2012

YAAAAAAAY!!!!   My first post of the new year!!!

I've been pretty busy since the end of December, but am back for more blogging fun.  I've already dedicated this year to the flourishing beginning of my writing career.  So I'm optimistic about 2012.

I'd like to sincerely thank all the people who've been reading my thoughts since I began this.  I promise you that more new and exciting tidbits are yet to come.

Enjoy this wonderful new year!!

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

Life's Not So Rare Lessons, Dec. 14, 2011

Failure is hard to stomach.  Especially once you've tried something and it doesn't seem to work out.  Remember that time you first started learning to ride a bike?  Falling off and scraping needs seemed like reasons to give up.  I recall watching my son try to build something out of blocks.  He kept stacking and stacking, but eventually the blocks would fall.

He would push the blocks aside, lower his head, and pout.

"What's the matter?" I'd always ask.

"I can't do it!!" he'd say, in the cutest little voice.

"Keep trying, baby, and you'll get it."

I remember giving him that advice, hoping he'd take it to heart.  Because I know that after a while, it's a lesson we all forget.

Keep trying.  It eventually pays off.

For the last three years, I've been unemployed.  I've searched high and low, in multiple cities, to find an employer that would hire me.  I've gone to interviews, presented the best me I could possibly present, only to have them all tell me the same thing.  We're sorry, but you're not the candidate we're looking for.

The frustration that builds from repetitive failures will often make you want to give up.  But I'm glad something within me kept pushing, kept believing in that advice I'd given my two year old son.

I'm am glad to say that as of today, I am once again employed.  I am thankful for the opportunity and believe even more adamantly that trying does eventually reap benefits.  So, to anyone out there considering quitting something, all because it hasn't gone according to plans, stop.  Step back and observe the situation.  Learn what you can from those failures, then put your best foot forward and try again.

Pretty soon, success will be waiting.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

Life's Not So Rare Lessons, Dec. 3, 2011

Sometimes, something comes to you that really isn't for you.  This is one of those moments.  Whoever this is for, I pray that it reaches you.

I'm a people watcher, a shameless one, in fact, because I feel we learn so much from observation.  I try not to be creepy, staring hazardously at random folks.  At some point this would make them uncomfortable.  A few subtle glances.  Sometimes, listening to conversations.  It's interesting some of the things you'll notice about others that leads you to noticing something about yourself.

One thing I've wondered about people is how they deal with their varying moods.  Have you ever seen someone so overwhelmingly sad that it makes you sad, and suddenly you wish you could give them a hug?  I'm certain that's not just me.  It's interesting how our moods rub off on others, but I'll examine that in another post.  This one is about depression. 

In all of my life, even while enduring some extremely difficult things, I can thankfully say I've never been depressed.  Sure, I've found myself dangling close to the threshold, that invisible  place where sadness is so close to becoming a gloom that you just can't shake.  But luckily, I found some way to pull myself up again.

Family, close friends, work, writing, etc....there were several factors that helped me escape.  But some people don't have those outlets.  So I've been racking my brain for the last few moments, trying to figure out what they can do, and how I might possibly help them.

Most people have heard the saying 'there's light at the end of the tunnel'.  But what if the tunnel is so dark and long that the end seems nowhere in sight?  Then, it takes something within to make a person continue to move forward.  Suicide has always seemed like an odd concept to me, but I understand why some people struggle with it.  If I wasn't blessed with all the wonderful things that keep me motivated and going, the idea might have crossed my mind at times.  From being teased relentlessly as a child to dealing with seizures that my doctors couldn't find cause for, there have been moments in my life where I easily could have given up hope.

But I always remembered one thing.

Every life is worth living.  

There is someone out there battling with something right now and they're feeling like it has the best of them.  They've cried so many tears and fought as hard as they could, but somehow that hardship keeps winning.  And right now, they're considering ending their life, as the only way to cope.  But I'm hoping they don't do it.  Because every life, no matter how hard or desperate or unbearable it seems, is worth living.  From the pastor to the prostitute.  The extremely rich and the extremely poor.  Every single life is a valuable one, because it's the only one you get.

And while this might not solve your problem, I'm hoping it's enough to make you consider a real solution.  There are crisis centers, guidance counselors, or even the pastor at a local church, willing to talk to you and offer help.  My email address is therarepoet@yahoo.com, and you can email me at any time.  

I don't know who this message is intended for, but I was moved to write it.  I feel that if we're nice to each other, offer a smile, and try to be more concerned with the lives of others, then everybody will eventually understand that every life is worth living.

Blessings to everyone out there.  Make somebody feel worthwhile today.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet 

Monday Oh So Dope Award, Nov. 28, 2011 (Yes, I'm Feeling Dope!!)

And here is yet another return to one of my favorite recurring themes in this blog:  the Monday Oh So Dope Award!!  Everyone know's that Monday is that day of the week somehow vilified by all.  Whether it's the start of the work week, the beginning of the school week, or that moment that reminds you the fun and games of the weekend are over, Monday seems to get a bad rep among the days (only Wednesday gets nearly as harsh treatment).

But everyday can't be Friday.  And every Monday isn't bad.  That's why I started this portion of the blog.  To remind us that there are always some cool and uplifting things going on.  Even on Mondays.

Today's award goes to leftover Thanksgiving dinner.

Sure, you said you were sick of them.  You've protested, having spent all weekend eating turkey sandwiches and gorging yourself with cakes and pies.  But come Monday, when the holiday vibes seem to finally be fading and the world is back to slowly getting on your nerves, you open the fridge and smile. One more night won't hurt you.  And it kind of makes this Monday seem even more worthwhile.

So go ahead, enjoy a dope helping of leftovers.  And remember to enjoy today!

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet

Life's Not So Rare Lessons, Nov. 28, 2011

Sunday morning, I was recuperating from a bit of sickness, and happened to catch an episode of Super Soul Sunday on OWN.  It was an interesting show with Oprah Winfrey talking to Mark Nepo, the author of The Book of Awakening, a daily companion book to 'help people meet their days and inhabit their lives.'  Nepo, who published the book in 2000 following a battle with cancer, said the book turned out to be a spiritual first-aid kit.  The Book of Awakening catapulted to fame in 2010, when Oprah listed it as one of her favorite things.

During Sunday's show, Oprah read one of her favorite passages from the book, which I'll share here.

After hearing the passage, an ancient Hindu teaching, it really made me think.  So often in our lives, we are confronted by pain and don't really know how to bear it.  But the profound message behind the teaching is that pain, like everything else in our lives much be taken in context.

Putting our experiences into perspective will allow us to deal with them better.

This might seem hard to do at first.  Often times, especially with negative situations, it's hard to get past how uncomfortable they are.  We forget to think about the bigger picture and only focus on how we're immediately affected.  But everything functions within a broader spectrum.  And that amount of pain, discomfort, heartache, or whatever, is serving a purpose within the broader spectrum of you.  I think what the teaching was trying to say is that unless we understand that we extend beyond the pain, we will always succumb to its bitterness.

Be a lake, not a glass.

The smaller the receptacle, the more force or impact anything that comes in contact with it has.  By being a lake, or expanding ourselves outside of the moment and seeing everything as a whole, we lessen how much we're impacted by pain.

I think being the lake is key in positive situations too.  So often, we get caught up in our successes and joys, so much so that we forget to keep them into perspective.  We become stagnant, because we get stuck in the moment, instead of stretching ourselves towards the bigger picture.

Once we learn to take things into perspective, we'll live fuller lives.  And isn't that a step towards happiness?

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet