I want to…

but I don’t have time.

but I don’t have the resources.

but I’m not good enough.

but I’m not ready.

but everyone else is already doing it

so much better than I ever could.

but I’m scared.

but I can’t.

Prescription:

Take a scalpel

& excise that word

from your vocabulary.

Perform a but-ectomy.

Replace it with the word “and,”

that lover of possibility,

and watch magic happen.

Turn your “yes, buts” into “yes, ands,”

and watch your life

expand.

[scs_alt]

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

Are most people happy?

Most of my life I…

was? Was not?

Or was not, but thought I was,

until I really was.

Most days, now,

it’s just a given: I’m happy.

Even when most of the day

goes awry, clattering down

the black hole of distraction, or

“damn, that didn’t work out the way

I wanted…” Most times

I’m able to step outside the distress

and peer back through the window

at my life, and recognize

that it’s good.

A good life.

And isn’t that,

after all,

what I want

most?

[scs_alt]

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

Oh, I see you now!

Spilling masks & costumes

as you rise, like so much dirt.

Brush them off your shoulders

& stand tall. No stooping

is necessary here,

no hiding.

Step into the light

so your brilliant facets

can sparkle & shine.

Slough off that old, ill-fitting skin,

Exfoliate, buff, polish.

Your tender core, under armor

for so long, is where your

true strength

resides.

[scs_alt]

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

We have a conflicted

relationship, fame & I.

Its cousins, acclaim,

respect, impact

& reach, I lust after

wholeheartedly. But

fame? And its sister,

celebrity? They strike

me as frenemies,

not to be trusted.

Not a surprise, really,

that my pursuits have

always been ones

where even those

who reach the top are

still flying under

the radar. My dance

with the spotlight is

a jerky polka. Or

perhaps the Hokey Pokey:

put my left hand in, put my

left hand out, put my

left hand in, then I

shake it all about.

[scs_alt]

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!