Greatest Hits Volume II: 2015-2017

“As I go through the coming year, I have to ask myself the following questions daily:  (1) Am I conducting this activity with confidence and enthusiasm?  (2) Am I committed to the results of my activity, be it good or bad? (3) Am I pushing myself beyond the mediocre and not fearing the success that comes from this activity? (4) Am I being faithful to the knowledge, habits, and practices that make the larger activity possible? (5) Am I conducting an activity that helps someone, strengthens my confidence, or benefits the world?”

From The Power of Conviction - Dec. 24, 2014

“Wherever I look the winter takes hold; a warm shelter keeps my thoughts at bay, but they powerfully swirl in my mind and soothe me...memories have a way of sustaining us…they must keep me content as each passing hour unfreezes the hands of time.”

From Winter’s Prisoner – March 1, 2015

“Some of us feel the burden of our own insecurities.  We carry around our fears and imperfections and they are almost too much to bear.  Sometimes I feel like Superman; like I can take on the world. Then sometimes I feel like a little boy running around the back yard with a red cape on, pretending that I have to power to do great things. But inside, I feel the smallness of my limited power and size.”

From I am NOT Superman – March 15, 2015

“Whatever your mountain may be, do not deem it impossible, even though a thousand

glances have presented you with the same impossible conclusion.

There is a better way.

Follow the path of those who succeeded where many have stared and pondered their failure.

Rise on their shoulders and on their backs.

Find a way”

From Parable of the Mountain – May 2, 2015

“I felt strangely calm with the whole scene and strangely un-judgmental. I pictured Jesus looking over the crowd of followers or across the party of the rejected sinners and having compassion on them all. Not judging them, but loving them.  Pure, immeasurable love. For a moment I felt the same emptiness of forethought, the same purity of love that the Bible talks about. For a moment I felt like this “love they neighbor” thing was at once a possibility.”

From Once Upon a Time at Walmart… - June 27, 2015

“Breathing is the only thing we must do to help the grief subside;

Time continues on and eases the pain with each new turn of the Earth.

The tears of grieving will fill the oceans, but the sun will always shine again to dry them up; allow it to do its much needed work.

The tears will flow, my love.

But flow they must.”

From Grieving is as Breathing – August 6, 2015

“The future is a bright and burning sun that flames and then is no more.

Maybe we are that bright sun, but let us bring forth a beautiful display of brilliance as we wave goodbye.”

From The Brilliant Flame: A Tale of Life and Death – Oct. 15, 2015

“Rain, wash it away.

With each holiday or remembrance, the pundits and prophets and machines of political correction remind us of why we should not celebrate and how we have failed. Yet we must meet in fellowship to honor the things we hold sacred. Our failures are many, but our sense of community is vital as a species and as a race of imperfect people.”

From Healing Flood – Nov. 26, 2015

“No audience is present; no record contracts or visions of stardom; no one to impress.

Just a freedom of movement and motion that keeps despair at bay and fights off the thick depression that can accompany reality.

This private dancing is a reminder that my heart still beats and, because of that, there is still a reason to dance.”

From I Dance When No One is Looking – Jan. 16, 2016

“When we are at the end of our lives and we look back and reflect on our greatest moment, will we be able to pin it down to one major event? I used to believe that we all have one star moment, fifteen minutes of fame, moment in the sun, or time on top of the world. But is it that easy to pin down? Is it even useful or necessary to try and pin it down? To me it is like catching the elusive greased pig that we think we have a hold of, but slips easily through our fingers. Just when we think we have that defining moment defined, it is replaced with an ever better one…

I chose to define my life by seeking to live it to the fullest. Because it is how we live the moments of everyday existence that define us.

So keep chasing those dreams. Keep fulfilling promises to yourself and to those you love. Make a name for yourself. Rest assured that you have written your life story on the moments of the past, but know that an abundance of defining moments are always around the next corner.”

From Defining Moments – Feb 21, 2016

“Some look with tears; others laugh; yet others scream the name of their long-lost love. Others take a good look and then close their eyes to feel the cool wind on their face as they contemplate their requests…

Hoping upon hope that millions are also beholding the glorious light show on display for free.

Make your wishes humanity.

The stars will not wait forever.”

From The Stars Are Waiting – Feb 27, 2016

“All it takes is that first step.

Then another….and another…and another.

You will rise above. You will conquer this monster that will never leave you alone.

There is no other way but up.

No other direction but forward.

But I cannot make that step for you.

The first step belongs to you.”

From The First Step – March 15, 2016

“Now a room full of lives has been lost in a senseless hate-filled rampage.

Lives gone in an instant because of evil…a punishment inflicted by a single judge and jury

with a coward’s weapon.

You could have been in that crowd…and I could have lost you.

Some self-righteous ones would say it was not a great loss and it was a form of judgement for a lifestyle that repulsed them.

But I disagree.

Your heart beat just as mine and you loved differently than me…

But all I know is that you were my uncle and I loved you.

And I think about you now more than ever.”

From All I Knew Is That I Loved You – Jun 14, 2016

“I am a walker watching the world run by

A confused poet in a room full of confident writers

I take it slow—not a novel approach.”

From Walker – June 25, 2016

“Keep running even though you may never win

Keep striving for good even though you will never be good enough

Keep struggling and straining even though you will never be strong enough

I am not good enough…but I will never give up--the finish line is just around the corner.

My story is never good enough, but I will keep writing it.”

From Never Enough – July 3, 2016

“What most people want more than anything else is to be heard. This does not mean listening to them as they say their peace, yet ready to strike back with your vehement appeal and convictions firmly entrenched when they are done speaking. Just listening with those who need to be heard, crying with those who need to shed tears, and holding the hand of someone who feels no one is on their side.

Until we learn to listen and see through the eyes of others, America will never truly be great.”

From I DO NOT Want Fries with That! A Case for Listening – Jul 7, 2016

“Yet I long to come back here…breathe the unique air…drive the streets that lead me to that old house.

When I go I take a piece of it with me to the big city.

But, like a mesmerized zombie, the old town eventually draws me back to face my former realities.

The new and old compete for my attention, yet they both win”

From The Sameness of Home – Aug. 14, 2016

“Unexpected
Loneliness hits you out of the blue; when you least expect it.
It makes no sense to feel alone in a crowd or even a full house…
When you long to feel nothing and even wish for pain and blood
To break the monotony of the numbness.

 Unexplainable

We color it with busyness and searching for collectibles to fill the empty spaces

But matter fills us all--we have no control over the filling or the emptiness.
All we can do is hold out hope for the souring emotions to pass like a salty wave
As we wait for refreshing to sooth the burning wounds like a salve.

Loneliness is not loneliness at all.

It is so much more.”

From The Bitter and the Sweet – Aug. 28, 2016

“V. It is scary to finally see your potential

Like a superhero whose powers begin to take form

Will I use them for good?

Will I use them for evil?

Will I use them to change my world?

VI. I finally see that man emerging from his shell

Although it seems late, maybe it is right on time

The choices are in front of me

The future will proceed in its unstoppable pace

The prize is there for the taking

Time to reach out and claim the destiny that is mine.”

From A Glimpse – Sep. 10, 2016

“I wondered about

My imprints—those I withstand and

Those I create.

Are they lasting and do they profess

That heat and pressure form the man and make us a work of art?”

From Imprints – Sep. 30, 2016

“It sounds so simplistic doesn’t it?  Just love one another. But I am starting to think that humans are incapable. I am never more able to love than when I am alone in my quietness or watching nature as the clouds blow across a fall sky. It is so easy to love at that human-less moment.

Then the contact happens. Or media reminds us of our differences. Or we remember how that person lied to us and how we still have lingering anger. Or we remember how a partner hurt us when they promised to love us forever. Then love seems like a chasm, a canyon of difference, a mountain of impossibility…

Like infants, like small children we reach out our feeble hand to touch it. We may draw back because it burns, but we do not give up. The reward is too great.”

From Why Can’t We Love? – Oct. 16, 2016

“Sounds remind me I am alive--strumming guitars, a missed voice that brings tears, a genuine and thankful response, the thud of my beating heart.

Yet one of the greatest sounds of all is the sound of your own voice—knowing you have the power to bring calm to a storm, cause someone sad to smile, bend wills, strengthen burdened hearts, and encourage ones you love.

May I use my voice to be a sweet melody to a world that hears only sadness and despair.”

From Sounds (For Those Who Have Ears) – Nov. 24, 2016

“In seasons of great joy and solitude, it feels as if the silence somehow

Grabs time and holds it ransom, takes it up to a lonely hill and shows it why it must slow down

But like the wind, it cannot be harnessed, deceived, or controlled

The standing still is an illusion—it is easier to catch the wind.”

From Stand Still – Dec. 25, 2016

“*Every day we write the stories that make us who we are…stories filled with the daily inspirations that lift us from our beds and bring us into the routines of reality.

*But what is reality except for the stories that we write…those that transcend time and take us to places that we built…places that defy the present and bring to life the past.

     *I prefer the daring tales to the ones that lead us into old age with a sack of regrets weighing us down. The dreams of the future don’t hold us back, but they are the winds that burst our sails into life.”

From The River of Stories – March 13, 2017

“Being an optimist is a struggle because some days it seems it would be so much easier to slide into the no man’s land of despair. But seeing the good and the practical in every situation is a gift that should be shared. You will never convert the pessimist, but you might show him a better way and make him long for the hope that you effortlessly exude in every situation. The optimist’s struggle is worth every minute of positivity. So take a deep breath and exhale. There is another chance tomorrow to fight off the stench of negativity.”

From Just You Wait – April 1, 2017

“I am a loser—yet we all have come back from the dead at some point and put up a valiant fight to exemplify how life is always worth the trouble.

The world is filled with losers—yet it does not have to be your epitaph. Start over and prove to the world that losers can never truly be defeated.”

From Loser – April 26, 2017

“I feel kinship with those of the soil; common ancestry, common destination, and a common peace we will once again share

Introspection is always necessary in life; we struggle against it, push back the inevitable until we have nothing else left to feel

Our aliveness seeks our favor, languishes in keeping us happy; yet there are times when it is necessary to reflect on our mortality…

So take the stroll of certainty and do not fear; the dead have no power over us, but they do give us the power to keep walking.”

From Walking Through Cemeteries – May 29, 2017

“In the end freedom is won in small victories…in quiet moments and in moments of great and small victories played out in gyms and classrooms and hospitals and lawyer’s offices.

Freedom is a lifelong struggle…a daily fight…a goal is that never conquered.

Freedom is found in the pursuit… in the everyday victories that sometimes seem far away from our sight.”

From What is Freedom? – July 4, 2017

“You always feel like you are one against an army. But an army of one never won a single battle. Depend on the strengths of others and follow the blazing path they have forged. Because you are the only person that can allow yourself to be defeated. Never give an inch to worry, a foothold to despair. Your weakness is multiplied by the power of love.”

From You are Stronger Than You Think – Aug. 26, 2017

“We are the pottery, cured in the flames.

Molded into comforting shapes that bestow on us reminders

of our beauty but also the reality of our fragile souls.

We are the future, the past.

Knowing that it all burns away reminds

us of what we have in common and the subtle yet powerful

sameness that purifies us.

We are the healed, the delivered.

Even though the imperfect pieces of our shattered lives can be

restored, we realize that we are merely vessels who serve their

purpose, then return to the flames.”

From Shattered – Oct. 2, 2017

“I think I despise silence most of all. Invariably, I feel the need to fill it with music or conversation. For in the silence, demons rear their ugly heads, reminders of deadlines and priorities gnaw at me like hungry piranha, and the reality of my mortality stares at me like a vulture ready to pounce on my scattered remains. So music is usually my numbing drug of choice to drown out the clammering voices.

In a sense, we are all oxymorons; confused and seeking a path that is both clear and unclear at the same time. Never fear the silence, for in silence we find the priorities that give our life clarity, and the strength to push forward through the chaos that clouds our path.”

From Organized Chaos – Oct. 8, 2017