For the love of the pen

Not for your applause.Not for my name in lights.Not for my ego to be strokedBut because words can be beautiful scrapsFor making music out of silenceAnd silencing demons in my head-Today is blog number one thousand.A thousand times I doubtedAnd showed up against my better judgment,A thousand times I wonderedIf anyone would even careAnd then […]

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Dry pens

I have a recurring nightmareThat my pen has dried up,And have said all I could sayEmptied myself completely-Bottom of the barrel kind of stuff:I sit down to writeBut all that comes upAre tired old storiesRepeated repeatedlyStaring back at me on the pageAnd morphing into the voiceOf my inner criticThat I am all too familiar-‘’You’re done’ […]

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The stuff you write today

May not be the best you have in youAnd yes it may even be really, really bad.The pen makes no guarantees,No assurance of qualityNo fail safe strategy for a compelling story-Just a promiseThat once on the pageYour ethereal thoughts would haveFound brick and mortar residence in the formOf sentences-Sentences that may evokeMind numbing boredomOr deep, […]

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Underselling ‘better’

Improvement is a giftWe can offer ourselvesThrough focused effortAnd applied hope.ComparisonIs a wound we can afflictOurselves withThat will bleed bright redEven on our best days.We tend to undersellBeing ‘better’As the thing you reach forWhen you’ve tried and failedAt being the best,But the reality isIf you’re ever going to beThe best you can beIt would surely […]

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Creative Confidence

When will you stop asking for permissionTo do what you’ve beenPut here on earth to do?When will you be convinced?How many pats on the back will it take?Five star ratingsStanding ovationsTestimonials-All of it won’t ever be enoughTo fill up the gaping holesOf your insecurity,So stop waiting untilYou feel worthy to create-You already are.Creative confidenceComes after […]

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Creative timing

Timing really mattersWhen it comes to creative work-Are the people readyFor what you have to offer?Are you doing your most important workDuring your most productive hours?Are you in a rush? Do you have to be?Creating healthy rhythyms for creative workIs as important as the creative work itself.Finding the best times of the dayTo be creativeLocks […]

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Twice Removed

It gets harder and harderTo remove yourselfFrom the success or failureOf the work you doAs you become increasinglyInvested in it.Nothing destroysYour chances of creating wonderful thingsQuite as quicklyAs being too closely entwinedWith the outcomes.Sure, one hopes for recognitionAnd applause is a signThat you’re onto somethingBut that’s not whereThe secret sauce comes from-Its not where the […]

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Light years

You will always be light years away From perfection Because though all created things Have infinity bound up within them- No matter how many hills we climb And dragons we slay There will always be yet another height Yet another beast. We live in world Of inescapable limitations with Facts that will remain unchanged No […]

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The Resistance is Relentless

No matter how many times I show up To write To speak To contribute There’s a disapproving figure Somewhere between my ears Sometimes quietly suggesting Other times explicitly yelling That I have no right to be here No grounds to be sharing an insight No real reason to share my thoughts. And it wouldn’t be […]

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Running out of juice

Will the fountain of inspirationEver run dry?Is there a limit that God has setOn the ideas a person can have?Projects we can attempt?Is there a cap to human potential?The obvious answer is no.But we often live as thoughIt were otherwise,As though the good thing you had goingWhich was ruined by the pandemicIs the last good […]

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