Life in Haiku

Hello friends, 

A lighter post is due. This will be my attempt to not be so intense for once! Maybe. You tell me what you think. I'm taking a break from my love of spoken word and revisiting my AP English days and trying out Haiku. I'm the type of person that loves being presented with minimal resources and given a task to create something incredible out of very little. For example: I'll sometimes fly home to California with the bare necessities, a pair of jeans, a skirt and 3 shirts. I'll find a way to turn 2 outfits into 7 and still look faaaaabulous! :) 

www.laimyours.com

The haiku traditionally consists of 17 syllables, 3 lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables & finally, 5 syllables. These rules don't have to be strictly followed as you'll probably notice in my own work. I'm a pretty gregarious person so to be challenged to convey life, thought and profundity (yep, I totes used that word) in almost just one breathe or moment is an awesome challenge. But it's been a super-gratifying hour of reflection, creativity, and processing. 

I've been in California on business and pleasure for the last few days. It's been a slew of visits, mileage, airplanes, cars and people. But it's good to be back on old stomping grounds. That's right. I may be turning into a Bloomington townie, but I'll always be a valley girl. 93257 for life!!!

A few notes on the Haiku experience and my pieces:

1. They are purely objective. 

2. My job is to show. Not tell.

3. These aren't in any chronological order. 

4. Interact! Let me know which ones you enjoyed, respond with your own Haiku, ask me your questions.

5. Refer to this great Haiku writing guide if you don't know where to start: How to Haiku!

Even if you don't want to respond with your own haiku, you should try an hour of expressing your life and experiences in this way. I hope you find it as gratifying as I did. You could totally zen out the whole experience by finding a spot to disappear and be undisturbed. Yoda style. 

www.charmedyoga.com

(I've changed the settings on posting comments so you should be able to post now.) 

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Energy and peace!

Mint, cream and coffee entwined.

My sip of comfort. 

Unbridled freedom.

A scripture coated in ink. 

Love is revealed. 

Day 6 is here. 

My cell phone buzzes.

"See you tomorrow."

Longing confirmed. 

Grit and sun are holding hands.

Porterville. 

Reconnecting, 

A game of scandal on cards.

Best job ever. 

Siblings unhinged. 

Windy car rides; young at heart.

Frozen adulthood. 

Pile of treats at home.

Favorite foods on the stove. 

Mom is nowhere found. 

Laptop whirring

Ambiguous calendar. 

Shorter days to come. 

Hands clammy with sweat.

Voices feeding through headphones.

Ownership transferred. 

The Gray Area of Integrity

"What on earth could she be talking about?" Is what you're likely thinking if you've decided to read this post. When you look up the word, "integrity" on merriam-webster.com you get these three definitions:

1. firm adherence to a code of moralistic or artistic values

2. an unimpaired condition

3. the quality or state of being undivided

I think that my own personal definition of integrity might be an amalgamation of those three:

"A firm adherence to a moralistically unimpaired or undivided code of values (that might be a little artsy - j/k)."

I was prompted to write about this particular musing today when I found myself in conflict with - myself. In coping with the outcome of a personal circumstance I was confronted with an emotionally debilitating predicament. I had hit the gray area of integrity! 

(Must click for full effect! :-P)

It all began the other day when I just couldn't stop mulling over "the unsaid situation" and felt my heart aching. It wasn't that good kindof lovesick ache either. It was more of the oh-crap-my-world-is-going-to-end ache. (A little exaggerated, no?) The manifestation of my little predicament was that of guilt - guilt that I had wronged someone close to me. Guilt that I had jeopardized some crucial relationships. Fear that I had nicked my fragile little reputation. Suffice it to say - I might have been a little manic. *Blech.* 

As I pressed in a little deeper into my psyche, I found the root of the unquenchable distress. There were two conflicting values. Boiled down simply, it was a value that concerned me crashing headlong into a value that concerned others. Of course they overlapped and blahdy blah blah blah. If I assume that I am undivided in my code of values then how do I reconcile a situation where one part of my code asks me to compromise in order to firmly adhere to another part of my code!!!!! 

I know, I know....

That's what you're sayin'.

I hope that you were able to sort through all of that verbal vomit. I tend to do the verbal vomit thing. Ask anyone. Haha. Well...assuming that you gleaned even a smidgen of what I was trying to say, then I would like to believe that someone out there in the virtual world resonates with me. 

I even took this up with Lord God Almighty. We had a good long talk, reviewed some stuff from the Bible and still couldn't sort through it. So have I found a solution to non-conflictedness? Not really. But what I have realized about myself is that my values are FULL of these contradictions and the curve ball gets thrown when my ethical and moral compasses are set against them. So do I set out on an intellectual pilgrimage to purge my mind of all opposing values? Talk about overwhelming. But the idea of preventative measures to reduce the amount of intellectual and emotional trauma I go through IS appealing. It might also keep others from walking into the crossfire (aka verbal vomit). I'm content to remain unresolved - for now. 

But I do welcome any tips. All pychological/philosophical/ethical/moral Yodas welcome. :)

"Awesome Yoda cake" courtesy of bitrebels.com

Quick recap: Definition of Integrity. Emotional debilitation. Gray area. Dramatic chipmunk. Heart achiness. Conflicting values. Bwaaah!@#$%^&*((*&^%$#@#$%^$$$. Hippy lemur. Unresolved. Yoda. 

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!