Pain is Water

A few days ago, I participated in a jam night with blues music as its focus. I very much like blues music. I very much like jamming. I did not very much like this night's jam as a participant. Perhaps because my ego got involved or perhaps because the musicians were more annoyed than inspired. I got hurt. I was not happy with the way I felt.

No one made me feel these things. I felt them. I'm not confident enough in my own emotional control to say that I chose to feel the feelings.

The world is a reaction.

Everyone is a microcosm of the world. I can either turn the butterfly wing flap of their words into hurricanes of anger, or I can west wind them over plain states in order to turn turbines and make a change through the charge I was given. After all, turning wind into the way you're reading this post is the new transmutation, ins't it?

Pain is water. We are plants. Too much pain, and we can drown. Too little and we can become anemic. Just enough and we can grow.

Pain allows us an opportunity to grow so long as the pain we've felt is looked at as something that can help us pinpoint our difficulties and take steps to fix them.

This is where poetry steps in.

The Prompt:

Think of a memory that has a lot of pain associated with it. (Sometimes the farther back in time this memory is, the better.)

Let it all out - every negative thing you felt, put that down on paper and let that stuff go.

Now, think of what actions this experience led you into taking.
Who are you now that you've survived the pain?
Who might you have been without it?

As for the jam I talked about earlier. I realized that my knowledge on blues chords is severely lacking. I can comprehend what a 7add13 chord is, but I have no idea how to fret one on a guitar. For this reason, I'm going to learn a lot more about how to play those chords. And I'll try my best not to be upset that I don't know as much as I'd like to.

Epiphanies Seldom Happen When We Expect Them

Tonight, a student told me, "The real question you have to ask yourself is 'Why do you have a lower opinion of yourself than everyone else around you does?'"

 I don't know. But it got me thinking.

What assumptions do I make about myself? What assumptions do I assume other people make of me?

Try:
Think of a time when you assumed the worst. What crazy chain of events would have led to the world's destruction from that event? Then: How did the situation actually turn out?

OR

Write a list of your craziest fears (no matter how absurd)! It's a great list poem format!

Tragedy Is So Easy

This is another topic that's been on my brain for a bit now.

Tragedy is so easy. Don't get me wrong. Surviving tragedy is not easy. But we, as a society, have manufactured a different idea of what "tragedy" is.

I present to you the following phrase: "First world problems."

The coffee you ordered was too hot/not hot enough.
Your unofficial parking spot was taken by someone.
You're having a bad hair day.

I think one of the biggest problems with American culture recently has been our refusal to qualify things. I think part of this is a reaction to a small subset of people who are so focused on the semantics of something that it feels futile to qualify your thoughts. When people get shot down, they tend to not want to fly. When the emotion we're trying to describe is met with "I don't think that's what you really mean," then we stop trying to describe. We stop trying to separate out the big from the large. And there becomes an agreed upon understanding that certain words are going to stand for much, much more than they were meant for.

Interesting, awesome, cool, hot, great, good, wonderful, amazing... these are quickly becoming nonsense words. Their meaning is lost because they are overused. They begin to blend together into some amorphous mass. If our culture were a person, they'd be repeating these words until they lost all meaning.

Tragedy, in some respects, is like this. Tragedy is becoming a catch-all. Tragedy is not a catch-all. Tragedy is not simplistic. Emotions are not simplistic, but I digress.

Tragedy is easy to apply to ourselves and others because we use it so much. Tragedy is easy to relate to because it's begun to lose its meaning. Tragedy is becoming misery. And we all know how misery feels about company.

It's too easy to talk about our tragedies.

And it's tragically difficult to talk about our successes or to compliment others for theirs.

Part of the reason I'm embarking on this journey is to clear my head of some of these thoughts. And, hopefully, somewhere along the way, remind myself that it's not all tragic. And that it is okay to be happy and to tell others how great they are.

It's also okay to tell myself that I'm pretty baller.

So, with that last thought in mind:

Write a list of all the stuff you're good at.

Once you've done that, try writing a piece about how one of those items is your super power. Imagine a world in which its continued existence relies on that power.

Now go save the world.

Perception

Okay, okay. It's March. Some might think that this is just a reminder that time is inexorably marching on towards "oblivion" or something equally as depressing. Sure. I mean, you could also look at oxygen as one of the most corrosive forces on earth as opposed to, say, the stuff that you need to be able to admire all of the other corrosive things on earth.

Really, it's all about perception.

Now, I'm not saying that looking at the world and imagining that it is full of butterflies (Yep, butterflies, everywhere!) will suddenly make an earthquake shake into the product of a billion butterflies flapping their wings at once... but that is a pretty awesome image... No. What I'm saying is that the way we view the world has serious implications on how we feel about it.

And how we feel about ourselves.

If you think that everyone is out to get you; that they're keeping you in whatever hell hole you've been trying to claw your way out of, then just keep in mind that "YOU" necessarily falls into that whole "EVERYONE" category.

Ever wonder why you hate Bill in accounting for being so damn lazy? Well, my friends, you're probably Projecting your own laziness on poor Bill. In other words, the things we dislike about other people are usually much more informative on our own crappy habits than they are honest assessments of the other's character. I'm not saying that Bill isn't lazy; I'm just saying you dislike Bill because you hate your own laziness. It's just that it's easier to dislike someone who isn't us first.

This is probably the greatest and most humbling lesson another individual can teach us.

Anyhow, back to perception.

The point of talking about Bill from accounting was to point out that humans very often do not have objective ideas about reality. We are stuck with our animal instinct perception of everything. Granted, you can train yourself out of this way of thinking by focusing on Mindfulness and Awareness (two good reasons to do Yoga, Kung Fu, or Meditation), but most people suck at being mindfully aware (self included - but I'm working on it). Ahh, but this brings us right back to Perception.

The world is a vast and expansive place. The oceans still hold mysteries. This place is pretty damn cool. If you view the people around you as miserable bone bags who just haven't woken up to the fact that this place called life is a Ronda Rousey fight (short, brutish, and ending in all your limbs being broken), then your view is essentially right. And painful.

However, if you view the people around you as trying their best and who just need a little help every so often and you view yourself as both student and teacher... Well, then you're right too.

I can view all the painful crap that happened to me as reminders as to why life sucks, or I can view all those as reminders that I wouldn't know the brightness of the light without seeing how bitter the dark is.

So, what do we do with this? Simple answer: write poetry.

It's not cold outside; it's the world reminding us to hold someone close.
I'm not sleeping; I'm rewarding myself for getting crap done.
I'm not crying; I'm offering up a salary of tears like a tithe.

The prompt for today:
Think of something from a minor annoyance to a big frustration and redefine it using a metaphor. What implications does that have for the rest of the world? For all the things around it? What changes must be made for this metaphor to stay true?

This can work to varying degrees with tragedy, too but that's a topic for another day.

Remember, perception is one of the poet's most important tools.

January 29 Prompt: Sick of...

Today, I'd like to present the idea of working with metaphor.

There are things in this world which get to us.  Every single person has something or other that drives him or her absolutely crazy.  I want you to tap into that idea:

Think of something that makes you feel sick.

This can be anything from that one food you absolutely love but is just bad for you; it could be politics; it could be other people and their silly eccentricities; it could be anything you want it to be.  Now, to keep this idea going: when we get sick, we have some kind of medication that we can take to help alleviate the symptoms.  So, if you get sick of hearing about politics, what do you do in order to alleviate that "sickness"? Do you talk to other people, yell at the TV, write poems, cry in a corner?

If we think about the things that annoy us as a sickness and the things we do to deal with those annoyances as medication, then we can start to build a poem/metaphor out of those ideas.

Good luck and happy writing!

1/21/13 Prompt: Freedom

Today is an important day of remembrance.  One on which we ought to think back on progress which has been made and reflect on how we may be able to push our causes further.  Sometimes, however, it can be difficult to find common ground with another person, and this is where poetry comes into play.  Poetry is a way that we can create morals out of mythology; it is a method by which we can take the uncommon and make it understood.  To use a piece of a Sartre quote: "every age has circumstances which can be expressed or transcended only through poetry."  To me, this means that our language, our methods of communication are somewhat inadequate.  Poetry, in and of itself, does nothing but take the uncommon (your private experiences) and turn it into something that can be more fully understood (through use of metaphor and similes - analogies and comparisons help to make light of stories).  This is a process of telling stories - something which comes naturally yet also takes much practice to actually perfect.  Anyhow, I wanted to focus back in on a more straightforward topic: Freedom.

I think this topic is one which has gotten a lot of attention over the past month.  How much freedom should we possess?  How is that freedom granted?  Is it a paradox that freedom isn't free?  Is anything truly free?  Are we "condemned to be free"?  Or is freedom a natural gift?  Something in between?  These questions should help you start thinking about this prompt:

What does it mean to be free?

To translate this into poetical terms: Think about a situation in which you have felt free in some way or another and write about that.  What were the circumstances?  Were you alone?  Have you never felt completely free?  If you can, think of a time that can be used as a metaphor or a simile for freedom then explain why and/or how.  Take this poem to anywhere it feels like it wants to go - don't feel you need to be constrained by anything that doesn't feel necessary, and, as always, make sure you have fun!



On another note: The blog has not been updated in a few weeks due to that horribly scary thing known to many as writer's block.  However, I was dared by a friend to write a poem a day over the next few weeks... months... year.  I'm not sure I can do it, but I'm certainly willing to try.  Therefore, I would also like to take this challenge a step further and post any pieces I come up with here.  This, I think, will give me a good chance to catalog the different pieces about which I write, and it will also give me an opportunity to show how a small piece/poem can be worked through and edited or revised to bring out its potential.  The writing process, as a forewarning, is not one which is pretty.  However, the name of this blog is Life is Rumored to be Written Here, and life, as we all know, is not always pretty.  This, if nothing else, is the goal of my blog and work: to show how life can be made into art and vice versa.

I look forward to this experiment over the next few however longs.  C'est la vie.

Have fun and happy writing!

Prompt 1/1/13 : The Little Things

Well, mostly. Today, I'd like to throw out a somewhat timely prompt:

Think and write about a particular gift which you've received.

What did the gift look like?  Smell like?  Taste like?  Feel?  Sound?  Paint a picture of this gift you've been given AND let us know why this thing is so significant to you.  Is there any special meaning attached to this thing?  Has it unexpectedly grown in significance over the time during which you've owned it?  What might someone else overlook about this that you absolutely adore?

In order to help you with this, try writing 5 metaphors to help explain what this gift means to you to other people.  A metaphor can be thought of as:

Noun + State of being verb + Noun

Now, if you get stuck writing, try using one of these as a jumping off point to write your poem!

Good luck and happy writing!

December 17th - Prompt: Location, Location, Location

Today's prompt is one that I love, and it is one that can be a TON of fun to work with so long as you have the right place.  It's all about the location.

Write a poem about a place.

That's it.  Nothing more. Nothing less.  The trick, however, is to write your poem in a way that means something to you, that is interesting and eye-catching (or ear catching), and that other people can relate to.  You could write your poem speaking from a different point of view (perhaps a tree or landmark in the location you're writing about) or a letter which personifies the place to which you're writing.  This place can be anything: that one nice, quiet park bench, the restaurant you frequent, or even the city in which you live.

If you're stuck on ideas, feel free to check out this video of a poem inspired by this prompt; it's all about the Quad Cities along the Mississippi river on the Iowa/Illinois border:

Have fun and happy writing!

December 3rd Prompt and Poem - It's in the Music

Recently, I attended a memorial walk for an acquaintance who had passed.  I was listening to a conversation that another friend of his was having.  One word stuck out: "Searching."  Ideas flooded into being; I brought out my notebook and began to write.  I listened to a song with the same title as the word which had just been used.  For reference, this is the song I was listening to:

This is the piece which followed:

Searching

There is a song called "Searching" by an artist
named Joe Satriani. It's a song that starts
off with a slow pulse - like a question at rest.
Chords kick in and a driving solo begins like
the notes are trying to find their home - wide
vibratos and a bass which wants to find its place
between the high strung, tight singing strings and
those loose enough to make rock roll. Suddenly,
the guitar swings wildly, matching the frenetic
pace of the bass, and I realize that the music
is matching emotions, and I wonder if this
is what the music inside of his mind sounded like
when he searched for an answer - a reason for being?
an idea to hold onto? beauty? a melody?
Was he searching for a string - vibrant, sonorous - enough
to stitch his heart back together -
when a man's hands close like life could
never fill them again, the reason is rarely the moment -
the reason is rarely in the hands - the reason
seems to be nothing - nothing found from the
search - no thing strong enough
to hold hands open anymore - what were you searching
for?
       I can't find anything but upset in the waves
that continue outward - music only exists in the moments
we hear it, but its reverberations can be heard
in the echoes of instruments and in their phrasings like
"I'm sorry for your loss" or "I remember when..." because
not everyone has fingers nimble enough to
pluck out notes, but we all have a heart
strong enough to be tuned and sing out your
praises - and, honestly, I never knew you
well enough to even begin to understand why
the beats of all these hearts sound so somber,
but I have to believe that this
is the only way your song could have ended -
it was always in your hands, and this note - this
note
        is trying to make all the songs we're singing
find harmony because one day those songs too will end, but
our search will continue, and
one day
we may find
the strings to complete this symphony.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Music is a very powerful force in our lives, so I want to ask you to tap into that power.

Find a song (it can have lyrics, but instrumental ones can provide for more interpretation) and write a poem about what it means to you.

What connections does this song have?  How do you feel when the music plays?  Do you feel that the song is saying something other than what you can hear?  Are there any stories which go along with this song?  I have a tendency to attach potent memories to songs, so bring up your past if you'd like, and tell your story through a song.

Feel free to post what you come up with hear and a link to the music which inspired it!

Additionally, there may be a fund set up in honor of the subject of this poem and to help his family. I will update with any further information as it becomes available for anyone who may be interested in learning more.

Thank you and happy writing!

November 26th Prompt - For The Love

I have been on an absolute kick with regard to love.  This is possibly because I've been looking through old notebooks and noticing how much my pen used to be obsessed with the idea.  I had filled many pages with the idea, and I kind of like it.  Love is one of the driving forces behind the universe it seems; it's everywhere. But sometimes we forget it.  Or it gets misplaced.  Sometimes it sneaks its way into our other pieces of baggage; you know, the ones which we glean from past relationships or ones that will never really be.  Sometimes we forget how powerful this word is and why it should be saved and used only when we truly mean it.  These thoughts are what lead into today's prompt.

Write an epistle (poem in letter form) to someone whom you love (or loved).

Granted, this is a difficult topic, so I'm going to open it up a bit and encourage you to write to the very first person who comes to mind.  What does love mean where this person is concerned?  Is it a feeling of concern for their well-being (like a guardian or parent)?  Is it a feeling of platonic, amazing friendship?  Is it a difficult to describe, deep seated attraction type love?  As you'll notice, these questions revolve around what type of love you're trying to express.  Keep this in mind: There are several different types of love.  Which do you feel strongest in your life right now?  Which felt strongest to you at some point prior to this?  How would you describe your thoughts/feelings?  As always, be specific, and don't hesitate to put pen to page.

Love is a strong emotion and well worth writing about, so be sure to have fun writing and good luck!

November 12th - Prompt: Thankful

Yesterday was Veterans' Day, and we all have someone to thank on that day. This is certainly not all we have to be thankful for, however. And this energy, the energy that accompanies a "Thank You" is the energy that I want to tap into with today's prompt.

Write an epistle (a poem in the form of a letter) to someone or something for which you are thankful.

This letter does not have to solemn - remember that the energy of a thank you can be one of happiness and joy - someone has given time for you; this is something to be joyous about! Of course, you could also write a thank you poem to your favorite forest, to the city streets whose traffic speaks at all hours of the night, to your friend, mother, brother, sister, father, or other family; you could write a thank you to whomever you would like - set your pen free and see what it fetches from its well of ink!

Good luck, and happy writing!

November 5th Prompt - It's Your Past

November is considered a time during which we should be thankful. I agree that we ought to be thankful, but I would add on that we ought to also think about where we've been before, take stock, and acknowledge how far we've come. For this reason, I present the prompt for this week:

Write to yourself in the past.

Are there any things you would like to tell yourself in the past? Would you like to thank yourself? Would you like to forgive yourself? Is there something you now understand that, when younger, you simply could not comprehend? Your writing can take the form of advice, of venting, of understanding, of forgiveness, of thankfulness, or anything else that you'd like to present to your former self. As a slight tweak, you may want to think as though you're writing to someone else; often it's easier to talk to others than it is to talk to ourselves, so if imagining that you are writing to someone else who is like you will assist in this endeavor, then certainly feel free to do that.

Whatever the case, don't stop writing!

Have fun, and good luck writing!

October 29th - Prompt: Face Your Fear

Everyone is afraid of something.  More often than not, we find ourselves afraid of things like the dark, blind corners, and strangers.  This is partially because those things are inherently scary or that we have been warned to stay away from them, but I think it is more likely that we are afraid of these things because they represent the unknown.  What, after all, is hiding in the dark?  What is around the corner?  What is in the heart of a stranger?  This last question is one I want to focus on.

In order to take the fear out of something, we need to understand it.  In order to understand it, we must experience what it is like to be that thing which we fear.  For that reason:

I want you to try writing from the point of view of something you don't understand or something which scares you.

Try writing from the perspective of a spider.  What does it see through its manifold eyes?  What does it feel from the hair on its eight legs?  If spiders scare you not, perhaps the slithering of a snake could give you inspiration to write.  If animals do not scare you, try writing from the perspective of someone or something you do not understand.  If you're a staunch republican, write from the point of view of a democrat, or vice versa.

I recently tried to write from a perspective I didn't completely understand, and I was able to come out with a poem that meant something and informed me more about what I had been previously missing.  With any luck, not only will you discover a new and powerful poem with this prompt, but you'll also be able to find greater understanding where you couldn't before.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Prompt: October 22nd Success

Everyone has dreams or goals or desires.  Everyone has something that he or she would absolutely love to achieve.  Problematically, we don't always know the "correct" path to walk in order to achieve those goals.  This, however, is not necessarily important.  When beginning to write a poem, I will generally have an idea of the concept I want to write about, but more often than not, what I end up with is not what I started with.  This is okay.  It's called the journey, and it leads to discovery.  But let's get back to the prompt at hand.

I want you to think about something you really want to achieve.  I don't want you to care about the how or the why of getting there or what you want to achieve; I just want you to have a solid picture of a goal in your brain.  Do you want to make more money?  Do you want to find love?  Do you want to make a new friend?  Ask a girl out?  Ask a guy out?  Be asked out?  Win a competition?  Something, anything so long as it is something you want.  Got that image in your head of what you want?  Good.

Now, write from the perspective of already having achieved this thing you have in your mind.

How does it feel?  What are you doing?  Let your mind go, and let your emotions wander with it.  Write about how you feel now that you've successfully achieved this thing you want.  Be creative, have fun, and write!

Good luck and have fun writing!