Personal Meditation No. 150 (Filing Cabinet)

“It’s not all in your mind but if you don’t control your mind, then the rest doesn’t matter.”

Embrace the Within.

Four mornings ago, I opened a filing cabinet that had remained mostly closed for the past two decades. Within were piles of files filled with poems, essays, and research compiled over a decade of my life. I am slowly and discerningly going through those files and papers and uncovering a lot of the thoughts from two decades ago that are quite relevant today.

That is from where the idea of “A Pantoum A Day” emerged. I used to write a bunch of poetry. The volume is evident from walking into my study over the past four days. There are many files and loose leafs of paper filled with different poems BUT my favorite of all are the pantoums. I started writing pantoums in a creative writing course at Frostburg and that form is one of the most important finds of my writing life. I enjoy the cyclical nature of the intertwining lines to form a poetic form that closely resembles the meandering and swirling of thoughts.

I don’t know how long I will be writing pantoums daily. This might continue every day. There might be more poems thrown within the mix at times. The pantoums might slow to a few a month BUT the addition of poetry to Embrace the Within is an important next step for my journey.

Poetry is an important part of my life and my writing. I started with poetry in my eighth grade year in Ms. Everett’s class with the poem “Bacon” that gained some notoriety around Smithsburg Middle School. And from there on out, poetry has always held a special place in my writing life.

I do enjoy the daily blog writing that is quite conversational. I do enjoy Gonzo literature, the Hero’s Journey archetype, and influence techniques BUT those ideas came later into my writing career. Poetry is the foundation and that is why I am bringing it back and integrating it into this site.

So, I hope you enjoy the new poetry and the old poetry as I get back into crafting pantoums. There are many more ideas and directions in those stacks of files. Research on cyber culture from the turn of the century, early musings about the structure and nature of the machine, essays applying the Hero’s Journey archetype as a critical approach, poetry for days, and researched papers on literature.

I am having a wonderful time rediscovering the me from the past. I am grateful for opening up that filing cabinet and finding a written record of what was going on back then, where I was focused, and what I was creating. I hope you enjoy the reminiscing as well that will lead to building some interesting new directions as I embrace the old and create the new.

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain

Personal Meditation No. 149

“It may not be your fault but it is still your problem.”

Embrace the Within.

Nothing like the fickleness of Maryland weather. I go from prepping the heaters and greenhouses to a nearly seventy-degree day today. Well, at least the work is finished and the plan is in place for when the temperatures bottom out again. That will probably be again tonight.

So, I don’t worry too much ahead on things like that. The best I can do is be prepared and let life happen how it will. If more folks were prepared for life, then there would be a lot less complaining and blaming. Most folks live moment to moment and day to day with no long term goals or destination. Their goals are simply to make it through the week at the longest. Just looking forward to their next day off. While we don’t take days off.

There are no days off when you’re working on your goal. The path of life does not come with holidays or three-day weekends or vacations. You have to work on those things every single day. There are no days off.

And if there were days off, would you take them? Do you really want to stop your progress? Do you really want to slide into the old rut of sameness you had? Do you really want to lose ground on the journey of your life? Do you really want to take a break from living?

I don’t need a break from living. That is death. Death is when you get to take a break from all this living. So, are you choosing to be alive or to be dead? Because living is always a struggle and death is the release from that struggle.

I don’t need a break from living. I enjoy what I am doing. I look forward to the challenges of life. I look forward to the struggles and the surprises. I look forward to where the day will lead. I look forward to the choices and opportunities in my path. I look forward to being grateful for what I make happen. Amor fati.

Are you living?

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain