Tag: thought for the day

NaPoWriMo Day 21

On By WinstonIn Extended Family,, family, Health, Love, Loving Life, My Awesome Wife, my blessed life, my Dog, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Relationships, The Choices We MakeLeave a comment

As I have mentioned a few times, I have been off work for some time for health reasons. I’m finally going back in a week or two and financially, it’s not a moment too soon. Personally though the past few months have had one important upside. More time with my wife, dog and extended family. I’ve also been able to devote more time to my art. It’s been great… aside from the whole sick and broke thing. Anyway, today’s poem is about that. Enjoy!

The Value of Time

Another day, a dollar earned,

That’s how the stories go,

But what is paid for what is earned,

That’s something most don’t know.

 

But I have spent some time away,

From works’ mad, hectic pace,

And if I could, I would withdraw,

From that one-sided race.

 

For what is paid is my dear time,

And I have none to spare,

Time with my wife and with my dog,

All those for whom I care.

 

I know the company cares not,

Not what they’re there to do,

Don’t kid yourself that you’re unique,

There’s countless more like you.

 

They’ll suck you dry, then cast you off,

Replace you in a blink,

And you’ll have sold all of your time,

For far less than you think.

 

We must all work, I understand,

There’s nothing much for free,

So, trade my time with those I love,

For their security.

 

Though I’ve been sick and money’s tight,

This time I don’t resent,

For time at home with family,

Is always time well spent.

Cheers,

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 30

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Self Awareness, The Power of WordsLeave a comment

Part of my job is peer mentoring and a big part of that is helping to resolve interpersonal issues amongst my co-workers. I often use some of the principles of mindfulness to provide tools to aid this process. One of the main ones, is to not live in past issues or project future ones, but to deal with the moment we are in.

This is the focus of the penultimate verse for this year. Enjoy!

Don’t Fear What’s Not There

The past is gone do not live there,

The future not yet here.

Remove what was and what may be.

And so reduce your fear.

What we most fear is in our heads,

Not in front of us now.

Our future guess based on our past,

Is what we dread somehow.

We cannot hear a calming voice,

So sure it’s just a ploy.

Imagination robs us of,

Our very real joys.

Yet still our brains won’t let us be,

See dangers everywhere.

The “What ifs” start they never stop,

Are more than we can bear.

But if we stop and realize,

What we fear may not be.

From our eyes we can lift the haze,

The truth more clearly see.

The past is gone, why let it run,

The future you create.

By making choices for you now,

Stop ere it is too late.

The future is not carved in stone.

Why fear what is not there?

This does not mean you should not plan,

That you should not take care.

But do not base that plan on fear,

But common sense instead.

By starting in the here and now,

You see farther ahead.

So be here now and find your peace,

Within the now we share.

And from this moment you can find,

Such joy if you just dare.

The future is not carved in stone,

The past no longer here.

And we can find our peace right now,

Choose to live without fear.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 29

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, homelessness, my blessed life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Personal Responsibility, Poetry, Society, Values, VolunteeringLeave a comment

I have a friend named Gene who has been working for years to make the world a better place. Slowly, steadily and most importantly, deliberately. He has worked for youth employment programs, outreach programs, community health networks, school breakfast programs, non-profit housing… the list goes on. All of it with the intent to make life better for other people. He is one of my heroes, and this poem is for him.

A Better World

How many lives do we each touch,

As through this life we pass?

Perhaps a bit more focus there,

Than on things we amass.

It’s what we’ve done as we pass through,

That says just who we are.

The choice we make to harm or help,

Dark cloud or shining star.

All ethics and morality,

Are just a guide it’s true.

What matters is what’s in your heart,

Intent must come from you.

Now do you seek to lift someone,

Or only cause them pain?

If you would seek the former great,

If not please think again.

For in the end the life you’ve lived,

Is judged by those you touch.

So hold your anger, spread your love,

Your kindness does so much.

Not one of us can change the world,

There’s none of us that strong.

But every kindness great or small,

Still counteracts some wrong.

If each of us but try to make,

Things better for someone.

The world will change for that is how,

The greatest works are done.

Not one of us but all of us,

Have strength to shift the stars

If we all try a kinder path,

Might shift this world of ours.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 25

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Self Awareness, Uncategorized2 Comments

I’m posting this a little later in the day than usual. I spent my morning at the Heart Institute getting some tests done. Many of the other people there are in far worse shape than be so it served as a “Memento Mori”. It started me thinking about my eventual end, and this is what came out of it. Enjoy!

A SPARK TO MARK MY PLACE

Sometimes when I’m reminded of,

My own mortality.

I realize I’ll one day face,

The utter end of me.

I wonder where the time has gone,

Just where the years all went.

I’ve lived my life like anyone,

But was my time well spent?

Should I regret the things undone,

The chances that I’ve missed,

Or bow my head and thank the fates,

For each time I’ve been kissed?

And of the lives that I have touched,

Which ones will shed a tear?

And which will share a laugh about,

Some mem’ry they hold dear?

Why do I ask? It matters not.

When I no longer live.

As I wink out, will I believe,

I gave all I could give?

There’s more that I could do not doubt,

Before I leave this place.

Not something grand, some little thing,

To ripple through my race.

Perhaps this verse could be that thing,

That in a thousand years,

Someone may find and read these words,

Find themselves moved to tears.

But maybe not, I cannot know,

Just hope to leave a mark.

And pray some tiny spark remains,

When my own light goes dark.

Cheers, Winston

Scary Movies, Christians, Politicians, Labels and Shorthand

On By WinstonIn Humor, Self Awareness, SocietyLeave a comment

Here I am once again trying to decide what to write for the day.  While I was at work, I had this great idea about the ethics of the situation with Blockbuster, but franklly, I’m just don’t have anything new to say about that.  Once the court hands down it’s ruling and we know what’s happening, then I’m certain to have more to say.

I thought about doing something political, but I’m not sure I could do that without being ill today.  That much sleaze just might be too much for me.  So no poliitical stuff.  Besides, I forgot my phone today and my daughter took it with her to Birthday Party 2.0.  Without all my different news apps, I might have to actually surf and stuff.  That seems like way too much trouble.

Which brings back where I started.  What to write?  What to write?  Hmmmmmm……  What to write?

Too much of that, and people are goinng to start thinking about Jack in the “The Shining”.  Speaking of “The Shining”, now I know what I’m going to write about.  Apparently there’s something to that “stream of consciousness” stuff.  I always thought it sounded too easy to be real.  Turns out, it’s not much more than typing while my mind wanders.  Basicaly, my natural state, but with typing added.  Where was I…?

Ah yes,  “The Shining”.  Contrary to what you’re probably thinking, this isn’t going to be a review.  It’s actually about something from work.  Maybe also something about people needing to be told what to think.  That last bit might be a bit more ambitious than I am right now.  To put that in perspective, there are damp sponges with more ambition (but less bacteria) than I seem to possess at the moment.  Darn!  Apparently the stream of my consciousness meanders quite a bit.  Where was I…..?

Ah yes, “The Shining”.  Today at work, a customer asked me to help him find a scary movie.  Pretty exciting story so far eh?  I asked him to tell me the scariest movie he had seen recently and he didn’t have a clue.  So I asked him to tell me what kind of scary movie he likes.  Does he like ghosts, slashers, fauxcumentaries, gory, creepy etc.  He didn’t have a clue.

I can already hear some of you saying, “What do you expect from someone who watches scary movies?”  Save your breath.  It’s the same for any other genre you can think of.  Even the nice people who insist on only watching “films” and would never deign to watch a mere movie ask me for the best film.  They don’t have any more of a clue than the scary movie guy.  That’s what happens when you think in terms of groups instead of individuals.

You see, it’s like this.  The group Scary Movies includes The Exorcist and Drag Me To Hell.  The group Films, includes Winter’s Bone and Rubber.  Belonging to a group doesn’t mean that all of the qualities of the members are shared, only the single characteristic that identifies the grouup.    To illustrate, The Exorcist is creepy, gory, atomsopheric, well written, brilliantly directed and has a stellar cast including Max Von Sydow.  Drag Me To Hell on the other hand is creepy, gory, atmospheric, well written, brilliantly directed and has a stellar cast.  Both belong to the Scary Movies group.  This is true of many things in various groups.

Mother Theresa and Warren Jeffs both belong to the group Christians.  Rick Perry and Mahatma Ghandi belong to the group, Reiligiously Inspired Political Leaders.  The list could go on.  I think I made my point here though.  If you want help finding a scary movie, it helps if you know what scares you.  If you’re looking for Mother Theresa, don’t ask for Religiously Inspired Political Leaders.  Warren Jeffs may not provide the same experience.

It’s something I do myself.  I ask people for their opinions all the time.  The secret is, I understand that just because several people told me that Paraormal Activity is the scariest movie ever, doesn’t mean it will be for me.  It just helps me guage what to give them when they ask for a Scary Movie.  The truth is Scary Movie is just a label.  The label isn’t the thing.  The label isn’t scary, the movies are scary.  That’s my great breakthrough for the day.  What I put in the group Scary Movies may not be the same as someone else’s group.  Each person’s group is valid for them.

So here’s my point.  The contents of the group aren’t the problem.  The problem is our label.  Instead of Scary Movies, we should use something more like, Winston Lake’s Scary Movie List.  Then I could have something to compare to Jane Doe’s Scary Movie List.  Comparing those list’s would give me a better idea what to reccomend.  Just using  Scary Movies is too broad.  Saying Christian, or Politician or any other broad generic label isn’t really saying anything at all.

The label isn’t the thing, but the greater the resemblance, the more useful the label.  People use labels as a shorthand to describe the world around them.  It’s only when we want to share our world that we understand the problem.  Each of us uses our own shorthand.  Any similarities are purely coincidental.