Boo Ya!

Halloween is near, and so is the spooky reminder, "You are not alone! Mwah ha ha haaa!"

Of course, I'm not alone. Even when I'm alone, I'm not alone.

And that's a good thing. Why? Because I want connection.

• I want to be seen; not just for who I am, but for who I can become. 
• I want to be heard; not just for the things I'm sure of, but for the thoughts in my heart trying to find expression. 
• I want to be understood; not just when I give clear reasons for the hope that is within me, but also in the times I'm not even sure what I mean. 
• I want to be known; not just that I exist, but for my purpose in life, why I exist at all.
• I want to be loved; not as the world loves, but for the nurturing of my spiritual growth.

Gee! Sounds like an awful lot of "I wants," doesn't it? Actually, there's nothing wrong with that, even if it does seem selfish. These are basic human needs. I want my needs met. Sound better that way?

However, life is ironic. I learned that going through life seeking to get those needs met is exactly the way to make sure they don't. Not only is it better to give than to receive, in this case, it's critical. 

In other words, to get what I want, I must want to graciously give and genuinely follow through.

• If I want to be seen, see others for their potential and be encouraging to them.
• If I want to be heard, listen with my heart to what others are really trying to express.
• If I want to be understood, seek first to fully understand and be sincerely interested.
• If I want to be known, discover what others highly value and hold dear to their hearts.
• If I want to be loved, be motivated by love to extend myself for the purpose of nurturing someone's else's spiritual growth.

Gee! Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Actually, there is everything right about this list. These are not selfish at all. Connection is a basic human need. Connection is something I can only get by giving. 

So, I give you my happy thoughts at this spooky time of year to spread the joy, not of Halloween, but weaning off the feeling of being hollow. Feeling hollow and needy were one and the same for me.

My desire is to inspire. I'm putting a 180-degree spin on my own attitude in life and finding a key ingredient to living. So, when a costumed character eerily whispers low, "You are not alone," I will smile and respond, "You got that right!" I'm even here with you now as you read this. So, smile!

Early Once More

My quiet time to write gets slowly squeezed out as the sun rises. Yep! That's me, early to rise.

I'm not always early to bed, though, which makes rising with a clear head difficult sometimes. But, I find this time to be precious, so much so, I retire early so I can enjoy it.

I love the quiet of the morning. I love the gentleness of my thoughts before my soul gets mugged, once again, by everyday occurrences. My heart is closest to the surface and I'm free to be me.

I've revisited this ol' blog o' mine to revitalize and focus its contents on the gist of my thoughts: writing from the heart. I must do so. I hope you enjoy reading this blog. I wrote it for writers, specifically me.

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes the mundane seem like surprise." -- some blog writer ;-)

Change in My Bowls

I must write
    if I want to write, right?
I have the time to make the time
    even the time to rhyme.
So what keeps me from the task, I ask?

My heart should be on fire
    from my desire.
Instead, there's not a puff;
    the heat's just not enough.
If fashion were my passion
    I'd be at the mall, flashin'.
Instead, I creep
    through a heep
    of blank pages. (How cheap!)

I don't want what I wrote
    to sound lazy or rote.
Stale writing that's old
    grows moldy and cold.
Am I afraid
    of a sentence I've made?
Why is it worse
    to hear my own verse?
It's absurd
    that I'd be afraid of a word!
Especially my own
    does it make me groan?

Besides, it doesn't matter a smatter.

There are no souls
    to put change in my bowls.
I hide in my room
    warm, close, like a womb.

I write for me, you see, and also for God.

Are you even there?
    Should I even care?
Yes! No! Nonsense! Beware!
I'm alone with a bone of my own.
    to pick, lick or stick it and moan.
I fight me, God heals me
   I jab at Him and He sets me free.

So comment
    if you wish, on my lament.
Maybe I'll read it someday
    if I wish. Okay!

For now, it's write that I write right now.
Until His words and mine do mesh,
    and my phrases take on life that's fresh.

Job Market -v- Food Market

When I go to something called a food market, I see plenty of one of my favorite foods: fruits. I love berries, peaches, and melons, for example. If I hear of a new food market opening up, I expect it would have those same things and probably more, and at competitive prices, too.

On the other hand, when I search through the job market I have a very hard time finding what I want, especially at the salary I want. I wonder if my ideal job is even there at all! Do I have to modify what I want? Do I have to be the best conformer? Occasionally, I'll find something vaguely similar to the position I seek, but the location or salary is outside my desired range.

My experience is like finding bruises on all the peaches. I wonder what the inside looks like if I can see a bruise on the outside. Likewise, the job market is full of things I don't want. It's like the ultimate package offered on satellite TV: hundreds of channels you don't want. I can go to another nearby food market, but I can't go to another nearby job market. If I wanted, I could relocate for a job, which is what I'd have to do if I wanted another cable provider. But what if I want to stay?

I think the "job market" needs to be renamed. From my perspective, it's not a market at all! It's more like a network of channels, most of which I really don't want. Networking is the greatest tool in finding an appropriate position. It's not like I can breeze through the 'want ads' and see plenty of one of my favorite jobs. I have to surf the channels, test the networks, and become part of the network. There are few TV channels that I really enjoy.

It's only a market when employers go shopping. They pick from the selection of available stock and offer a competitive price. It's my job to be a juicy-looking peach. How humiliating! This is the reason I'd rather be self-employed, or at least avoid corporations that place the worship of profits before the serving of people. Sorry pal, I'm not a peach. I'd rather network or broadcast. After all, it's about people - relating to them, getting to know them, letting them know me, and serving them. The opportunity is out there, shopping. Let it find me. Leave the market for food or some other abundance of selection.