Epiphanies and Springboards

Have you ever been working to solve a problem within your personal life or your work life and, when you least expect it, an epiphany erupts from your mind and nearly blinds you?

That’s what happened to me an hour ago or so. I’ve been laboring to get a work schedule created for a couple of years now, that allowed me to produce usable work without leaving me feeling as if I’m running a race from the last position each day. You think I’m slow? Possibly.

This morning I was sitting, allowing my mind to flush itself of what had gone before, and it hit me. It was a profound revelation within my mind. I saw the whole problem, and the whys of it nearly floored me. It was so simple and yet, it will be something so difficult to remedy.

This is how works. I am an extremely detail-oriented person. That’s part of my nature. Couple that with the knowledge that I also, as part of my nature, am always looking at the Big Picture. This trait of mine was trained very well to always look at the overview of everything before determining the direction of exploration or explanation.

Add to all of that the understanding that much in my life has been experienced within chaos mode for a couple of years. Throw into the mix a personal need for perfection.

So—that leaves me with miniscule details overshadowed by overview; omniscient’s guide to insanity, if you’re a writer. I cannot look at the details of one project or portion of project without also seeing all of the other projects waiting in the wings. And it isn’t just all of the projects, it’s all of the angles, slants, characters, plots, etc. that scream my name, jump up and down, waving their arms, trying to keep my attention.

And, it’s not a matter of focus. It’s a matter of how my brain works.

I hadn’t really put all of this together yet. Some of my distraction on the situation could be due to lack of solid sleep, or trying to get fifteen things done to perfection finished ahead of a deadline. That couldn’t possibly have anything to do with it. Could it?

As I sat there looking at this situation, I realized just how much humor God has. Consider the scientist sitting in the lab in front of her microscope. A critical slide sits beneath the lens waiting for examination and interpretation. Yet, when she looks through the lens, she also sees the origin of the sample on the slide, overlaying the image. That’s been my view of my work every day for countless months.

Now you know why I may have seemed harried and haggard. It also helps explain why only an editorial calendar has had any effect on my work day. Sad state of affairs.

You may ask how I’m going to remedy this situation. I don’t know that I can completely. I don’t need a greater war waged inside of my own nature.

All I can really do, is be aware of the conflict—brother, wouldn’t this make a great plot—and do what I can on a daily basis to mitigate the disruption and distress. I can dig deeper into the Tao for answers to changing my nature, but until I can set those tenets into place, I must wing it on an hourly basis.

I’m fortunate. I figured out what the problem was and can figure out a more workable solution, given some time. Think about those poor, sad people who’re struggling with something like this who haven’t had an epiphany yet. I would take up a collection for them, but I don’t know yet who they are. Then again, they don’t know either.

And there you have the crux of the problem. Are you waiting for an epiphany, too? Do you know if you need one? Feel free to question here. Remember–questions aren’t the problem. It’s the answers that get you in trouble.

A bientot,

Claudsy

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Spin-Offs

 

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park ? one of the first national parks in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, and visited on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When Robert Brewer posted his poem prompt for today, it led me on a short mental journey, as prompts are wont to do. His instructions read something like this. Day 12 Prompt: Take phrase “Something (blank), fill-in blank with another phrase or word, use as title, and write poem.

My mind is one, perhaps like yours, that will begin in Poughkeepsie, then hop the mental freeway, and before I know it, I’m looking down the throat of the Grand Canyon. That’s what happened this morning.

I saw the word “Something…” and immediately hit on the wedding tradition, “Something Borrowed.” That led me to things we’re likely to borrow from one another, returned and unreturned, cared for while in our possession or treated badly, with little or no respect for their value. That took me to some of the things that we worry about now.

And the following poem is the result of that mental drive I took in the 30 seconds or less from the time I saw the prompt.

 

Something Borrowed

 

Dawn brought its light,

Moon brought darkness,

We brought ourselves,

Grasping, clinging to life.

 

Our days began when

Dawn brought its light,

Showing us the work

Awaiting our hands, minds.

 

We rested at day’s end when

Moon brought darkness.

We labored throughout

An off-chance of success.

 

Time flowed as time does.

We brought ourselves

To this, our future,

Where alarms sound loud.

 

Our future now seems stark,

Grasping, clinging to life,

Watching our destruction

Return to show its legacy.

 

I hope you enjoyed today’s effort. Drop a comment here, if the spirit moved you. Come back later for the rest of Robert Brewer’s manic poetry gauntlet in a separate Poem Form Challenge.

 

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Mounting Month’s Challenges

Is it a matter of scheduling, I ask myself. Does it matter in what order I work within the framework of the challenges I’ve accepted for this month? By the looks of today’s desk load, order has little to do with writing this month.

Yesterday I played with PA’s poetry prompt challenge: communication. When I left there, I moved over to Poetic Bloomings to see what havoc I could wreak in that venue. The Apr. 1 prompt there was “Superheroes and Capes.”

Still feeling a bit on the obstreperous side, I posted this specially written offering to the world of superheroes. Remember, definition is a matter of perspective.

A Sigh of Sound

Susurration slides past those unintended,

Targeting sweet young ears with soft meaning,

Teasing, taunting, telling of bliss to come.

Whispers waft on a tongue’s breeze, seeking

Vulnerable minds to influence with knowledge

Untrue, compelling a change of heart with power.

Soon his soft whispers would secure those within reach,

Taking control where none was needed, rousing

Testaments to his wisdom, while groveling for pats.

Whispers waft on a tongue’s breeze, seeking

Power from those without special gifts or

An invisibility cloak to shield one’s presence from view.

After an hour’s respite from verse, I took up the third challenge for the day: Robert Brewer’s Author Platform Development Task-A-Day Challenge. I know, I’m a glutton for these things. In this case, though, I will heap praise and appreciation on Robert  in coming months for doing me such a great favor.

For the first time, after four years, I’m settling down to doing this major task for my future’s sake. I’m being given the tools to do it—for free. How much better does it get than that?

I’ve managed to complete the first two days’ worth of tasks. They weren’t onerous, by any means, but they did need thought and honesty with myself about goals, aspirations, skills developed, etc. It’s one thing to tell yourself and others that you can do something. You’re corralling a different animal when you ask yourself how confident you are about each of the items on your list.

I got through it, and along the way I discovered forgotten skills that I haven’t used in a years, but which I can still draw on for future needs. That reaffirmation was definitely worth the time and effort that went into the definitions and lists I created yesterday and this morning.

When I finished with the platform challenge for the day, poetry claimed my attention. The PA Poem-A-Day Challenge for today was the prompt: Visitor.

The aspect of prompt writing that I thoroughly enjoy is that the writer/poet can approach the writing from whatever perspective lies within the body of the prompt. If detailed restrictions aren’t given, the prompt is completely open to interpretation. That’s when the fun roars through the mind, taking the writer with it.

Since “Visitor” has so many possibilities, from so many perspectives, I decided to begin small and work my way up. Here’s what I did this morning. Later today, I’ll add another.

Simply Natural 

Nature surges behind

Walls assigned to ads,

A silent lure to the viewer,

Without words, without money,

Always available to see,

To experience, to awaken

Dulled senses to the world.

I hope you enjoy these prompt responses. To change out the mix of poems, here is another, though not written to prompt other than my own urgings.

Jesus Loves

I came upon this phrase I loved,

That appeared at ease,

Poised, a silhouette on the page,

Etched against the white,

Waiting for my adoration,

Innocent of guile.

Its voice called to me,

A siren song heard within breath

Expelled softly, slow

As time upon Earth’s diurnal

Turning, face to sun,

Willing life into creatures here.

Would that allusion came to me

As effortlessly,

To capture the mind’s attention,

To create a vision

Powerful, subtle, within notes

Built of supreme joy.

Have a marvelous week, everyone. Please stop by each day to see what I’ve  added to the collection being created here.

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