tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75583933604326225542024-03-05T07:55:42.265-08:00Building BlocksAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-43449771199392373232015-05-11T17:32:00.001-07:002015-05-11T17:32:33.023-07:00Youre Being Ridiculous "Appetite "Kelly 2015<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0JtluXdEIHM" width="480"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-70455241072187915942015-05-06T23:32:00.001-07:002015-05-06T23:32:46.699-07:00My WordPress Accounthttps://4stanza.wordpress.com/Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-51645084067462061062014-03-14T23:05:00.001-07:002014-03-14T23:05:55.427-07:00Paddy vs the Patty http://paddynotpatty.com/Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-40383367144782102742014-01-03T22:28:00.001-08:002014-01-03T22:28:05.648-08:00The Eloquence of Sun Protectionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI&feature=youtube_gdata_player<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vLKxWT7XMdsInLNF8Qm2MHiqpdA7CqPs8E9sHR_Zj78QVUP0Xw0oqIucmvvs6j7Q1qy9dV5W_jn8SnCNoK-SezskiYKrEfnu7MjtY3ogFjn81e9mjvD-PRmN_qlK52jkfxlSJKqDMvA/s1600/-338802246584672960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vLKxWT7XMdsInLNF8Qm2MHiqpdA7CqPs8E9sHR_Zj78QVUP0Xw0oqIucmvvs6j7Q1qy9dV5W_jn8SnCNoK-SezskiYKrEfnu7MjtY3ogFjn81e9mjvD-PRmN_qlK52jkfxlSJKqDMvA/s640/-338802246584672960.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-34639260790450641892013-12-27T19:37:00.001-08:002013-12-27T19:37:00.881-08:00Carl Sandburg is another year olderhttp://my.chicagotribune.com/#story/chi-ugc-article-celebrate-carl-sandburgs-136th-birthday-at-t-2013-12-17/Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-20440058883388451122013-12-26T22:14:00.001-08:002013-12-26T22:14:44.950-08:00http://m.rrstar.com/article/20131226/NEWS/131229792/10334/NEWSAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-91362836230929732262013-12-07T01:22:00.001-08:002013-12-07T01:22:57.089-08:00'Don't' Fileshttp://www.promises.com/articles/family-and-parenting/family-rules/Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-25791270007564707172013-11-29T00:00:00.001-08:002013-11-29T00:05:34.933-08:00OctogrammariansWriters prompt:
Write a 60 word mystery in under five minutes. The following is my version:
<p>If Aristophanes held an apostrophe in his left hand, where would the e pluburis unum come in?</p>
<p>Perhaps in the burning embers of Saffron Fires that Sandburg wrote of or kept with the bee's during the Wintering of Plath.</p>
<p>But, let's keep this dandy Bloomer kept secret and not let Aldous Huxley know what was spoken.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOIUs1Pw-TBXU8g5PIRO6n8ry_fzVp_dPdKaquYEw9lSc9iH3RnG6QnYt-NM4d3hgWnPITMgb70JeBSy0j2mQh29mO97Ii1xuYE3aCqqBTy94XeEF_xkJwRY7gmRojow08k3J44ReclVo/s1600/CAM00513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOIUs1Pw-TBXU8g5PIRO6n8ry_fzVp_dPdKaquYEw9lSc9iH3RnG6QnYt-NM4d3hgWnPITMgb70JeBSy0j2mQh29mO97Ii1xuYE3aCqqBTy94XeEF_xkJwRY7gmRojow08k3J44ReclVo/s640/CAM00513.jpg"> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0Wood Dale, Wood Dale41.963364 -87.97896tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-46671260071927192022013-11-06T00:12:00.001-08:002013-11-07T03:50:32.584-08:00Relativityhttp://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4183375Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-30370207040019699872013-11-06T00:11:00.001-08:002013-11-06T00:15:13.743-08:00Poetry Site to remberhttp://www.poetrypoetry.com/Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-31970357556504574072013-08-28T01:29:00.001-07:002013-11-07T03:52:07.587-08:00A short dialogue on the performance of poetry.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OclftvbmzXA&feature=youtube_gdata_playerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-25122206912616979712013-08-28T01:17:00.001-07:002013-08-28T01:17:26.899-07:00Performance poetry at it's best! Line up and catch it in person while you can.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JltqWM9sV5c&feature=youtube_gdata_playerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-48437106365425240232013-04-24T06:39:00.003-07:002013-04-25T22:47:16.490-07:00New Beginnings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<h2 align="center" style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;">Beginning
Anew: New Beginnings<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
<br />
<h1 align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 24pt 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
</h1>
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 24pt 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You are who you’ve always been, even before the
thought of you was ever conceived. So, you and life will always go forth in the
continuum of space and time. Where the confluence of all things and non-things
always meet in every moment without pause, and so shall you – us – <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><span style="background-color: white;">all of everything and time</span></span>
meets like never before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But, what happens when we take something out of the
equation? We then enter into an unknown and must formulate on and forward from
there … anew – from the unknown to search, work and solve for the known.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If it is time that is taken out of the equation,
since it is, merely, a measure of velocity – how fast something travels over a
distance, or the distance something moves over a given “system of those
sequential relations that any event has to any other … indefinite and
continuous duration regarded as that in which events succeed one another”<sup>1</sup>,
we can see it is a construct of humankind as a device, a tool to help us
understand all that which is around us. And if we use this tool as a measure of
control, and if we bind ourselves too it, feeling its non-existent grip tighten
around our throats to choke out any reason for hope or constricting around our
chests in attempts to blight our hearts beat for life only to numb us to each
moments passing – passing away eternally into the great expanse just in the
very instant it was born to, barely, take its first breath – we become passive
or accustomed to the very living of our lives. Soon, before we forget, before
we even remember, we must act with aforethought, giving purpose, <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><span style="background-color: white;">not simply to move </span><span style="background-color: white;">forward </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">without</span>
direction or to take action for the sake of action, time or sloth, but, our
goal ought to be twofold; to go forth from now and every now in our lives with
the purpose and causation that we’ve never given ourselves, yet, had always
existed for us to live our lives with and, with ceaseless wonderment, discover
all there is to discover and return to our life’s origin to begin anew, freshly
awakening before we embark once more on our life’s journey over and again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And in closing, I’d like to leave you with something
T.S. Eliot said as only he can say it so well:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Batang","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Batang","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We shall
not cease from exploration and the end of all<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Batang","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">our
exploring will be to arrive at where we started <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Batang","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">and know
the place for the first time.<sup>2</sup></span><sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></sup></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><sup>1</sup></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">(Random
House Webster’s unabridged dictionary, second edition, 2001, p1984) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">2 </span></sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Little Gidding,
from Four Quarters, British <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-7916783933492056092013-04-24T06:34:00.001-07:002013-04-25T22:46:44.271-07:00Where I Found Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 20pt;">Where
I Found Love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt;">Inspired
by ‘We Found Love’ by Rihanna<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt;">and
Related Conversations</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I
was listening to the radio one night and the host began a segment of the show
listing some of the most common misunderstood lyrics. Afterwards, he shared
some lyrics he misinterpreted from a current song on the airwaves today. His
version of the lyrics are “We found love in a homeless place …”, the real
lyrics to the Rihanna song are “We found love in a hopeless place …”. His 12
and 15 year old daughters still tease him about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I
found both versions to be intriguing as to where love actually is, how I define
it and how I know if I am feeling it or not – having love or not. Most times,
in my own life, I feel love for most everyone or at least I want to. I’m
working on that to improve it to loving everyone. But, one of the hardest
things I struggle with is the love for myself. In love, we are to be
compassionate and tolerant, patient and eternal, unconditional - without
limits. But, these are all the things I don’t have for myself in any way or I twist
them to make it right for myself. The result is that it never works and I wind
up hating myself intensely for any variety of reasons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In
the gloom and doom of loneliness, I spend too much time in self-inflection.
That’s a bad place for me since I keep reminding myself of reasons I should be
upset at someone or that I should define myself by external standards, my
failures/ perceived failures, etc. I guess, this is where I feel the greatest
sense of abandonment – self-abandonment. Other elements that make things worse
include my complete lack of trust in others (which I learned early on) and the
fact that I often feel I don’t have anyone to talk to about things, even on a
day to day basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Going
through an old folder, I came across a handout entitled ‘Common Self Defeating
Beliefs’ that also included some affirmations on the following pages. There
were a few self-defeating beliefs about love that I identified with, but, one
stuck out:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">highlighted in yellow</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 21pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">4. Approval Addiction: I need everyone’s
approval to be worthwhile<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 21pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">5. Love Addiction: I can’t feel happy
and fulfilled without being loved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 21pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If I am not loved then life is not worth living.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 21pt;">
<span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-highlight: yellow;">6.
Fear of Rejection: If you reject me, it proves that there is something wrong<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 21pt;">
<span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-highlight: yellow;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with me. If I am alone, I’m bound to feel
miserable and worthless.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">There are several affirmations that
directly tie into how I feel that I need to look into more seriously and
introduce into my daily life are, some more than others: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">mention the ones
in yellow; they are most prominent to me</span> <o:p></o:p></i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">7. I love and
accept myself the way I am.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">8. I deserve
good things in life as much as anyone else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-highlight: yellow;">16. I am learning to love myself.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">17. I am
learning to be more comfortable with myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-highlight: yellow;">18. If someone does not return my love, I let it go and
move on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-highlight: yellow;">36. When I love and care for myself, I am best able to be
generous to others.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The Promises these affirmations most
resemble, to me at least, really stand out as the following:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-highlight: yellow;">4. Our ability to share intimacy will grow inside us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-highlight: yellow;">8. We will choose to love people who can love and be
responsible for themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="background: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-highlight: yellow;">9. Healthy boundaries and limits will become easier for
us to set.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 2.3in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I’m
taking some steps into consideration in evaluating my own character and personality
traits, separating my self-image from the image others have of who I am. I am
also in consideration of my own personality and values, and in learning more
about them all, I learn more about my faults, reactions and how to come to
terms with myself, which, in turn, allows me a greater knowledge of how to
interact with others. I also realize I need to allow myself to grow and evolve;
make mistakes and learn – allowing myself to be human, that it’s ok to make
mistakes. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In
other ways, I need to do nothing but listen internally. Whether I am listening
to nothing, being ever so silent or listening to whatever thoughts or feelings pop
up, I have to realize I am not to react; my only purpose is to bear witness to
them. Mindfulness is a way to reflect upon what I am feeling - whether I’m
feeling hungry or a deep seated hatred for myself - and not react. But I need
to practice this more as I haven’t been very mindful of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>my own needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">After
going through the simple, yet, cathartic process of doing this lead, I am
reminded of several things. I know now that I find love all around me. I find
love everywhere. I find love in places like this. And, I also find love in
people like you. As I began making these realizations, I found love isn’t
homeless. Love has a home in all our hearts, if we choose it so, and it doesn’t
have to be hopeless. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Finally,
as I was preparing this, my <em>co-pilot</em> whispered to me:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><em>Remember,
<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em></em><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><em>when
darkness falls <o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em></em><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><em>and
you have slipped<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em></em><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><em>into
the deepest hallows of tonight, <o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em></em><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><em>look
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>up to the evening sky <o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em></em><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><em>and
know <o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em></em><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><em>that
when you see the glimmer <o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em></em><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><em>of
the stars above, <o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em></em><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><em>there
is hope where there is light.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7558393360432622554.post-39008452704710401362013-04-24T06:29:00.003-07:002013-07-29T20:43:44.456-07:00Things I've Been Told<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Things I’ve Been
Told <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">My
grandmother always used to tell me that God had something in store for me. And
so I waited and waited and … waited. Nothing ever came of it, so I moved on
thinking nothing would ever come of it. Along the way, I figured that God,
either, had something/everything in store for us all or He had nothing in store
for any of us whatsoever. It just seems to me He’s one of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">those</i> guys – all in or all out – not one of those kinda-sorta-may
be-in-between guys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">See,
on October 5<sup>th</sup>, 1985, I was diagnosed an acute form of leukemia. I
had been sick for months, but had been diagnosed with slurry of infectious or
contagious diseases that had kept me home from school in the days leading up to
my diagnosis. On October 4<sup>th</sup>, I had been home having breakfast and a
conversation with my mother. After about thirty to forty minutes at the kitchen
table, I stood to bring my dish to the sink, but … I couldn’t straighten my
right leg. The inside of my thigh was painful and the vein running from hip to
knee was a bright pink-red. None of this was present when I sat for breakfast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I
was immediately taken to the local hospital, but, was only kept overnight. They
didn’t seem to want anything to do with me …suddenly, the current diagnosis of
mono and ‘kissing bandit’ moniker dissipated as my illness took shape as
something much more dire and serious than anyone had thought. The doctors
transferred me to Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago the next day, October
5<sup>th</sup>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The
doctors and Children’s Memorial already knew what I had (probably) before I
even got there, but, ran the tests as procedure. It was about three p.m. when
the hematology/oncology doctors, my parents and I crammed into a small white
room containing a smaller bed and an even smaller desk for the end result. I
had A.L.L. – acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a blood cancer. The pain and red
vein in my right thigh were a result of my advanced illness. I was so filled
with cancer, it was filling my blood vessels, capillary by capillary, vein by
vein; it had nowhere else to go. So, what did that mean for me? I may need to
have the right leg amputated at the hip, but, let’s not get too far ahead of
ourselves … I may not even get to see Christmas. I was told that it would be a
true gift if I made it through the holidays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">A
few hours later, I was finally admitted – officially. It was about 6:30 p.m.
when I, at long last, settled into my room for the evening. My mother stepped
out to the cafeteria for some coffee or something, leaving me in a precarious
and dangerous situation – alone with my pops. Being caught alone with him is
dangerous because it gives him free reign to do or say whatever he wants with
no one to bear witness to his deeds – a great tactic. So, he seized the
opportunity like a crocodile wrapping its’ mighty jaws around a gnus’ neck to
draw out any chance for escape and drown any possibility of hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Now,
keep in mind, I’m thirteen and had just found out I may lose a leg and might
not make it to Christmas, much less any life beyond. He seized the opportunity
to tell me that ‘… if it doesn’t work out, not to worry about it [he] has
another son to carry on the last name.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">That,
in a nutshell, is the relationship I have with my father, and mother. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I
went into remission November 5<sup>th</sup>, 1985 – all parts intact - and have
never looked back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve
had lots of time to think about what I heard – nearly three decades. I had
always wondered what God had in store for me, when I’d receive it and why it
would take a near death experience at the age of thirteen to bring that on. Is
that what it takes to put ‘what God has in store’ into motion? If not, what
would it take?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve,
sorta, come to figure that it isn’t so much about God and all the angels in
Heaven as it is about the human condition. Cancer happens every day. People are
born. We live, we die; life goes on here on earth and in Heaven (depending on
your beliefs). But, what remains is how I’m left wondering; How do we handle
the life we’re given? How do we handle the sunny days? How do we handle love?
How do we handle the job we always wanted and didn't get? How do we handle crisis, when
bad news is wrapped in tragedy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sometimes,
perhaps always, life is about the next guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11375339010478225883noreply@blogger.com0Wood Dale, Wood Dale41.963364 -87.97896