Alright, we’ve now entered February and are approaching the 1-year anniversary of the pandemic outbreak here locally. Phew. Hard to believe, and, yet, not. Why?

Well, in some ways this past year has gone by really quickly, and, in others, not so much. Time is an interesting construct. One I will not go into right now, promise, though if you are interested in more of my thinking on time, please take a look at, The Social Construction Series Part 5: The Social Construction of Time.

I also wrote a poem on time once.

I digress. How about those reflections? Okay, here we go.

2 Writing Reflections

Hope

Alright, the hope elfje poem was a response to Sadje’s weekly WDYS prompt, and I loved writing it. There are times when I write a poem, and all the words just flow out of me and onto the page. There are other times, where it flows out of me, and then I sit with the poem a while, and make minor, and sometimes major adjustments.

The hope poem was of the latter variety. I originally conceived of this poem as a poem about fright. Yet, as I played with the words in my mind, and looked at them on my whiteboard, it occured to me that the poem was really about hope.

That, at times, we all feel like the darkness is enveloping us, and then when we are least expecting it, a ray of light, or hope, shines upon us. Beautifully fun.

Shy

Well, what do I say about the poem shy. Hm. First, I wrote this poem two months ago probably, and just left it. I would occasionally go back to it, read and reread it, and then still leave it for another day.

Well, this past week, I read it again, made a couple minor changes, and thought, let’s post this this week. And, so that’s exactly what happened.

I was shy growing up, and was called shy and sensitive a lot. In the early 1980’s being shy and sensitive as a young boy was, well, difficult. And, I know for many young boys and girls this is still the case today in the US.

In the United States there is a fixation on being unemotional, which is, as we all know, quite toxic and unhealthy. Emotional balance and stability is needed and necessary, yet, when we shut our emotions away, we are ultimately harming ourselves and those around us.

Anyway, the poem shy was about me stepping into the light of my shyness and sensitivity. For me, they go together.

One of my blogger friends asked if the poem was about being shy or being introverted. And, well, I am actually quite extroverted, yet also have a very important introverted part of my life. A paradox? No, not at all.

Shyness, sensitivity, extroversion, and introversion, all live on a continuum, or spectrum. And, they can actually change over time and between contexts.

Writing the poem shy was a blast.

Next Week

Looking ahead, I see more poems, and an article on time and energy, which is almost complete. And, then one, I think, on patience, something that I struggled with for a very long time.

In the coming weeks, I will also be working on the Leadership From Within Series. The posts in this new series will be shorter, and will be about the many things I’ve encountered the past 4 years in my role at the community college. Will be fun.

I will also be trying out some new poem forms, such as the Hexastich. Should be a lot of fun. And, movies? Alright, let’s take a look at a couple I’ve watched over the past two months.

Movies

I’ve always enjoyed movies, and though I don’t watch as many today, I still love to curl up with a blanket and take in a good movie.

Here are a couple I’ve watched recently.

• The Legend of Bagger Vance
• The Dig
• Hillbilly Elegy
• A Man Called Ove
• Lovely Still
• Enola Holmes
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I give all of these movies at least a 7 out of 10, with the Legend of Bagger Vance being my favorite.

Alright, that’s all for this week.

I wish you well in all that you do, and hope you have a wonderful week.

#poetry, #blog, #blogger, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #leadership, #movies, #poems, #writing