To Shh or Not to Shh (that is the question)
Feeling like you can't write what you want to write about whatever you want to write about can be agonizing for a writer. Is there a time to keep your mouth shut and another time to be completely open? And where do you draw the line? Ink-why-ring mineds want to no (or yes).
Be advised - I may respond to comments with more questions.
Why do you want to know?
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Why don't I want to know?
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Yes i feel like i cannot give my opinion or give information so others can make a clear decison on who to vote for. I went to Denver and saw what went on. I know that Hillary will not be able to run in 1012 if Obama is elected. I am just putting creditible information up but I got some real nasty emails. I don't like the way Sarah Palin is being attacked; it is like we are replaying what happened to Hillary all over again. It hurts. I don't think Palin is trying to be Hillary and no one could ever be her but to say the terrible things they are say is just plain wrong. What is wrong with informing people? I am frustrated and hurt. I have never put down anyone for thier views or what they have to say. When I was a little girl I always listened and took with me in my life what has helped me in my life and left the rest behind. What I cannot is all the mean, sexism and vial things that are being said about women. Take Palin for instance; she is running for her merits not just because she is a women and I just wish people would actually read and not just listen to bloggers who are cruel, like the daily kos for instance. Anyways thanks for letting me get this out
Lori
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Thanks for stopping by and sharing, Lori. I'm afraid I don't know enough about Sarah Palin to make an informed decision about her. What about Palin, in your opinion, convinced John McCain to select her as his running mate?
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Shhhh..Quiet...Be still...Thimk...
Meditate and be gracious, kind, funny,
and for god's sake have a good night's sleep.
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What's sleep?
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I don't sleep, I dream.
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"I'd settle for a cup of coffee..."
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but you know what I really need
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I love that song! One of my favorites by R.E.M. - or anyone else. Had the cassette in prison - couldn't believe I found the CD for a dollar when I came home....
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Somehow I already had an idea you love this song.
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Why did you stop writing poetry 10 years ago?
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There are probably (with no exaggeration) a hundred reasons. Why didn't I?
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It seems to me that the question doesn't concern the actual writing so much as it does the revealing of what you've written.... I know that there are things I've written that are unlikely to ever be read aloud, or ever be published; they may never be read by another person, period. And yet, I wrote them, because I wanted to, or needed to. They exist. Your seemingly simple question is anything but. It opens a quagmire of discussion on censorship, particularly the censorship that we, as writers, experience within ourselves. If I am "afraid" that someone else won't "approve" of something that I want to write, they aren't really stopping me-- I am stopping me. Agonizing, yes. Frustrating, yes. But isn't it a writer's duty to be true to his voice? No matter what it is that he wants to say?
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My other thoughts on what you wrote are this...
Why do you write?
What does writing poetry or writing at all do for you?
I know I write to be sane as much as to create something... and on ocassion the purposes merge. I write mostly to know myself, to understand my world... and 90% of what I write will not be seen by anyone but me. And that does not bother me. Because I keep a journal. And when I write there I write uncensored even to myself.
Some of what I do share when I write I sometimes question because I think sometimes I share to much publically on my MySpace page about how I feel about things. But I by no mean share all.
So I ask again... Why do you write?
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More questions!
Why don't I write? That's the easier question.
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you're a different context dj at a birthday party on a beautiful crystal ship from mars
please send prayers for god and more lit candles
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someone might have a temp job for you at a birthday party
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if you are a journalist or freelancer, there is protocol. If you are a poet, self-censorship is a false road littered with agenda. Pragmatism is not a reason for self-censorship either. I tried it... too frustrating. There are landmines, toes can be lost, enemies made, but that is the cost of freedom of and from.
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someone very very good needs help - please send a prayer and pass the word
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word is being spread, the best way we can.
love
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Are we saying prayers for god because god is dying? I don't understand why this is going on and who started it. Don't you know internet comments have nothing to do with real prayers. It's like a bunch of sheep saying "baaahhhhh" praying for something or someone they know nothing about. Is this just another Jesus CRISIS for all the agnostics on the internet or what?
It would be nice to know more about this prayer group. Who are you all anyway? Christians? Buddhists? Taoists? conservatives? atheists? liberals? middle of the road? I guess all of that. LOL (This means love over laughter to me this morning.)
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don't YOU know that internet comments are one THE best ways to reach people, all over the world?
the key to this is trusting the person asking for the prayers. if a friend asks for help in anyway, i will provide the help anyway that i can, even if in the end all i can really do is to help spread the news.
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I have no idea who the person is that I have to trust for asking for these prayers. Perhaps all of you know who this "friend" is and who is needing help.
There are millions of people starving in India today because of the floods and monsoon rains. Hundreds have already died and they need help.
We were lucky in this country that almost nobody died in Hurricane Gustave.
So I thank God for that this morning.
God bless America, everyone says that and yet who is the God they want to bless us? I sincerely hope all your prayers reach this god and that spreading the news on the internet will reach millions to help this one person who needs a candle lit. There are thousands that need the same thing so I ask that everyone pray for help for the billions of people in this world who are being killed by monsoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes. What kind of a god runs this place anyway? And I have a right to be cynical having lived through so much in my long lifetime.
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helen i send vibes for individuals who are friend and to the masses and a lot of asses as well.
i do not believe in god, that does not however mean that i am not spiritual and have nothing to give. when a friend asks that thoughts and prayers be sent to someone, i will comply, even if i don't know who that person is.
love is the key to everything. i am sorry for you of your cynicism has taken you to a place where it engulfs you. not everyone gets a chance at a long lifetime, and you, helen, are not that much older than i am.
spread love with your words, not venom.
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One of the things I love about John's blog is that it is an awesome conversation starter. I'm reading Elana's provocative ideas, questions and challeneges and I love it! I love anyone who can get people talking. So Bravo to John and Elena.
Elena, you asked who are all these people offering prayers and who is the God that answers those prayers? I answered the request for prayers and I love to talk about who I am.
I'm a Roman Catholic, because that's what I was raised to be, I like it and I find validity in it. But, I could have just as easily adopted a number of other religious philosophies. I don't think there is one true religion. I do think we are all praying to the same God. I think He hears us all, but is not as all powerful as He is assumed to be. I don't take the bible literally but I do believe it to be a sacred text, handed down by God, to guide humanity. I believe that it contains universal truths and a great part of being human is the quest for those truths, just as it is part of being human to find self serving interpretations and misinformation. I don't think that it is necessary to believe in God. I believe that it is far more important to be a good person and that certainly can be and has been achieved by non-believers and believers alike. I find validity and value in many of the world's religions.
Why offer a prayer for a stranger? I was watching Barack Obama's acceptance speech last Thursday night and my father in law complained that he is not his brother's keeper as Obama is asking us to be. I disagree. Indeed I am my brother's keeper, even if I have no personal connection to a person, I feel a moral obligation, a responsibility and a sincere desire to see a person through a difficult time, whatever it may be. In this case, all I can offer is my prayer, and in return I reinforce the way of compassion. But that is not enough. Most of us are fortunate enough to be not only capable of compassion, but of action. I can do something for someone today. For this person, I can only offer a prayer. But there are people all around me whom I can take action to smooth their path or ease their pain. I can make a donation to charity, I can spend some time with an elderly neighbor, I can babysit for my sister-in-law during the Jewish holiays. The prayer for a stranger reminds me of this. It reminds me of the way of compassion.
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Thanks, Tara! And welcome home from Mexico! Hope you enjoyed....
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Thank you! Mexico was outrageously hot and outrageously gorgeous. The perfect combination to impose relaxation on even the most subborn Type A personality. It was a true vacation. I found my self in a self destructive cycle this summer and leaving it all and forgetting about it was just the interruption, the disconnect that I needed. Not unlike unplugging the computer and plugging it back in again...
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No one understands better than me that not everyone gets a long lifetime. It's comforting to know that I am not alone in understanding that, Meribeth. You are so right that love is the key to everything. When my sons died, I had a conversation with my priest about their funeral. I recalled Charles and Joseph for him so that he could tell everyone all of the things that I did not have the strength to say. I told him how I used to grab my boys and tell them "You are givers and receivers of love." It was a sweet baby game that we played and it summed up their very short, indescribably important lives. It's worth repeating. "Love is the key to everything." As Mother Theresa said, "We are not capable of doing great things, only small things with great love."
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tara, you speak such great truths. my cousin tony lost both sons, one was 2 and one was just a few months old in an airplane crash many years ago. my younger brother has been gone for 4 years now. my mom went at 60, my dad at 71.
i feel their love all around me and return it to them, even though they are not here in person anymore.
love is truly the key to everything, and its opposite is not hate, it's indifference.
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Oh Meribeth, you are very wise. My Mom always said that "the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference" too. I've had an enemy or two in my time and she showed me how love and hate can even co-exist. A long story. I remember something from a letter to the editor of People magaziine of all things referring to homosexuals, that I always remember in all sorts of contexts. The reader asked, "Is there so much love in the world that we can afford to condemn any of it." I thought you would appreciate that thought.
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Nice to see you back mb...
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Everyone has their reasons for living and being and loving and wanting. Most poets need to express themselves and reveal their inner thoughts but others hold back and have private concerns and keep to themselves. Some can write in a few words, but others write volumes and can't stop with minimalist poetry or prose. Then there is writer's block.
But that really isn't a problem for most bloggers who just write stream of consciousness and words that sometimes flow endlessly on ad infinitum and it ends up with a kind of addictive venting
that may or may not be amusing to read.
It is called "blogorrhea" and just keeps on being shit out on a daily basis. Read Time mag of 8/1 on this...
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Glad to see I'm not the only one in a contrary mood...
We all censor ourselves everyday, in speaking, in writing, even in thinking--I think. I may think about jumping off my balcony but I don't do it. I may even write about it but I don't show the writing to my mother because I know it would hurt her.
Should I write this to you and to the people who read your blog? Probably not. Is it true? What's true? You tell me.
You can write it but it comes down to whether you let others read it. No doubt my family, friends, and lover would be surprised at what I have written about them in my journals but I never plan to let them see that so they are safe from my vitriolic spewing.
But I'll go now and take my shitty mood with me... I doubt I've added anything to this discussion and don't feel at all better for having vomited up this nasty comment... how absolutely pathetic of me to write something which I clearly shouldn't have written at a most inappropriate time... I guess I was wrong.
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My...damed...cat...spilled..coffee..over...my..laptop...just..whem..it..starts..heatimg...up-..over...here...I'm...muzzled...
ideas..for...wet...keyoard.....HELP.....
Hugs,
Suze
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This is to Suzette but it won't get posted until the very end of this blog.
I had my cat spill water on my laptop keyboard and my cursor wouldn't work. What you have to do is let it dry out or take it to a computer expert. I now am using a mouse instead of the touchpad although the touchpad now works. You can lose a lot of stuff if you try to keep using the laptop. Just a warning.
If anyone thinks I am too cynical in my comments, that is ok. I really only want peace, happiness, health and love for everyone in my life and that includes all my friends on My Space. It is just that I wonder about so much that is blogged and does it really affect me or you or anyone?? We all are a part of the universe and whether we believe in god or not doesn't matter in the end since we are ALL mortal.
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My daughter's friend spilled chicken noodle soup on my laptop and my husband went to Best Buy for another one. Best Buy told him to bring in the old one and they sent it back to Toshiba. Toshiba fixed it, no questions asked! There's nothing like sticking it to the man!
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God,I'm..a..dork.
hugs
suze
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I am totally in favor of writing and sharing what you want whenever you want. I think the only exception would be what they call the hollering fire in a crowded building kind of writing, but I would accept that over any sort of censorship. I like to read and hear ideas that I may not agree with or which may make me uncomfortable. If I truly destest something, I just won't read it. We all have our own minds and the ability to accept or reject anything that we hear or read. I think it's good to share differing opinions, it forces on to consider her own position. For example, Lori likes Palin, I don't, but I would be very interested in reading more about her from Lori.
I'm saying prayers for this good person. I often offer up prayers for anyone who is having a hard time. I think it is a very good exercise to spend a bit of time in quiet contemplation of the sorrows that exist for people that we do not know. That has to be the purest form of compassion.
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I don't like writing my thoughts and feelings down very often because when I go back and read what I have written, it sounds so trite and sometimes I feel really ridiculous for having written it.
Basically being a private person I rarely feel the need to express my thoughts and opinions. Although there are times when I cannot keep my big fat mouth shut.. I would rather be silent than be disagreeable and I guess I took it seriously when mom said, "if you can't say something kind, say nothing at all".
I don't mind expressing harsh feelings when it comes to the government et al rude or unfair treatment to others. That is different. But just to express my own personal thoughts, no, it's just not my thing.
I don't mind reading what others think. I find it interesting the way we all interact and express ourselves in varied ways, moods, personalities. People are just amazing and silly and lovable, and vexing...and ain't it all wonderful!!
I so admire people who can express their thoughts in words..like Dianne and JC and Smith. I think it's so powerful to be able to touch someone with one's own words.. it truly amazes me how someone can do that, but for me, I don't do it that well, so I will leave the creativity to the rest of those who can.
I censor myself daily, but I don't necessarily believe in censorship.
Also, it doesn't hurt to send out a little prayer for the universe or any of it's inhabitants whether or not you believe in anything or not. Hopefully it will be a collection of positive thoughts going out into the universe and what's wrong with that?
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Thanks, Susan!
"I censor myself daily, but I don't necessarily believe in censorship." I can relate to so much that you've said. It might seem unreal now, but I've pretty much always been a private person as well. In prison living 24-7 with a bunch of men for 11 years took some of that away. The prison's Ministry of Theatre and Horizon programs, followed by working in retail for City Buddha helped, too. But though I made good friends in those places, I never shared all my feelings with anybody. Same goes for here on the blog. For one thing, I didn't really even start blogging till around May of 2007. It wasn't til December that I shared my real name and why I was in prison. Part of my newfound openness has to do with finding friends who care about and believe in me. Part is that I feel I'm maturing as a writer, becoming more confident. Part of it is the inspiration of folks like Smith who make their lives - the good, bad, and ugly - into art, and somehow that makes more if it good. A large part of it, as I like to say lately, is that I'm tired of writing for only the boxes in my attic. I have literally dozens of boxes of thousands of pages of plays, poetry, journals, letters, stories, et cetera in my attic, and for what? I used to write for myself. I probably still need to write for myself - but I rarely do anymore, for better or worse, if there's no reader involved. Just can't make myself kill trees to fill my attic.... Would rather just live than write and do that. But I feel compelled to write. I think it was Sylvia Plath who said, "I write because there is a voice inside me that won't be silent." Sometimes I feel that if there's nothing to write about, there's nothing to live for. Sartre said you can either live or write about it - but I'm not so sure. Folks like Smith and Lady and some other of my friends seem to demonstrate that you can do both. Writing for an audience instead of just my attic seems to connect the writing to life for me - give me a reason to write, which gives me a reason to live. A self-perpetuating cycle.... Problem is, introducing an audience into the equation can sometimes inhibit my best writing. I think "I don't want this person to take this the wrong way.' Or maybe my wife or mom or somebody else will wish I hadn't written about that. So many things to consider. So much to talk about - and yet throwing rocks into a pond means creating ripples, and I tend to prefer calm to rough water (though conversely, storms sometimes seem to inspire my greatest writing). Anyway, these are just 5 a.m. pre-coffee musings. Some in response to you, some to others, and some only to myself.....
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i won't always volunteer the truth, but will speak it if asked.
except if it causes needless pain and does no good. i won't tell a person their hat is ugly. won't tell a cook their food stinks.
except if it's useless, like telling a bigot they're bigoted, or telling the flat-earthers that time didn't start 6,000 years ago.
and i won't tell a cop with a trucheon and a gun he's a thug for the man. what i would do in this case is try to get away as quickly as possible, or disabling my attacker if not.
ps - hey, thanks for the poem adds in your library. it is fascinating to see what another picks.
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"I am very fond of truth, but not at all of martyrdom." - Voltaire
I'm thrilled to have you in the library, Smith!
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I think people should share as much or as little as they like... as long as it isn't intentionally hurtful to someone else. I think lots of people have interesting things to say whether they have college education or not.. are religious or spiritual or not... whatever.
If something has heart to it or makes me think.. I'm in.
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Ditto, Chris.
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I really do have an Ink-why-ring-mind.
That is why I wonder how "shhh" on a blog answers or asks so many questions and provokes so many comments. Was it the request for prayers for someone good who needs help from friends? I have always felt that god is within and not without us. We are responsible for our own lives and our thoughts and to me the healthiest way to believe in god is to believe in oneself and in the goodness of others. And just to end this (that probably will just provoke more discussion) I'll tell a story. My husband was awaiting open heart surgery in the Cleveland Clinic due for the following Monday morning. However on Saturday night he had an almost fatal heart attack and the surgery was rescheduled for Sunday morning as an emergency life saving operation. They called me and I rushed into Cleveland to find him being prepared for surgery and as they wheeled him into the operating room he said to me this crazy thing: "Bring on the Aztec surgeons."
Sanford was Jewish and I had converted to Judaism when I married him. My father at that time was a pastor is the largest Presbyterian church in Anaheim, California. I called him to tell him and my mother about the impending surgery on that Sunday morning. When my father went to services they sent out a prayer call to all the churches in the area and so I later learned that
while he was in the seven hour surgery 4,000 Presbyterians were praying for his recovery. He was only 47 years old then and lived until he was 64 and finally died of septicemia a result of having complications of diabetes and having to have his leg amputated. Perhaps it was the 4,000 prayers that saved this Jewish man, perhaps it was the excellence of the surgeons but I always think of the power of prayer and would never make light of it since his operation at that time I was told had only been done on about one hundred cases where the open heart surgery was done DURING a heart attack. Please don't think I am an agnostic, or speak in venomous language since I have seen miracles in my lifetime. I cannot help however being a bit cynical when I know that true belief is within and not just words given in comments on the internet asking for prayers for a good person that needs help. Of course everyone would certainly agree to say a prayer, now wouldn't they? Ink-why-ring-minds
always are positive, helpful and caring, aren't YOU or THEY?
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No this has happened before...several times. Whenever John posts a simple blog it aways starts a roaring discussion... and he sits back and enjoys the show.. piping in from time to time like a good moderator.., and lets us enjoy ourselves. I tell you the man is a genius....
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No, sorry, not a genius but a genie. You rub the lamp of Jesus Crisis, aka John B. Burroughs and everybody gets a wish for a comment.
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lol... thank you for keeping the myth alive!
Wow! I'm amazed by all these comments!
Much to digest and meditate upon in them....
I'd like to throw this Gregory Corso quotation out for consideration as well:
"I cried, I would rather my value be true than truth be my value."
Is he right in suggesting that one is preferable to the other?
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And what would Elton John have to say about this?
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I said "genie" NOT Jeannie. LOL
I don't want to play this game for fame no mo' Shhhhh(it). What does sartorial eloquence have to do with anything?
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They're both from the same album as "Dear God."
Michael Salinger (on the clevelandpoetics blog) introduced me to a site called Wordle. I just fed every comment from this particular blog into Wordle, and here's what I got:
Click the image to see it full size.
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i love that on the bottom right it says "someone help many really feel good"
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