The Invisible Mentor

Archive for the ‘Poem’ Category

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

A few years ago while I was conducting interviews for my book Tales of People Who Get It, I asked a CEO what his favourite quotation was and why? His response:

“I like ‘If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you’ from the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling because it teaches you not to panic and to stay in control when bad things happen. Don’t be impulsive and think that you have to do something. Sit in a room for a while and be quiet and let the world go by while you think about things.”

Reading the poem below is more poignant now than it was a few years ago. I have been taking Raja yoga classes, and the first three lessons are on The Art of Self Mastery, and the final five on The Ancient Study of Raja Yoga Meditation. I have taken two of the three classes on self mastery and I can feel a big difference. I am feeling calmer and more peaceful. The classes are to help me get peace of mind and much more. The big thing for me for taking the classes was to learn how to let go.

After the first class we were given a handout, Our Mighty Powers: The Most Effective Powers in our Lives for us to study the nine powers: Tolerance, Truth/Honesty, Co-operation, Humility, Accommodation, Discrimination, Love, Judgement and Withdraw. And the words and their meanings in Raja Meditation are different from their traditional English meanings. Each day I read the handout, which includes the meanings of the nine powers, and I see something that I did not see before. I feel a sense of calm wrap itself around me like a well used blanket. I am slowly letting go (Withdraw) of the things that hold me back, and the interesting thing is that I now truly understand what the other powers mean because I can feel them in my soul.

Now I truly understand what the CEO meant when he quoted an excerpt from “If.” Read the poem and just BE.

If by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

What do you feel right now? What does this poem mean to you? How easy is it for you to sit still for a while? What techniques do you use when you want to experience a sense of peace?

Source for the poem If

Photo credit: Avil Beckford (Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada)

“Work is love made visible,” says Kahlil Gibran. Reflect on that quote again for a minute. Now read the poem Work below and reflect on it. What does the poem mean to you? What emotions do you feel? How do you feel about Gibran’s quote?

Work by Henry Van Dyke (1852–1933)

Let me but do my work from day to day,
In field or forest, at the desk or loom,
In roaring market-place or tranquil room;
Let me but find it in heart to say,
When vagrant wishes beckon me astray,
“This is my work; my blessing, not my doom;
Of all who live, I am the one by whom
This work can best be done in the right way.”

Then shall I see it not too great, nor small,
To suit my spirit and to prove my powers;
Then shall I cheerful greet the labouring hours,
And cheerful turn, when the long shadows fall
At eventide, to play and love and rest,
Because I know for me my work is best.

Now read and reflect on this quote by Henry Van Dyke ” Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.”

How can you relate the  two quotes to the poem? Are you doing what you love? Are you using your talents to the fullest? Is work “love made visible?” If you loved what you did for a living, would your life be more fulfilled? I am also asking myself  these questions. Think on these things!

Photo credit: Wikipedia, image of Gibran

Perseverance

Tony started bright and early, cleaning up his room,

Soon he found he had to stop and make a little broom;

So then he went into the yard to get a little stick,

But the garden needed weeding, so he set about it, quick!

Then he found his wagon he intended to repair,

So he went into the cellar for the hammer that was there;

He’d just begun to build a box, when it was time for dinner;

And that’s why Tony’s father called his son a  ”good beginner.”

Source: Goops & How to be Them, Gelett Burgess, page 81

Are you like Tony a good beginner, or do you always finish what you start? How many projects have you abandoned because you kept on moving from one thing to another? How many books are on your night stand? What tips do you have for being a good finisher?

For me, I am not big on multitasking, and I try to focus on one thing at a time. I tried to read several books at a time and I couldn’t finish any, so I went back to reading one book at a time. And, if I am reading a book that I have to, that I find boring, to ensure that I finish the book, I develop a strategy where I read X number of pages a day and do so in one sitting. My strategy may not work for you, but that’s what works for me.

Having stick-to-it-ive-ness in life is not easy, but for those who want to excel in life, it simply is a must. What strategy do you have for stick-to-it-ive-ness?

Book List: Goops & How to be them: A manual for polite infants with 90 drawings

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Myth of Multitasking (scientificamerican.com)

What do you do when you want to clear your mind, when you you want to let go of all that “stuff” that gets in the way? To be the best that I can be, and unleash my inner genius, I reflect on my life a lot to make adjustments when necessary. And, I also read and write. Last summer I wrote a series of poems, and I would like to share one with you. Let me know what  you think.

A Daughter’s Farewell by Avil Beckford

I can’t remember you ever hugging me.

I can’t remember you telling me you loved me.

I can’t remember you kissing me.

But I clearly remember you criticizing me,

Leaving me, even when I was scared.

You weren’t there, even when you were there.

You were emotionally distant.

Sometimes I wonder if you were a figment of my imagination.

You must have been real, because you were my father.

The battle within me rages because I was invisible to you.

I no longer want to be invisible.

I want to be a real person to you.

Just once I would like you to tell me how you feel about me.

Just once, I would like to hear you say “I love you”.

Just once, I would like to feel your arms around me.

But you can’t really do that, can you?

You died before I got to know you.

You died without asking for my forgiveness.

You died before I forgave you.

I try to make sense of it all,

All the wasted moments, all the wasted years,

Both of us waiting for the other to extend a hand, a forgiving hand.

Our stubbornness got in the way, and now you’re gone.

If I got one more chance to see you again, what would I do?

Would I hug you?

If I got one more chance to see you again, what would I say?

Would I tell you I love you?

If I got one more chance to see you again, could I forget past hurts?

Could I forgive you?

Since I do not have the chance to see you again, I say,

“Farewell my father, rest in peace knowing that I love you.

Farewell my father, your daughter has finally found peace.”

What are your thoughts about forgiveness? What kind of relationship do you or did you have with your father?

Related articles by Zemanta

• True Forgiveness (LearnThis.ca)
• Sins of the Father (bilerico.com)
• Forgiveness. Letting Go. (actionbites.blogspot.com)
• “Forgive and forget. That’s what they say. It’s good advice, but it’s not very practical. When…” (lauren8689.tumblr.com)

What does the word contemplation mean to you? How often do you take time for contemplation? Once a day? Once a week? Never?

How do you know if you are on track? How do you know if something in your  life is working or is not working? Do you ever take time to reflect on the things that you hear, see, feel, sense and taste? What do you do to engage all your senses?

Achieving success and unleashing your inner genius requires nuturing your soul, as well as feeding your mind. You have to take care of all of you, both the inner and the outer, the seen and the unseen.

Below is a poem about contemplation by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German writer who lived in the 18th and early 19th century. Is the poem really about contemplation, or is it about something else? What do you think?

Book of Contemplation – Five Things

WHAT makes time short to me?

Activity!

What makes it long and spiritless?

‘Tis idleness!

What brings us to debt?

To delay and forget!

What makes us succeed?

Decision with speed

How to fame to ascend?

Oneself to defend!

By Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

Now that you have read Book of Contemplation – Five Things, what are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with the point of view? Now read the quotation below by Heraclitus, how do you feel about it?

“Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.” Heraclitus

Are people with a good character likely to manage their time effectively, and make decisions quickly and decisively? How would you connect the poem and quote? There are no right or wrong answers. The point of this exercise, is to look at life more broadly and with different lens so that when you are faced with challenges, you will identify solutions that are superior because you have such a unqiue look on life.

Combining works by Goethe and Heraclitus, or other great thinkers, can only lead to superior thinking. Try comparing and contrasting the works of other greats thinkers, what discoveries do you think await you?

No related posts

Photo Credit: Avil Beckford

Purple Cow

Ideas abound and are everywhere. You will see them if you are open.

Where do you get your ideas from?

My friend Elizabeth Winter from Contact Professionals Alliance read my blog entry about Gelett Burgess‘ poem The Purple Cow and suggested that I do a follow-up post. Burgess became associated with the poem and he was not happy about it, so he wrote a follow-up verse to The Purple Cow.

If you remember from yesterday, here is the original poem:

The Purple Cow: Reflections on a Mythic Beast Who’s Quite Remarkable, at Least

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one!

And here is Burgess’ follow-up:

Confession: and a Portrait Too, Upon a Background that I Rue

Ah, yes, I wrote the “Purple Cow”—
I’m Sorry, now, I wrote it;
But I can tell you Anyhow
I’ll Kill you if you Quote it!

When you read  Confession: and a Portrait Too, Upon a Background that I Rue, what comes to mind? For me, I immediately think of regret. How many times have you done something that you later regretted doing? Or are you someone who doesn’t believe in regret?

If you did something remarkable, something pioneering, in the eyes of others, and you gained “notoriety” for it, would you be able to deal with all the attention? Do you think you would later regret your actions? Think on this! Do you think Burgess’ response to being associated with his poem is reasonable? If you were Burgess, what would you have done differently?

Related Post

What Does Gelett Burgess’ Poem The Purple Cow Mean?

Photo Credits

Avil Beckford & Clarecia Christie

A Poison Tree by William Blake

 I was angry with my friend.

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe.

I told it not, my wrath did grow;

And I water’d it in fears,

Night and morning with my tears;

And I sunned it with smiles,

And with soft deceitful wiles;

And it grew both day and night

Till it bore an apple bright,

And my foe beheld it shine,

And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole

When the night had veil’d the pole.

In the morning glad I see

My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

When you read the William Blake poem above, what emotions does it evoke in you?

I felt sadness when I read it. We so often wear our anger with righteous indignation. If you are completely honest with yourself, on a scale of one to 10, how do you score on letting go?

Letting go is something that I struggle with. Because of this, I work harder at it – negative emotion cause stress, which kills. So whenever I am feeling angry, anxious, worried or fearful, and feel that accompanying tightening in my chest, that’s my cue that I need to let go.

I quickly go into Alpha and slow down my brain waves. The deep breathing also calms me down. There are times when I will call a friend to talk through the situation, and I often see another completely different perspective.

What techniques do you use to let go, or even diffuse anger, fear and anxiety? If you don’t have one, talk to a friend to get another perspective or go into Alpha. If you have techniques at your fingertips, the next time you’re angry with someone you can easily resolve the situation instead of wishing them ill will.

You cannot truly be creative if you’re angry, anxious or fearful. And you cannot be your best self if you’re are distracted by anger, fear, worry or anxiety. This poem is a reminder to me, and it is a reminder to you, to practice tolerance, be kind, forgive and always try to find your center.

Click here to read other William Blake poems.

Other related posts

You Can Only Walk Down One Road At A Time

I am sure that I could learn from you if only I knew you. If we started talking, in less than a minute I’m sure that we would find common ground. So what’s your story?
 
I have learned from and about people by reading what they have written. I have used the words of others as Invisible Mentors. Countless times I have stood on the shoulders of others, and I am sure that others have stood on my shoulders. We all have a responsibility to help each other because no one ever succeeds alone.

I subscribe to Chris Brogan’s Blog, and each week I learn something new from him. Chris is one of the people who has reminded me of the importance of giving – my mom first taught me that lesson. When I started this blog, I relied heavily on the information from Chris’ blog posts. And, I also relied on help from my followers on Twitter who willingly came to the rescue when I was stuck (Luke Rumley, Michael Bailey, WordPress Answers, Sunny Lam, Sherice Jacob).

Here’s a link to a blog post from Chris that I found useful, and I constantly go down the list as I strive to improve The Invisible Mentor Blog. Perhaps you will find it useful as well. Presently, I am participating in Darren Rowse’s 31-Day Challenge (31DBBB) to help me become a better blogger. After reading information at this link, for Day 8 of the Challenge, I went back to old posts and created Interlinks.

I connect with people, and in so doing, not only do I get to know them, but I also learn from them, and I hope that they learn from me as well. I would like to share a poem I wrote about my father as a way of sharing one of my stories with you. What kind of relationship do you, or did you have with your father?

A Daughter’s Farewell

I can’t remember you ever hugging me.
I can’t remember you telling me you loved me.
I can’t remember you kissing me.
But I clearly remember you criticizing me,
Leaving me, even when I was scared.
You weren’t there, even when you were there.
You were emotionally distant.
Sometimes I wonder if you were a figment of my imagination.
You must have been real, because you were my father.
The battle within me rages because I was invisible to you.
I no longer want to be invisible.
I want to be a real person to you.
Just once I would like you to tell me how you feel about me.
Just once, I would like to hear you say “I love you”.
Just once, I would like to feel your arms around me.
But you can’t really do that, can you?
You died before I got to know you.
You died without asking for my forgiveness.
You died before I forgave you.
I try to make sense of it all,
All the wasted moments, all the wasted years,
Both of us waiting for the other to extend a hand, a forgiving hand.
Our stubbornness got in the way, and now you’re gone.
If I got one more chance to see you again, what would I do?
Would I hug you?
If I got one more chance to see you again, what would I say?
Would I tell you I love you?
If I got one more chance to see you again, could I forget past hurts?
Could I forgive you?
Since I do not have the chance to see you again, I say,
“Farewell my father, rest in peace knowing that I love you.
Farewell my father, your daughter has finally found peace.”

Can you relate to A Daughter’s Farewell? Again I ask, what’s your story?

Grand Etang Forest Reserve, Grenada

The past five years have often felt like I was a runaway train heading for derailment. There were far more valleys than peaks. My bread and butter client disappeared overnight as a result of being acquired by a firm with a very different focus from theirs. Many other projects disappeared and suddenly I was without a safety net. Ninety percent of my income came from that one client.

I scrambled and tried to make it work with little success, until I finally learned to let go. I let go of the control freak within me, and I let go of the intense fear that I was feeling. Realization came crashing down like a cement wall; I no longer enjoyed what I did for a living and felt trapped. I had been feeling that way for a long time but refused to acknowledge those feelings.

My life now felt like a threadbare garment that had seen better days. I often wondered how I would go on. I was stuck in a familiar place that was not so comfortable. I looked at my life and compared it to a large project that’s overwhelming at first. Whenever that happened I would take on bite sized portions, and in no time the project became bearable. So, I viewed my life like one of my research projects taking one step at a time, and suddenly my life seemed less daunting.

And like a research project, I conducted a needs assessment, but in this case I was assessing my life. During this period of darkness, I became more self-aware and wiser. I learned that I didn’t have to discard my research skills, because they would be critical to whatever I decided to do. I learned that even though you are very good at something doesn’t mean that it’s your calling.

I spent a lot of time in solitude reflecting on my life and evaluating everything.  I became wiser and more aware of myself. I learned to be easier on myself. Despite the tough times, I still managed to write my first book Tales of People Who Get It and its companion workbook, Journey to Getting It. I marvel now at how much I accomplished even though I felt like I was going nowhere fast.

I experimented with writing poetry, short stories and about life in Jamaica. I was transported back to a simpler time when I would go to the market with grandma on Saturday mornings. I re-experienced happiness. It’s amazing how it took an adversity, the loss of my safety blanket to explore what would really make me happy.

Each day, I take one step closer to the life that I want to live. It’s not easy, but one step is all that I can take. The pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of my life are fitting into place and for the first time in my life I feel as if I am going exactly where I want to go, and exactly where I need to go. Here is one of the poems that I wrote during my time of transitions.

The Square Peg

All his life he tried to fit in,

A square peg into a round hole.

All his friendships were superficial at best.

He worked hard at being liked,

Always being a people pleaser – the “yes” man,

And the “go-to-it” guy.

He catered to everyone else’s needs,

Except his very own.

One day he wised up,

And took stock of his life.

He realized he could no longer,

Continue living his life this way.

For the first time in his life,

He stopped trying to fit in,

And working so hard to be liked.

In the blink of an eye, like a flash,

He was surrounded by square pegs.

All this time he wasted,

When all he had to do,

Was simply be himself.

I believe that we can learn from the experiences of others. And I believe that we can use the words of others as Invisible Mentors. What lessons have you learned from others? Does the poem resonate with you? Do you work very hard at fitting in? How do you deal with adversity?

 This post is an entry in the What I learned from Adversity Group Writing Project hosted by Robert Hruzek, Middle Zone Musings.

Photo Credits: Avil Beckford

How did I get here?

Why do I keep on making the same mistakes over and over again? You would think that I would have learned by now.

 When you read Autobiography in Five Short Chapters, you find yourself  laughing, not because the poem is funny. You are laughing at yourself. You feel a connection to Portia Nelson’s words. She is speaking your words. 

I certainly felt a connection with her! She clearly articulated what I was feeling.

You feel connected to the author because it takes you forever to get it right. But one day you finally get it, perhaps by then the pain is too much for even you to bear. Or perhaps you are now more self-aware. The reason doesn’t matter because you have finally learned from that particular mistake.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

by Portia Nelson

 Chapter 1

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost …. I am helpless.

It isn’t my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place.

But it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in … it’s a habit… but,

my eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down another street.

 Portia Nelson, 1920 – 2001, There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk

As I write this post, and read the poem again, I notice something for the first time, and make a connection that I didn’t make before.

“…I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place…”

 The quote attributed to both Einstein and Bejamin Franklin pops into my consciousness, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting to get a different result.” We are in the same place because we simply haven’t made any changes. How can we expect a different result if we keep on doing the same thing the same way?

We no longer have to walk down that particular road in life because we have options. We can learn from your mistakes, or not, the choice is entirely ours.

What emotions does Autobiography in Five Short Chapters evoke? What lessons can we learn? What does this poem remind you of?

The first time I read this poem it moved me deeply. So much so that I secured permission to use it in my book Tales of People Who Get It.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters is from the book There’s a Hole in my Sidewalk, pp 2-3.