I want to emphasize a point in maintaining optimism and not falling into despair. Part of this is about learning to harness the power of the future, and of possible future joy. As I mentioned, joy may be extremely rare, coming up – once in a blue moon… but this is all in perspective. Joy can be as simple as a conversation with a friend or a feeling of peace in art or beauty. It is often necessary to endure situations until we get to the next contented moment, and find that next joy. In some cases mindfulness may be best set on the future.  Am I wrong?  No, we must consider future potential at some point, with reminders from the past of what is good, and what we can expect. I pray that we all have something, however simple and temporary that we can look forward to: a drink to quench our thirst, a vision to behold, or the conversation of a friend or family to look forward to. Even our own creativity and thought can help us find content. It is important to persevere till we get to that moment. Enjoy the present, but if that is not possible, there is still something ahead that makes endurance worth waiting for.

The following poem was written in the mid to late nineties. My recent conversation brings me back to it.

Days

Got to choose your next move,
Got to do what you think
Is really going to make a difference,
In your little world,

Plush carpets and amber lights,
A ride that’s free in many ways,
Cushions on a couch save me,
Living hell for many days,
Long days,
How did I pass my time today,

Hard cold floors and bright lights,
My mind is cool most always.
Patterns on the walls they change,
In never-ending hallways,
Fall days,
How can I pass my time this way?
Anyways,

I’m climbing through. I’m climbing out,
It’s only me, just with everything else,
My soul within everything else,

Got to groove as you proceed,
Got to do what you think
Is really going to take you all the way,
To the next content moment,

Tight with my fretful friend,
Fingers dance on steel to play,
Notes will tell the mood of life,
Come back for another day,
Any day,
How can we pass our time today?

Sitting on groves of green grass,
Trying to cure the grey day,
My blood thirst for red wine,
Just to pass the night away,
Far away,
How did I pass my time today?

Climbing free, climbing out,
It’s just me, with everyone else,
We’re so close to climbing out,
It is only work, forget everything else,
The soul without everything else,

Change of pace and growing old,
Forget about the distant days,
Still need to understand the soul,
And have something good to say,
Every day,
How did you pass your time today?

Finally free, finally out,
The soul is one and everything else,

Finally free, finally out,
The soul is one just with everything else!

***

The conclusion is a bit finite, but I really feel that it is whole. You need to have something good to say about every day: My couch was comfortable, patterns on the wall were interesting, and in my case, I played guitar. I recommend hobbies and mindfulness in simple pleasure that one can draw on in times when it is difficult to easily endure. It is important to be aware of potential joy as we are experiencing it. It is also necessary in times of stress, as a means of coping: to remember that there are always other moments to look forward to, sometimes just by looking inside.

Social media is a very complex animal, but then any social interaction could also be subject to serious study (and of course – many have been).  One thing that I have encountered in dealing with social media is that I often have a lot to say and that it is very difficult to always express my ideas effectively.  For example in emails, it is easy to say too much.  A lot of people just don’t have time for paragraph upon paragraph.  Then I may find that I have opened a can of worms, and need more words just to fill out a concept, or do justice to my personality in any sort of edgy or difficult conversation.  From making mistakes by being verbose, it can cause one to clam up and then not say enough!!  It may take practice, a clear mind and patience to communicate effectively with the social animal – social media!

This poem is about an essay, and the fact that people can convey so much with words, but also that one word can make all the difference.  Everyday it is necessary to leave our social expression to interpretation:  walking down the street, at a coffee shop, on the internet or at any social gathering.  It can be very difficult to share our personalities – our stories, virtues, strengths or weaknesses, without leaving an interpretation that may be at least slightly inaccurate.  Creating a good impression can be difficult.  One word can be the difference.

Okay, we all have heard the most useful and excellent saying: “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover.”  This is accurate most often in so many ways.  Correct me if I am wrong, but sometimes – just sometimes: it is still possible to get some idea about a personality by clothing, hairstyle etcetera, often because a person is trying to make that statement!  Still: A personality is very difficult to judge in any case.  Communication (what is in the book) is often our best tool in this research.  A conversation, a poem, a song, an essay or a book can be a very important and powerful source of expression for one individual. Blogs may be a great tool for someone that needs to express.  I hope I said the right thing.

Essay- from one word

(Not so clear at the presentation)

Smooth . . .

Shuffle, shuffle,

Relax…. Sift quickly over the pertinent sheets.

Aha!!

Here it is.  The answers are here.

Flowing through crevices and cracks of the vocabulary and intricately woven grammar,

One word answer:

Shuffle, shuffle,

Sift,

Flow:  Energy.

Crumple, Crumple,

Great throw,

Clunk.

Can be too negative.

Flow:  Virtue – there it is.

Resting, perching

Waiting, pinned to the wall.  Read it. Must think about it . . .

Thump. . .Vast resources.  Big book.

Apply it.

Can it be utilized?

Or will it drag the reader through the dust?

Push the button,

Hum, whir, click,

Simmer,

Whir,

Flash – a screen of reality, illuminating all the dimensions of virtual vision,

Thoughts transferred directly, if distantly into a bright, tangible display,

Not helpful,

Still looking for one word,

Tap, tap, tap, click, tap, tap, tap, click, Tap, TAP, TAP, Enter,

Whir, beep, blip,

Flow:  Energy can be neither created or destroyed . . .

Virtuous buzz.