Stars in my Sink

This month's writing prompt was to channel another writer's voice. I wrote this poem a long time ago and forgot about it until just now, but this was my attempt at channeling the wonderful Shel Silverstein. He's much more talented than me, but it's still fun to think about poetry in the same child-like, carefree way. 

"Stars in my Sink" -ww

One day, not so long ago

As some of you may think,

Every star up in the sky

Fell down into my sink.

‘Absurd!’ you squeal, and rightly so,

It’s quite an odd affair.

Who would have thought that all those stars

Could fit inside of there?

I was not angry; not one bit.

I was not even scared.

And even though they broke my roof,

I hardly even cared.

I thought it quite a lucky feat

Those stars fell in my sink.

‘Cause stars are worth a pretty price.

“I’ll do quite well, I think.”

The next day at the market place

I towed my market wares.

But I could not get one star sold.

I only got dark stares.

“Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?

You cannot sell those stars.

You need to put them back right now.

You can’t sell what’s not yours.

“Those stars are wishes cast by those

Whose efforts cannot yield

What you have at your fingertips

To hold and know and feel.”

I held a star up in my hand

And curiously saw

A myriad of images

Race ‘cross the crystal ball:

A crying child wish for a toy,

A mother wish for rest,

Two lovers wish for time alone,

Some wished for life; some death.

I saw my face reflected there

‘Mid wishes so sincere.

How vain, how shallow, how absurd

My wishes now appeared!

Suddenly, I saw those stars

In quite a different light.

Those stars were meant to dot the sky,

And brighten up dark nights.

“But how?” I asked to those who stood

And chided my pursuits.

“How can the stars go back up there?

And who will fix my roof?”

“You could use a catapult,”

“Or maybe a balloon.”

“Perhaps a rocket ship will work,”

“Yes, surely that will do.”

“No, no, my friends, not one of these

Will take the stars back home.

I think we have to send them back

The same way they came down.

“I’ve wished for my entire life

On every wishing star

I’ve fought, and cried, and prayed and hoped

And even traveled far.

"But now I’ll send my wishes back

Into that outer space

Where wishes wait for even me

To reach and grab my fate.”

So one by one I wished away

Those hopes that shined so bright.

And one by one they flew from me,

To light a darkened night.

Now through my roof at night I stare

And hope the stars can see

I don’t need them to grant my wish;

Both they and I are free.

Something to Help Inspire and Aspire

Have you read this?

If you've talked with me during the past few months for more than five minutes, you've probably heard me rave about it. I posted a basically this same post on my personal blog, and thought that our writing blog could use a few more posts, so I copied and pasted what I wrote basically because I love, love, love the quotes at the end and want to share them with whoever will read/hear them.  

Because of the inspiration I found while reading this book, I have a totally different perspective now towards each day, and the way I choose to view things. I realized I WANT to be a positive person. And that it's more than okay to have a happy-go-lucky, Pollyanna attitude, because in the end it is just better, healthier way to live. It can be challenging sometimes to always be optimistic, but, you feel better and attract more positive and good things when you live a happy life. 

I was also inspired by the author, Gretchen Rubin, to start doing a few things. So in the middle of reading a sentence a thought would pop into my head and I'd get up and write someone a note, or call my mom, or kiss and play with my baby, or do something nice to surprise my husband, or find that recipe I've been wanting to make for dinner for a while and actually make it, or start writing more like I've been wanting to for years, or put together a play group, or finally write that plan to organize my days I've been meaning to write...etc. 

I loved the last sentence on this page:

 "Happiness," wrote Yeats, "is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing."

Here are a few quotes I wrote down that I found inspirational: 

"Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating."- Simone Weil

"One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy.

One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy."

"When one loves, one does not calculate." - Saint Therese of Lisieux

"If money is to enhance your happiness, it must be used to support aspects of life that themselves bring happiness to you."

"Money. It's a good servant, but a bad master."

"Nothing can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness" - Tolstoy

"What's fun for other people may not be fun for you"

"When I was feeling unhappy, I felt dispirited, lethargic, defensive, and uninterested in other people; even worse, when I felt angry or resentful, I searched for excuses to feel even more angry and resentful. On the other hand, when I felt happy, I was more likely to be lighthearted, generous, creative, kind, encouraging and helpful"

"The days are long, but the years are short"

If you've read it, what are some things that you've found to be inspiring? Is there anything that you've changed in your life as a result? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Also, I'm looking for new good reads, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear great recommendations!

Afraid to be Awesome

Sometimes, I am afraid to be awesome. Don’t mistake this for humility. I am, by all accounts, an extremely self-confident and even egotistical human being. But I have occasionally thought to myself, “Hold back a little bit, because you don’t want to make anybody feel bad.”

It has taken me years to understand that I can be happy for friends who do something well, even if I can’t do that thing well myself. And it has taken even longer for me to realize that my friends will feel the same for me. We all have different strengths, and there is no reason for anybody to feel bad because I can play “Oh, Susanna” on the harmonica, or fit my entire fist in my mouth.  I can’t do so many other awesome things that they can.  One of my favorite new epiphanies is that I love having talented friends. It doesn’t make me look worse by comparison. If somebody amazing wants to be my friend, I look way better!  

When I was in high school, my self-esteem was not quite so healthy. I still held back, but not because I was conscious of other’s needs. Largely, I was scared of being ridiculed. I was afraid of what people would say if I always had the answers, or always came in first. And even more than that, I was afraid of finding out that I wasn’t as smart as I thought. My solution: never challenge my talents and I could never be proven wrong.

Sophomore year I joined the track team so I could spend more time with my brother. He was the track star and my school was too small to kick me off the team. I practiced grudgingly and only ran races out of fear of the coach’s fury. My dad was a track star in high school and had been prepping me for days on strategies to win the upcoming region race. But when I found myself lined up for the 800-meter race, I was terrified. I knew I hadn’t put in the proper time, and I envisioned myself crossing the finish line in last place, my father’s face the picture of disappointment. “Poor dad, he has no idea how utterly hopeless I am.”

BANG! The starting gun exploded in my ears and my feet propelled me forward. I soon found that my racing speed was much faster than my training speed, and I worked my way up to third place. I turned to see my dad enthusiastically cheering from the sidelines, and I caught a rush of euphoria in my triumph.

“I am so amazing! I hardly trained and I’m going to qualify for state!” My sudden egotistical thought nearly literally stopped me in my tracks. “Wait a minute; if I come in one of the first seven slots, I have to compete at State.”

My mind started racing faster than my feet. “If I have to go to State, I will have to train a lot harder than I have been. And the coach will actually pay attention to me. I don’t think I want that.”

I was now rounding the corner at the 500-meter mark. I again saw my dad in the stands, on his feet, hands waving wildly. “He’s such a good dad. I hope he’s not disappointed when I come in last place.” My brain won the battle against my body. I slowed dramatically and lost my State-qualifying position by more than a little. My second lap was more than 20 seconds slower than my first. To an outside observer it would appear that I had simply over-exerted during my first lap. I was the only one who knew the truth: I was afraid. I was afraid of trying and failing.  But I was even more afraid of being amazing.

Marianne Williamson said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.”

In an alternate universe, awesome-Wendy would put her all into that race. She probably still wouldn’t win; she very well could have come in last place. She could have tripped over herself and puked at the finish line. In fact, I think that’s pretty darn likely. But every ounce of me wishes that she/I would have tried. I wish we hadn’t been afraid to be awesome.