Category Archives: Poem

  • 2

The Old Becomes the New

Category:Exploration,Growth,Opportunity,Paradox,Passion,Poem,Potential

As we enter the New Year,

Let’s not become consumed

By the newness.

It’s an opportunity

To look within

And to see

What’s always been there,

Waiting to be discovered

And drawn out.

It’s not new.

It’s been there

From the beginning.

What’s new

Is our willingness to see more of it

And pursue more of it.

And it’s not just within

One of us.

It’s within all of us.

What is it?

It’s our spirit

That wants to make a difference

That is more and more meaningful

To us

And to others.

We’ve all been in touch

With our spirit,

But we’ve only experienced

A small part of it.

There’s so much more

To be discovered

And nurtured.

In this New Year,

Let’s make the effort

To nurture

What is already there,

So that we can all thrive.


  • 4

The Present Is a Present

Category:Community,Connections,Growth,Opportunity,Poem,Potential

During this holiday season,

We are showered with gifts.

But gifts are things.

Gifts can distract us

From a present that really matters.

Let’s never forget

That our present

That matters the most

Is the present.

We are so lucky to be in the present.

Without the present,

Nothing matters.

The present has so much to offer.

Yet, we are too often distracted

By what happened in the past

Or what might happen in the future.

We need to spend more time in the present

And savor all that it has to offer us now.

The present can also be shared with others,

Making it much richer for all.

We should also never forget

That the present

Is a time when we can act

And make the present even richer

For us and for others.

If we act with others in the present,

The present can grow

In ways that we never imagined.

The present is a present

That keeps on giving.

Let’s be grateful.


  • 0

Reflections on Gratitude

Category:Exploration,Passion,Poem,Potential

On Thanksgiving

We have an opportunity

To reflect on gratitude.

What should we be

Most grateful for?

My advice:

Don’t look outside,

Look within.

We all have a passion within –

The passion of the explorer.

Some of us have found it

And we’re pursuing it.

But most of us

Have not yet found it.

Many of us are not even

Looking for it.

But it’s there,

Waiting to be found

And pursued.

When we find it

And pursue it,

We will make a difference

That grows over time

And that is more and more meaningful

To us,

And to others.

We all seek meaning,

But we need to look within,

In order to manifest it

Outside.

Let’s be grateful

For the passion

That will spawn

Expanding meaning

For all of us.


  • 5

Seek the Gift

Category:Collaboration,Community,Connections,Exploration,Growth,Opportunity,Passion,Poem,Potential

Christmas

Is a time of

Giving

And receiving.

We should be grateful

For what we have received.

But let’s not just look around.

Let’s look within.

Our greatest gift is

The energy and spirit

Residing within us,

Waiting to be discovered

And unwrapped

And brought out

For others to see

And experience.

The greatest gift

We can give to ourselves

Is to seek

That energy and spirit

And nurture it,

Drawing it out,

To help us pursue

What is really meaningful.

If we do that,

We will offer

Ever expanding gifts

To those

Who mean so much

To us.

Our gift within us

Can be the gift

That keeps on giving.

The gift to us

Can become the gift

That we share

With others.


  • 2

Peer Into Fear

Category:Emotions,Fear,Growth,Learning,Poem

It’s there,

Within more and more of us,

Waiting to be seen

And acknowledged.

But many of us

Are afraid of our fear.

We view it

As a sign of weakness.

So we hide from our fear.

But until we see our fear,

We’ll be ruled by it

And it will limit our potential.

We need to look for it,

Explore it,

Understand why it’s there,

And how it limits us.

That’s the launchpad

For moving beyond our fear.

It will move us

To draw out emotions

That will help us

To act

In spite of fear.

That’s the paradox –

We need to see the fear

To move beyond it.

 

<This poem marks the launch of my new book, The Journey Beyond Fear, that can be purchased here>


  • 1

Direction, Not Destination

Category:Learning,Opportunity,Poem,Potential

We’re all on a journey.

Or we should be.

Many of us have stopped,

And remain stuck,

Afraid of what

Might lie ahead.

Some of us are on a journey

Dictated by others,

In an effort to please.

As we embrace our own journey

Avoid the advice

To pick a destination.

Our journey is without end.

There is no destination.

But let’s not wander aimlessly.

We need to find a direction

So that we can make progress

And keep looking ahead.

That direction

Needs to be our own direction,

Not someone else’s.

It’s the direction

That fills us with excitement

And drives us

To keep moving forward.

When we find that direction,

We’ll be unstoppable

And make great progress.

Our journey will be without end

Because there’s so much to explore

And experience.

We’ll savor what we see,

But we’ll always be drawn

Beyond the horizon.


  • 2

Far Beyond Fear

Category:Collaboration,Community,Connections,Emotions,Opportunity,Poem

Look far to overcome fear

And go far.

Fear shrinks our horizons,

Both in time and distance.

We become consumed

By the moment

And by what’s near us.

We lose perspective on

What’s ahead

And what’s in the world

Around us.

We need to

Expand our horizons.

If we look far enough ahead

We will see really big opportunities

If we look far enough around,

We will see many people who can help us

Achieve those opportunities

We’re not alone.

To look far

We need to look within.

Within, we will find

What we need.

We all have

A hunger for impact.

We all want to make a difference,

A big difference.

That will drive us to look far

And move far beyond our fear.


  • 10

Independence Day Poems

Category:Independence,Poem

I’ve never written a haiku before, but July 4th – Independence Day in the US – inspired me to write my first one:

Seek inspiration

See the caterpillar crawl

Watch butterflies fly

But, of course I couldn’t stop there. That haiku inspired me to write a longer poem:

The road ahead

Offers so much potential

But we must choose that road

And not allow others

To define it for us.

We must declare our independence,

Removing the constraints

And roadblocks

Imposed by others.

But here’s the paradox.

We’ll increase our potential

If we invite others on our journey

Rather than seeking to go it alone.

With the right partners

We might even be able

To evolve from caterpillars

To Butterflies.

Independence and interdependence

Are intimately linked,

But it starts with declaring independence.

What better day than today?

I’m looking forward

To the journey ahead!


NEW BOOK

(if you've read the book, click here)

My new book, The Journey Beyond Fear, starts with the observation that fear is becoming the dominant emotion for people around the world. While understandable, fear is also very limiting.

LEARN MORE
BUY NOW

The book explores a variety of approaches we can pursue to cultivate emotions of hope and excitement that will help us to move forward despite fear and achieve more of our potential. You can order the book at Amazon.

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