What Inspires Awe?
In my writer’s group of fellow Wayfinder Coaches we were given the following prompt by a fellow coach: PROMPT: What brings you a sense of awe in your life and environment? What Inspires Awe? Volcanoes inspire awe Unless they are on a post card, then they’re awful. Babies being born inspire awe Unless they’re on tv sitcoms, they they’re awful Lightening strikes are awesome Unless they’re in a blog photo, then they’re awful Weddings inspire awe, Wait, who am I kidding, no they don’t. They’re just kind of boring and lead to snoring Or lots of drinking and overthinking Funerals don’t inspire awe but dead bodies seem to. Birds flying in formation are awesome Planes flying in formation are awesome The pyramid rock formations are awesomer still But what is most awesome of all is brave people breaking formation Dropping the etiquette like they’re all wasps from Connecticut And forgetting their manners and burning their day planners Violence inspires awe And in this noisy world so does silence Fear and tragedy inspire awe And punch you right in the jaw But there is one most obvious truth, so plain it seems almost mundane But it is truly true every second if our awareness can remain… The truth is the fact that life itself is alive. A field of experience thinking, and reasoning, and aligning on purpose for our highest good. Until we get in the way and short circuit this awesome process of living in the present moment. Life conspires, deliberately, to bring us fulfillment. It seems awesome to me, absolutely awesome that life is this responsive, this benevolent, this persistent and consistent and insistent. And yet, we find it all so easy to forget, to disbelieve, to write off as fairy tales and adventure stories. How awesome to be living in the middle of our very own adventure story, with life as our ally, our faithful sidekick, our trusty steed, or consigliere, our beloved, and being blind to it the entire time….that is so incalculably hard to understand that I find it simply inspires a sense of awe.
Existing Infinitely (Verbing Adverbally: The ‘Core Values’ Coaching Tool In Action)
In Martha Beck’s new book The Way Of Integrity she talks about using a verb + adverb phrase to discover your core values. For example it might be living (the verb) and courageously (the adverb), or loving fully, or chewing quietly (that’s one I’m still trying to master). In a writer’s group I belong to that is populated by fellow Wayfinder Coaches one of them suggested we use the model of a verb + adverb phrase to do a writing prompt to help us uncover our core values as a coach and a human being. You can check out what I came up with below in the 12 minutes we get to write in that group! That twelve minutes flies by faster than a Sessna crashing into the sea. Try combining a verb adverb phrase that represents a core value for you, and write about it. Then let me know in the comments how it went. Much Love Life Story Hackers. Existing Infinitely The culturally acceptable: Living Selflessly Caring Feverishly Obeying Politely Disagreeing Cautiously with out raising your voice The culturally encouraged: Proving Endlessly Achieving Relentlessly Boasting Subtly Giving Mindlessly to the non-profit of your choice From a broken place: Frittering Aimlessly Struggling Constantly Ruminating Involuntarily People Pleasing Perpetually while making very little noise From a place of privilege: Spending Carelessly Eating Mindlessly Commenting Blindly Learning Slowly and having it all explained twice From a place of victimhood: Suffering Silently Blaming Utterly Deteriorating Steadily Dying Regretfully, without every rolling the dice My deepest truth: Enjoying Wholeheartedly Luxuriating Ferociously Relaxing Deliberately Entertaining Consciously, because wouldn’t that be nice? My improbable dream:Influencing Humbly Prospering Completely Mastering Peacefully Teaching and Serving and eating pizza by the slice
WRITING PROMPT: “To Be Continued”
To be continued means we want your attention The story’s not over, there’s a twist, did I mention She has an evil twin from another dimension To be continued means you tune in watch next week Because she’s pregnant and kidnapped down by the creek And her lover was a con artist, a regular sneak To be continued means somebody unexpected might die Someone beloved, or the suspense was a lie Because they want us asking ourselves “why oh why? To be continued means keep this channel on longer And buy useless crap after these words from our sponsor Manipulating us using models covered in bronzer To be continued seems to always mean danger A major guest start playing a mysterious stranger There’s nothing worse than a shocking cliff-hanger To be continued could also mean I’m eternal I like that thought so I feel for my journal And try to capture the truth, even if just a kernel
WRITING PROMPT: “Something Small that Leads to Positive Change”
Something small that lead to positive change is every single baby who ever did something worthwhile in their lives… Like, I don’t know, learning to walk, or laughing with joy Or holding their head up and keeping their food down. Something small that lead to positive change is every molecule that ever mattered or became matter Like the building blocks of life, nearly invisible, mostly empty space, And yet somehow they create everything, they are everything Something small that lead to positive change is every single lone voice that spoke up about something just because they knew they had to Like Rosa Parks, creating sparks Or Martin L. King with his big big dream Or that single girl that stood her ground and stopped a tank in its tracks Something small that lead to positive change is every single breath I take Because they never fail me, they just exhale me And with the grace of air, living surrounded by exactly what I need to survive I actually can thrive Something small that lead to positive change is every spider that ate a mosquito carrying malaria Or every hand that rubbed the back of somebody with hysteria Every calming word, especially those teeny tiny one syllable words Like, I don’t know, love, joy, peace, fuck, try, yes, no, hi, be, and give. Or every single small tear ever cried, or every time I little white lied when I thought I was embodying love even if it was a mistake Because my small mistakes create the ocean waves that somehow, miraculously, graciously, unconditionally, can end up smoothing the rough edges of somebody else’s suffering, Like sea glass made from a drunk man’s trash. Something small that lead to positive change is the minute before this one, and the second that comes after, because Every second I use to put my fulfillment first is a teeny tiny moment I can let my heart burst And shed of all of culture’s restrictions And drop all of my dogma and benedictions And I find myself waiting there in every minuscule moment The small things add up to big things and I don’t know how it happens Or why it happens But I know it’s orchestrated by a pervading conscious benevolent love that is made of oxygen and time and everything we see in this huge expansive wide world And that knowing, that revelation, for me, is truly no small thing at all.
WRITING PROMPT: “If I Knew It Would Turn Out Right I Would…”
If I knew it would turn our right I would tell more people about my Hollywood dreams. I would not second guess the value of making fictional TV stories. I would have more fun in the pursuit of the things I long to do more of. I might do community theatre. I’d spend more time querying book agents But really how would I spend my time if I knew it would turn out right? I’d write more stories. I’d write more screenplays and send them to more contests. I’d paint more often, just because I like to. And I think I’d practice the piano because I knew it would amount to something.I’d quit my job that has me administering other peoples plans And I’d rest in the foregone success of my own plans. I’d focus my attention into the thing I’m doing right now, because all the larger things, the dreams, the embarrassing, whimsical, almost childish dreams would take care of themselves. If I knew it would turn out right I’d surrender fully to life’s flow I’d drop preconceived notions and the search for magic potions And I’d take it all in, in slow motion, just rocked in the ocean of raw experience. Life would be taking care of me, supporting me. Requiring of me nothing but surrender. Nothing but the relaxed state of existence that all the other species enjoy until the few scattered moments when they are actually under attack, if ever at all. I’m not under any attacks, but there seems a capital crime in trying to relax How dare I take a deep breath When the world is blanketed in crisis and death But when I don’t breathe I’m really making an excuse Because I don’t know how to put my existence to good use So I sink in to the overwhelm, the quicksand of information A kind of starvation from any real truth as I gobble up the main stream media messages that feel like bandages keeping my free thinker all locked up tight under propaganda, stupidly distracted while watching a waving panda Scrolling is the new pocket watch and we’ve all been hypnotized. I guess if I knew it would turn out right I’d find a way to unplug every man, woman and child from the cultural propaganda machine that washes our minds but somehow makes us dirtier. I’d find a way to inoculate us from hook line and sinker I’d enshrine again the value of being a free thinker Or a mind in love with fun, and ideas with witch to tinker But since I’m not sure how it will all turn out, I guess I’ll stick to doing what I love. I’ll tell stories and make movies and allow people a place to escape from their struggle if only for a moment. I have to remember as I tell my stories That people can be hypnotized not only as a way to be controlled, but as a way to heal, as a way to liberate. It is that talisman I hope to wave over people’s willing eyes, softening minds and lingering addictions. But for now I’ll have to settle for poking fun at all the nightly news doomsday predictions. Because that’s good entertainment.
There Is Just No Comparison (A New Way Of Using the Power of Metaphor)
In my coaching practice I use the power of metaphor with my clients to help them unlock creativity by bringing together unusal ideas in unexpected ways. As taught in her coach training program by my mentor and sociologist Martha Beck, you can compare a pain point, or area of suffering in your life to anything that’s near you or dear to you. Don’t over think it. Just pick a sore spot and a random object and let your synapses fire and your brain re-wire. For an example of this check out my recent post My Lack of Faith In Myself is Like Superhero Movies. Below is a poem inspired by the idea of comparison and extended metaphor as a way to explore our interior worlds. There Is Just No Comparison My relationship to myself is like a metaphor Nothing has any meaning by itself Only one aspect in relationship to another A constant internal comparison My childhood weighed against the now moment Or against your childhood Or against a childhood from the TV My choices weighed against my innocent dreams Or against your choices Or against the choices they make on the TV My identity weighed against my actual impact My ego, slams like a meteor into my intentions and the resulting cataclysm is the end of all life on this planet. The planet is not earth but my old belief structures, as the impact causes ruptures Blinded by my possible futures, I end up needing sutures Distracted by all the features, forgetting we are natural creatures When I look in the mirror of reality is it like I’m staring back at myself, or am I there, staring back at myself? I extend this metaphor, like a thief extends his fortunes at a jewelry store, Stealing images to compare and contrast, like a meaning blast So that maybe you’ll ignore, if it turns out my life is a mixed metaphor? And not as glamorous as I what I thought before When I drop all metaphors And the making of meaning softens into the bliss of experiencing And life starts living me, dispelling my notions that I am ever living it And all becomes one There is suddenly nothing to compare anything to I am everything This resurgence of emergence with no urgency inside of me And the metaphor becomes, well, it’s like, it’s like, it is so, well…it is just…
WRITING PROMPT: “The Least Favorite Part of My Living Space”
On the tomb of Hermes reads the inscription “As above so below, as within so without.” The esoteric meaning behind this is that our outer worlds and experiences are a direct reflection of our inner worlds and experiences. So one tool we use in life coaching is called “The Living Space Tool” where I will guide clients to identify either their most or least favorite part of their living space and write a description. When we begin to explore these exercises it is almost magical, and always mind boggling, just how much these descriptions of the outer environment do reflect the interior world of the client. This reflective nature of our reality, when channeled in coaching or writing like this, can yield major insights and revelations in our lives. In my coach-infested writer group we often do prompts that ignite self exploration because we all happen to be addicted to that. This poem came as a result of a prompt inspired by the Living Space Tool that one of the coaches suggested in our group. Enjoy! My Living Space: My least favorite aspect of my living space is the darkness. My basement cave is windowless And so my soul sometimes penniless I need the light to be more than slight I get just a little bit through a tiny slit My skin craves vitamin D and my eyes want more to see Sometimes it’s cozy with a thriller at night But the shadows can be crushing, a relentless might I don’t mind the darkness I just want options Like opening the drapes to find a golden ray But the cinderblock dungeon never softens So I live in the twilight, just barely lit, and thoroughly grey
A Truth About Me Not Very Many People Know…
A truth about me that not very many people know is how many carbs I eat v. how many I post up on social media. Not many people know how hateful I can be, but a few do, and fuck ‘em. Not many people know I’m addicted to approval, and self-loathing and porno. Not many people know I’m a tea drinker, and that that also happens to be an addiction to sugar disguised as a mature morning beverage. Not many people know how fragile I am. Or at least I think they don’t know. Oh my God I hope they don’t know. Shit now I’m wondering if everybody knows have fragile I am and they always have, and does the whole world walk one eggshells around me to keep me from falling totally apart? Surely not, surely nobody knows a thing about any of that. Not very many people know how good of a bowler I am, because I don’t take time out enough for the fun stuff. You’d think I’d be able to carve out a bit more time for a sport I love that also happens to includes cheese fries but alas, I haven’t thrown a ball at pins since—well gosh, I don’t know how long it’s been. Not many people know I’m a vegan and a meat eater. Not many people even know you can be both of those things at the same time, but I assure you, despite popular, or rational, or boring old possible opinion, you can. You can indeed and I am. I am a vegan but sometimes I like bacon and I absolutely love cheese. Stretch your minds or mind your business. No body knows the deepest complexity of my soul. The part that wishes ill on people as a knee jerk reaction or paints them with an unflattering brush in the company of others. Or the part that longs for everyone to be whole, including my enemies, the worlds rapists and biggots and war-mongers. Nobody knows just how a heart can be so big and act so small, like reverse magic under it’s own damn spell. But it can. Even more mysterious is how this small heart can have such a large capacity. A capacity to forgive, to restrain, to refrain and to acknowledge. To drop the need to defend and make all conflicts into a friend. Nobody knows I can do all that, because they don’t know themselves either. We have forgotten that are hearts are desperately wicked and deceitfully sick, but that they can help to heal the entire goddamn world just as mother-fucking quick. If anybody knew how to operate this thing. How do I shift my heart into fourth gear and really cruz down this highway? Our thoughts and deeds are the jangling keys, we take ‘em, and we shake ‘em and we are born into one hell of a wild ride of a lifetime. Flattening the hills, embracing the thrills and Despite all the parts that are totally unknowable, having what amounts to be simply, a really nice time.
Hallmarks of Worthiness
Writing Prompt: Write about something presently in your life that is worth it. Hallmarks of Worthiness I’m told to write about something worth it. “Like gold?” I think to myself. “No no, something presently in my life”, I’m told. “Oh,” I laugh, because I certainly don’t have any gold. What do I have that’s worth it? My fingers are possessed as they try to force me to type out the following sunshine: I am worth it. Family is worth it. Life is worth it. But the sunshine fades quickly. Because are those statements truth, or Hallmark Sauce. I never did like the taste of Hallmark. Every phrase so perfectly formed and meaningless So carefully crafted yet utterly useless. Get well soon. Um yeah, I’m trying. It’s a girl.Yeah, I told you that. I’m sorry. Well, so am I, fucker. Happy Birthday. Actually both me and my mother were screaming bloody murder that day. It didn’t feel happy to me. And I was covered in blood and helpless. Happy Anniversary. I’m fucking single. Oh then there are the perfectly crafted but politely tardy phrases. Happy Belated Anything really just means “I feel obligated but resisted that obligation for too long.” But that doesn’t all fit nicely on a card, so we get “belated” But I digress. What is presently in my life that’s worth it. Well, I am. And that’s why I hate Hallmark. They disguise the truth under utter cliches until the truth itself seems meaningless. I love you. Yeah, heard that before. Follow Your Heart. Well, it’s broken. Trust Your Instincts. I don’t. But the truth is not meaningless, despite how often we utter it meaninglessly. The truth is always true, and then, thanks to Hallmark we throw it away And call it cliche But the plain and simple and couldn’t be truer facts are these: I am worth it And that means a lot And it just so happens to be worth celebrating. So I can’t believe I’m going to say this, But somebody get me a fucking card!
