#1
You know some people who are in a bind
You know some people who are lost, big-time
You know some people who are in the employ of socially approved psychopaths
You know some people who are zombies, but highly successful zombies
You know some people who are getting divorced
You know some people who are afraid of being alone
You know some people who are predators—smiling, cheerful, alert predators
You know some people who have got it in for you
You know some people who could use the company of a Sufi poet/PhD right about now
You know some people just like you
#2
You know some people whose self-confidence is slowly disintegrating
You know some people whose liver is failing
You know some people who would never deign to ride the bus
You know some people who are prejudiced against men who wear Fedoras
You know some people who think they are getting away with it
You know some people who are drifting away from you
You know some people who don’t have the luck of the Irish
You know some people whose writing styles are so predictable
You know some people who could use a serious infusion of metta
You know some people just like you
#3
You know some people who are never going to finish the project they’ve been talking about for years
You know some people who’ve got $97 in savings
You know some people who dread noon and glorify midnight
You know some people who see sunshine as a personal reproach
You know some people who are thoroughly pleased with their looks
You know some people who think the Buddha’s teaching on impermanence applies to everyone but them
You know some people whose identity is being the noble Suffering Servant
You know some people who think 36 times a day: “Guilty as charged!”
You know some people who want to believe in the existence of Lamedvavniks
You know some people just like you
#4
You know some people who take boredom to unprecedented levels of achievement
You know some people who are scared stiff to assert themselves
You know some people for whom Christmas season is a long, drawn-out torture
You know some people who hear police sirens every night
You know some people who obsess over the minutia of the lives of Keith Richards or Hilary Clinton
You know some people who never have a good haircut
You know some people who nurture vendettas like they were new born babes
You know some people who just.can’t.stop.
You know some people who don’t need your advice just your ekāgratā
You know some people just like you
#5
You know some people who skip merrily along (at least in their own minds) when their rivals crash and burn
You know some people who really try to weasel out their way through life
You know some people who think they’re the greatest in their fields
You know some people who can’t function without their Smart Phones
You know some people who can only make eye-contact with their mirrors
You know some people whose impatience is advanced cancer
You know some people who keep their diaries in a safety deposit box
You know some people who automatically leap into any fray they see
You know some people who could use a visit from Shantideva
You know some people just like you
#6
You know some people whose pantheon only has room for them
You know some people who live very close to sniper towers
You know some people whose backs are pressed against the wall
You know some people who act as if gossip is the national pastime
You know some people who are still mourning something that happened 23 years ago
You know some people who will never feel safe in this city, ever
You know some people who have recurring dreams of the Nazis coming
You know some people who think reading is the most important thing in the world
You know some people who just want someone to listen to them for one minute
You know some people just like you
#7
You know some people who wish it would rain every day
You know some people whose second home is the hospital
You know some people who pride themselves in being in the avant-garde of Bitterness
You know some people who pride themselves on being gorgeous vampire girls
You know some people who will never believe you when you say, “You can do what you want”
You know some people whom you see after 20 years and think, “God, they look like hell”
You know some people who have had it way too easy
You know some people who are holding on to a rock at the edge of a cliff
You know some people who need to sit still and say their mantras
You know some people just like you
#8
You know some people who are at the mercy of their parents
You know some people who are at the mercy of their children
You know some people whose desperation is obscured by amazing levels of productivity
You know some people who are enamored of phantasms, frivolities, and flings
You know some people who think their GPA is “pretty good” when it’s four point oh
You know some people who are their own best enemies
You know some people put their social justice projects before everything and everyone else
You know some people who are headed to the racetrack for the 14th time this month
You know some people whose fathers reward them with large doses of cash for keeping their weight at 107 pounds (and if the daughters don’t, the fathers utilize the silent treatment)
You know some people who censor themselves more thoroughly than the Russian poets during the reign of Stalin
You know some people who need to look Equanimity in the eyes
You know some people just like you
— from work-in-progress, Our Heroic and Ceaseless 24/7 Struggle against Tsuris
