South Of Someplace

Friday, January 13, 2017

Retreat

Though we've lived full lives
And traveled the world
I'm still an insecure boy
And you're a sensitive girl
That's who we really are inside
That's who we really are

Maybe that's why
At some critical times
We let fear and pride

Roar and rise
And get in the way and
Interfere
With what we want to say

What we need to say

Heart to heart

Soul to soul

Between the angels

Inside

Our true inner selves

I believe that we can do better
Maybe then we won't lose our way
Hopelessly

Dramatically
If we just take time

The time to say

The critical things

The important things
That our hearts need

To communicate

Instead of losing control

And saying cross words

And getting annoyed

And avoiding each other

Increasingly

We retreat
When words turn harsh
And the pain
Is too much to endure
We retreat
And if we continue
We may avoid some

Uncomfortable nights

But the rest of our lives

Will be lost

The Angel Test

You can tell a lot about a person by asking which of Charlie's Angels they liked the best. I feel an instant camaraderie with Jaclyn Smith fans.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

The Ultimate Responsibility of Creatives

A creative person's ultimate responsibility is not to express a vision, but to encourage and empower others to express their own.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Never Doubt Yourself

Never doubt yourself. You are not defined by criticism or rejection. You are not defined by scarcity or misfortune. You are defined by how effectively you use your own unique, special gifts to bring value and beauty and compassion into the world.

Follow your own vision. Speak in your own voice. Never apologize for being who you are and wanting what you desire.

Ignore the perceptions of others, especially when they attempt to discourage you or push you off course. Your contribution is too valuable. Don't put it into someone else's hands. You are the only one who can bring your gifts to fruition. Give that responsibility the attention that it deserves.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

The Sky Is Gray

I peeked outside
The sky is gray
Why don't we stay
In bed
All day
And
Think of nice things to do?
Think of nice things to do...

New York Minute 49 - Headphone Singer

A lot of people took time off from work over the holidays. The subways were nearly empty most mornings; my commute was a breeze.

They're coming back now. This past Thursday, I had to squeeze into a packed subway car for the first time in weeks. I ended up standing directly in front of a nicely dressed young lady who looked as though she was on her way to an office job.

The lady was listening to music via headphones. The music was inaudible, but the lady sang along with the tunes - quite expressively. She gave the entire subway car an a cappella rendering of a number of popular songs. Luckily, her voice was soft and airy. Imagine Marilyn Monroe singing to you on your way to work, and you'll have the general idea.

Windy, Snowing, and Twenty-three Degrees

It's windy, snowing, and twenty-three degrees. What a great day for a run! Well, it's a good day for a jog, anyway. It's slippery out there. If I had gone out too fast, I would have ended up bruised on the pavement.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

New York Minute 48 - Subway Panhandler

I broke one of my rules today. I don't give to panhandlers, no matter how desperate they seem or how emphatically they plead for help. When you give money, there's a good chance that they'll use it to feed the addiction that put them into their desperate predicament in the first place. Giving anything encourages them to come back and beg for more.

But today, I made a small exception.

I keep trail mix in the office. I work long hours and sometimes don't get a break for lunch. I need to rely on snacks to get me through the day.

This evening, as I was locking up my desk, I realized that I had forgotten to put my half-full bag of trail mix away. Rather than reopening my desk, I put decided to take it home with me. Normally, I don't eat trail mix at home, but I thought may I would find a chance to snack on some one evening.

A panhandler in a wheelchair came onto the train at one of the station stops. He looked very sick. After his short, reasonably polite pitch, he sat at one end of the car. He didn't try to push through.

I walked over and gave him my trail mix. He said, "Thank you for caring, young man!" - I'm probably older than he is, but so what.

At the next stop, he moved toward the adjacent train car, but he didn't get far enough, so he entered my car again but on the opposite end. No speech this time; he just shook a cup with coins in it, the international signal for "please give me some money."

A woman offered the panhandler a bag of food. He refused. She was quite surprised. He didn't want food. He'll probably throw my trail mix away. They want money. Their lives are ruled by tobacco, alcohol, and other addictive substances. That's the grim reality.

But I did take pity on the man. I did try to help. Maybe he'll eat the trail mix; maybe he'll throw it away. At least I didn't give him money to burn on booze.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

A Rocky Start to the New Year

The new year is getting off to a rocky start. Amex called this morning to report attempted fraudulent charges on my card. Next, I discovered that some Himalayan tour company had posted eight spam ads on one of my blogs.

Finally, as I was writing a critical email, my thumb accidentally pressed the send button. That all happened before lunchtime. I can't wait to see what else this soggy January day has in store for me.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Skip The New Year's Resolutions

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. I believe in getting up one day and working on something, working on it again the next day, and continuing to work on it day after day until I achieve something that I'm proud of.

I can't recall a single accomplishment that happened because I made a promise to myself on the First of January. Can you?

It's easy to dream big. It's easy to make grand predictions. It's easy to say "I'll will do X" - but will you?

The only way to get things done is to put in consistent, focused, effort over a period of time. Skip the resolutions and do the work. Keep working day after day. That's how to reach your goals.