Things going my way
God answered all my prayers
Feeling blessed today
Goodness consumes me
Spreading love to all I see
Thankful for my life
Hopes and dreams come true
Clarity of life begins
Appreciation
Feeling Thankful Haikus
Dream
The ABC’s of Living Your Life
When we start out in life, that sense of naivety is truly a blessing. We are born into this world free of judgement. We see others as our equals. We have big dreams. Our imaginations are at its peak. We have no limitations. We don’t know the meaning of quit. We aren’t afraid to take chances and fail. We are curious about the world and seek to learn everything and anything that’s new. We show our appreciation and love openly and abundantly. We say what we feel and then move on with no grudges or hardships toward others. Our honesty leads the way and our good natured spirit keeps us ground. We share our infectious bright beaming smile to everyone we see. And best of all, every hour, every minute, every second is lived to its fullest; we live as if there’s no tomorrow.
Somewhere along the way, as we grew up, we lost some of those shining traits. If we can somehow remember what it felt like to be that child and apply it to our daily routine, then we can say that we are truly living. It’s easy, it doesn’t take much to regain back those redeeming qualities, we just have to be willing to try. So the best way to living our lives is to get back to the fundamentals.
Mid-Life Reflections #6
Recently I’ve been contemplating life and reminiscing about my younger self. When I was in my early teens on up into my 20’s, I used to wonder how I measured up to others in the world. I would readily compare myself to family, friends, colleagues or working professionals; did I make a certain amount of income, hold a respected position in a company, have a high status in society or did something that was of importance or value to the public?
I did my utmost to emulate them but to no avail. I sold myself on a bill of goods that I knew was unattainable. Why was it impossible? It’s because they were living their life and pursuing their goals and dreams. I had forgotten all about what I wanted to do with myself. I was so busy worrying about catching up to them that I flat out ignored my passion, my dreams.
When I finally woke up, I realized that I had a new lease on life. My trajectory in this world was on a different course from everyone all together and it was my goal to make it happen. I cared less about the status, fame and wealth of others and started to explore new things, take chances, make tons of mistakes, sought answers and learned to never give up.
It’s through this self-realization that I am where I’m supposed to be right at this moment. It’s a never ending, constantly changing state that I’m okay with. Why? Because it’s my life.
So don’t be so influenced by other people’s place in life that you neglect your own. You have a destiny that needs to be fulfilled by none other than you. So go out into the world and epically fail so that you can tremendously succeed at what you were meant to be!
Patience…
time concept, selective focus point, special toned photo f/x
Patience…
is what it takes to the path of
your dreams, your goals
Patience…
is a virtue they say
but to me it’s a test
Patience…
challenges your hopes,
your strength of will,
your endurance to bear
the uncomfortableness of it all
So that the light at the end of the tunnel
shines big and bright
like the radiant sun
And all the riches of your hopes and dreams
are there for your taking
So relish the moments
that require patience…
for it truly is a valued trait.
Our Dreams
Our dreams,
define us,
brings out our passion,
unites us mind, body and soul,
shapes our character
Our dreams,
make us work above and beyond,
pushing us to the brink,
testing our resolve,
our faith
Our dreams,
create doubts,
questions our path,
instills a sense a failure,
gives a dose of reality
of something that might never be
But to not make an attempt
means eternal regret,
what ifs,
what could’ve been,
loss of purpose in life
So we remain vigilant
and stay the course,
knowing that possibilities
are within reach
If our hearts are true,
and our will is strong,
fearless,
it is then,
and only then
will we be able to reach
Our dreams.
The Countdown
The holiday season is well underway and a lot of kids are eagerly counting down the days till Christmas. That age of innocence is clearly apparent and I often reminisce about my own experience. But alas, we all get older and sometimes our focus tends to gravitate toward age appropriate matters.
My kids, who are now young teenagers, reminded me of this. Yes, of course, they still look forward to Christmas but the enthusiasm is not as vibrant as it was when they were in their single digit age.
The main thing that concerns them the most is when does Christmas vacation start and how long it will be. They can’t wait to take a break from all that studying and let loose…or for others, just chill and do nothing. Granted, we all hated going to school and valued those precious times away from academia.
I recalled the time when I was their exact age and fully remembered what I was doing leading up to the start of winter recess. Counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds; time ironically moves extremely slow when we’re young and somehow speeds up the older we get. Go figure that.
As I was thinking about this, a short poem came to mind that kind of summed up how I felt at my children’s age and I’d like to share it.
Here I am at school today
feeling down and oh so blue
I dream of being hard at play
in the hopes it will come true
Running, skating, playing ball
is what I’d like to do
but here I am thinking – that’s all
just stuck here right at school
To dream, to dream, only to dream
waiting for school to end soon
“My God! My watch! Oh gads I’ll scream!
I can’t believe it’s only noon!!!”
Our “Special” Gift
I always marvel at the fact that we, as writers, can conjure up practically anything we desire with our writing. We come up with the most creative stories, the most enticing screenplays, the most eloquent poetry and the most humorous prose.
No two stories, poems, blog posts or screenplays are alike. Yes they may have the same idea or premise but the way it is executed on page and presented to the reader is very individualistic. Our inner voice comes through our choice of words and how we arrange them and the reader is fortunate to choose which voice he or she best relates to.
We really have a gift if you think about it and we choose to share it with others in hopes of educating them, inspiring them, entertaining them and even provoking critical thought among them. Our passion has no bounds.
The world, our experiences, our family, our friends and random conversation overheard is our muse. We get a spark and it gestates in our subconscious mind until it is ready to flow freely onto our computer screens.
AND some of the stuff that we come up with is totally mind-boggling. As writers, we choose to ignore the plausible and go with what our inner voice is screaming at us to write. Just imagine if we put limitations on ourselves and our creativity, you know how boring our concepts would be.
Every day I thank God that I’m able to write something that at least someone, somewhere would enjoy reading. I might not be the most creative, eloquent or concise writer but I write how I feel and that’s all that truly matters; I think that this is the common thread that is prevalent among all of my fellow peers.
Writing is our craft, our voice…and our desire to share it with the world regardless of the outcome is admirable don’t you think. 
When I started as a writer, I came across a poem that really spoke to me. Unfortunately it was written anonymously and I lost my only copy of it. But I remembered a portion from that particular poem that I took to heart and I want to share it with all of my fellow writing colleagues – all you screenwriters, poets, bloggers, story tellers:
“Writing is a gift
given to few,
Don’t ever give it up
or you won’t be you”
The Reason
All my life, I’ve lived so alone
searched and failed each time,
so many hearts drifting alone
not one to call my own
The feeling of love was all but a dream
seen in the eyes of others,
hearts that will share, eyes that show care
as only between two lovers
Since you walked into my life
my faith has grown so strong
my view of love is much clearer now
with you is where I belong
You’re the reason how my life is lived
and this I know is true
There can only be one love for me
cause love was found in you
You taught me things in life
and I have learned to give –
to loneliness I bid sweet adieu
The love that has filled me body and soul
is all because of you
You’re the reason – my heart I give
my love’s now alive and free
For you are my one and only love,
you are the one just for me.
Dream a little dream…
There is a point in all of our lives where we aspire to be great, to do something big or to be famous beyond all belief. Call it delusions of grandeur, wishful thinking or lofty goals…but we all go through it.
I dreamed a lot…ages ago, when I was able to run like the wind, shake off the flu with ease and be pain free. I had all these dreams…being a rock star, the hero that saved Earth from invading aliens, a star athlete, you know the usual stuff. But there was one particular dream that I am most grateful for and that was to be a writer of cards.
You know what I’m talking about…birthday cards, wedding cards, anniversary cards, any type that you’d find in a Hallmark store. That was my foray into writing.
You see, at that time I was extremely “girl crazy”…you would be too if you came from a Catholic all boys school like I did. When I got into college and started to mingle with the hordes of beautiful women on the college campus, I decided that whenever one of my lady friends had a birthday I would give them the gift of poetry.
My type of poetry didn’t contain eloquent verses; it wasn’t even close to anything magnanimous, it was more of the rhyming sort. The kind that you would find when you opened up a “Hallmark” card. I would pine away at the right words to use to convey how I felt and would take pen to paper soon after. Here’s an example:
“Some write songs of love old and new,
others write books of love so grand and true
But songs and books cannot describe,
the real true meaning of love…
A love that comes from inside
From within the heart a certain feeling grows
it cannot be hid for through your action it shows
It’s seen in the eyes of both the young and old
It’s shown through their smile that’s pure and gold
If everyone had one wish they’d probably say,
Love stay with me forever, never go away.”
Yeah it’s cheesy but it helped me on my path to becoming a writer…which was something that I subconsciously dreamt about when I was writing all those weird short stories in my high school English classes. It was a start and like all dreams, you have to start somewhere. Even if it seems illogical at the time, you have to try.
My whole point that I’m trying to get at is that you truly can’t be afraid to dream. Failure is not an option but merely an obstacle that you’ll overcome. Even if it seems impossible, unattainable or just plain crazy. If that’s what you want then strive to get there at all costs.
I’m a screenwriter and that’s probably one of the most unattainable dream that one could aspire to be…but I stuck with it. It took me almost seventeen plus years to get representation but I achieved it…and I’ll go another seventeen years more to try and sell one of my scripts. Persistence and patience are the key ingredients to achieving one’s dream…add a dash of luck to the mix as well.
So dream away and dare to be great.
Midlife, Maniacal & Me 