NO STRINGS

what a beautiful phrase:
no strings attached

no strings means
that you give
you don’t expect anything in return
it’s selfless

what arises through you
whatever pops up as an impulse
you just simply “express”

you are not seeking to make an “impression” that holds your self-image in place
you are not a puppet or a slave to (the micromanagement of) your self-image

no,
you entangle with others from a neutral position
in the moment
free of any judgment and stories filtering your flow

you know exactly what you want
and you go for it
regardless of the specter of rejection

you are ready to take rejection
ready to roll with the thrill of it

you don’t let your behaviour be dictated by scripts, idea(l)s, and, in general,
a narrative temporality that warps your engagement with yourself & others

there are no strings attached

yes

no strings means
that you don’t just passively slide into roles and social algorithms
living a life external to you
a placid life that’s expected of you

no strings means
you have no mercy

you align

you stand for and assert
clarity and directness

you admit & own
what you want

you are transparent about it
and take nothing personally

you don’t allow any strings shove you around like a puppet
you don’t anxiously speculate, you don’t project or calculate
instead you shove yourself
you push yourself over the edge
and have them chips fall where they shall

Emerson called it self-reliance
Cook calls it being in your prime
and we could simply call it being real

[now bracket all of this above
and divide it by the qualifier: as much as humanly possible]

intersect

intercept
or, in effect, short-circuit
people’s BS loops
(when they, for ex, politely laugh
and respond to everything you say
in a predictable and ‘expected’ way
or
when they unwittingly assign and shoehorn you into a certain role
that feeds their dysfunctional patterns of self-sabotage,
confrontation, submission, etc.)
instead of responding in kind (=being sucked in) and reacting
just jolt them out of the loop
by leading the way and being light
by being relentlessly transparent and direct
bordering on the raw
by being PRESENT