Poetry

Something I wrote when I was in high school... I think. It was then or earlier not really sure, seems like a long time ago.

I have a notebook with all kinds of things like this. I happen to still like this one. For once I will be brave and actually post it.

A fool and a coward are much the same
They both shrink in the face of responsibility
The fool does so out of ignorance
The coward out of fear

A lover and a hero are much the same
They both risk for the possibility of reward
The lover for a moment of feeling
The hero for the sake of others

"The man is either mad, or making verses." Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) Book II Satire VII

Fire

We all have the fires of passion within us. What we are passionate about is what separates us from each other. We all have that one thing that when we are a part of it we become truly alive inside. If we are lucky it is something that we can find someone who understands and is passionate about similar things. Our passions show who we truly are, for at the moment we partake in such actions we are no longer hiding ourselves. It is not a matter of being the way others would have us, all such pretenses are lost. We free ourselves in our obsession with what drives us, losing the worry of perception.

It matters not what puts that fire in your soul. Maybe it is reading or cards, or money or sex or sports or nature or helping others. The subject is of no importance to outsiders as long as it is important to you. The subject does not apply to everyone, just the passion does. As Ernest Hemingway says in For Whom the Bell Tolls "There's no one thing that's true. Its all true."

The danger in this fiery passion comes from those who do not understand it. Those who would try and undermine our choices and say that we are foolish or wrong for what we are doing. They act this way and say these things because they do not fully understand the way it feels to be totally encompassed by something. Perhaps they have not yet found what moves them. Perhaps they have forgotten it long ago. For whatever reason they cease to believe in such things and therefore call anyone who does foolish. It may seem to some that they are correct, but it is not so and it is folly to believe them.

If the passion harms no one...

If the only wound may be to some perceived dignity or ego...

If the passion is true and it pains one to ignore it...

...the true folly would be to cease being passionate.

Highs and Lows

Life is full of things that will drive you down. Things that will hold you under until you feel as though you cannot breathe.

Life is also full of things that lift you high. Things that will take you to beyond joys you have known in the past and exceed them to the extreme.

Both are necessary.

If all we have is joy in our life it ceases to have meaning. How would you know you are happy if you do not know sorrow? Happiness becomes mundane if it is constant. Like the best tasting dish at the table, to eat is to savor, but if it is all that is consumed it loses its unique flavor. It becomes ordinary and as it does so we become unsatisfied with it. Being unsatisfied with the happiness we have will lead us to strive for more, perhaps to strive for the unattainable. A dangerous game to be sure. We must realize the pleasures we already have as our own.

The pains and sorrows we feel keep us in check with our happiness. It shows us how things may be worse, how things can go wrong for us. If we are lucky these pains are slight and do not pin us down for long. As bad as these times can be we need them. We need to know the darkest hours so we may embrace the light.

"Success is counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed." Emily Dickinson

Luck

I believe in luck, I do. It comes and goes like most things in our lives. Sometimes we are lucky, good things happen to us for no apparent reason, they just do. Other times our good luck turns and we end up on the other end. It can happen to anyone, doesn't matter who you are. Now for as much as I rely on logic in my life believing in luck may seems strange, it may seem more so with the fact that I believe in lucky charms... not the cereal OK...

Everyone has items that make them feel good. For some reason the item gives them the idea that they are lucky, that good things will come their way. There is nothing wrong with that, and to some extent I think it works.

I do not think that the item on its own has any value of luck, instead I think it is the way that the person feels makes it lucky. Let me explain...

When you have an item that you believe to be lucky it can give you a positive attitude. You will feel a little more confident in your actions and therefore when you act it is with a better attitude.

With a better attitude comes better action. You may take try a little harder or look at things in a different way, and that can affect the outcome. Giving a little more effort and working towards things just a little bit more can make all the difference. If a "lucky" stone, ring, shirt, hat, etc. gives you that confidence to try, they work. The difference between success and failure can be as simple as how hard you try and the opportunities you seize. Being open to chance can be good luck in itself.

"When it comes to luck we make our own" Bruce Springsteen - Lucky Town

Walking an Edge

When walking a razors edge of emotion it is good to know you have friends who are there for you. Whether or not you need there help does not matter, what does is the fact that they are available and willing to help. Knowing that you can say what you need to, and show your rawest emotions is help enough. It relieves the pressure of having to hide emotions or thoughts. Only someone who truly cares is able to allow such comfort.

I have a host of true friends and am very thankful for them.

"Think where man's glory most begins and ends,
And say my glory was I had such friends." - William Butler Yeats

Strength

Strength is endurance. Now, I know there is the whole physical strength thing and that is fine, but, to me, emotional and mental strength is much greater.

Physically we have things thrust upon us each day, having to carry things, walk places, lift heavy items etc. but for most of us our true limitations of physical strength are never reached. We are rarely put into a situation where we have to lift 400lbs by ourselves, so the ability to do so is rather moot.

Emotions and mental challenges come and go like the wind. Through our days we have to deal with people, problems, stress, and all the other tasks we need to accomplish to get us through our day. These things keep piling up and piling up on us. We can pick away at them and if we are lucky they never amount to anything we can not handle. The problem is that at any given moment something may happen to bring our emotional or mental strength to its limits. Everything from the car not starting when you have that all important job interview to someone you love being hurt can tear a person down. Our mental strength is all that we have to get us through such times. It can beat us down to the point of tears but we can keep plugging through, we have to.

There are things that can be too much for anyone to handle. It is at these moments when our world is crashing down that only the strongest make it through with minimal scars. The strongest bear it all because they understand one very important thing... pride and ego are a luxury that not all of us can afford. They are able to lay pride down and ask for help. It is not easy to do, I am very guilty of avoiding such things and it has gotten me into trouble in the past. To be able to ask for help from someone, whether it be a loved one or a total stranger is important. True strength is shown in the ability to endure the hardship of admitting you cannot do it alone.

"Through endurance we conquer." - Ernest Shackleton's family motto.