This poem hit me right in the gut Jeff. It’s beautiful and a bit haunting. I’ve been working my way through a loss of support, the fear of what I don’t know and can’t know and still trying to hold on to my best in the middle of that. Some of it comes from a new beginning, some from old tragedies that keep playing out.
All that to say, thank you for sharing. And enjoy the woods.
My husband and I just returned to Franklin from what was to be a five day getaway during Christmas to the Island of Navy Pier (as we called it) but turned into two weeks because why not “end and start” a year by the lake. I don’t get into all the hoopla of celebrating the New Year because to me it is just another day.
Of course now since we have to recall that our only child/son Graduated to the University of Heaven on 1/3/22 can make the “beginning” of a new year challenging that’s why I have chosen to think of life as a serious of moments. If you talk to my husband he will discuss the difference of how we look at time…
All that to say, I appreciate the glimpses of your moments with us and hope for many joy-filled ones for all of us.
Life and weather are a circle, that have no end or beginning. They are entwined, feeding off of each other. We just try not to get buried by either one. Your writing has taken on a new maturity and honesty and beauty. A person wants to sit for a while and think about it. It is on a new, deep level that one does not want to walk away from so soon.
A Turing machine is a mathematical model of computation describing an abstract machine that manipulates symbols on a strip of tape according to a table of rules. Despite the model's simplicity, it is capable of implementing any computer algorithm, it is an idealized model of a central processing unit (CPU) that controls all data manipulation done by a computer, with the canonical machine using sequential memory to store data. Typically, the sequential memory is represented as a tape of infinite length on which the machine can perform read and write operations . . .
If you have ever noticed when shopping, at the grocer, the gym, the restaurant, or in the common areas of the workplace etc., there is a universal presence of music or television . . . This is because most people are terrified to be alone with their own thoughts and actually afraid of some greater enlightenment and actually desire their memory being programmed as with the aforementioned Turing Machine.
My mathematical theorem that history NEVER repeats itself is contrary to the popular delusions and clichéd commentaries about our reality and often provokes rather fanatical, illogical and esoteric responses resulting from the constant exposure to the sonic radiation we call the media, or more properly, neurolinguistic programming.
History never repeats itself . . . Time is linear, a circle is a line, we use a circular clock to measure time, we used a circular sundial that measures the rotation of the earth before we had the learned machinations of springs and gears, because the earth is not flat . . .
-
. . . If you draw a circle (like a clock) with x=cos(t) and y=sin(t) and pull it evenly in z-direction, you get a spatial spiral called a cylindrical spiral or helix.
-
The idea that history repeats is in itself wholly illogical, but it serves a propaganda purpose to its users . . . meaning . . . you can’t go back to older cultural ways of doing things because that makes you a sinner, a nazi, or some kind of pagan devil.
Wow! I’ve had the same musings. I thought of a poem, but wrote a piece, instead. Letting it sit while I work today. Not sure if I’m ready to publish it or not.
A Day in a Journey is the first I published. The Girl Has to Be Third Person may be the follow up. Reading your poem today evoked many of the same feelings. It must be the weather and time of year to make one reflect.
Very heartfelt 💜 I don’t have words for it, but I feel the warmth of community in your poem, a gentle softness, the beauty of love, a strong hope. There is something powerful and something acknowledging good tremendously special things. There is something steady about the poem, a rhythm maybe? (I guess I did find words for it.)
Hi Jeff, I'll just start off right away by stating that my comments are not related to your poem. I just wanted you to know that I appreciated the write-up you put on the 48 days website as a tribute to Dan Miller. I had looked into getting some direction from the 48 days group but for various reasons it didn't work out. I revisited the site a few weeks ago and saw that Dan was nearing the end of his life. I read the comments with interest. Just the other day when I was on linkedin learning, I saw your name and have since taken your course on writing, and wasn't certain but was fairly sure it had been you to write the fitting tribute to Dan about not endorsing your book (initially at least.) Anyways, kudos again for the write-up and thanks for the linkedin class. I hope I can benefit from it. I (am supposed to) write for a living but find myself extremely frustrated a majority of the time. It's an involved story as to why this is so, perhaps your ideas will help me a little.
Crying and crying reading this, especially the last section about even hope hurting and the flowers having the ground to hold them. Wow. This is so powerful and raw and touching. I can relate to so much you’ve written. Thank you for your vulnerability and helping me feel less alone through my complicated stuff. Much appreciated. 🙏
The line that jumped out most for me was "the way you begin anything—with an ending."
It’s such a provocative line for me because one of the ways I like to approach the start of an essay (the pre-writing bit where I'm feeling all excited about something new) is not as an ending at all, but as a beginning. Or at least I thought it was, but now you've made me think.
To be a bit more specific about it, some of the essays I enjoyed writing in past were when I took, for example, something that winds me up (eg, people playing loud music on their phones on the bus) and then brain-dumped of all the things that I currently feel and know about the topic—and that process pulled me into writing something that I would never have been able to plan to write, if you see what I mean? It felt brand new. Not connected to anything prior.
What's really cool about this idea that everything begins with an ending is that even the things that feel totally fresh and odd and new and emergent might actually always be a breakaway from SOMETHING PRIOR. Like there’s never a neutral place to stand.
It’s giving me a lot of food for thought particularly because I'm currently designing thinking prompts for different stages of the writing process (before, during and after) and if I was to design a thinking prompt for writers based on this line from your poem, it would be something like, “Are you beginning or are you ending?” Super cool!
I'm curious Jeff and others here, do you tend to have an end in mind when you're setting out to write an essay? What about a poem? How much do endings feature in your thinking before, during and after you've written?
Thanks Jeff. I see you. Hope the wisdom of the trees wraps you in wonder if you get lost in the woods. I also struggle with endings and beginnings. To arrive at the beginning or is it the end? Both become like the other. No after or no before. Just Being, breathing and believing that the dawn will arrive again and the rest is limitless. Bless you 🙏❤️
This poem hit me right in the gut Jeff. It’s beautiful and a bit haunting. I’ve been working my way through a loss of support, the fear of what I don’t know and can’t know and still trying to hold on to my best in the middle of that. Some of it comes from a new beginning, some from old tragedies that keep playing out.
All that to say, thank you for sharing. And enjoy the woods.
Truth is,
We never begin anything.
There is only, ever
the Continuation:
Your vulnerability encourages me, my friend. Thank you for sharing the tilled up soil of your experience.
My husband and I just returned to Franklin from what was to be a five day getaway during Christmas to the Island of Navy Pier (as we called it) but turned into two weeks because why not “end and start” a year by the lake. I don’t get into all the hoopla of celebrating the New Year because to me it is just another day.
Of course now since we have to recall that our only child/son Graduated to the University of Heaven on 1/3/22 can make the “beginning” of a new year challenging that’s why I have chosen to think of life as a serious of moments. If you talk to my husband he will discuss the difference of how we look at time…
All that to say, I appreciate the glimpses of your moments with us and hope for many joy-filled ones for all of us.
<3<3<3<3 *hugs to you*
💔
Life and weather are a circle, that have no end or beginning. They are entwined, feeding off of each other. We just try not to get buried by either one. Your writing has taken on a new maturity and honesty and beauty. A person wants to sit for a while and think about it. It is on a new, deep level that one does not want to walk away from so soon.
A Turing machine is a mathematical model of computation describing an abstract machine that manipulates symbols on a strip of tape according to a table of rules. Despite the model's simplicity, it is capable of implementing any computer algorithm, it is an idealized model of a central processing unit (CPU) that controls all data manipulation done by a computer, with the canonical machine using sequential memory to store data. Typically, the sequential memory is represented as a tape of infinite length on which the machine can perform read and write operations . . .
If you have ever noticed when shopping, at the grocer, the gym, the restaurant, or in the common areas of the workplace etc., there is a universal presence of music or television . . . This is because most people are terrified to be alone with their own thoughts and actually afraid of some greater enlightenment and actually desire their memory being programmed as with the aforementioned Turing Machine.
My mathematical theorem that history NEVER repeats itself is contrary to the popular delusions and clichéd commentaries about our reality and often provokes rather fanatical, illogical and esoteric responses resulting from the constant exposure to the sonic radiation we call the media, or more properly, neurolinguistic programming.
History never repeats itself . . . Time is linear, a circle is a line, we use a circular clock to measure time, we used a circular sundial that measures the rotation of the earth before we had the learned machinations of springs and gears, because the earth is not flat . . .
-
. . . If you draw a circle (like a clock) with x=cos(t) and y=sin(t) and pull it evenly in z-direction, you get a spatial spiral called a cylindrical spiral or helix.
-
The idea that history repeats is in itself wholly illogical, but it serves a propaganda purpose to its users . . . meaning . . . you can’t go back to older cultural ways of doing things because that makes you a sinner, a nazi, or some kind of pagan devil.
https://cwspangle.substack.com/i/138320669/if-you-draw-a-circle-with-xcost-and-ysint-and-pull-it-evenly-in-z-direction-you-get-a-spatial-spiral-called-a-cylindrical-spiral-or-helix
Wow! I’ve had the same musings. I thought of a poem, but wrote a piece, instead. Letting it sit while I work today. Not sure if I’m ready to publish it or not.
A Day in a Journey is the first I published. The Girl Has to Be Third Person may be the follow up. Reading your poem today evoked many of the same feelings. It must be the weather and time of year to make one reflect.
Very heartfelt 💜 I don’t have words for it, but I feel the warmth of community in your poem, a gentle softness, the beauty of love, a strong hope. There is something powerful and something acknowledging good tremendously special things. There is something steady about the poem, a rhythm maybe? (I guess I did find words for it.)
Thank you for sharing, and wishing you well!
Mmmm. Beautiful. The absence of that side voice.
A beautiful poem, Jeff :) Thank you
Hi Jeff, I'll just start off right away by stating that my comments are not related to your poem. I just wanted you to know that I appreciated the write-up you put on the 48 days website as a tribute to Dan Miller. I had looked into getting some direction from the 48 days group but for various reasons it didn't work out. I revisited the site a few weeks ago and saw that Dan was nearing the end of his life. I read the comments with interest. Just the other day when I was on linkedin learning, I saw your name and have since taken your course on writing, and wasn't certain but was fairly sure it had been you to write the fitting tribute to Dan about not endorsing your book (initially at least.) Anyways, kudos again for the write-up and thanks for the linkedin class. I hope I can benefit from it. I (am supposed to) write for a living but find myself extremely frustrated a majority of the time. It's an involved story as to why this is so, perhaps your ideas will help me a little.
Crying and crying reading this, especially the last section about even hope hurting and the flowers having the ground to hold them. Wow. This is so powerful and raw and touching. I can relate to so much you’ve written. Thank you for your vulnerability and helping me feel less alone through my complicated stuff. Much appreciated. 🙏
The line that jumped out most for me was "the way you begin anything—with an ending."
It’s such a provocative line for me because one of the ways I like to approach the start of an essay (the pre-writing bit where I'm feeling all excited about something new) is not as an ending at all, but as a beginning. Or at least I thought it was, but now you've made me think.
To be a bit more specific about it, some of the essays I enjoyed writing in past were when I took, for example, something that winds me up (eg, people playing loud music on their phones on the bus) and then brain-dumped of all the things that I currently feel and know about the topic—and that process pulled me into writing something that I would never have been able to plan to write, if you see what I mean? It felt brand new. Not connected to anything prior.
What's really cool about this idea that everything begins with an ending is that even the things that feel totally fresh and odd and new and emergent might actually always be a breakaway from SOMETHING PRIOR. Like there’s never a neutral place to stand.
It’s giving me a lot of food for thought particularly because I'm currently designing thinking prompts for different stages of the writing process (before, during and after) and if I was to design a thinking prompt for writers based on this line from your poem, it would be something like, “Are you beginning or are you ending?” Super cool!
I'm curious Jeff and others here, do you tend to have an end in mind when you're setting out to write an essay? What about a poem? How much do endings feature in your thinking before, during and after you've written?
Thanks Jeff. I see you. Hope the wisdom of the trees wraps you in wonder if you get lost in the woods. I also struggle with endings and beginnings. To arrive at the beginning or is it the end? Both become like the other. No after or no before. Just Being, breathing and believing that the dawn will arrive again and the rest is limitless. Bless you 🙏❤️