Living Life Poetically: The Unspoken Words
There’s a lot that can be read in a person’s body language. So, it’s good to recognize people’s nonverbals, as that can be very revealing about your relationship. But… Let’s not go overboard. There’s always the possibility of misinterpreting something or rushing to the wrong conclusion. The point here is to be aware–to not disregard the nonverbals or be completely oblivious to them; because sometimes, these “nonverbal messages” can reveal more than the verbal ones do. “The Unspoken Words,” is about that. More specifically, it’s about the pretenses that exist in some relationships. As a result, these relationships are less authentic. They are built on an illusion of mutual liking.…
Living Life Poetically: “A Love Poem”
As the title of this poem suggests, “A Love Poem” is literally a love poem. But not just to anyone. It actually came about two and a half months ago while I was trying to fall asleep. I was feeling full of gratitude. First, a couple of lines came to me, then a couple of stanzas, then a couple more lines–then it reached the point where I just had to get up and scribbled down as much as I could remember before going back to bed. Past experiences have proven that if I don’t write it down right away, I’ll forget the next morning. Just yesterday, I finally decided to…
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“No exact recipe for today. Gather all available ingredients and whip yourself up something delicious.”
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Living Life Poetically: “Until We Meet Again”
I have to admit: I’m more drawn to writing fiction. I like making up names of people and places, imagining a character’s history and personality, and doing all the creative things that go with coming up with a story. “Until We Meet Again” is a unique poem because it’s based on fictional characters and places. I didn’t expect it to end up that way, but that’s what came out. So, there is no Mr.Kurtberry or farm on Kurtberry Plain. In fact, I’m not entirely sure whether there’s actually any farm out there that harvests both cranberry and grain. Yet, even though the characters and setting might be fictional, the situation…
Living Life Poetically: “Soul Suicide”
Soul Suicide is the third and final poem in my series of unfortunate poetry. But it’s not just the title of a poem. It’s actually a term I came up with. Soul suicide means making the conscious or subconscious decision to completely give up hope. It’s going through life like a robot–going through the motions with no fire burning inside you. It’s not the death of flesh but the death of the soul. The poem is inspired by Shakespeare’s “To Be or Not to Be” from Hamlet. However, it asks the question: to hope or not to hope. I had written Soul Suicide at a time when nothing seemed to…
Living Life Poetically: “Pain Brush on a New Page”
Confession: I’ve been procrastinating on writing this. But I made a promise to you and myself to post all three poems in my series of unfortunate poetry. The first was “Empty,” written in 2013. This one, “Pain Brush on a New Page,” was written in 2014. As you read “Pain Brush on a New Page,” you might want to reflect on what’s different about it compared to “Empty” from 2013. There’s a progression here, but I’m not going to spill the beans just yet. For now, I’ll let you take a guess. The progression between all three poems in the series will be revealed when I share the third one.…
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“Understand: you are one of a kind. Your character traits are a kind of chemical mix that will never be repeated in history. There are ideas unique to you, a specific rhythm and perspective that are your strengths, not your weaknesses. You must not be afraid of your uniqueness.”
“The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.”
“We all have problems. But it’s not what happens to us, it’s the choices we make after.”
Living Life Poetically: “Empty”
The poem, “Empty,” is part of what I’m calling my “Series of Unfortunate Poetry.” This poem was written in 2013. I had just completed my Masters, and I was jobless with looming student loan debt. Nothing seemed to be working out in my life despite all the efforts I had made and continued to make. As a result, my life felt empty, my future felt empty; and it seemed like my goals and dreams were being shut down left and right. At the time, I didn’t know what else to do but to sink deeper and deeper into hopelessness and self-pity. However, in feeling “empty” I grew to appreciate not…
No More Hiding the Past
I admit I’ve gotten into the habit of modifying some of the older poems I’ve shared here. I tweak the last few stanzas or add a few lines to make them sound more uplifting. This site is about living life positively, so making those edits makes sense, right? Well, I’m going to stop doing that. The next few poems I will share in the category, Living Life Poetically, are other old poems written at a time when I was in a very dark place. They will be presented exactly as they were when they were written. They are titled: “Empty” (2013), “Pain Brush on a New Page” (2014), and “Soul…
Living Life Poetically: “The Way of the World”
A few days ago, I was reminded of exactly how much of my student loan debt I’ve already paid, how much of that has been interest, and how much I still owe. Suddenly, it hit me: Based on the amount still owed and the high interest rates, it is practically impossible to pay off my student loans in the near future with my current debt/income ratio–even with all the hard work and budgeting a person can muster. There’s no way to sugar-coat it. Things like this just get you downright depressed. So, in light of how I’ve been feeling lately regarding my student loans (utterly hopeless), I decided to revisit…
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“If you’re reading this… Congratulations, you’re alive. If that’s not something to smile about, then I don’t know what is.”
“Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.”
“Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome.”
Living Life Poetically: “Our Daily Battleground”
“Our Daily Battleground” was written back in the Fall of 2013. However, it had no title, and it ended with the word “cry”; which isn’t a good way to end things. But I’m finally able to tie up the loose end. I realized, today, that the poem is basically about some of the landmines we face on a daily basis in life’s battleground. This thought was the inspiration for the title and last stanza. “Our Daily Battle Ground” is a reminder to make a concerted effort to enrich our day to day lives with things and thoughts that are positive. Perhaps more obviously, the poem is a reminder of the…
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When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me.
“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.”
Living Life Poetically: “You Don’t Know Me”
We all find ourselves misunderstood or misjudged by others at some point in our lives. “You Don’t Know Me” is about that. The inspiration for this poem was a video I ran into on the internet. This video contains very negative generalizations about people of a certain race and gender. The worst part about the video was the comments supporting it and adding additional insults. I couldn’t help but think, ‘there are people out there who actually believe this. Not just kind of, but emphatically.’ Rather than seeing others as complex unique individuals, they generalize; meanwhile dismissing all evidence contrary to their beliefs. “You Don’t Know Me” is meant to…
