Priceless Lessons

I have loved the stars too fondly
To be fearful of the night,
I have cared too deeply
To just up and say goodbye

I have known hard times
For far too long to know nothing
Comes so easy, I’ve paid too dearly,
So I can laugh when I just want to cry

Dreams and hopes are sisters,
I hold close, so very dear
As if the world didn’t matter,
And the future was crystal clear

It has rained far too long
For me to criticize the sun
When the day is finally gone,
I think back on what I’ve done

Hard times don’t last,
But tough folks sure do
I’ve learned from the past
For a new point of view

Once I thought tears were weakness
Until my own quietly fell
Now tears are a beautiful witness
To the great stories they tell

My past is a teacher I look to
To see who I once was
It offers a unique view
Especially when it comes to love.

These are some special lessons,
That you must learn on your own
Such precious, overlooked blessings
Some of the best I’ve ever known.

World Wide Warning

(Hopefully I won’t sound too much of a fruitcake in this poem I wrote today.)
I dreamed a powerful dream
That shook me to the core
What once was, what could be,
I hadn’t seen this before.

I walked along streets unnoticed, like a ghost,
But the things I saw and heard
Are some I fear I must make known
In a warning to all the world.

The greed and hatred ruled,
No act of kindness repaid
There was no common love
And the violence was too great

Folks screamed and cried for aid,
But the government just said “Oh well”
Too caught up in the next campaign
To notice the world going to hell

Prayer was abolished,
Not a single word offered up
People wouldn’t act, they only wished
Living on streets so tough

Schools became prisons,
As fear and “You can’t” said
Old folks had no retirement
As for insurance, just forget.

In the middle of the dream,
I hollered in alarm
“Dear God, what does this mean?!
How can church and prayer be gone?!”

Weeping, I realized what had gone wrong
God’s country, in it’s attitude,
Had shoved out God more and more
Until finally we seemed without Him,
Cold, tired, and totally alone

Finally, He answered
“Dear child be aware,
You cannot have a life,
A country, if I am not there.”

The world before me transformed
I saw such a beautiful place
My tears of sorrow and fear
Became those of utter joy

Why do we do this?
Why do we leave behind,
The one thing that can save us,
God’s loving, guiding light?

Don’t let the churches lie empty,
Or greed and hatred rage
Too great are the things that could be
To allow the world to waste!

Can You Hear Hope Sing?

MLK Jr. once said,
It doesn’t matter what you do,
As long as you do your best

You could have a bum job,
You could live and work a farm,
A lawyer, a doctor, stay at home mom

You know, his words give me chills
A man unafraid to hope, to dream,
Despair kicked out, hope instead filled
All because he had the courage to be free

Arrested, hated, loved, and despised
To a real strong man,
There was no reason not to try

Although he was murdered,
Man, how his words ring on
Seventy, eighty years later,
Just as strong

Such cries for hope,
Freedom, and peace
All because a man dared to believe

Finally Published!

Hey y’all! I am SO PROUD to announce that I am now a published author. The name of the book is “Stars in Our Hearts: Chronicles” and it was made by World Poetry Movement. I entered their competition, totally not expecting to get in but TADA! My poem, “A House and A Home” was accepted. It is on page 156!

 

If you want to buy a copy:

-Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Stars-Hearts-Eber-Wein-Publishing/dp/1619360632/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353206943&sr=1-2&keywords=stars+in+our+hearts+chronicles

-Barnes & Nobles:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stars-in-our-hearts-world-poetry-movement/1112504494?ean=9781619360631

The Cost of Teaching Life

Recently, I said that being a teacher of life is the worst paying job in the world. I couldn’t more right or more wrong.

Sure, there’s no salary. People copy your work and label it as their own. Sometimes they don’t appreciate your efforts or the time you put into trying to make the world a better place. Of course, there’s always those few people who take it offensively or are rude about it, sometimes to the point that you question yourself and your decisions. They’ll snap at you, cry, do anything sometimes just because they don’t like the answers you give or the harsh truths behind them.

Luckily, with the rough side comes the bliss filled, content moments. This job can pay back in a way no other job can. You get the chance to help others, to change their day, their lives for the better. The smiles, the friendships, the hope and joy…makes it all worth it. It all proves that what you do means something, leaves a mark on the world that will last long after you’re gone.

I’ve always dreamed of helping others, to make the world a better place. I learned early on that some of the best lessons are the hardest to learn and the most memorable ones can come by chance. If life is all about living and we don’t get a second try, why not reach out to the world around you? Why not make your time in their lives worth something? After all, sometimes they teach you things in return that you’ll never find elsewhere.

Phoenix Rising

Have you ever seen Harry Potter? If you have, you might remember the old bird in Dumbledore’s office, whose tears saved Harry’s life. In today’s world, it’s a wonderful thing to be a phoenix, not literally of course, but it’s the characteristics such as love, rebirth, change, and new life that make it so valuable.

                When a phoenix reaches the end of its “cycle”, it destroys itself, dying in its own flames until it is nothing more than a pile of ashes. From these ashes, a new phoenix is born, to live yet again. One of the most famous images of a phoenix is the rising after rebirth, the ability to start over, to begin again no matter how many times it takes, and it is proof that change can be both good and bad

                While setting yourself on fire isn’t a good idea at all, being able to build yourself back up after you’ve hit rock bottom is an admirable thing. The world is harsh, cruel, and life will knock you flat on your face sometimes. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, just as it doesn’t matter how many times that phoenix goes through the cycle. What does matter, however, is whether or not you let it keep you down or if you grit your teeth and pull yourself up to rise yet again.

                Hang with me for a second here. If you really want to get down into all that a phoenix means, just take a look at your Bible. Yes, Jesus died for our sins, but yet, He also died for something else – to give us a new life in Him so that one day, when we aren’t here anymore, we may go to Heaven through Him. Out of all the hundreds upon thousands of verses, one stands out. Isaiah 40:31 says “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

                You might be saying, “Okay, so I get the whole phoenix thing, but what does this mean? What could possibly connect them to each other?!” In simple, broken down English, it’s saying that where you have a weakness, God will bring you strength. In addition to that, it’s a beautiful reminder that God never will leave or forsake us in our darkest times. Pretty cool, huh? If you look even closer, legend says that an eagle, at the age of 30-50, flies to a high place and endures a harsh trial of change. It pretty much self-destructs and once defenseless, it cries out and waits for the time of renewal, much like that of a phoenix.

                In a world full of vultures, (people who wait for the chance to exploit somebody else when that person is vulnerable) just be a phoenix. After all, if we all pick on others or go after everybody, we do nothing but hurt ourselves.

Living Dead Man Walking

 

 

There are people living out their existence. It’s like dead man walking: not really living, waiting for the day when they too, shall lay down in eternal sleep. Life is about living and as cheesy and cliché as it sounds, it’s about grabbing on with both hands and never letting go.

 

You roll with the punches, pushing through life’s speed bumps – some of which we never see coming. When I was born, no one would have thought that sixteen years later I would be deaf, but I am. I don’t think of it as a “disability”. It has taught me things, not only about myself but of others, and has allowed me to view life in ways others are lucky to even get a glimpse of. There are so many things we take for granted every day, I just don’t even know where to start. Other kiddos my age have jobs, working to pay for their college they’ll soon be going to. Not me. I can’t take your order and go “y’all want fries with that?” over the speaker. I have the worst paying job in the world but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m a teacher, a teacher of life and living.

 

No, I may not travel the world or have my own TV show, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still teach or live out my dreams. I could never picture myself being way too caught up in the hustle and bustle of life to even stop to admire the sweet sound of rain or cherish a flower popping up through the cracks. Maybe I will never be a millionaire but truth be told, I don’t care. I don’t care what car you drive, the clothes you wear (Keep it classy though), or the money you’ve got. Heck, I don’t even care what you may look like on the outside. What I do care about is who you really are inside. The saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” applies to just about everything in life, including people.

 

Theodore Roosevelt once said that he had lived enough life for seven people. He lived, loved, and went by his own rules, not caring what others thought of him. Now, I don’t know about you, but that sure sounds like an awesome way to spend your life. Screw the world’s trends and stereotypes. Just like I refuse to only belong to ONLY the hearing or the deaf (I prefer both so that’s where I’m staying), life can be totally lived however you wish. Who cares what others think? If they judge your life, they are wasting their own time that could’ve been spent achieving their goals and dreams. Maybe this whole thing is just cheesy, boring, “no-one-will-ever-read-this” crap, but sometimes life is like that. Sometimes, no one reads what you have to say until you’re either dead or it just doesn’t exist anymore. My philosophy is if your heart has something to say that doesn’t totally trash someone else, out with it!

 

For goodness’ sakes guys, make a bucket list. Hug somebody. Try something new. Take this life with both hands and hang on with all you’ve got. You’re never getting a second chance so live with all you have, and then one day you can look back and enjoy it a second time. I don’t think I could bear to look down memory lane decades from now and see that I didn’t take advantage of my precious time on earth. There is too much to be said, too much to be seen, heard, felt, found, etc. to even think about just living each day the same as the one before it. You either live your life to the fullest or you just exist, the choice is yours. I’ve made mine. I want to live my life so full, that people will not be weeping because I’m gone, but because of the memories. Being deaf isn’t the end of the world. I want to live so that not even a book or a movie can fully capture my life.

 

They always say take the road less traveled, to live against the grain. So many people have carved their own way and in the process, have left their own unique mark on the world. My greatest hope is that one day, I can leave this world a better place than it was when I entered it. What are you waiting for? Life isn’t going to wait for you. Take it and just run with it, give it everything you have. I promise you won’t regret it.