In my youth I did my time
Doing strict religious discipline
A whole decade dedicated to mindfulness
And right livelihood.
And in the several decades since I’ve done
All that on and off again, from time to time.
But now my discipline is different
It’s the discipline of do-nothing
The wu wei of effortless action
More like mindlessness
Than effortful mindfulness.
What does it involve? Nothing!
Too simple you say,
And that’s the point exactly!
Like a cloud drifting through an open sky
Neither born nor dying
Simply manifesting
Into something
From nothing.
(9/16/26)
People admire the spotlight,
but they rarely see the mornings that created it.
While the world is still asleep,
every sunrise becomes a silent investment in the future.
Those quiet hours, where no applause exists and no one is watching,
are where discipline is forged and character is built.
Success is not born in moments of glory.
It is born in ordinary mornings,
when you choose purpose over comfort,
vision over excuses.
The alarm at 5 A.M. isn't just asking whether you can wake up.
It is asking who you are becoming.
Every time you rise while others remain comfortable,
you strengthen a version of yourself
that motivation alone could never create.
One day, people will call you lucky, gifted, or extraordinary,
but they will never see the countless mornings that shaped you.
Legends are not made in front of crowds.
They are built in the silence of mornings
that most people never have the courage to face.
The lesson from a father to his son
Are blessings in disguise
For they are guidelines to success
And longevity;
My father taught me many things
He taught me to be firm
While going after what I want
Taught me how to say no without guilt.
My father taught me
How to stay strong and patient
When things don't go my way
According to my plans
I should let go of things
That is out of my control
Teaching me detachment.
My father taught me
To be humble and consistent
When things start going my way
According to my plans
Because discipline and humility
Maintains success.
My father taught me
How to treat everyone
I cross paths with
Because variety is the spice of life
Disparaging another only
Feeds the ego instead of essence
He taught me so many things
I can't mention here
When words are too much it becomes void.
I'm an analyst
a strategist
an execution machine
in a singular mind seen
with memories of being keen
I give something my whole heart
then get it back torn apart
repeat the cycle again
till I'm left with shattered remains
trying my hardest to stay sane
Shouldn’t a vehicle move straight ahead,
unless it makes a U-turn instead?
Why in mine I’m blindly led,
leaving me to burn,
no brakes to halt or learn?
In this moment, I’m a fern
trapped in a sunlit meadow—no return
Even a robot needs to reset
so it can preset.
When I try to slow and reset,
I get haunted by regret,
as if I’m drowning in debt.
I came from a fire-forge,
withholding pressure,
and heat.
It had prepared me.
A path designed, not chosen.
I sipped my soul, tasted only bitterness.
A glance in memory, and there is
no stillness.
A realm that scares me to death.
So I am waking up instead.
Known only by me,
my vow.
For all lights that I shut out,
For every tear — each dropout.
For all bruises, mistaken over years,
every scar that I had caused.
This is my pain and my burden.
Each day, a glance in the eyes,
Making sure to keep warm.
To love the world as it is.
There is a fire stoked deep in the heart,
Abundant in deceit, desperately wicked,
its inferno: a world of sin impart—
Unruly evil, venomous pet.
Nature changed by this inferno of hell,
Untamable friend of the gossiper,
With honeyed words, slander and lies to spell,
The tongue, the tongue, in shouts and whisper.
This talk, this slander, these words that languish,
In pity, in schemes, in curse, in deep water,
Blend not with spring, olives, figs to relish,
Nor with blessings, sweetness, love, and prayer.
So tongue in check, to stumble not in word,
The man, bridled, perfected in the Lord.
You're never too old
to be young
at heart
even Freud was Jung
from the very start
altho' childbirth
is a labour of love
it's all in the swing
of things
and to about-face
child discipline
is strictly a case
of heir conditioning
We don't know where we're going to
"Heaven or hell"
But we know where we're coming from
We know our roots, our very foundation
We don't know what the future holds for us
But we're not the substance of our circumstances.
We don't know how long
But we know it is certain
Because change occurs anytime
It's not very fast, but it's steady
Because what comes faster, goes sooner
What comes slowly, stays longer.
We don't know how big it is
But we know it can never be small
Because we've never played the mediocre
Never settle for anything if not the best
What it takes to do big, is also what it takes to do small
Discipline and determination makes the difference.
P – Peace of mind, piece by piece,
E - Emanates from heaven without cease.
A – Amity with God occurs over time.
C - Commitment to Christ,
E - Emmanuel, a life sacrificed.
O – Obedience required as God sayeth.
F – Forgiveness, received through faith.
M – Mercy and grace – God will bestow.
I - Integrity (truth) comes with trust.
N – Needless worries at an all-time low;
D – Discipline yields peace without crust.
You mine the gold, yet live in chains,
Trade your soul for shallow gains.
Your hunger rules, your mind is weak,
And freedom’s price you never seek.
You waste your fire chasing flesh,
While others build and carve the flesh.
Your leaders dance with foreign hands,
Selling off your sacred lands.
Discipline, black man, is the key—
Not guns, not gods, but mastery.
Unite, arise, let cowards drown,
Or wear the beggar’s broken crown.
No one will save this motherland—
It lies in your own calloused hand.
The Look Is Fast As The Speed of Light
I got the look!
Instantaneous…eyes snap sidewise faster than the speed of light…
Freeze tag pinned in place…
Duh da da duh… I'm in trouble, blown something…
No question… no room for doubt… Yet not really…
Dad's unique cue… falling in between traditional parenting cracks… Straddling between discipline and time to nip this one in the bud…
That I can't believe _____ (fill in the blank) … I'm annoyed… to… well.. fits almost any category
A genetic predisposition… or inheritance?
Who cares? I got it! It's mine!
The girls got the look…
Doug. He's more than a worthy mention. Countless outcries… Don't give me the look!
Too late, once you said “don't” ….it's fait accompli!
Sherry Barton
May 10, 2024
It's quiet yet loud
It's righteous, not proud.
It's not weak but strong
It carries you the day-long
It's unpretentious; it just is.
It stoically says, "No fooling around; let's get to the 'Biz.'
There will be no applause
But it's okay because it's all about the cause
That solemn voice wakes you up early when you would rather press snooze.
Then it guides you to a cold shower because mediocrity you did not choose.
It sternly tells you to skip the night out with the girls or the boys.
Then it says, "Go prepare for the good things on the horizon and forget the toys."
When that favorite outfit no longer looks good on you or fits like it used to
It commands you to drink more water and skip dessert and a meal or two
It pulls you back between the lines when you veer off a bit
It tells you to stay on the road and avoid the immobilizing pits
It's that whisper that says, "Keep going."
Even when you don't feel like it, it says, "Get on stage and keep showing."
Silence mourning, you who've borne no children;
mute derision and bear it no longer.
Beg not for mercy if you are barren
for barreness may prove you the stronger.
Your fruit lies in the way which you conquer
scorn - apparent un-productivity.
Another's offspring - your proclivity.
Teach them truths which bearers fail to mention;
teach self-discipline as necessity.
Deliver well, mothers of invention.
Discipline is doing what you hate like you love it
Asking for more when you are past the point of quit
The dying of an old spirit to let a new one in
Forcing progression with a bittersweet grin
Just when it seems completely futile
When all you can feel seems abysmal
That is autophagy taking over
Out will come thyself leaner
Stripped of detritus
No longer a novice
Where beauty nests in routine,
Where passion and order dance as equals,
Where every small choice
Creates the geometry of a life well-lived.
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