Friday Fun: Bizarro

This was from last Sunday but I just saw it and it made me laugh. Bizarro cracks me up. Go visit. Sign up for the blog.

And a big THANK YOU to Dan Piraro for cheering me up when I was feeling grumpy. You never know when you're going to be or do just what a person needs.

Now, what I need is a bouncy house -- and I'm betting I can find one. Happy weekend!

It is impossible to say just what I mean

After all these years of blogging, I don't believe I've shared one of my favorite poems with you -- The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot.

There are lines and stanzas in this poem so beautiful that they immediately embedded themselves in my memory, and come to mind unbidden now and then. Just happened, so I'm sharing:

And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
     "That is not it at all,
     That is not what I meant, at all."

You can read the entire beautiful poem here.

Creativity Exercise: Memorial Day Pondering

Here's something to think about today:
How would you like to be remembered?
Got it? Good.
Now, what are you doing to make it happen?

Creativity Exercise: You Have a Dream

You have a dream -- and NPR wants to hear about it! Here's info straight from NPR's Facebook page:

This summer is the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Michel Martin of NPR's Tell Me More wants to know about YOUR dream today – for the world, your family, or yourself.

Email tellmemore@npr.org, and describe for us the speech you would give.

Be sure to include your name and contact information and we might feature you and your speech on the air for a special summer series leading up to the big anniversary.

You do have a dream, right? Remember the old song lyrics: You gotta have a dream, if you don't have a dream, how are you gonna have a dream come true?

Creativity Tips: Meander

Did you miss me? Tom and I spent the last week in Miami, with a one-day jaunt to Key West. Very fun. Very relaxing. We were right on the beach, and it was gorgeous.

Every morning, I went out for a power walk on the beach. Great exercise. Of course, I was disappointed that there weren't more shells, but I found a few shells and some coral, and I played:

I made a flower. Pretty, no?

Finally, near the end of the week, I decided to meander down the beach. And you know what? When I slowed down, I saw all the teeny-tiny beautiful shells I was missing.

Let's say the wine glass is there for perspective.
Yeah. That works.

I enjoyed the power walks -- I really did. But I am glad that while we were still there, I took the time to slow down and look down. There is so much beauty in the world, just waiting to be seen. I hope you see it. I hope you meander.