I am pleased to announced that my haiku collection, Haiku Ponderings, is now available in paperback via Amazon’s print-on-demand service. The paperback version can be purchased via Amazon.com in the following countries:
The ebook version is also available on Amazon and other retailers including Apple Books, Kobo, and more. Scroll down (or follow this link) to choose your favorite retailer and download your copy today.
As a remember, the ebook version is discounted for $0.99 (USD) for the entire month of April to celebrate National Poetry Month. Happy reading!
Haiku Ponderings
A Haiku Collection for Pondering Life
My haiku poetry collection is available as an ebook on 10+ retailers worldwide!
This collection contains over 100 haiku and 5 mini essays focused on Mindfulness, Gratitude, Compassion, Love & Loss, and Give & Forgive. If you listened to the first season to The Haiku Pond podcast, then some of these haiku will sound familiar. I used the same themes for both the ebook and the podcast. More details here.
Currently available on the following retailers: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Scribd, and more!
NOTE: This ebook is also available for check out in U.S. libraries using apps such as OverDrive and Biblioteca. Ask your local librarian how to sign-up.
Follow the link below to download your copy today!
A place to ponder life through haiku. Through this podcast we’ll explore how haiku can help us live more meaningful lives today; how to stay mindful in a fast-paced and chaotic world, appreciate the simple things, and practice compassion.
Each episode focuses on a theme with haiku submitted by poets of all levels from around the world. Let’s dive into the pond!
I still remember where I was when I wrote the haiku. I was staying in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in early 2020. The two-story, multi-family home was located in a suburb on the Northern side of the city and I was staying in one of the upstairs rooms rented out to travelers via AirBnB.
While staying there each morning I would wake up early (between 5am and 6am local time) and go for a morning walk. This being my usual wake up time (yes, I’m an early bird) and the coolest part of the day (I was in Malaysia after all) was the optimal time for a walk.
Most mornings it was just I who wondered through the quiet neighborhood (aside from the birds fluttering from tree to tree), just beginning to be lit by the morning sun. One side of the neighborhood brushed up against a highway. When I started my walk the highway was quiet, but when I finished my walk it was buzzing with morning commuters.
During these silent solo walks, before the commuters bustled out of their homes, there’s a certain kind of silence that you don’t hear during other parts of the day. It’s different from the silence of the evening or the midnight hours. It has a peaceful serenity wrapped up in it as well as unlimited potential. This silence screams of all the possibilities the day can bring.
These morning walks were often part of my morning routine which usually involved yoga, meditation, a workout, and—of course—writing. It was in this morning silence where I felt I had the freedom (and the space) for my mind to expand. Expand into new, unexplored realities. Expand into new, unthought of reflections. Expand into old memories.
Sometimes I would bring a small notebook with me to write down ideas, poems, or haiku that came to me during these walks. Other times I would write these down after I returned from my walk—while I enjoyed my breakfast and morning tea.
I have to admit I miss these mornings. I have now moved away from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (sadly, the pandemic cut my trip short) and my current occupation does not allow for such a leisurely start to the day, but I am eternally grateful I had the opportunity to visit and gain new insights about myself and the world. All because I took the time to engage in these morning solo walks of silence.
To this day, walks (especially in nature) are an important part of my creative process and my overall well-being. Each time I go for a walk I do my best to be present and listen carefully. I never know what I might hear from the silence.
A question for you to ponder
What do you hear in silent moments? What do they teach you about yourself or the world?
Share your answer in the comments below.
Book Promo for National Poetry Month
Haiku Ponderings
The featured haiku in this post is from my haiku collection, Haiku Ponderings. This collection features over 100 haiku centered around the themes of Mindfulness, Compassion, Gratitude, Love & Loss, and Give & Forgive.
In celebration of (U.S.) National Poetry Month, my collection is discounted for a promotion price of $0.99 from Fri April 1, 2022 to Sat April 30, 2022 on the following retailers. Follow the link below to download your copy today!
If you’re enjoying this blog series celebrating National Poetry Month and want to read the other posts in the series click here.
Blog Post Updates
Never miss a blog post! Sign-up for email updates below and you’ll get an immediate email when I post new stuff. Unsubscribe at anytime.
Note: This is different from my free Nanfito Space Newsletter, sent out monthly, which features updates about my current writing projects, books releases, podcasts, and more.
Walking in the field A dragonlfy hovers near And the grass whispers
Pondering This Haiku
Have you ever listened to the grass? What did it tell you?
When I go for a nature walk and immerse myself in the greenery and listen to the wisdom of nature, a calmness washes over me that’s best described by the word serenity.
In this state, my problems—indeed the world’s problems—drift away. Nature reminds me there’s more to be gained in the present moment than what can be gleaned from dreaming (or dreading) about potential futures.
This practice—both nature walks and writing haiku—has helped remind me of the importance of being mindful.
If I wasn’t mindful, would I have heard the humming of the dragonfly? Would I have heard the whispers of the grass? Would I have heard the wisdom bestowed upon me by nature? Probably not.
A Question for You to Ponder
What wisdom have you learned from listening to nature?
Share your answer in the comments below.
Book Promo for National Poetry Month
Haiku Ponderings
The featured haiku in this post is from my haiku collection, Haiku Ponderings. This collection features over 100 haiku centered around the themes of Mindfulness, Compassion, Gratitude, Love & Loss, and Give & Forgive.
In celebration of (U.S.) National Poetry Month, my collection is discounted for a promotion price of $0.99 from Fri April 1, 2022 to Sat April 30, 2022 on the following retailers. Follow the link below to download your copy today!
If you’re enjoying this blog series celebrating National Poetry Month and want to read the other posts in the series click here.
Blog Post Updates
Never miss a blog post! Sign-up for email updates below and you’ll get an immediate email when I post new stuff. Unsubscribe at anytime.
Note: This is different from my free Nanfito Space Newsletter, sent out monthly, which features updates about my current writing projects, books releases, podcasts, and more.
Throughout the month of April, I’ll be sharing blog posts that feature haiku from my poetry collection, Haiku Ponderings to celebrate National Poetry Month.
Further, for the entire month of April, my ebook is discounted for a promotion price of $0.99 (USD) to celebrate National Poetry Month. Click here to choose your favorite retailer and download your copy today.
To start off the celebrations, below you can read an excerpt from the Introduction of my haiku collection. Happy reading!
Haiku Ponderings: Introduction
During the year of 2020, writing haiku each day helped me stay grounded in a world that seemed to be falling apart. It gave me a moment to be present and think about what I value, what is important to me, and how to give back to others. It is amazing what can be revealed to you in seventeen syllables. As much as I wanted the world to calm down and go back to the calmness that came before, haiku gave me an anchor to hold onto and ride out the waves.
In the universe we inhabit, the laws of physics forbid me from changing my temporal position—other than permanently forward—in the space-time continuum (as much as it would be interesting to do so). It leaves me trapped here in the present moment, yet I do not always exist here. Often, I find myself thinking about the future and what is to come. It is one of the many reasons I love reading and writing future-based science fiction. Yet, I have often caught myself dwelling and reliving events of the past too—both joyful and melancholy moments. But the truth is, I—like all other creatures on this planet—am a being of the present moment. Trapped in the here and now by the laws of the universe. Slowly moving forward toward the unknowable future.
However, being trapped in the present is not such a terrible thing. Through writing haiku, I have learned what counts most of all is the present moment. The moment of here and now. Since we are forever trapped here—and we never get a redo—we must appreciate the current moment and give more attention to it. That is, we must make the most of it.
In writing the haiku for this book, I have attempted to capture the energy of these priceless moments that are experienced only once, but get to be relived again and again in memoriam. I hope they inspire you to appreciate each and every moment you experience and to be more present with everything that exists around you.
Enclosed within the book, you will find over one hundred haiku and five mini essays—or ponderings—focused on the topics of Mindfulness, Compassion, Gratitude, Love & Loss, and Give & Forgive. At the end of each chapter I have left questions for you to ponder. There is no obligation for you to answer them, unless you want to. Their purpose is to offer you a moment of self-reflection as you think about your own life and how to live it with more mindfulness, compassion, and gratitude. In that spirit, here is the first haiku:
Stuck in the present Forever moving forward We live in the now
A Question for You to Ponder
How do you think about time? Are you an object of time’s whims? Or do you move and flow throughout time?
Leave a comment below to share your thoughts.
Book Promo for National Poetry Month
Haiku Ponderings
The featured haiku in this post is from my haiku collection, Haiku Ponderings. This collection features over 100 haiku centered around the themes of Mindfulness, Compassion, Gratitude, Love & Loss, and Give & Forgive.
In celebration of (U.S.) National Poetry Month, my collection is discounted for a promotion price of $0.99 from Fri April 1, 2022 to Sat April 30, 2022 on the following retailers. Follow the link below to download your copy today!
If you’re enjoying this blog series celebrating National Poetry Month and want to read the other posts in the series click here.
Blog Post Updates
Never miss a blog post! Sign-up for email updates below and you’ll get an immediate email when I post new stuff. Unsubscribe at anytime.
Note: This is different from my free Nanfito Space Newsletter, sent out monthly, which features updates about my current writing projects, books releases, podcasts, and more.
UPDATE: Haiku Ponderings is now available in paperback in 10 countries via Amazon print-on-demand. See this blog post for more details. (NOTE: Book promo price only applies to ebook links below.)
In celebration of (U.S.) National Poetry month my haiku collection, Haiku Ponderings, is discounted for a promotion price of $0.99 from Fri April 1, 2022 to Sat April 30, 2022 on the following retailers:
Haiku Ponderings: A Haiku Collection for Pondering Life
This collection contains over 100 haiku and 5 mini essays focused on Mindfulness, Gratitude, Compassion, Love & Loss, and Give & Forgive. If you’ve been listening to The Haiku Pond podcast, then these probably sound familiar to you. I used the same themes in the podcast and the ebook.
If you’re interested in hearing more haiku, check out my podcast The Haiku Pond featuring haiku written by myself and others. You can find episodes for Season 1 and 2 on the archive page or wherever you get your podcasts:
Never miss a blog post! Sign-up for email updates below and you’ll get an immediate email when I post new stuff. Unsubscribe at anytime.
Note: This is different from my free Nanfito Space Newsletter, sent out monthly, which features updates about my current writing projects, books releases, podcasts, and more.
The final episode of Season 2 of The Haiku Pond has been posted and that’s all for now, folks. I’ll be taking a break from this project to focus on some other writing projects. Keep an eye on my blog and the Pond’s mailing list for updates.
If you’ve missed any episodes you can find them on the Episode Archive page or wherever you get your podcasts:
A big thank you to all the poets who contributed to the podcast. It was an honor to read your poems and have them featured on the podcast. Without I’d just be ranting into my pillow fort recording studio so I greatly appreciate you lending your poems to the chorus of voices that is The Haiku Pond.
In the meantime, I encourage you to subscribe to the podcast’s mailing list (NOTE: this is a separate mailing list than the newsletter for my writing projects) and follow the podcast on Twitter to get updates about future episodes.
Support My Work
Creators like me work hard to create content you love, but in order to continue creating content we need support from followers like you! Buy Me a Coffee to show your support.
By making a contribution, you can support me to make stories that matter and you enjoy and worry less about how I’m going to keep the power on. Contributions can be one-time, monthly, or yearly.
You can support me on my Buy Me a Coffee page, send money directly to me via PayPal, or purchasing me a book from my Amazon Wishlist. I do what I do because I love it, but it’s gratifying beyond measure to receive support from fans. Thanks for your support.
Nanfito Space is a VIP monthly newsletter sent to my readers and fans. As a subscriber of the Nanfito Space newsletter, you’ll get:
Updates on my current works-in-progress
Previews of stories and bonus short-stories
Links to my latest podcast episodes
News about my upcoming book releases
All of this conveniently delivered directly to your inbox.When you join, I’ll send you a FREE gift: the prequel short story2051: Initiative. Learn about how the virtual reality in my debut novel,2149 Emergence, began.
If you liked what you heard, share it with a friend. Thanks for listening. See you on your next visit to the pond.
My Haiku & Reflections
Screams and cries echo Baby wrapped in a bundle A small start of life
We humans all start our life the same: small. Yet, we have the ability to grow into so many different individuals. Granted, some outcomes are dependent on where you are born and what gender you are assigned at birth.
Regardless, there are those who transcend these outcomes and expectations. As the world continues to grow, develop, and progress toward a better state of being we are seeing countless examples of how all humans are the same and capable of amazing things; particularly overcoming great adversity.
The past two years of dealing with a global pandemic have been a once in a lifetime experience for all of us. It’s one of the few events — in the history of humanity — that we humans have felt collectively. It’s something we shared with each other across screens, tweets, and podcasts.
We all had our pandemic project. This one was mine. I started it as an experiment to try out a podcast, share haiku with others, and promote my haiku collection. I tried my best not to have any expectations for what would come out of it. Thankfully, I was both humbled and surprised by what came out of it.
I wasn’t expecting so many people to listen to the podcast. As of this recording (Dec 10, 2021), there have been 724 total listens or downloads with each episode getting an average of 30 listens or downloads in over 17 different countries around the globe.
I am eternally humbled and gratified by this. I can tell you I had plenty of self-defeating thoughts during the making of both seasons of this podcast. I kept thinking, “No one wants to hear about haiku or hear me dither about my random philosophies on life.” But apparently you do and I’m grateful that you came to the Pond to listen.
That was how this “small bundle” of a podcast started and like so many things in life, I’m not sure where it’s going in the future. Personally, I’m about to make some big life changes — moving back to the States and starting a new career. I’m not sure how or when I’ll be able to make more episodes.
For now, I will leave it as it is and take a break. All of the episodes will continue to be available wherever you’ve listened to them. I’ve also created a playlist of them on my YouTube channel. Visit thehaikupond.com to learn where to listen.
This isn’t so much an ending as it is a beginning. With each door that closes, a new one opens. With each new birth, a new life begins with endless possibilities. That is the lesson I take from this haiku.
I’ll be setting this project aside to work on a new beginning for myself, but when I revive it at a later date I’d love to have you along for the next journey. I encourage you to sign up for the mailing list at haikupond.ck.page or follow podcast on Twitter @TheHaikuPond. Those places, along with my website, will be where future updates can be found.
Thank you so much for listening. And a very special thank you to all of the poets who contributed to this project — both in Season 1 and Season 2. It’s been a humbling journey filled with gratitude and I hope the same for you.
Featured Haiku & Poets
From Melody Wang on TW & IG as MelodyOfMusings: to nurture dim light to comfort fragile seedlings, what thing(s) must you drown?
From Foal Poetry on IG as foalpoetry: Life enters the world In the same building it leaves Always occurring
From Mark Hitri on TW as HitriMark & on IG as the_cellopoet: it takes tragedy for us to begin to see the error of our ways
From Michele Wong on TW as meaning_filled: songbirds in her mouth feed piquant plums to my heart sweet autumn love notes
From Christina Chin at haikuzyg.blogspot.com: cry of a fawn strayed from the doe summer mountain
From Charissa Hooyman on TW as CharissaHooyman: Life is a journey Today is your wedding day Your new life begins
From Haiku Nocturnal on Twitter as HaikuNocturnal: Dawn cracks violet, Darkness shrinks back to shadows; Mist starts to dissolve
From huwanahoy on IG & TW as huwanahoy: There is no more spark Must be the end for that match Go light another
From Mona Bedi: bus ride the way my eyes lock with a stranger’s
From Zahra Mughis on TW as ZahraScribbles & IG as instalogbyzahra: the reds of grating carrots first snow
Stay Connected
Subscribe to the pond’s newsletter for updates about upcoming episodes, themes, and more. Join today at http://haikupond.ck.page.
Creators like me work hard to create content you love, but in order to continue creating content we need support from followers like you! Buy Me a Coffee to show your support.
By making a contribution, you can support me to make stories that matter and you enjoy and worry less about how I’m going to keep the power on. Contributions can be one-time, monthly, or yearly.
You can support me on my Buy Me a Coffee page, send money directly to me via PayPal, or purchasing me a book from my Amazon Wishlist. I do what I do because I love it, but it’s gratifying beyond measure to receive support from fans. Thanks for your support.
Nanfito Space is a VIP monthly newsletter sent to my readers and fans. As a subscriber of the Nanfito Space newsletter, you’ll get:
Updates on my current works-in-progress
Previews of stories and bonus short-stories
Links to my latest podcast episodes
News about my upcoming book releases
All of this conveniently delivered directly to your inbox.When you join, I’ll send you a FREE gift: the prequel short story2051: Initiative. Learn about how the virtual reality in my debut novel,2149 Emergence, began.
If you liked what you heard, share it with a friend. Thanks for listening. See you on your next visit to the pond.
My Haiku & Reflections
Seasons of life pass Transitions get easier — When lessons are learned
When most people think of seasons, I’m guessing their mind goes first to the seasons of the weather. But I also think about the seasons of life. A season for each stage of life; adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and elder adulthood.
The transition between these stages is slow and gradual over time. Similar to the seasons of the weather. From Winter to Spring, the temperature gradually warms over time and before you know it Summer is here.
A child is born and gradually grows over time, developing both physically and mentally as the years go by, and before you know it that child is now an adult.
Some might say these seasons of life don’t repeat themselves, like the seasons of the weather, however I think they do. As humans it’s quite easy for us to step back into an earlier stage or sometimes step forward into a future stage.
Imagine a parent who learns their own child is to be a parent. The grandparent can vicariously live out the stages of infancy, early childhood, and adolescence through their grandchild.
Of course, you don’t have to be a parent or grandparent to re-experience these early stages of life. They can be activated by engaging in play, fun, and learning — the same activities we so easily engaged in as children, but struggle with as adults.
Or there’s the alternative. We’ve all faced the circumstances of life where we must act older than we are, be more responsible than expected of ourselves.
And through all this, what amazes me the most, is the flexibility and adaptability we humans have in navigating through, in, and around these seasons of life. By no means is that flexibility and adaptability always easy, but people do it. Every. Single. Day. It’s quite fantastic.
As we navigate through these seasons we pick up lessons. When that first cold day of winter begins, we remember to grab a coat the next. Or when that first light of summer stings the skin, we remember to wear a hat and grab our sunglasses.
As we navigate the seasons of life, we pick up lessons too. We learn to better cope with the unpredictable circumstances of life. And this is the lesson I take from this haiku. What are the lessons you’ve learned as you’ve navigated the seasons of life?
Share your thoughts by sending an email to thehaikupond (at) gmail (dot) com.
Featured Haiku & Poets
From Melody Wang on TW & IG as MelodyOfMusings: slight wind shakes the oak, insistent invitation nearly forgotten
From Foal Poetry on IG as foalpoetry: Leaves change, weather cools Mind stuck in the summertime Pandemic time warp
From Linda M. Crate on Twitter as thysilverdoe & on IG as authorlindamcrate: as a flower dies white diamonds falling heavy winter is cruel.
From Mark Hitri on TW as HitriMark & on IG as the_cellopoet: autumn leaf falling catches one last ray of sun earth, tree, sky are one
From Michele Wong on TW as meaning_filled: winter air is a book of winds; breathe, take in each snowfall hum of earth
From Charlotte Reynolds on twitter as violetvicinity: summer rain the wedding party crashed by snails
From Christina Chin at haikuzyg.blogspot.com: how delightful the perky pansies nod in spring wind
From Ryan Gibbs on Twitter as RyanGibbsWriter: warmed by maiden love the forbidding ice troll melts back into a prince
From Charissa Hooyman on TW as CharissaHooyman: Summer equinox The days are growing shorter With each passing day
From Haiku Nocturnal on Twitter as HaikuNocturnal: Leaves drooping, dying; Last of the energy used To flower the bud
From Mallory Rowe on IG as malloryroweauthor: Autumn wind escorts A funeral procession Of dead leaves past me
From Kati Mohr on IG as pi.and.anne: on the path as we stand still a purple mushroom
From Lisbeth Ho on Facebook as Elisabeth Holidaya: smell of cinnamon from grandma’s kitchen autumn’s delight
From Mona Bedi: autumn night more stars than leaves forest walk
From Zahra Mughis on TW as ZahraScribbles & IG as instalogbyzahra: playing with the wind her curly red hair another leaf flies by
From David Thorndale on IG as davidthorndale: a perfect birthday — the flavor of autumn wind in a slice of cake
Stay Connected
Subscribe to the pond’s newsletter for updates about upcoming episodes, themes, and more. Join today at http://haikupond.ck.page.
Creators like me work hard to create content you love, but in order to continue creating content we need support from followers like you! Buy Me a Coffee to show your support.
By making a contribution, you can support me to make stories that matter and you enjoy and worry less about how I’m going to keep the power on. Contributions can be one-time, monthly, or yearly.
You can support me on my Buy Me a Coffee page, send money directly to me via PayPal, or purchasing me a book from my Amazon Wishlist. I do what I do because I love it, but it’s gratifying beyond measure to receive support from fans. Thanks for your support.
Nanfito Space is a VIP monthly newsletter sent to my readers and fans. As a subscriber of the Nanfito Space newsletter, you’ll get:
Updates on my current works-in-progress
Previews of stories and bonus short-stories
Links to my latest podcast episodes
News about my upcoming book releases
All of this conveniently delivered directly to your inbox.When you join, I’ll send you a FREE gift: the prequel short story2051: Initiative. Learn about how the virtual reality in my debut novel,2149 Emergence, began.
If you liked what you heard, share it with a friend. Thanks for listening. See you on your next visit to the pond.
My Haiku & Reflections
A mark placed upon thee So all may know your blemish Visible justice
In ancient Greece, a stigma was a literal mark — either burned or tattooed — on the skin to mark those who were slaves, criminals, or traitors.
Today, few may practice this physical marking of a stigma, but a non-physical, metaphorical practice still happens.
Both are the act of something being placed upon you from an external source with the intention of carrying out justice. The goal is to right a wrong, but the opposite is true: a wrong is created.
It’s not the visible justice we think it is. Quite the opposite. It’s an invisible injustice that only leaves our fellow humans in vulnerable positions. And when one of us is vulnerable, all of us are vulnerable.
Stigmatizing others is a form of human tribalism. In our modern world where we know and understand the human psyche better than our ancestors, this tactic does not serve the interests of the victim nor that of the perpetrator.
We are communal creatures that rely on each other to survive. We have to remember it is our compassion and cooperation that will help build a stable society, not stigmatization. This seems more crucial now more than ever because of the global reach of our society; we’re not only affecting our own stability but that of the entire planet’s ecosystem. We must — and we can — do better.
That’s the lesson I take from this haiku. What lessons have you learned from stigma? As always, you can send your thoughts to thehaikupond (at) gmail (dot) com.
Featured Haiku & Poets
From Melody Wang on TW & IG as MelodyOfMusings: discharged from the ward, I view the world with new eyes seeking what I’ve lost
From Linda M. Crate on Twitter as thysilverdoe & on IG as authorlindamcrate: when shamed for something you cannot control or stop becomes exhausting.
From Mark Hitri on TW as HitriMark & on IG as the_cellopoet: one day I will break but before that day arrives I will get stronger
From Charissa Hooyman on TW as CharissaHooyman: Hate causes some lies Wanting to destroy others Characters ruined
From Haiku Nocturnal on Twitter as HaikuNocturnal: Prohibited love; How can people be against Two happy people?
From Mona Bedi: gerascophobia the facial fillers fail to help
Stay Connected
Subscribe to the pond’s newsletter for updates about upcoming episodes, themes, and more. Join today at http://haikupond.ck.page.
Creators like me work hard to create content you love, but in order to continue creating content we need support from followers like you! Buy Me a Coffee to show your support.
By making a contribution, you can support me to make stories that matter and you enjoy and worry less about how I’m going to keep the power on. Contributions can be one-time, monthly, or yearly.
You can support me on my Buy Me a Coffee page, send money directly to me via PayPal, or purchasing me a book from my Amazon Wishlist. I do what I do because I love it, but it’s gratifying beyond measure to receive support from fans. Thanks for your support.
Nanfito Space is a VIP monthly newsletter sent to my readers and fans. As a subscriber of the Nanfito Space newsletter, you’ll get:
Updates on my current works-in-progress
Previews of stories and bonus short-stories
Links to my latest podcast episodes
News about my upcoming book releases
All of this conveniently delivered directly to your inbox.When you join, I’ll send you a FREE gift: the prequel short story2051: Initiative. Learn about how the virtual reality in my debut novel,2149 Emergence, began.
If you liked what you heard, share it with a friend. Thanks for listening. See you on your next visit to the pond.
My Haiku & Reflections
I want to be me You tell me that I cannot I hide in darkness
To feel shame is to feel guilt or impropriety about something we said or did. We learn this from signals sent to us by others, either through their own actions or words.
In some instances, this can be a good thing. For example, if you say something hurtful to someone else and then you’re admonished, or made to feel shame about it, the hope is that you’ll not repeat the same error.
However, like so many things we humans do, this can act like a double-edged sword and can act against our best interests. We can be shamed for things we have no control over, like the family or place we were born into, or for simply choosing to be our true, authentic self.
And when this happens we often choose to hide in darkness, first as a means of protection, but it eventually evolves into a prison — a prison of our own making, the worst kind. Breaking out of this prison is hard, but not impossible. And it starts in the very darkness where we’re trapped.
In that dark place, like in any place, we have to be mindful. Mindful of what we’re feeling and how we’re thinking. When we’re mindful we can then adjust the course of our well-being, particularly that of our inner world.
Shame can be useful just as it can be harmful. Only when we’re mindful can we discern the difference. In that mindful state, we can ask ourselves how this is serving us? Or what it is telling us?
All emotions — regardless of how you categorize them, positive or negative — are information. It is the information our brain is providing to us and we have to use it accordingly.
More precisely, our emotions, thoughts, and feelings are signals to us. They tell us something about our state of being, or even the environment we’re in. By being mindful can we tune in to what they’re telling us.
Shame is no different from any other emotion we might feel. It is a signal to us about our inner or outer world. And when we’re mindful of its presence and the signal it sends to us, we can act accordingly to ensure the stability of our inner well-being and the safety of our outer well-being.
This is the lesson I take from this haiku. As always, you can share your thoughts by sending an email to thehaikupond (at) gmail (dot) com.
Featured Haiku & Poets
From Mona Bedi: first day of school the boy brings home an extra pencil
From Melody Wang on TW & IG as MelodyOfMusings: those attempts to wound the fabric of my soul gave me more room to breathe
From Linda M. Crate on Twitter as thysilverdoe & on IG as authorlindamcrate: someone is angry another won’t admit fault neither will know peace.
From Mark Hitri on TW as HitriMark & on IG as the_cellopoet: when others do wrong it’s because I have failed them though I knew better
From Charlotte Reynolds on twitter as violetvicinity: dawn chorus the milkman cries over spilled milk
From Christina Chin at haikuzyg.blogspot.com: panic at the car park fumbling to unlock a mistaken car
From Charissa Hooyman on TW as CharissaHooyman: You are different Don’t let people cause you shame Embrace uniqueness
From Haiku Nocturnal on Twitter as HaikuNocturnal: Your mouth full of ash, Achievements crumbled to dust; Then I’ll be avenged
Stay Connected
Subscribe to the pond’s newsletter for updates about upcoming episodes, themes, and more. Join today at http://haikupond.ck.page.
Creators like me work hard to create content you love, but in order to continue creating content we need support from followers like you! Buy Me a Coffee to show your support.
By making a contribution, you can support me to make stories that matter and you enjoy and worry less about how I’m going to keep the power on. Contributions can be one-time, monthly, or yearly.
You can support me on my Buy Me a Coffee page, send money directly to me via PayPal, or purchasing me a book from my Amazon Wishlist. I do what I do because I love it, but it’s gratifying beyond measure to receive support from fans. Thanks for your support.
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Anthony Nanfito 