No Sittin' on Go

No Sittin’ on Go!

Starter

The center

of our bodies--

the guts--

seems to be

our battery,

the starter

of the engine.

Yes, the brain

pushes the button

and away we go

according to plan,

but something inside us

has to say yes.

That's our center.

To Ponder

            1.   Imperfect as we and our ideas may be, we have to start

                  somewhere with something.

            2.   This something is other than an impulsive act, since it

                  comes from deep inside, only a spark perhaps, but

                  resident within us.

            3.   You’re not able to peer around corners, but must go

                  side-by-side with a corner to see what gives.

            4.   The first corner may offer nothing, and require no turn,

                  but you’re now on your way.

            5.   Quietness, as opposed to the rumble of impulse, allows

                  you to listen for the snap of that spark.

            6.   The engine turns over, warms up, is ready.

            7.   You grasp the possibility and push the button. No sttin’

                  on Go!

© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

If you enjoy reading this story, you may wish to order WHOA! Are They Glad You’re in Their lives? available on Amazon Kindle and in print edition too. 

  • Kindle Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

  • Print Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

Tweet

Tune in for a New Tomorrow

Tune in for a New Tomorrow

Place

It's OK, chauvinist—as I am—

looking in from the outside,

for a woman to wear the pants

in the family.

It's merely a role

thought that men should play.

So let's wipe the slate

in this band of change,

looking back on other things

when it wasn't

our ox being gored

and we always thought

it was as ordered,

and now slipping away,

it hurts.

Husbands stayed home

with the kids

as their wives,

service women,

were shipped off to war

and now return.

It won't all end well

for these pioneers

scrunching over

the bell-shaped curve,

but it will settle

and things will be different

for good.

It's the way,

with no apologies

accepted.

To Ponder

            1.         It’s amazing how fast big changes can come

                        unexpectedly, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall.

            2.         There are seers who see and some who don’t see. Truth

                        is, most of us can be surprised by what comes.

            3.         Social change always hurts someone, or even large

                        numbers of people. Today, I’m thinking about role

                        changes between women and men.

            4.         The verdict of history seems to be we don’t go back.

                        Fads repeat, novelty repeats; that’s about it.

            5.         What we think we can’t tolerate or bear in some way,

                        most often we can.

            6.         How to rise to higher ground in peace? That’s the

                        question. How do we let things in with grace?

            7.         If we expect perfection, the ideal, we’ll be hopelessly

                        lost. What might I do for the cause?

© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

If you enjoy reading this story, you may wish to order WHOA! Are They Glad You’re in Their lives? available on Amazon Kindle and in print edition too. 

  • Kindle Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

  • Print Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

Tweet

Come On. What If?

Come On! What If?

Bootblack

If I were an equestrian,

which I'm not,

or to ride motorcycles,

which I don't,

I would wear knee-high boots

as boon companions,

and care for them myself.

Things are more than things.

The meaning is in me.

To Ponder

            1.   Do you ever find yourself seriously wondering What if?

            2.   It’s certainly not a constant activity for me, but frequently I take the asking

                  as a wake-up call.

            3.   It can put you in other peoples’ shoes, which is great for

                  empathy, but also fires up your imagination.

            4.   Events and outcomes all around us every day show us

                  who we’re not and what we’re not.

            5.   Those certitudes often result from our choices, and

                  that’s fine, but with some give on our part, also may be

                  eye-openers for new action.

            6.   What if the way a woman in the country grooms her

                  horse sparks insights on how you meet a stranger?

            7.   What if a struggling musician in a play teaches you how you trip yourself

                  up?

© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

If you enjoy reading this story, you may wish to order WHOA! Are They Glad You’re in Their lives? available on Amazon Kindle and in print edition too. 

  • Kindle Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

  • Print Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

Tweet

Roll with the Rhythm of Days

Roll with the Rhythm of Days

Abeyance

Near seven in the morning,

before this small town

is fully awake,

I sit alone on a park bench

on a low bluff

overlooking the Pacific. It is

gray and overcast with

a thick marine layer. A

chill wind blows, damp,

yet not misty,

across my face

sporting with my nose. The

surf is brilliant white

against the sullen background

and pounds loud and proud

against its old friends,

the rocks, below.

Here in a worn out blue

jacket with its collar

high and tight, my hair

tousled in vainglorious splendor—

almost matching that of the surf—

I look, look, look . . .

then look. Not today.

To Ponder

            1.   Even on days when our schedules aren’t full or

                  accounted for, we may begin with a sense of

                  expectation.

            2.   Those expectations may be quite specific under certain

                  circumstances, or at others loose, with high feeling or

                  apprehension.

            3.   Looking back on my share of such days and their ranges,

                  I have been elated, merely confirmed without fanfare,

                  and also dashed.

            4.   Eventually, I concluded this was not a good way to live.

            5.   I came to think, “Why not simply wait and see, and

                  suspend the need to predict?

            6.   A researcher’s mandate might be “prediction leads to

                  control, and let the odds be your guide.”

            7.   You might also consider, “Let’s see and let it be.” Less

                  smart, more accepting, leaning toward what seems like

                  the rhythm of life.

© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

If you enjoy reading this story, you may wish to order WHOA! Are They Glad You’re in Their lives? available on Amazon Kindle and in print edition too. 

  • Kindle Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

  • Print Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

Tweet