Quote Time

The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.

Thomas Merton

~seeinhermindseye~

Clean Energy Jobs for America

As a supporter of the NRDC, I saw this video on the site and had to post it. Planting faces of celebrities doesn't hurt either in getting the balls rolling, but we as a human race need to protect are planet. Regardless if this has become a "cool" thing--it is the right thing to do. Without the earth every love, worry, hope, or change would be obsolete. And I know some feel the earth will take its course but if we realize how much we have taken from our environment without giving nothing back--it goes without saying the imbalance and death will come faster than it is suppose to.
We drown ourselves in our everyday obsessions and thoughts but we wouldn't have a place to do it if it wasn't for our mother earth. We need to step outside of ourselves and realize how much bigger this world is and what we need to do to make it a better place to live, love, connect and breathe!
Take the time out to fill out your information and send it to your senators. It takes only a few minutes, and then you can send an email to all of your friends to advise them to sign as well.

Click on the title to get to NRDC's website.
Thank you and please leave any comments to let me know you've signed up or on how you feel.

LCB

Sorry if the video is not working go to the website http://www.nrdc.org/

Dead Poets Society

"I have a little secret for you…huddle up…HUDDLE UP! We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute—we read and write poetry because we are members of the human race and the human race is filled with passion—and medicine, law, business, engineering these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life…but poetry, beauty, romance, love these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, Oh me oh life of the questions of these recurring, of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities filled with the foolish. What good amid these oh me, oh life. Answer--that you are here, that life exists, and thy identity, that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"


A clip from the movie--the marvelous quote above starts around the 6:17 mark!

Sometimes when you have nothing to say--it's better to say nothing at all

There isn't much to say today so I thought I would post a true and funny--relative to where I coincide at the moment--from my 2nd blog...

http://seeinhermindseye.tumblr.com

After a While

My love for writing goes hand in hand with my undeniable love to read; a coupling that is solid to all if not every writer. No matter how busy I get or how distracted I am by my own issues I can always count on a poem or a book or a story to either get me grounded and focused or delve in to or out of my emotions which are so expansive at times. Emotions are a funny thing and I happen to be a person that wears my emotions out in the open; it's not a good time.
I found this poem during my break at work, I only have about 5 minutes in between but reading calms me before the next crazy bunch of wild screaming kids run in.
This particular poem resonated with me and I thought I would share it:

After a While

After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul, and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security, and you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises, and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child, and you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure… that you really are strong, and you really do have worth.

Veronica A. Shoffstall

click on the title so you can see the original format and full poem.

I was thinking...

Let's go on a road trip
We can pretend to be anything
We can fly in our dreams
And soar in our imaginations
We can remember and laugh at old memories
And make new ones
We can sleep in different sunsets
Or stay awake to the cities sunrise
We can be anything
And fall in love again
We will sail
With our eyes open
And our hearts free
All together
We will see
Life is so much more
Then responsibilities...

Photos from garance dore, smvblog, tumblr, wildfoxblog, google

Jeju News: Appeal to Stop Navy Base Construction on Jeju Island

South Korean plainclothes police kicks Gangjeong villagers

Artist rendering of the proposed Navy Base at Jeju Island with Aegis destroyers ported there

We, the undersigned global organizations and individuals, call upon the South Korean and US governments to cancel all plans to build a Navy base on Jeju Island. The base will destroy coral reefs that have been listed as world heritage environmental sites by the UNESCO and will destroy the fishing and way of life of the people.The deployment of naval Aegis destroyers, outfitted with missile defense systems, will be used to surround and provoke China and will make Jeju Island a prime target.Jeju is called the peace island and must remain free of provocative military bases.

This clip was sent by Sherrin through the RhymeswithJeju yahoo group and the photos and write up are from the blog http://space4peace.blogspot.com/2010/01/appeal-to-stop-navy-base-construction.html

you can also click on the title of this post and be sent to the blog.

To learn more or sign up you can email Bruce Gagnon directly @ globalnet@mindsprin g.com and leave your full name and address.

Rescue Picture from Haiti

Haiti: Is this the best picture in the world?
Meet Kiki, Boy Wonder, alive and well after eight days under the rubble of earthquake-blitzed Port au Prince.Kiki was saved after an incredible operation, in the Nazan district of the Haitan capital, mounted by US earthquake experts.The heroes and heroines were members of urban rescue squads from New York and Virginia, some of whom had been involved in the 9/11 horrors of New York in 2001.
©Matthew McDermott / Polaris / eyevine

Maya Angelou~Still I Rise

Still not feeling well but Angelou's Still I Rise is making me feel a bit better this Sunday afternoon...

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou

Back from the doctors and can't put Lorca down...

the doctor visits are pretty quick here, and not mention convient; my doctor's office is right around the corner.
And yes I am sick, the saying is true that your emotions can certainly make you ill however, as I rest my laurels in my warm, comfy bed I read the poetry of Frederico Garcia Lorca:

Sonnet of the Sweet Complaint

Never let me lose the marvel

of your statue-like eyes, or the accent

the solitary rose of your breath

places on my cheek at night.

I am afraid of being, on this shore,

a branchless trunk, and what I most regret

is having no flower, pulp, or clay

for the worm of my despair.

If you are my hidden treasure,

if you are my cross, my dampened pain,

if I am a dog, and you alone my master,

never let me lose what I have gained,

and adorn the branches of your river

with leaves of my estranged Autumn.

— Federico Garcia Lorca

Martin Luther King Jr.

The Inspiring Words of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr., was a father, a husband, a reverend, a civil rights leader, and a resilient man with a clear vision to end segregation in America during the 1950s.
On Monday, January 18, we honor a revolutionary man who courageously worked to achieve his dream of creating equality between all men and women. Honor and remember Martin Luther King Jr., (piece taken from Beliefnet)

He motivated generations to love one another without regarding race or skin color.

Below are some quotes from this inspirational man:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort but where he stands at times of challenge and discovery." - Martin Luther King Jr.

“In order to love your enemies, you must begin by analyzing self."- Martin Luther King Jr.

"Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true."- Martin Luther King Jr., "Strength To Love" (1963)

“A lie cannot live.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

Too funny not to post...

I am sitting in a coffee shop writing and behind me sits two grown men playing music on their phone. While the music plays they sing to almost every song they put on.

If one does decide to move their way out here just be aware that singing and karaoke could be, by far, the most exciting of events for these folks. They thoroughly enjoy the "Naribang" or singing room.

I, on the other hand DO NOT, however, I did get caught singing in my classroom (how deep is your love not by the bee gee's but by the bird and the bee group) when I thought no one was in the hagwon (private, small after school establishment); it made for a big laugh the next day, especially for my sarcastic boss Juno.

Embarrassed wasn't the word but the laugh about it made for a good memory!

The song currently on the play list:



Yup! That is George Michael; I can't help but to post this laughing. Haha, enjoy the video.

I found this...

By a fellow blogger on tumblr (thislullaby), and thought it was lovely. I felt this and continue to feel it. And the photo is so sweet; the hues of blues grasp me.

The Road Not Taken

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.” — Robert Frost (1874 - 1963), The Road Not Taken

HOLLOW

Hollow

Core
It feels like a hollow space
Within a boat
Where bodies can lie
And water can fill it to drown
Long and hollow;
As if it starts from the mouth
Down to the toes
Living on the outside;
Afloat amongst all the waters of people
But so hollow
So hollow
So hollow

It feels as hollow as the willow tree branch
That fell off in mourn
Landed on the earth
On dirt and faded blooms
To see its source rooted genuinely
Underground
And yet it lies there
Hollow and unsound
Safe it feels no more
Dead it suffers now
And so hollow
So hollow
So hollow

to be continued...

Help for Haiti

The devasting catastrophe in Haiti can't help but hit a piece of your heart--making you want to help as much as you can.
As I had a short break between teaching my kids, I hopped on CNN to check out updates. When I clicked on a title Voices from Haiti: He wanted to die with his family within seconds of looking at the pictures and reading what is happening and what is being said by the people, an uncontrollable submerge of tears had surfaced. I had to turn it off immediately as to not scare my students.
There are numerous agencies, the military and volunteers heading out, however, those that can not offer their services, like me for example, must know that there are other ways to help. Millions of people have donated and more continue to do so.
Even blog sites like tumblr have bloggers reaching out to other bloggers to get the donations going.
A 7.0 on the scale and thousands or more dead--this could have happened to us or any other country. It is our duty as humans to be compassionate and help those in need, try do your part.
Thank you.

Never Regret Anything

The big decision has come to send out my applications to graduate school--no turning back now nor would I want to.

Aerosmith Crazy is the song I keep on singing before I was deciding to post this on the blog; well here it is:

During my process...

Of my graduate application submissions; making my writing portfolio, writing my autobiography and essays, and gathering needed forms I have been compelled to reach out to past and current poets. They are my reminders, back ups, supporters, teachers and fellows.

Maya Angelou, Allen Ginsberg, Elizabeth Alexander, Miguel Pinero, Sylvia Plath, Pablo Neruda, June Jordan and so many others have been in my community; to help with the process.

This video had came to me while I was asking for something; many things. More than just a poet I want to be; I want to be a teacher, an activist, and a supporter. I want people to feel alive and Maya Angelou has done that for me.

The video below is of Maya Angelou, at 80 years old, discussing her book Letter to my Daughter, her grandmother, Hiliary Clinton, election of President Obama, on being a poet and teacher. She inspires me so much, and this video brought me to tears. From deep inside of me; I love her and the eloquence of her soul, speech, and writings.

Miguel Pinero

My girlfriend, Adriana introduced me to Miguel Pinero just recently, and a lover and writer I am of poetry, spoken word, and soul; I was blown away. She loves him and she knew I would dig it; listening to his words brought me back into my own work to give it the love, passion and attention it so deserves.

Applying to graduate school for writing is a scary thing. Am I good enough; do you know who I am? Is my writing worth it; do people want to hear my words?

These three clips below are of Benjamin Bratt portraying Miguel Pinero in the film Pinero (I am not sure how to put the needed accent on the n but the ~ is suppose to be on top of the n). First clip is "Seeking the Cause." The second clip is him defending his nationality and the coining of "Nuyorican."
Third clip is the infamous "The Lower East Side" poem made with a collaboration of people.

Check it out; it will move you:








DO your research and enliven your soul; learn what this man and the generation within him have created. A passion, a place, a poem.

One love~

LCB

Speechless...

WOW--Am I really serious?

I have not posted on my blog in about a month and a half, AAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhh!

Anyone who wants to leave a comment by all means lol.

On that note, I am back again! I left South Korea to visit in the states and now I am back, but truly missing pretty much everything from it. Sigh. I love to travel and I have noticed many things during my time, one of which is how wonderful and free the USA really is. A factor I think all Americans may or may not take for granted. I also love that we have the ability to travel and live in other parts of the world and come back with a pile of interesting facts and pieces and send them off to others as well as getting to remember...

If you can take the moment to remember; it is so intense. To snap an action or feeling, mental or otherwise, and remember it. The feeling of that remembrance is euphoric. It amazes me everyday on the propensity of the human mind body and souls. The capacity in which we lodge is limitless and yet some stay so limited.

It is a New Year! And I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year and a fabulous holiday ;).
A NEW YEAR to make dreams happen and goals conquered. To feel and learn. To love and grow.
Spread those wings and your quest...
Live and Believe in your...

PhotoImage by peacebaby88 on photobucket.