Things I Learned From My Dad:

Give people the benefit of the doubt.
Competition causes conflict.
Music will be the best friend I will ever have.
The masses will never tell me anything I don't already know in my heart.
We all owe the world art at whatever scale we see fit.
I can draw, I can sing, I can write.
The is more to the world than what we see: other realities, dimensions, consciousnesses.
Smiling feels better than not smiling.
Nothing matters enough to wallow in it.
Having fun is the most important thing one can do with a life.
There is beauty in everything and it is our job to expose it.
How to see the world in photographs.
How to notice the light and the curves and the shapes and colors.
Distrust of authority.
Independence.
How to enjoy and learn from brooding solitude and indolence.
How to keep a journal and value my thoughts and emotions and dreams.
How to drive a car.
Hard work.
Art trumps politics.
No one can see the world like me.

Thank you Mehran. I miss you, and when I look in the mirror you are all I see.