Together/Alone

You know me but you don't know me.  You've passed me on the street, sat beside me in church, checked out at the cash register ahead of me, and followed behind me in your car.  I could be you; but, I'm me.

I'm your friend, your co-worker, your mother, and your friend.  You've seen me on TV; you've read about me in the newspapers.  I've gone to school with you, danced with you, loved you, and hated you.  You've envied me, scorned me, laughed with me, listened to me, and preached to me.  We've bathed together, swam together, and been baptized together.

We've supported each other, taken from each other, appreciated each other, mourned together, and we were born together; but in all this, you have not really known me even though all along the way I've been the same as you.  And all that time I have not known you either.

When you look at me you think, "Now there goes a person who's handling this life; a person who takes care of business, who handles their responsibilities, who looks put together -- hair done, nails done, clothes just right."  You think I eat the right foods, and say the right words at the right time.  I'm together, all right, on top, accomplishing, completing, and following through.  I've been there, done that, and done it well.

That's what you think.  That's what you see, hear, feel, Right?  Wrong!

I'm you, but I'm me.  I'm uptight, out of sight -- as Shakespeare says... a play actor on the stage of life -- just like you.  I have panic attacks, anxiety attacks, my pulse quickens, my adrenaline goes into overdrive putting my heart in 10th gear -- I'm going 200mph on the inside while my smile and demeanor are going 20mph on the outside.  You can't see the whirling dervish inside of me, spinning out of control with no brakes to apply.

There all of us are perpetuating the myth -- spinning tops in pools of liquid calm -- calm face to the world, wild face to the heavens.

STOP...take a deep breath...breathe out a true calm breath.  Look around; stop and really look around.  All of us are getting up each morning at base camp; strapping on our gear, and climbing our Mount Everests everyday - we think alone - but alone, we are together.

Let's link hands and hearts and minds to tackle these mountain ranges together.  Onward and upward.  On the other side lies the beach, the rippling waves, and the warm sand.  And let us do this with the sure knowledge that even though we are all different, we are all still the same.

The Beginning

O.K. I am attempting to enter the world of blogging.  Today is the day.  NOW is a good time.  The aim is to create a forum for my poetry.  Poems that have been on paper and in my mind for umpteen years.