Tagged: goals

Poems from the Vault – Balance.

This is an older post (older, yet still relevant) written as a reminder that, no matter what we’re going through, there’s always a duty…yes, a duty, to believe that there is hope at the end of whatever road we’re on.  We owe it to ourselves to believe.  Our personal journeys can bear fruit…we’ve just got to believe, recognize, and put in the work.  Speak up, speak out, and stand tall.  Best of days to you all; keep moving forward.




Poems – Create.

While sipping the coffee this morning and thinking about my list of projects and to do’s, I thought about the importance of seeing my little ideas to fruition.  There was a time in my life when I didn’t realize how content I’d become with just thinking about ideas (and not doing a damn thing about them)…as if those ideas would just magically materialize out of thin air like some Harry Potter fantasy.  There are no magic wands…there’s just work.  Effort.  Consistency.  It’s easy to want to do something…it’s more of a challenge to formulate a plan.  A dream is just a pretty picture trapped in our heads until we take the time to mold them into reality.  Let’s get to work.  

Poetry – The Sky. 

Sometimes you need to just stop what you’re doing, take a few deep breaths, and look up at the sky.  Let its colors cleanse the palette of your mind.  Put down the phone (unless you’re using it to read this post, wink wink), close the laptop, turn off the computer…or the TV…and relax.  Unplug.  It tends to put things into perspective for me…maybe it will for you too.  Best of days to you all, and thank you for reading.

Poems – Once More Unto the Breach.

Today’s positive message; keep on trying.   Are you working on something, but have lost the mojo to continue?  Keep on trying.  Stuck in a rut like quicksand and can’t pull out of it?  Keep on trying.  Wanting to turn around and give up the fight?  C’mon…keep on trying.  Smile.  Take a glance at the poem below if you wish (and have a minute or five); good day/evening to you all, and thanks for dropping by.

Poems – Sketches of Possibility.

Thoughts are fun…writing is, too.  The two go very well together.  On occasion, I like to remind myself to slow down, think, relax, and take in the moments.  Sort of a mindfulness approach, but mostly just my way of remembering to be appreciative.  It’s so easy to complain in this world. Thinking and writing clean the slate and clear the head….and enable us to realize how green our own pastures are.

Peace and happiest of days to all!

Storytime Saturday, featuring an excerpt from A Million Little Boxes – a work story. 

I decided that I’d refuse to let a building define me. I’d refuse to allow any company, or entity, or job, or anything define who I was as a person. As a human. As a man. The contents of that building did not define my success. My success was not in there. It’s in here. It’s within my chest. Within this soul. I am defined by who I am, and what I do…what I believe and what I feel…what I’m capable of…not by the whim of some fucking corporation. Interestingly, it was brought to my attention that I may be afraid to move forward, that I feared success more than I feared failure. The thought of that shit had me up in arms, like “what?” You’ve got to be kidding me, right? “All I want is success”, I’d tell myself.  But you know what?  Maybe I was.  

Poems – Following Daydreams.

If you’ve visited this space before, you by now may be fully aware of the fact that I love to dream.  If you’re new to this space, welcome aboard!  Hey, I’ll admit it…I am a professional dreamer.  I love a good daydream.  Who doesn’t, right?  I have an incredibly vivid imagination, and putting that imagination to work is a fun challenge.  You know what I’ve noticed, though?  Dreams are nothing without action.  They are just (super excellent) thoughts trapped within our brain until we do something about it.  It really all comes down to one thing…how bad do you want said dream?  If it’s worth accomplishing, then it’s worth the effort.  Let’s keep on dreaming…but let’s not don’t forget to do.  Peace and love (and good daydreams) to you all. 

Theatrical Thursday – Big (1988).

The year was 1988. I’d spent countless hours begging my mother incessantly in that desperate, nine year old beggary voice…begging for the chance to see Big in the theaters. I went so far as to cut the picture of it from the film section of the newspaper (it was a big, goofy picture of Tom Hank’s face), and I’d carry it around and show her with the hope of annoying her into taking me to see it. When she finally did, I loved it then and for many years to come. I’ve seen the film about 786 times to date, but seeing it again recently after a very long while opened my eyes to a few key elements that a nine year olds eyes will never see. The main character, Josh Baskin, wished “to be big”; he got his wish, and woke up one morning looking like grown up Tom Hanks. Most of the movie involved Tom acting like he was twelve, but what I hadn’t noticed before was the emphasis on choices. I had no idea that the movie was so complex; taken apart, it had some very deep inner workings.

As an adult, the kid found great success working at MacMillan Toys, great love with Susan (the love interest), and a maturity that most twelve year olds don’t possess. He also earned a pretty powerful conundrum that most kids don’t have to endure; having to choose between prematurely continuing a successful adult life, or reverting back to the comforting reality of his youth. In my opinion, the most powerful scene in the film was when he went back home, in adult form, and witnessed firsthand what he had, and ultimately would, miss out on if he chose the adult path. The ‘innocence’ of youth; friends, games, and family stared him in the face, and either decision that he made was bound to hurt someone. It showed that life revolves around choices, great or minor, and how ultimately, you have to make the decision that’s best for you.

He followed his heart and went back to his family and his young self in the end, but his decision to do so was embedded in my head for a few days after I’d watched the movie. So many of us in life, when confronted with great decisions, freeze up from indecision, and rather than formulate a well-calculated battle plan, we end up making none and float through life under the mercy of fate. It takes incredible character to exert the power of choice, despite the odds. Hey, if the kid in the film was able to make a sound decision that would affect the lives of everyone around him, then we should all be able to, right? Twenty-eight years after seeing Big, I finally got a sense of the soul of the movie; follow your heart, and you can’t go wrong. It’s never too late to learn that message.

Poems – Failure is OK.

Hey, we’ve all been there, right?  We’ve all failed at something…me, you, and everybody else…and we will most certainly fail at something yet to come.  It happens; that’s just life.  And you know what?  It’s ok!  So when we do, it’s important to alter our perspectives and accept it.  Just….accept it, fix what we can, learn from it, and move on.  Acceptance and courage can turn failure into a learning experience that we can use to grow beyond our limitations.  Think about it.  
Thanks for reading, and best of days to you all!