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 Gratitude breaks the spell of Writers Block |
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Staring at a blank page is like staring into a snowfield. The snow, untouched by civilization and unmarked by living creatures, blinds you for a few minutes, it glistens reflecting subtle shades of pure white and rainbows at odd angles. If you stare at the snow too long, you get lost in the interplay of light and shadow. As the day wears on, you become awestruck at the beauty of the snow's perfection. You marvel at the way an oak tree cast its ebony shadow across the pure white snow. You watch the tree's shadow change, grow and shrink, as Earth turns and the sun moves from morning to evening. If you stand out in the snow too long without moving, you risk snow bite or freezing. If you are fortunate, a red fox will walk across your line of sight. The fox will leave his footprints written in the snowfield. As you watch the fox move, the spell holding you in one spot staring at the snow is broken. You are free to go inside out of the cold and out of danger. I must say, writing 500 words a day isn't difficult, unless I'm attempting to write on a single subject. On Monday, October 28, 2013, I began posting my weekly goals at "Weekly Goals"  . On Tuesday, October 29, 2013 I began keeping track of may accomplished goals in this journal."O SON OF BEING! Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds." Bah'u'll'h The Hidden Words of Bah'u'll'h, Part I.'From the Arabic, #31, page 11 'Heinlein's Rules for Writers Rule One: You Must Write Rule Two: Finish What Your Start Rule Three: You Must Refrain From Rewriting, Except to Editorial Order Rule Four: You Must Put Your Story on the Market Rule Five: You Must Keep it on the Market until it has Sold' Robert A. Heinlein It is enjoined upon every one of you to engage in some form of occupation, such as crafts, trades and the like. We have graciously exalted your engagement in such work to the rank of worship unto God, the True One. Ponder ye in your hearts the grace and the blessings of God and render thanks unto Him at eventide and at dawn. Waste not your time in idleness and sloth. Occupy yourselves with that which profiteth yourselves and others. Thus hath it been decreed in this Tablet from whose horizon the day-star of wisdom and utterance shineth resplendent. Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Pages 21-29: gr 32 I changed the way I did entries in this book several times. Beginning on March 21, 2018 the entries will cover the topics of spiritual, inspirational, and religions. However, the genres it will be under are Women's, Inspirational, and Spiritual with a tag of Religious. |
Jamál (Beauty), 4 Jamál (Beauty), 147 BE - Sunday, April 30 2017 CE The "Dew Drop Inn" prompt for April 30—getting there, a destination, an outcome.Journey of the Human Soul Getting there is half of the fun, It's always better to walk than run. It's the journey not the destination, That produces the soul's dilation. An outcome is always achieved, Will it be the one that you've conceived? Life is a journey through the valley of death, Each intersection threatens to take your breath. The direction you take is your own choice, It's up to you whether you cry or rejoice. You're a child in the womb on this physical plain, Each spiritual attribute is a hard won gain. |
Jalál {Glory), 3 Jamál (Beauty), 147 BE - Saturday, April 29, 2017 CE The "Dew Drop Inn" for April 29—the penultimateThe Penultimate of April 2017 It's the second to the last day of April! Is it time to sit back and relax? I don't feel any worries approaching and I'm not having a panic attack. I suppose a disaster might happen! The Stateline Fault1 could wake up destroy Las Vegas and The Strip or Korea could fire a nuclear missile, miss its target and hit Yucca Mountain. It's the second to the last day of April! One-third of the year is almost past; it's time to sit back and sip the coffee, as I contemplate the goals I've achieved. What must I do in the near future to make sure this year isn't wasted? I can pray, meditate, and proclaim Baha'u'llah's name. I can write, rewrite, and edit. I can read, laugh, and smile. Footnotes |
Istiqlál (Independence), 2 Jamál (Beauty)), 147 BE - Friday, April 28, 2017 CE "This is the day whereon the Ocean of God’s mercy hath been manifested unto men … the Day in which the clouds of His bountiful favor have overshadowed the whole of mankind. Now is the time to cheer and refresh the down-cast through the invigorating breeze of love and fellowship, and the living waters of friendliness and charity." Bahá’u’lláh2 This week I managed to accomplish all the goals I listed on "Weekly Goals" Added following to "Invalid Item" Chapter 8: Pet hi-jynxLion had never chased a bird before Until the day he escaped through the open sliding glass door. He chased the bird into the house, As if he were chasing a windup mouse. The bird flew into the living room And hid behind the drapes In an attempt to escape. I took lion into my bedroom, I herded the bird out the front door, When I Lion out of my room He spent the rest of the day Behind the drapes sniffing the living room floor. It's been a good day. Yesterday I downloaded an app to my smartphone that gives me access to the Baha'i Prayer book. I found a prayer for Ridvan in it and I said that before I went to sleep last night. I slept good and got a lot of rest. Earlier yesterday I called my sister about the rent money I needed and she sent me a check. I don't like taking money from her for the rent. She doesn't live with me. She has bills of her own, but the money I'm getting is going to have to go for the brakes. I also have to pay as many bills as possible. Enough of that. Now that I have access to prayers with my phone, I can say them anytime I want without turning on the light. Interactive Stories I'm committed to adding chapters.
I still have three Prince tribute poems to finish before May 30. I may or may not get them finished this weekend. I'll have to check song #14 out to see if I can think of some ideas. I finished the poem for "Stormy's poetry newsletter & contest" and submitted it today. I started that poem yesterday, but couldn't think of anything past the first line. This morning it was easy to think of a first stanza. I think the best thing for me to do with I can't think of what to write is to say some prayers and maybe let the poem lay overnight. I also thought of a title for the third Ridvan poem I'm writing.Footnotes |
Istijlál (Majesty), 1 Jamál (Beauty), 147 BE - Thursday, April 27, 2017 CE "Say: God sufficeth all things above all things, and nothing in the heavens or in the earth but God sufficeth. Verily, He is in Himself the Knower, the Sustainer, The Omnipotent." The Báb3 It's Thankful Thursday and I haven't made a gratitude entry in any journal for a while. I think that's one of the reasons I've been stressed. When I make gratitude entries it the "changes and chances of outrageous fortune"4 don't cause me as much stress as when I make regular (weekly) Gratitude Entries in one of my journals. Therefore, I have to get back into the habit of making gratitude entries. I need to make an entry in my Poet999 Blog Gratitude List for Thursday, April 27, 2017 Today I am thankful... 01. ...that I am not homeless; 02. ...for the prayer "God sufficeth" revealed by the Bab; 02. ...that I had help paying the rent in April; 03. ...for the tomatoes I purchased yesterday at the Farmer's Market. 04. ...that poem Modern Times was feature in this weeks writing.com poetry newsletter. 05. ...for the Arizona Southern Style Sweet Tea I have to drink this after noon. 06. ...that I was able to transfer $10.00 from my PayPal account to my bank account. 07. ...for finding a title for a poem about the ninth Day of Ridvan. The title is "The Day of Happiness". 08. ...that I have finished installment 36 of a 45 part series called "Story of Abraham" on bahaiteachings.org. 09. ... for the fresh brewed Folgers Black Silk coffee I drink this morning. 10. ...that I can take a picture with my phone and then e-mail the photo to myself or a friend. Footnotes |
‘Idál (Justice), 19 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Wednesday, April 26, 2017 CE "I don't know what I am doing." "Spiritual Newsletter (April 26, 2017)" It's bad enough my sister isn't going to help me with the rent. I don't know how I'm going to pay the rent on the first of May. At least, I have a ten day grace period which I'm not sure is going to help. Anyway, what I was going to write before I got distracted, not only don't I know what I'm doing but I don't know what I'm going to do. Therefore, I think I will take the advice in the newsletter and stop fighting. I'm going to let go and let God handle this one because I can't seem to find a solution to my problem. I know there must be a solution which I just can't see at this moment. Comment submitted to spiritual newsletter: "Thank you for writing about this subject because today this is the advice I need." I think my biggest problem is financial. The breaks in the car went out and I can't afford to have them fixed. I need money to get another part and it's the most expensive part. I'm tired. I keep falling over the issue of finances, so it's obvious I don't know what I'm doing. Writing helps a little. I need to stop, take a deep breath and let the waves of these troubles roll over me. I doubt the I will drown and when the waves stop rolling the I will be able to see, with the help of God, a solution. |
Fiḍál (Grace), 18 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 CE The "Dew Drop Inn" for April 25—a remembered holiday.Remembering the Fourth of July Independence Day Spending the night at The Lake Fireworks on display Barbecuing steak Grandpa held Roman candles His hands did not shake I wore pink sandals Grandma's special deviled eggs Igloo with handles I sunburned my legs Mama soothed with vinegar Drank sun tea with dregs The Fourth of July Watched fireworks light the night sky Line Count: 14 Form: haiku sonnet |
Kamál (Perfection), 17 Jalál (Glory),), 147 BE - Monday, April 24, 2017 CE "Should the fragrance of Thy praise be shed abroad by any of the divers tongues of the world, out of the East or out of the West, it would, verily, be prized and greatly cherished." Bahá’u’lláh5 This is the second time I've attempted this entry. The first entry had a quote by 'Abdu'l-Baha about anger, after beginning the entry I decided the quote and my response were better suited to the "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" The next order of business is posting this week goals to "Weekly Goals" . I did pretty good with last weeks goals, but there were only four of them. Sometimes I have difficulty accomplishing more then four goals. Some weeks I have difficulty accomplish four goals. However, since I need to stretch myself, I'm going to make more then four goals this week.Goals for 4/24/17-4/28/17  Review at least four items each day with at least one item written by a newbie. Write daily poems for "Dew Drop Inn" . Review for "The Earth Day Challenge" . Read at least one article in the series Story of Abraham Write at least one poem for "Prince Musical Writing Challenge Contest" and post it in "Snow Scribbles" . Write a chapter in one interactive story.When I posted my goals this morning, I didn't post the survey goals. I'll wait until next week to do that. The goals for this week are posted and I'm not going to edit the post for just one item. I know there are several survey groups I belong to, but the survey goal is a single item. I did several surveys this afternoon, so I think that will be enough for a while. I still have a couple of survey groups to check, but I can check this this afternoon or this evening. Goals accomplished for the week of 4/24/17-4/28/17.  Review for "The Earth Day Challenge" . Review at least four items each day with at least one item written by a newbie. MondayI'm doing good with my goals. I finished today's poem for "Dew Drop Inn" . I also read four installments of the Story of Abraham. Tomorrow I have about three calls to make to deal with business. After that I can get back to working on line and possibly worrying about the rents.Footnotes |
Jamál (Beauty), 16 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Sunday, April 23 2017 CE "This is the Day whereon He Who is the Revealer of the names of God hath stepped out of the Tabernacle of glory, and proclaimed unto all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth: “Put away the cups of Paradise and all the life-giving waters they contain, for lo, the people of Baha have entered the blissful abode of the Divine Presence, and quaffed the wine of reunion, from the chalice of the beauty of their Lord, the All-Possessing, the Most High.” Bahá’u’lláh6 Everyday I receive a scripture from Baha'i Words in my cox.net inbox. Up to now I've been moving those e-mails to the folder Baha'i Writings. I don't like deleting those e-mails until I've meditated on them and written a poem or blog entry concerning my thoughts. I've decided to write something in one of the following journals about those scripture verses: "Writing in Snow" As for reading, I'm going to continue reading and reviewing on writing.com. Normally I will review four or five items each day. There are two series of articles on BahaiTeachings.org7 I want to read. One is an on-going series of articles under the Religion8 heading called Story of Abraham9, which so far has 45 articles in it. The other group of articles is under Arts10, which contains 100 articles that I don't think are part of a series. I am also planning on adding to a couple of interactive stories. One is "Invalid Item" and I'll post the other as soon as I find it. Those are my plans for the upcoming few weeks.Footnotes |
Jalál {Glory), 15 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Saturday, April 22, 2017 CE "Arise, and proclaim unto the entire creation tidings that He Who is the All-Merciful hath directed His steps towards the Ridvan and entered it. Guide, then, the people unto the garden of delight which God hath made the Throne of His Paradise. We have chosen thee to be our most mighty Trumpet, whose blast is to signalize the resurrection of all mankind." Bahá’u’lláh This is a joyful time of year. It's the celebration of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah 1863. On the First Day of Ridvan Baha'u'llah entered the garden which the Babi's renamed Ridvan because that was the place of Baha'u'llah's declaration. That was one of the turning points in the history of the Baha'i Faith. Before the Declaration only a few people realized that Baha'u'llah was the one the Bab referred to as "Him Whom God Will Make Manifest". After the Declaration everyone who entered the garden with Baha'u'llah knew and the spread the word to the rest of the Babi community and then to the world. It's 2017 and the Baha'i Faith is the second most widely spread religion on Earth. It's one of the Children of the Book along with Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Children of the Book because each of those religions has a sacred book revealed to them. The Jewish scriptures are contained in the Tanakh. The Christian scriptures are contained in the Holy Bible. The Islamic scriptures are in the Holy Quran. The Baha'i scriptures are in numerous books revealed by Baha'u'llah. The Baha'is also consider the sacred book revealed by the Bab as one of our scriptures. I've been a Baha'i for a few decades. I've struggled to live a Baha'i life and follows the laws revealed by Baha'u'llah. My biggest downfall in this struggle is myself. I know there's been times that I failed, perhaps that's why I'm sometimes so depressed. Despite the difficulty I have overcoming my own weaknesses I remain a Baha'i and continue to in my attempts to live as Baha'u'llah would want me to. I continue in my attempt to overcome my failures. Recently I've noticed a change in myself; it's a small change in the way I feel about myself and I can only attribute that change to Baha'u'llah. |
Istiqlál (Independence), 14 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Friday, April 21, 2017 CE Prompt for April 21—a coming of age poem Coming of Age "In order to be old and wise, you first need to be young and stupid." Unknown When does the wise kick in? At 70 I still find myself doing and saying stupid things. Not as many as when I was 20 or 30, but stupid sometimes comes out of mouth and I still trip over it. Maybe coming of age is knowing that you still have a long journey before you can claim true maturity. I don't worry as much as I did when I was younger, I place more situations in God's hand and I'm less likely to ask for them back; still I don't think I'm as mature as I should be. I'm my own worst critic, so perhaps I'm more mature then I think I am; I'll let God make that judgment. |
Istijlál (Majesty), 13 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Thursday, April 20, 2017 CE April 20—a lingering fear or regret Anxiety Another lingering regret, Nameless and unfocused fear, Xyster11-like terror scrapping tranquility's bone: Is it vain imaginings Eating their way through my mind? Time to reboot my thoughts and Yank them away from mind's worst case scripts. Footnotes |
‘Idál (Justice), 12 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Wednesday, April 19, 2017 CE Prompt:April 19—in the middle of something or somewhere In the Middle of In the middle of the night, When the stars are shining bright, I want to fly away, To where the pink unicorn play. In the middle of the day, When the storm clouds are gray, I want to jump in puddles, While picking European ruddles. In the middle of an ode, My muse will speak in code, Making rhyming difficult, Like using an overloaded catapult. In the middle of frustration, My thoughts encounter hesitation, I want to sail through the void, Or have a long talk with Dr. Freud. |
Fiḍál (Grace), 11 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Tuesday, April 18, 2017 CE Prompt: April 18—good news or bad news, maybe in letter form Dear Writer's Block Dear Writer's Block, I have both bad news and good news. The bad news the wall you're trying to construct between my muse and I is falling down like London Bridge; it's crumbling into dust like the Berlin Wall. The good news concerns the stress and depression that you've put me through today. I want to thank you for the doubts you kept whispering to me; because the forced me to take a break, poured myself a mug of cold water and said the Short Obligatory prayer. Now I can write this poem without interference from your vain imaginings. Writer's Block, I just realized that that the good news and the bad news are both bad for you while being good for me. Always Overcoming, Snow |
Kamál (Perfection), 10 Jalál (Glory),), 147 BE - Monday, April 17, 2017 CE about 2:55 PM Pacific Daylight Time I spent part of the morning at the dermatologist office. I had my regular doctor give me a referral because of a couple of places on my face that I thought might be a problem. They aren't, but while I was there I showed her my left leg and she said the problem is a specific type of dermatitis. She wrote a prescription for some cream to put on it for two weeks at a time. I'll pick up the prescription on Wednesday or Thursday. I suppose before I do anything else, I need to post my goals on "Weekly Goals" Goals for the Week of April 17-21, 2017 Submit daily poem to "Dew Drop Inn" . Work on poems for "Prince Musical Writing Challenge Contest" and finish at least 3 more. Mail Faye's letter to my caseworker. Do 48 Hour Challenge. Review at least four items a day with 1 written by a newbie.I unsubscribed to Jobs2Shop because it finally dawned on me that it was a con. They were never going to payout anything I earned. I don't have time to waste on a con so I unsubscribed. I have enough frustration with surveys that will payout without increasing the frustration and my blood pressure by dealing with a con. I also opted out of GetPaidToTry because it's another con. I've attempted sending for things from them and never received it. There were a few things I didn't put in my goals for this week. I have to fill out paper work for the power bill. I also need to begin to say the prayer of protection revealed by the Bab. Whenever I say that prayer on a daily basis everything works out and I'm less worried. |
Kamál (Perfection), 10 Jalál (Glory),), 147 BE - Monday, April 17, 2017 CE Prompt: a blue Monday or a manic Monday, your pick Monday April 17, 2017 Sparrow greet the day Joyfully proclaim their love For another week Blue Monday is out of the question because I can't be depressed with sparrows singing in the pine trees. The Lyft driver smiled He arrived on time and drove Safely to my appointment. Manic Monday doesn't apply either because I'm in no hurry to get anywhere; in fact, the only thing I want this morning is another cup of coffee. Beautiful Monday The day of perfection and Pleasant memories The rest of the week my fall apart and crumble into chaos, but Monday began with me, the Lyft drivers and the birds in a good mood. |
Jamál (Beauty), 9 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Sunday, April 16, 2017 CE Prompt: explore the color of an abstraction* (inspired by Cappucine & Alfred)! - *something that isn’t an object and thus doesn’t really have a color (beige silence) The Color of Faith  Rainbow is the color of religion,  God's light shining through the prism of the word made flesh split into the spectrum of faith. Blue is the color of the soul, flickering toward indigo as it pursues the meaning of the Holy Books and the reason God sent different men throughout history to proclaim His ancient covenant and renew His ancient faith. God's Messengers (God's word made flesh) look down upon humanity and weep; through their tears the single bright white light of God's love shines upon humanity. |
Jalál {Glory), 8 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Saturday, April 15, 2017 CE Money Means of survival in the material world. Often confused with wealth by the immature. Neither good nor evil when legally and morally earned. Expected reward for a good day's work. Yen, Schilling, Pound, Ruble; what you call it depends on the country you're in. |
Istiqlál (Independence), 7 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Friday, April 14, 2017 CE Superheroes In the superhero costumes, superheroes are larger then life able to leap the Lakhta Center, in St. Petersburg, Russia in a single bound. In their everyday clothes some of them are just everyday people attempting to hold down a job and make ends meet while being interrupted by super-villains who want to destroy the world and then set themselves up as post-apocalypse dictators. Other superheroes are rich bastards who don't know how the poor or middle class live; who don't need to worry about making a living or ends meeting because they inherited their material wealth from a rich ancestor. I want a real superhero who's worried about being homeless because he just lost his non-superhero job for being late because he can't tell his boss he's late because he had to do superhero stuff before coming to work. I want a superhero who doesn't have to find a telephone booth to change from his ordinary clothes into his superhero uniform or visa versa. I want a superhero who lives in the ghetto, who has to use a SNAP card to purchase food. I want a superhero who isn't larger then life, who makes stupid mistakes, who doesn't have a fortress of solitude and who acts like an ordinary human being. |
Istijlál (Majesty), 6 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Thursday, April 13, 2017 CE My Secret Joy Another Ridvan approaches, twelve days of celebrating Baha'u'llah's declaration in the garden outside of Baghdad in 1863 and I can hardly contain the joy I feel for this celebration. I contemplate my duty to help elect the local Spiritual Assembly on the First Day of Ridvan. I don't know if I will be able to attend the election; it matters and it doesn't matter because this year my secret joy is the fact that I sent off my ballot in time enough for it to arrive at the Baha'i Center for the election on the evening of April 19. I have other secret joys, joys which no one else would understand, but this is the most important one at this time. |
‘Idál (Justice), 5 Jalál (Glory), 147 BE - Wednesday, April 12, 2017 CE Pet Peeves Pet Peeves need periodic weeding, Otherwise you will find them seeding, And blooming in all sorts of weird places, Taking up your tranquil spaces. I have hundreds and thousands of pet peeves, Some I don't find out about until they seize My tranquil moments causing an emotional overreaction, That causes me to go into a depression. My biggest pet peeved is alcoholic rantings, By those who when sober won't say what they're thinking, They have to wait until they're dunk, To find their courage and their spunk. |
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You kept hope, prayed, and that paid off.
Only bush honeysuckle in bloom. It's not very fragrant. The intoxicating vines bloom later. But we have lilacs... until this heat roasts them.
