Hey, Hey, GoodBye – Welcome Hello

2020 is almost over. It is a year most of us are glad to transition from into a new year. Many of us have suffered extreme losses. The coronavirus put a pall over much of our normality. Death and loss have become daily companions.

There are reasons to hope that 2021 will bring more healthful and prosperous times. There are vaccines for the virus which will become available for many in the coming months. As there are more travel and commerce, the economy should recover.

As we advance, new and better habits will improve lives. Writing every day gives an outlet for dreams, goals, and practices. Journaling develops voice and facility with language. Creation in the visual arts can teach patience and process.

Calm and quiet help deal with chaos and discomfort. Reading is an excellent learning tool and enjoyable entertainment. Seeing characters deal with adversity can facilitate hope.

On a personal note: I am beginning a new journal and closing the book on 2020. There have been bad and good, but I am spending this evening with Richard, who is very dear. We became close during this year of extremes.

I hope all of you celebrate this thing called life because it, today, are what is given to us. Find someone or something you love and give yourself to it. Being happy is a right, and love is a reason.

Ring out 2020, bring on 2021. May the coming days be a blessing for all of us.

I think I will be carrying on my Creativity Project for another year. Do you have a 365?

Thank you for visiting Haphazard Creative. I hope you will follow or return. If you have comments, encouragement, or inspiration to share, all are welcome.

Beginning Unblocked

At times, like this, I want to write, but words escape my grasp like loose puppies run away. I do not know why it must be this disaster. I practice enough; no blocks should bar my way.

There are moments where we doubt our competence, fear we will never live up to our potential, but we make a way every day we are alive. There is need to allow the mind freedom for a spell with pen in hand, or keyboard ready. Time to pulverize the block is what letting go, making peace gives. No matter their direction, being with the words opens space to explore the workings and play with the pieces.

Every sentence may not fit the book, novel, poem, story, but each one reveals a part of the reason. If we are lucky, the puzzle comes together effectively. There is no secret; it is all a secret. Words call us to make use of them as productively as possible. If we write, we know it is all magic and mirrors inside us and the territory we must survey.

Writing every day is the best action to keep my imagination nimble and creativity flowing. I recommend the practice.

Outlined In Ink

I can be your someone,
Or disappear as nobody at all.
Sudden moments I shine,
Mostly I fade into space.
We can share secrets openly,
Or I could hide the heart of me.
I will tell you my rhymes, stories,
But if you wish, I quiet will provide.
My tears are often misunderstood,
If found laughing, all is good.
Wherever I am, beloved, is home,
I never care to roam while alone.
Age does not matter, time – just numbers,
So often waylaid by a random thought, lost.
Love is the reason I was made,
Faith, hope, openness, trust, persuade.
Life is an unequaled adventure; wild, free,
Chasing knowledge, understanding, belief.
Only today is the heart of the matter,
So during hours, my passions, loves, I chase.
If I lose perhaps a new day, I shall win,
If I am gone, maybe I may come again.
I can be your someone,
Or disappear as nobody at all.

I hope you enjoyed your visit here. There is a follow button if it interests you, or you could come back at will. Comments and likes tell me if I please you.

As a prompt, write in couplets. They may rhyme or not, or some of both. If you are a visual artist, tell us a story you created just now.

100 Words, Plus 100, and 100 More

Choosing means taking one thing, losing another. It is impossible to follow both avenues at once. An attempt made to do the best for all parties may grow to be different than intended.

Such decisions might cause upheaval, and only in the doing can the consequences be known. Somewhere else, different, perhaps the other story unfolds with all the highs and lows, comes and goes, amends and sins, now and then.

Both paths exist, but only one reckoned a reality in the time currently seen. Walking the in-between, amongst the alternatives, is how a mind can become shattered. Open here.

My friend Raymond was an expert in what he called 100 Words. He did them every day in some years. This morning Ray left our sphere because of COVID. (This is another unreasoning blow) I never met him face to face, but he was a dear friend. We had arguments, discussions, shared moments, and differences of opinion. He was most often kind. I and others will miss him tremendously. My offering above is not nearly as polished as the thousands Ray did, but Ray was exceptionally gifted. I will remember him with smiles, laughter, respect, tears: always and forever.

I do not know what it is inside you that you hide deep, but I know, one day, should you let it go, it will help you have peace. 100 Words, or for fiction that comes complete – The Drabble, sometimes gives an opening into the heart and soul of what needs telling.

I play with language a lot. My optimal form seems to be poetry, but there are others at times. If we are creative, we can step across bridges from one river to another, from one time to several, finding, searching, knowing, hoping, having, losing, becoming, being.

BE…

Be the sun that shines,
The star that guides,
The heart that beats,
The focus that leads,
The example that feels,
The hand that reaches,
The soul that believes,
The one that lifts the fallen,
The mind that searches,
The question finding answers,
The brave that continues,
The failure that succeeds,
The intelligence in darkness,
The person for all people,
The hallelujah and amen,
The strength to begin again,
The one that helps overcome,
The ears that diligently listen,
The scholar that teaches,
The hands that build,
The one who can forgive,
The charitable to the needy,
The good that will not stop,
The music that mends minds,
The words that need speaking,
But most of all be
The LOVE that lights
Every corner of existence
And assists humanity.