Comfort Within Pages
My chest tightens as I struggle to breathe. Words and sounds rush by me in a flurry of motion, but I’m unable make sense of either. The endless litany of noise causes me to feel as if I am being compacted, pushed, and pulled, until all that’s left are a few broken pieces of myself scattered here and there on the solid floor. It takes all of my strength to hold on. I curl up with my knees close to my chest, hugging myself tight. I can feel my heartbeat pounding in my eardrums, and all I want is to be anywhere but here.
Taking a deep breath, I observe my surroundings. Everything is still. My desk and piano lay dormant, awaiting a new surge of creative energy. There’s a wall of bookcases directly ahead. Stained in dark wood, they carefully display organized rows of the stories I’ve collected throughout the years.
A sudden sense of calm rushes over me as I take in the sight. Each novel waves a gentle hello, beaconing me to delve into the comforting escape they offer. All bring me joy, though each contains vastly different worlds and personalities. The characters in these stories are my friends. In the hours we’ve spent together, I’ve come to see them as more real than the strangers I observe outside of my window. We’ve laughed and cried, been anxious and excited, amazed and brave together. The adventures we’ve experienced have shaped how I view and treat the world. They are the foundation upon which I am based.
Now, I know what I need. Reaching carefully toward my faded copy of the particular novel that gives me more joy than anything, I hold it close, cherishing the familiar feeling of anticipation one experiences before embarking on a magical journey. Its corners are worn, some pages torn, and some of the letters are beginning to fade, but it’s just as beautiful as the day I first held it in my hands.
I huddle under the covers, careful not to bend the pages of the book to which I owe my happiness. The lights, save a small lamp I use for this very purpose, grow dim around me, and I’m finally able to breathe. Opening the cover, I embark on my journey into this familiar and fantastical escape, feeling an instant sense of relief as this story reminds me that everything will be alright.
Country Road
When my mind roars
like a city street,
I escape to the lullaby of
the open country road.
A narrow strip of asphalt,
poured in the midst of
of a sprawling pasture,
An invitation for my senses
to drink of serenity.
A setting sun creates a
tango of light and shadow
on an old clapboard barn
A field of wildflowers bristles
from the touch of a gentle breeze,
A farmer wipes the sweat from his brow, as he nurtures the crops that sustain us,
A mother cow nourishes her young.
Here, the cloak of insignificance
that adorns my city life, is shed.
Here, I can breathe.
The Best Prison is the One You Can’t See...
Escape? What a concept. Everything we build in life has an escape hatch - hell, even planes that cruise at 30,000 feet going hundreds of miles an hour over open stretches of ocean come complete with a big red lever. In case of emergency plummet outside the falling tin can...better view. But life, itself, is a flawed piece of engineering. No hatch. No lever or button. No second chances. Life just has one entrance, “This way, Sir or Madam, just split your mother open and come in screaming,” and one way out, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
I don’t pretend to know the reason - maybe God was busy building other universes and, like a sleepy architect, forget a fire escape on his tallest tower. Maybe he’s a sick fuck and likes to watch all the crashes. I wouldn’t be so quick to judge. Why do you think NASCAR is still in business, anyway?
Whatever the case, the game is rigged. You can’t come in without begging to leave sooner or later - and when you do you’ll find all the doors are painted on the wall. Probably should have read the fine print, huh? So you ask me how I get away from it all? My answer’s the same as yours. We can’t ... still, there’s worse ways to spend your time than dreaming of things that won’t come true.
My Escape
The beat makes my heart rise like no other,
The lyrics takes over my thoughts till they're covered
The melody relaxes my body for another,
The intro is the opening into another world,
Choruses remindes you of your undiscovered desires,
Brigdes that connects the soul to what I heard,
Verses with perspective leaving feeling inspired.
Fight or Flight?
How do you escape reality when it becomes too much?
This is one-part rhetorical question. There’s simply no way of escaping reality. The answer lies in the latter part.
You have to stay there and fight the fight.
Here are some ways to help.
First, reduce the stress
There are several ways of doing this. Repeat the mantra every problem has a solution.
If you’ve spent too much time poring over this, take a small break. Take a catnap, spend time with fun company.
Change your perspective
People climb the Kilimanjaro and Everest, conquering arduous terrain, roughing it out in hostile conditions willingly. Look at this as your adventure.
Lay it all on the table
Visualize this in your mind, and dump all the worries, the work on an imaginary table. It frees your brain to think of strategies to address this problem.
Break it down in parts
Separate problems instead of bunching all into one. This way you can target each problem with specific solutions instead of bunching your cerebral knickers in a Gordian knot.
Break it down in sub parts
Once you have identified each problem, break it down in smaller parts. This will make the humungous task less immense, and you will solve it bit by bit. On summit day of the arduous Kilimanjaro hike, they do it in the dark, so you will not see the immense peak ahead and give up. You look only the light of the headlamp to see your feet and the limited illumined path ahead.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Cultivate patience.
In this world of instant gratification, we all seek quick fixes. But a thorough solving of the problem is better than a band-aid quick fix with that unspoken threat of recurring problems.
Omit Drama
Take stock of situation, and look at it dispassionately with the perspective of a yogic seer. Do not get enmeshed. Drama’s a major energy suck. To resolve the issue on hand, conserve energy to use it wisely when needed. Save a bit of the drama though. Sometimes, a pity party for one helps refocus.
Take out the “My” aspect
Look at it as someone else’s problem. Often, we advise better when it is somebody else’s problem. This puts a distance and offers a role play to avoid unnecessary entanglement.
First Pick?
Should you pick the toughest problem to attack first or the easiest? If you feel motivated with early successes, choose the easier ones first. On the other hand, if you choose the hardest ones to solve first, you’ve put the toughest ones behind. Or, you can mix it up with easy victories first. It’s like training for the marathon. Then, you can do the toughest ones in between, and finally wrap with with the rest of the easier ones for a cakewalk finish. Deadline is another important feature that will determine choice.
Take a break.
Sometimes the problem gets into a glitch, and you feel stuck without hope. This is the time to take a break. Your batteries need recharging.
There are several choices.
.Exercise if you’ve been sitting for too long.
.Get up and move around, stretch, and take your eyes off the ball.
.Smell the roses around, hear the birds. Go for a walk.
.Do nothing, just hear your breathing flow in and out.
It’s not a distraction, but an encouragement to get back to finishing tasks ahead. It also serves to remind you what is awaiting once task is done faster and efficiently.
Make sure you stay nourished.
Always stock your pantry with nourishing food to feel strong and healthy. As you expend mental and physical energy, you need self-fortification. Junk food and soda make you ill at ease.
Get adequate sleep
Let go of all tensions, unplug smart devices, and breathe into your sleep. Park your problems outside the bedroom door.
Stay Organized
Use calendars, reminders, milestones, to-do lists to help declutter the mind. A simple whiteboard is a good thing to have with a check-off list for the day.
Revisit the problem
Avoid logjam. A reset releases you from a fixation in addition to relaxing the mind.
Celebrate mini victories
Pat yourself on your back, and use the warm glow to fuel the next solution. This can be a good addiction to have.
Take another point of view
Two heads are always better than one. Listen to other perspectives, but be careful not to let too many cooks in, they really do spoil the broth.
Let others in, delegate!
Sometimes letting others in to help can bring more to the table of resolution. Their unique strengths can lift you from sinking into a bog. You don’t have to do everything.
Take it as a challenge
Instead of looking at it as grunt work, look upon it as your own Everest climb.
Enjoy the process
Solving issues one by one is like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Once several pieces are on the table in position, it starts to go faster and gets very enjoyable.
Problem solving can be fun.
Give it all you got.
You will feel a sense of purpose, a higher self worth, and a meaning in what you do.
Offer Gratitude
Feel gratitude knowing you have the ability and the chops to solve issues, and this will spur you on.
One at a time or several at one go?
Solve issues one by one, instead of multiple in one go. This way your perspective will not get muddled. However, if you begin to fixate, obsess on one without solutions or at the cost of other issues, choose another. You want to avoid the analysis-paralysis conundrum.
Be flexible
Understand there’s no one way of doing things. Be not afraid of failed solutions, and do not persevere on one thing.
Celebrate at the finish line.
Remember the time you reserved to celebrate when you have successfully tackled all issues?
Be prepared, at the finish line you may feel a sadness and emptiness akin to mourning. Instead, celebrate this victory, and remember life will turn up more adventures you once used to refer to as problems.
Southern Comfort
My place arrives at 6:00 am under an orange sky, the sun’s shell cracked and fried over-easy.
My place sounds like Skynyrd, so my toes must tap along.
My place has a garden hose, a sponge-bucket, and a pick-up truck.
My place has an old dog lying in the grass, and a pup dropping a ball into the sponge bucket.
My place smells of water, and soap, and wet dogs... sweet smells, all.
My place tastes like black coffee, static and bitter.
Mine is a simple, three hour therapy that cleans a truck, trains a dog (and his man), and rights the perplexing spins of an unbalanced globe.
Metaphorically Resonant Place.
A metaphorically resonant place,
An escape from reality.
A kind of place I wish to be where there are silver bridges and golden skies, blue moon and butterflies.
A place where broken glass and words aren't abandoned away but are put together in a picture frame.
A metaphorically resonant place,
A kind of place I wish to be.
Where silences greet and glances meet and happy moments can always be re-lived.
A place like this where starcrossed lovers meet and stand beneath the stars watching the tangents meet.
A metaphorically resonant place.
Where the little things matter.
where diamonds are wonders after suffering and pearls are all about untold mysteries.
A place like this I wish to be where fog and the rivers meet,
where daisies and carnations you gave me never wilt.
A metaphorically resonant place.
Where fairytales come true.
A kind of place I wish to be where golden flecks of your eyes take me to the labyrinthine untold and unspoken words finally unfold.
A metaphorically resonant place.
I wonder if it really exists but I am sure it will be a perfect place for you and me.
Media
I drown myself in the world of life, light-speed news and commercial lies. We all pretend here, everyone does. We form ourselves to be no one. We like what another has said, yet can we say that to their face? Can we fight and argue as we do, without a screen to protect us? Are we really strong, or cowards shrouding ourselves in fake courage? Are we true to ourselves?
I seek the love, the attention. It’s easier, I must say. Approval is easily won when the world is your audience and the media is your stage. I could say I might be popular. I could say I might have friends. I could say so many things.
But who am I?
I am one of them.