Helpful dictums

This is a sunset in Launceston that I captured on our Tasmanian trip last year. I thought it goes suitably with the 21 dictums I pinched from Jenny Luca's blog - http://jennylu.wordpress.com/ - who found it on a blog by someone called Garr - but I couldn't find his original blog. Anyway, I thought these twenty-one things learned from jazz and Zen were too good to lose track of -

1. In structure there is freedom and spontaneity.
2. Restraints and limitations can be great liberators.
3. Don’t ever force it; be ever natural.
4. Good intentions are key. Sincerity is king, and yet…
5. It’s not about you.
6. Listen more than speak.
7. Speak only when you have something to say, and then in the most economic way possible.
8. Your approach can be direct and subtle at the same time.
9. Fear is natural (and human), but work through it and past it. Don’t let fear hold you back.
10. Mistakes are part of it (do not worry about them).
11. Embrace the power of now, this moment.
12. Technique matters, but it’s not the most important element.
13. Make no pretenses; put up no facades.
14. Laugh, smile if you feel like it — why not?
15. Share yourself with others; make a contribution.
16. Simplicity is supremely beautiful, yet difficult to obtain.
17. Emptiness and silence are powerful elements of expression.
18. Remove the clutter, strive for absolute clarity.
19. If you think you have mastered it, you have already begun your descent.
20. Always be learning. Always be learning. Always be learning.
21. Curiosity is your greatest gift, nurture it (in yourself and in others)

....thank you Garr (and Jenny)