the truly insignificant. If it does, then those in the position of power are actually weak."
"Persecution is the tribute that hollow authority pays to genuine truth. The hunted man's significance is measured not by his station, but by the fear he provokes in those who hold it."