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Skipping along the road one day
I fell and scraped my knee
Discouraged, down, I opened my mouth
To spout a curse or three

Just then I heard a tick tick tick
Along the path with me
A tall blind friend approached behind
And asked me how I be

My brain it filled by habit
With startled plans to hide
The fact that I was lying on
My bruised and bleeding side

"Not too bad," I quickly said
So glad he could not see
"And how are you?" I tried to shift
The topic far from me

My friend he spoke in happy tones
Of plans and thoughts and dreams
And asked me for opinions on
Just how to build a team

Teams for what, you ask? Well let me state
That he was asking me
Just how to help poor travellers to
Progress more stumble-free

Of course I had but naught to add
And gladly let him speak
The more he did, the more I felt
I'd tell him I was weak

I asked for help, he took my hand
And set me on my feet
His joy continued bright as ev'r
With words of comfort, meek

We parted ways, my step was light,
Some hope I now did see
I focused on the hope I found
Of riches just for me

With grace accepted, prayers upheld,
I pondered victory
What was the secret? My friend had said
Surrender was the key

And with surrender in my brain
I saw the path anew
The common trees and signposts now
Proclaimed a message true

The signposts which intended
A completely different word
Were filtered through a heavenly glass
To change just what I heard

One sign it said you only learn
As work is tried at all
I heard that I must walk by faith,
By sight is how I fall

Another said you try and try
And try again for one
I heard that perseverance
Is how the race is run

One more told me that focus is
The most important trait
I heard that where I rest my gaze
Sets travel bent or straight

And yet again a sign popped up
Showing people as the way
I heard that I must, friend or not,
Love all I see today

For just as I was helped along
By one who steadied me
God works through men who lock on Him,
His will, His way, to see

The textual content of this blog is Uncopyrighted. I, Chris Frey, put all my blog posts here into the public domain, unless otherwise marked with a specific license.

If a blog post is not otherwise marked, feel free to copy, distribute, or modify any original content here. Credit is appreciated but not required.

Quoted material is, of course, still copyrighted by its original author. Also, content or software or links outside the blog are still copyrighted by me or the original author.

This uncopyrighted status is inspired by the following article by Leo Babauta, which is also uncopyrighted, and which I copy here in explanation.

As some might know, I'm not a fan of copyright. In fact, I've uncopyrighted this blog and my other blog, Zen Habits.

And while uncopyright and minimalism might seem at first glance to be unrelated, I believe they both stem from the same mindset.

Here's how.

Copyright stems from a protective mindset, one that believes the creator owns his work, and must protect that ownership in order to profit from said work. The creator will share his work with others, but only at a price, and anyone who takes without paying, or uses it as a basis for further creations, is stealing.

That's the copyright mindset.

The uncopyright mindset is that of someone who gives without any guarantee of profit, who lets go of ownership and believes the world owns his creation. He hopes to contribute to the world in a small way, and if others benefit from this contribution, that's a good thing. And if others use his contribution to create something new and beautiful, that's a wonderful thing.

The uncopyright creator lets go of ownership, because to hold on to ownership hurts the world, and to try to protect that ownership leads to unnecessary stress.

The minimalist also eschews ownership, at least to some degree, and believes owning things doesn't make him happy. Doing things makes him happy. Helping others makes him happy. Creating makes him happy.

It is from this place that the minimalist embraces uncopyright, and in doing so gives to the world and hopes that the world will be better for it, at least in a tiny measure.

I have a few points to add:

1. I don't believe that the world owns my creation. I believe that God owns my creation, because He is the source of every possibility of creating anything. Without God, nothing would exist.
2. I have experienced much internal stress, to varying degrees over the years, over copyright. The headache that the world adds to the average person is unnecessary. In the software world, it is even worse. The mass of busywork added just to manage software licenses is enormous. Now, there's not much software on this blog. This blog is about ideas and discoveries. And I generally use the GPL or explicit public domain for software, and I intend to continue to do so. But if anyone reads this blog (there's not too many at the moment), I want to lift the weight of adhering to copyright law from his shoulders. I do not want to inflict on others what has been a burden to me.

[Latest edit: 2025/08/21]

A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.
Louis Nizer, Between You and Me, Beechurst Press, 1948.

There is an aphorism about a farmer who before sunrise on a cold and misty morning, saw a huge beast on a distant hill. He seized his rifle and walked cautiously toward the ogre to head off an attack on his family. When he got nearer, he was relieved to find that the beast was only a small bear. He approached more confidently and when he was within a few hundred yards the distorting haze had lifted sufficiently so that he could recognize the figure as only that of a man. Lowering his rifle, he walked toward the stranger and discovered he was his brother.

Louis Nizer, My Life in Court (1961), p. 443.

Both found on WikiQuote.