Category Archives: Spirituality

October 1, 2017

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 1 October 2017

By Kat Myrman

Being an optimist is exhausting, especially now. I’m not going to rattle off another list of what is wrong with the world. You already know it…if you’re paying attention. And I’m guessing you’re exhausted like me.

I’ve stopped saying “I can’t believe it! How is this happening?!” I’ve stopped believing that I can count on people, even those I love, to do the right thing. I’ve started to believe that voting doesn’t matter because politicians are not in it for the people, but to line their pockets and ensure comfortable retirements for themselves.

I’m seriously considering the fact that I may not be an optimist after all. I’m clearly not up to the task. But I can’t bring myself to admit that I’m a pessimist either. Luckily for me, and you too if you’re exhausted, there is another option. Being a realist.

I looked up realist and found the perfect definition in the Urban Dictionary:

Realists have a firm grip on reality and can see things for what they are, not what they are told they are. Realists have their own views and do not fall victim to propaganda, misconception, or titles!

1. There is the Pessimist who believes the glass is half empty!

2. There is the Optimist who believes the glass is half full!

3. Then there is the Realist who knows it is just half a fucking glass!

No more exhausting “rah rah la-la-la, everything is unicorns and rainbows” optimism from me! No more “kiss your ass goodbye, the sky is falling” pessimism either. They’re both exhausting and in a word, delusional. Realism is where it’s at. My self-talk needs a do-over…

“So yeah, things suck…a lot…right now. And it’s probably gonna get worse before it gets better. Fortunately for you, for everyone, it won’t last forever. It never does. Get a grip! In the meantime, the sun is shining and the sky is blue. Or maybe it’s raining. Deal with it. We need rain sometimes. It helps plants…and people grow. But the sky is definitely not falling, so get over yourself. And for god’s sake, get out of bed. Today is 24 hours of whatever you choose to make it. Clock is ticking sweetheart. Get out there. Kick some ass!”

I’m definitely pessimistically, optimistic that being a realist is the way to go. I am so over being an extremist. At the end of the day I might still be exhausted, but it will be well earned exhaustion from keeping it real!

Have a great week everyone! Here’s to keeping it real and kicking it!

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 1 October 2017

conformation be damned

it drives us mad if we ignore it

and then some

the twister spared the trees 

air dense with death’s balm

chaos rages, earth in flux

tossed and forgotten

a tiny dot on a page

back in the day

pipe-dreams on inked pages

until the lights went out

ending suddenly into dead, black silence

tracks through the wild

even if it is hard to see…

I am not dazzled

death whispers to her

~kat

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haibun, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Shi Sai, Social Issues, Spirituality

September 30, 2017

Magnetic Poetry Saturday

By Kat Myrman

my garden heaves her

last bit of sweetness

as the cool beauty of

death whispers to her

urging her to sleep…

to dream of spring

I am not dazzled by

broken gods and

fool-hearty men who

must be surrounded by

all-embracing prisoners

of fear to feel whole

keep trusting in

the goodness of

others even if it is

hard to see….I

believe it’s always

there, waiting to care

every path is thick

with followers but

wanderers leave fresh

tracks through the wild

~kat

Magnetic Poetry

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Life Lessons, Magnetic Poetry, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality

September 17, 2017

Fallen

By Kat Myrman

For MindLoveMiserysMenagerie’s Sunday Writing Prompt: to write a piece launched by this quote from Sherlock Holmes (the series):

Oh, I may be on the side of the angels, but don’t think for one second that I am one of them …..

Seventy times seven, blah, blah, blah. Have you ever done the math? I have. 490. That’s it. At this point I have more than fulfilled my quota of this mandate to forgive. Besides, I don’t see anyone standing in line to forgive me for existing. In fact, the hits keep coming, if you know what I mean. Here are a few gems from that hit list…

“Love the sinner, hate the sin…You know we love you. We just don’t agree with your lifestyle choices….You could change if you wanted to…You have an agenda…Stop flaunting your sexuality…It’s just a phase…You don’t deserve special rights…It’s because of you we have earthquakes, hurricanes, floods…the plague (I wish I was that powerful)…You’re an abomination…God hates you…You’re going to hell (kinda thought I was already there)…and my personal favorite; the one that rips through me like a hot poker through butter…I’m praying for you.”

Please don’t. I’m trying to forgive you. I’m trying to not judge you. I’m trying to love you, but you make it so difficult.

Because there’s this too. “Love your enemies… If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.” I fall short everyday. But that doesn’t mean I don’t keep trying; 490 times 490 times and counting.

One day I’ll get it right. In the meantime I am well aware of my flaws and weaknesses. I’m no angel…but neither are you.

And there I go again. Judging you for judging me. I guess that’s why we need practice at this forgiveness thing. I should have just said, “I’m no angel” and left it at that.

~kat

16 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Essays, Flash Fiction, Life Lessons, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality, Under 300 Words

September 17, 2017

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 17 September 2017

By Kat Myrman

How do I love thee, life? I count the ways as if naming each thing might offer me a line to grasp; to anchor me in place when the recognizable signs start to slip away.

Those moments when darkness descends, there is you, tiny candle, sucking up air, consuming the wick, calling me home. When people are unkind, there is a smile and a gentle touch to remind me all is not lost. When there is suffering, and unimaginable loss in the wake of the storm, there is you, sweet, audacious nature, showing me that life goes on again and again with each passing season. Life goes on.

How do I love thee, life? With every breath I take of the air that I share with all things living. Though I am but a speck of dust, I have not surrendered myself to ash. I am an ember still, capable of warmth; a flicker of amber. Like autumn’s fading rose clings to the vine in sweetness, I cling to you, life. How precious each moment is. How precious you are.

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 17 September 2017

she is not broken
the last few years had been hell
if you can call this living
when terror descended / when hatred triumphed
in a world so divided
the muse plays her heart
shades of gray
offering but a glimpse inside
It was true.
No one tells you it’s the little things that rip through your heart
impress anonymously
become self-serving
But it was revenge
between dusk and dawn
they can save us…if
like ice melting
it is all madness

~kat

A shi sai or ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the shi sai features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

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September 10, 2017

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 10 September 2017

By Kat Myrman

My fortune cookie this past Saturday… 

Life does not go on…not just yet. We were burdened this past week with aftermaths of destruction: hurricanes, earthquakes, raging wildfires, crushing inhumanity by so-called leaders, while the best of humanity hangs in the balance, at the ready to take make things right. But life is not going on…not just yet as we face even more catastrophe on our southern shores. We remind ourselves of our incredible resilience in the wake of all of life’s storms, be they nature-driven or human fabricated. Life goes on…sometimes, and sometimes it does not…

I feel helpless in the eye of the storms that rage around me. There is nowhere to run…nowhere to hide. We can try to prepare. We can hope for the best. But ultimately we must wait.

I’m tempted to wrap myself in my woobie and sleep long and hard until it’s over…until it’s time to gather what is left; until it’s time to make something of the rubble. What if nothing remains? It’s useless to worry about it. What do we do with time when it’s not time to move on, not just yet?

Moments count most right now. I light a candle for us all as I embrace the frail excruciating weight of this single moment. I breathe in deeply, exhale slowly. I gaze at my surroundings; the people, pets and things that give me comfort, that I love, and last but certainly not least, I eat the damn cake, savoring its sweetness. As moments go it is enough. I’ll leave the moving on until it’s time.

Be safe, be kind, love one another…peace.

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 10 September 2017

soft the gloaming hush descends
breath of withering blossoms dying
there’s a cool snap in the air
a coffee, please
excruciating, the wait,
oh…I had a secret invisibility cloak once
pretending to be impressed with his strip shuffle
sinful indulgence
falsehoods fade slowly
dusty nooks, cluttered,
for nuggets of gold
treasure ‘midst rubble
so easily crushed
late summer storms swell
sleep in if you like
whisper me lies
they never rest
they know my heart best
eat the damn cake…do it

~kat

A shi sai or ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the shi sai features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

11 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Shi Sai, Social Issues, Spirituality, Week in Review