(Thoughts in the form of fragments-
The best way to write is in chunks.)
Something wise I was told: limit trust.
Some people hide intentions very well.
That is not to say
Never trust, and in no one
Completely put your faith,
But rather, set for yourself boundaries
Over which some may step, but
In which one may never stay too long.
Another something wise I was told:
Never accept the answer “no”
In regards to life ambitions-
Allow yourself the luxury of dreaming.
Perhaps your “someday” will be one day soon.
Third on the list, I was told
“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
When realizing that this existence is simply “life”
And a century soon after becomes “death,”
Isn’’t it marvelous to smile at
How strangely we measure the size of tragedy?
Fourth piece of wisdom,
Religious advice:
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”
(Matthew 7:12)
Continuing realization that
Even though every pair of eyes
Grows heavy with different, individual sights
And ears grow soft with different sounds from
Individual lives-
Every eye functions the same, as does every ear.
We are all capable of receiving, as well as producing, pain.
(At what age do we learn empathy?
At what age do we forget?)
Fifth, moving forward, I was told
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
On the dark side,
It could be thought that
Love sometimes pushes aside reality
And creates illusion,
As in the minds of mothers
Who see their children as beautiful, even if
Society’s standards do not agree.
On the bright side,
(The side where the sun often shines)
There are subjects to which one may
Give too quick a glance, but
Into the depths of which
Another may carefully peer, and
In taking the time,
See something the other had missed.
Sixth, farther still,
I was told to work hard;
“You get out of life what you put into it.”
Effort is key, and starts with motivation-
Attitude equally important, as well.
If you never try, you have no right to complain.
Seventh, I was told to simply listen.
Sentences are cut off, while we in our heads
Begin to formulate a response to each others’ words.
Even beyond conversation,
How often we speak to ourselves,
When we should remain quiet.
Everything can be heard;
Even no sound is a sound-
That which we call “silence.”
We should teach ourselves to listen well.
Eighth, with regards to leaders and followers:
As much as the world encourages us to be leaders,
“To many cooks spoil the soup.”
He that knows the way, but for the sake of compromise
Becomes a follower and lets others and himself be led,
Is wise.
Ninth, is the idea that “talk is cheap.”
Words are, after all, only words.
Small lines, spaces, little shapes written onto white.
Sound simply vibration through the air.
Promises are broken every day,
Empty threats made,
Declarations of loyalty found false with time.
We would all be wise to
Say what we mean, and do what we say.
Tenth wise something:
I was told (quite long ago)
Not to judge books by their covers.
Not only do we judge others based upon looks,
But also upon the way they carry themselves,
And the way in which they speak.
Through these judgments we create our own cages,
And in doing so, end possibilities of friendship, and
Open ourselves up to disadvantage.
The last wise something (but only for the sake of length):
I was told that “love never dies a natural death.”
Love seems (to me) a very constant thing,
Not constant in the sense that it is without change,
But constant in its inconsistencies and presence in the mind.
Love seems (to me) a very steady cycle,
Waves of affection, stagnation, devotion,
Confusion, and appreciation.
Perhaps so many are so quick to separate
Because they are so unwilling
To wait for love’s high tide?