Unsolicited Free Advice

If you’re human, chances are you have asked someone for advice. You can tailor what you ask based on who they are and what they know.  You can find others willing to mentor you in most cases.

But what happens when you get free advice from people who know absolutely nothing about your situation and the problem you are having?  What about people who tell you what you want to hear and not like it is?

You have to find a way to discern the truth for your own best self interest.  You may need to research things a little on your own.

Simply because someone decides it’s so, doesn’t make it so.  Also what works for them may not work for you.

Countless times I have had people want time to say something that I know isn’t so in this or that occurrence.  They, of course, end up learning the hard way (most of the time).

I think listening to others and their advice can be a good thing if you look at the content and circumstances to which the advice is offered.  If they’ve never done something, etc than you are taking a risk listening to them in the first place.

The truth is, you should trust yourself and your own instincts and your ability to filter out the good advice from the bad.  Take heart, you are not in whatever you are in alone - but take heed because not all advice is meant to be followed!

Poets are Born not Made

I read about poetry and poetry a lot!  Makes sense because I’m a poet.  I read a recent quote from a book about reading poetry - it was the Latin proverb “poets are born not made.”

I have thought about that phrase constantly ever since I read it.  What does it mean?

It probably means (at least to me) if you were meant to be a poet then you were born that way - ready to share your words in whatever form but mostly in a poetical one.  Does that mean you can’t become a poet if you weren’t meant to be?

That’s not a question, I can answer.  I have come across many people who say to me some things like “I write poetry,” “I want to publish a book,” “I’m a writer” after they find out I am a poet and writer.  But they don’t have any experience with it in most cases, they’ve just decided that’s what they want to do.  Once in a great while, someone who says these things to me will have some kind of educational background in writing or literature or English.  Generally, no.

For me, though, yes I was born that way, as a Poet.  I’ve been writing stories and poems since I was really little.  Later on as a voice major, I wrote song lyrics.  I have one degree in the arts and studied poetry with a well-known poet at the time, and I’ve taken poetry workshops, etc. etc.  I wouldn’t be happy if I couldn’t write.  I love everything about it - the entire process including submission and rejection.

Poets are indeed meant to share poems.  Poems, in the long run, always belong to their poets!

Things to Do Every Day

Do you have a list?  You know one of those with things you do every day?  How about a routine?

Mine is kinda simple, get up, meditate, have a light breakfast, fix a cup of tea to go.  I find, though, I never do any of this in the same order on the same day.  Similar, but not exact.

It’s moments that come up and change the routine that make things interesting or not.  I decided I would try to find certain things to do every day to keep my focus.

Here’s my list:

1) Read

2) Yoga

3) Mediate

4) Drink hot tea

5) Write

6) Eat dinner with my family

7) Call my Mom

8) Clean or Tidy Up something

9) Exercise

10) Study

As you can see, it’s not an overly ambitious list and it is easy to modify it or adjust it as needed.  What do you try to get out of your day everyday?

Routines can be necessary and don’t have to be boring.  Routines can be rewritten at any time.  

The Lost Art of Silence

I like music.  I don’t particularly like to talk, but I will.  I enjoy watching movies and sometimes TV shows.  I like listening to audiobooks.

But yet, I spend parts of my day every day in silence.  Sometimes, I’m meditating but because I’m using a guided app, it is not quiet for the whole session.

Usually I spend my quiet time driving in the car, with no radio, no tunes - there is absolutely nothing on.   When I swim, I’m in silence.  When I work at my small business, most days I prefer quiet over lots of talking or a TV or radio blaring in the corner.

I am not one of those marketing statistic shoppers who buys more when I’m shopping because music is blaring on the speakers overheard.  Nope, I actually leave the store!  It goes without saying, I prefer to shop online because unless I’m playing a song on my computer, it’s silent.

Most people, though, cannot stand the silence especially if they are in a group of people.  Sure, that is a time to socialize or network, but every second doesn’t have to be filled with saying something, anything, or whatever comes to mind.

Today, during my silent time, I’ve thought about many things I need to get done to do with organization and things I need to take care of, and I have had several writing ideas for my poems and stories.  Would this have happened had I been blaring tunes in my ear or watching Netflix in the time I’ve had to not have “noise” in my head?

Sometimes it’s hard to be in your own head, or alone with your own thoughts.  If you are experiencing grief or other troubles, yes maybe then you do need a non-silent distraction, but you still need that silent time to figure out how to move on, get going again, or to keep trying.

Next time you have a few minutes while waiting on your kids to finish an activity, or while waiting in line, use that time to be silent and think ... don’t play on your cell phone, read, etc.  You may be surprised at what you figure out when you are quiet in your own head.

Silence is a lost art.  One I feel that needs to be practiced again.