Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Poems, Inspiration, Blogging, Life Lessons and Unpopularity

Today's blogs....

I have been writing them but not posting them as I was too tired to edit to make sure they sounded intellegent enough... so here they all are... including the first two poems for NaPoWriMo.

Blog City – Day 394

Prompt: "One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure." William Feather Do you agree?

Yes, I will agree with that.

This life
An adventure
Each day
Opens up to possibility
Strike out
Take Risks
Follow your heart
Live your bliss
Some days will meander
Some will plummet
Some will climb each ragged hill
Some will roar and rage
But none will be stagnant
Or life - less.

Blog City – Day 392

"Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits," said Carl Sandburg.
Since April, the poetry month, starts tomorrow, what does poetry mean to you?

Odd wee phrase... but it makes me think of scents and sensory imagery and what those bits conjure. A sweetness of fragrance... a purity of nature homemade love... the scent of biscuits calling you home.... drawing you back to your past and the love ones you hold dear.
To synthesize these two elements pulls then into a poem... one of distant past that is held dear and cherished.

I close my eyes and let my mind go
Let it trip along the daffodil and hyacinths
Their scents so pure, of new born spring
I smile and let the memory comfort
I see my grandmother, her smile so warm
Feel her arms as they pull me into her embrace
I wipe the flour from her cheek and laugh
As the smell of biscuits tease
My mouth it waters, my nose does twitch
I long to taste their rich buttery sweetness
But soon my eyes will open
And the memories will fade
But for now I am happy to sit
In my grandmother's sphere
And feel her unconditional love
And acceptance of all I am.

Welcome To My Reality - Week Sixty - Seven

1. What/Who inspires you and why?

Soul seekers. People in tune with their life and the grace around them. People who know we are not alone and something guides us and loves us beyond the day to day grind of life. People who reach inside themselves and find so much more.
People like Oprah Winfrey who reaches out and interviews interesting soul seekers. People from all walks of life. I find new ones to enjoy with each new Super Soul Sunday.

Cheryl Strayed - author of Wild
Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way
Natalie Goldberg - Writing Down The Bones
Sarah Ban Breathnach - Simple Abundance
Deepak Chopra
Eckhart Tolle
Maya Angelou
Arianna Huffintgton - Thrive

3. Why do you blog?

This ties in to prompt number 7 - being unpopular. I blog to say what I think and I try to do it unapologetically - as much as I am able. For controversial topics, I aim for diplomacy, but I still say what I think. I aim for honest and integrity and I appreciate those bloggers who give the same back. I appreciate the various points of view and know not everyone shares my view, but they either respect where I am coming from or don't say anything at all. We are all entitled to our opinions. I feel safe and supported in my 'blanket fort' that is Writing.com.

4. Create a top ten list of life lessons you have learned thus far.

This list is not in any particular order... each matters.

Follow your heart.
Listen to your instincts.
Love your family.
Love your friends.
Cherish your family and friends.
Make time for your family and friends.
Practice may not make perfect, but working at it brings improvements that matter.
Be grateful and practice gratitude.
Writing is a part of who I am and I need to connect to this world through my writing. It centers me and makes me understand myself and my purpose.
Love yourself and be kind to yourself.

6. Write about the things you regret the most and why (things you have done or haven't done, and if you don't happen to believe in regrets, why not?)

I tend to pull into myself and that tends to make me pull back from the day to day of the everyday world - on occasion. Sometimes I find I have to force myself to step up and step out. Get out beyond myself and my little laptop.

I can be very social and I genuinely like people, but sometimes I like to be alone. That is fine... but sometimes I find I overdo it and am negligent about the important people in my life. I need to make the effort to be present in their lives... sometimes forcing myself back, particularly if they have put up walls to protect themselves from my thoughtlessness.


7. If you have 18 minutes and don't mind f-bombs listen to Erika Napoletano's Ted Talk "Rethinking Unpopular" and then tell us what you think of her talk. Her talk can be found on the home page of her website http://erikanapoletano.com/

I really enjoyed it. You're either going to like her or not, she's not going to let it bother her. It takes courage to really be who you genuinely are. To feel "glorious about being you". To stop apologizing and 'kicking polite to the curb'. I am one of those people who apologizes quite a bit. I admire people like Erika who can tell people to go.... well, somewhere else. She surrounds herself with people who love and support her with honesty and integrity. Others may not like her and she is fine with that - doesn't need them anyway. I long to live like that. I was never the popular girl, I never really longed for the outside attention, but for those that are intimately close to me... I often find myself twisting myself to keep their initial interest. With my family, I am who I am. With my friends from childhood, I am who I am. But with my husband? Not so much, I am sad to admit. I was a first, but once I was emotionally invested things changed. Even my family will say I am different when he is around... I curtail some of my fun because he can't handle it. I hate that I do that... that I feel the need to conform to keep my marriage steady. I hate conflict, always have, so I tone myself down.

Don't get me wrong. I have lots of fun with my husband, but there are times that he does not understand why I do things. Talk to complete strangers. Share anecdotes with others. I want to connect, be open and vulnerable to show others it is okay... but he is so private a person. I try to say nothing about him... if I can help it.

I also find I get together with my family and girlfriends without him. Not often, but often enough to feel normal again.

Oh, the free-ness of being unpopular and not giving a care what others think. I think that is why I like to blog as well. There is a free-ness about saying what I want and though I may curtail or try to be diplomatic with certain topics I feel this is who I am and I am glad that I am me.