A Flower
In the woods,
Through miles of trees and bracken,
where even the smallest ray of light is lost,
There grows a flower
Not just any flower.
While most flowers require light and water,
and can not survive in the middle of miles of dense forest
Where it is deprived of these things,
Somehow,
This sole flower survives.
Against all odds,
Against all reason,
This flower perseveres
and while we may not be able to survive in an environment like this,
Without water, or energy.
You can persevere through things that you never thought were possible,
It is scary,
But if you trust yourself,
If you never give up,
You will survive.
You will be the flower surviving against all odds
I once read a book written by a Holocaust survivor
Who wrote about how your mind and body can go through much more than we think.
That stuck with me,
Maybe becuase it's something I knew deep down,
Or something that I wanted to hear,
Or just something that clicked.
Ever since then,
I have made it my goal to survive against all odds
Sometimes it is hard,
But if you persist,
If you do all that you can,
You will be that flower,
You just need to believe.
Joy
How to describe such a word
This word is life
This word is love
This is all you could ever want
It is happiness
It is the purest form of happiness
It is just joy
It is the reason I am happy
It is the reason I can jump out of bed
It is something you create yourself
Not from money
Or material objects
But from peace
From peace of mind
And peace of heart
Spring
When the trees start growing back
And the flowers start to bloom
It's easy to get caught up
In a moment
Or two
But just as these flowers bring happiness
Sometimes their disappearence makes us sad
But always try to remember
That there are always reasons to be glad
Now that warm wind blows through fields
And we are ready to go outside
Don't forget that these memories we've made
Have never died
So while we breath fresh air
Don't forget
That just as spring jumps up
It will leave without regret
So take time to enjoy the weather
And time to talk with friends
Because even though it feels short
It will soon enough, end
Passion
Feeling withoug passion is normal, we have all been there. What has helped me through those times are these points:
1. I have friends who can help my find something to be passionate about every day
2. I find enjoyment in doing things for others, so on days or periods of time where I don't know what I want to do, I do that (also how you get #1 above)
3. Oddly enough, exercise helps me be more awake and active
4. Do things with others, this is a little like number one but the point of this is to find people who will hold you accountable (this is not good in all situations, if you don't like it and it has no purpose, don't do this) but I have a chemistry podcast that I record with a friend of mine every weekend, I can't just decide not to do it, there is another person.
5. FIND SOMETHING YOU WANT TO FIX OR HELP this can be your passion on it's own, find something that makes you angry, or sad, or passionate, something that is going to make you want to get up every morning becuase this cause can be fixed and you want to do it.
6. Understand that you may be going through a time where you just feel less passionate, we expect progress to be linear, but in reality it has plateaus. You have to work through these but don't get too angry at yourself if you are a little slower than usual.
7. Set goals. Goals have helped me in so many ways, you don't always reach them, but goals will help you accomplish more.
8. Play an instrument. It helps me to play an instrument if I feel less passionate, and I usually feel better after, and if not, at least I have accomplished practicing and I usually don't feel like I am making myself practice. I recomend playing an instrument if you don't, I play the flute and violin and they are both amazing instruments.
9. Little rewards. You might have a hard time working towards something large, but if you give yourself some small rewards along the way, or intentionally choose something that not only helps you reach an overall goal, but helps you gain things every step of the way (if that makes sense) then you might find it easier to do something.
10. Most of these will only work if you have time. If you are stressed and studying or working too much, then you need to fix that. Everyone needs free time in their life, and too much or too little can lead to stress or boredom.
11. Reading. When all else fails, reading or sometimes playing a game help me get engaged in life.
I hope this helped, and I hope you find something to be passionate about!
Life is a mystery, life is journey, a blessing. But to me, life is choices. You know, no one wants to loose someone close to them, no one wants to get sick. No one wants anything bad to happen to them, and despite this, it still happens, for some reason or another, the universe decided that it did not care what you wanted. So what do we choose? Do we decide 'I'm going to dwell on this and hope that something good happens to me' or do we decide that we didn't want that to happen, but it happened anyway so we'll just roll with the punches? Life is choices, it always has been. We are given a life, a beautiful life, so live it. Make the most of it. I hope this isn't too off topic but about a week ago, I was talking to some of my friends, some way or another the conversation switched to optimism and how positive everyone was. My one friend started talking about me and goes, she's always happy "she has a happy life" this honestly surprised me, because I had never really though of a life as 'happy' or 'sad' before, and after pondering this for a while, I stand by this. Your life can be bad, but that does not change your outlook on life, in fact, this is going to sound a little weird, but I am optimistic because I lost someone close to me, and I missed them, heck, I still miss them, and I think I will miss them forever, but she was also the most positive person I knew, she is the reason that I am who I am. And I guess I have come to peace with the fact that we miss people forever, but we can also still live our lives, and I know people who have had things like this happen to them, and have gone down a different path, a much worse path. So, to circle back to the topic, to me, life is choices. And I am aware that there are some things that you can not change, and there are many things I would really like to change right now, but choosing to live a better life, and choosing to be a better person is what makes your life good, that is the only thing that makes your life good, it is your choice.
Second, with more to come
Intertwining around a tree trunk
Climbing upon a building
fence posts rotted
Paint chipping
Flooring characterized,
By years of life
The shingles that remain
Seem as though a hurrican passed through
Smoke no longer rises from the chimney
Laughter is no longer heard through the windows
Memories made long ago are forgotten
To you
It is just an old house
With vines growing on the sides
Paint chipping
And old flooring
But to others
It is so much more
The First of Many
I’m not very good at poetry so I decided that every day I am going to pick a different topic and write about it, and tips or critisisms are welcome in the comments.
Water drips upon a grass stem
The wind howls through an open hole in a tree
A leaf falls into a pond
Even ripples scatter around
Every so often a branch falls
Crushing the soil beneath it,
A constant dripping noise on the roof
The pitter-patter of rain
Seemingly unnecessary water
Drips into a lake
Slowly
Increasing it’s size
But
Every
Minute
More falls
Flooding the earth
Thunder sounds from afar
Lightning is seen in the distance
Somewhere, a kid holds their stuffed animals tighter
Somewhere, the sun is shining
Sometime, the rain will end
Sometime, things will get better
The rain drips in the distance
Another thunder strike sounds
But for now,
We just have to wait
I know this wasn’t exactly the challenge...
But I still consider myself a kid learning from all the adults in the world
So here's what I believe:
1. There is good in everyone
2. If you want to be stronger than hate you have to love stronger
3. Hating never positively affected anything
4. Nothing is more powerful than the friends you make
5. Chess is one of the best games
6. Some people get lost in trying to be cool and don't see a way out, but they way out is to be yourself and you will see the people who have done the same
7. If you work hard enough for something you can get it
8. People always told me when I grow up I won't be the same, I am still the same and now they applaud who I am
9. Don't change for those around you
10. If you show everyone love, you will feel beeter in the end
11. Don't be afraid to be vulnerable
12. Make good friends
13. The things you regret in life are the risks you don't take
14. If getting A's in school isn't cool then watch me burn
15. If being nice isn't cool then watch me be the sun
16. If you want to be good at something, practice
I once heard someone say that everyone gets old, but not everyone grows up. Some people grow up before they get old.
17. Never rush yourself to do something (unless you are procrastinating, then you should actually get that done)