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Mindset: A Penny For Your Fears

C.L. Harmon

The further we delve into the madness of panic, the more distant sanity travels from us. We have always resided in an uncertain world where chaos sweeps behind us in a frenzied rush. We have always lived with fear, but until recently, we have never let that fear become the beacon in which we gravitate. We are setting a precedent where fear rules us even into ruin. We are choosing to survive in chains rather than live free in the few steps separating us from the chaos.

There is no escaping the fact that we will become swept up in the forces of havoc from time to time. But as it has always been, the cost of life is the realization of death, the reward of life is the opportunity to experience it. When fear becomes our light, we are traveling down a dark path. If we do not create new and reasonable light to combat the surrounding darkness which attempts to consume us, we are lost regardless of what direction we choose.

Illuminating the darkness which engulfs us during the seasons where the havoc has caught up with us, is as simple as believing that even a small flame of reason drowns out the dimmest surroundings. It is also the acceptance that chaos has an appetite and will consume what it needs until is satisfied. It is further understanding that madness cares not for our choices to serve fear or to battle it. It simply obeys its nature. We must always remember that the choices made in fear today will be the circumstances that we live with tomorrow.

Beyond Our Boundaries

C.L. Harmon

Sometimes we lose our way and we don’t necessarily want to find our way back even though moving forward frightens us to our core. I believe this is something that we all experience at one point or another in our lives. Even the thought of going back to something familiar and comfortable leaves us with a feeling of uncertainty and possibly dread. Perhaps these moments in which we are idle are telling us that boundaries exist within us that must be overcome. These boundaries are not however placed to keep us in place, but to be conquered.

Questioning what we have been taught, seeking evidence contrary to what is popular and venturing into uncharted territory forces boundaries to disappear. Change occurs because boundaries are breached, not because they are left intact. What is often most difficult to destroy are the boundaries we ourselves construct. Traditionally we think of others’ boundaries keeping us out when, in actuality, it’s ours keeping us in.

Some of the most formidable of these boundaries are our choices to believe without questioning, accept without complete understanding. It seems somehow easier to remain unenlightened in ignorance behind a boundary than to forge into new territory with a new concept all our own. What we fear, what we believe remains only partial truths until we have the courage and fortitude to eradicate all the boundaries within us and discover what can be known beyond.

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Moments

I haven’t written much lately but did have a moment of inspiration for the following little poem. I hope you enjoy.

Blood is Spilt, wounds become scars with secrets that are kept and then revealed. And the minutes tick by. We sin, sacrifice saints, live, die and hurt as those minutes tick into hours.

Tears fall for those lost and hatred abounds for those who trespass against us. We breathe until we are extinguished and we are buried in cold earth no longer witness to the seasons and the sun. And without us, our children watch as the hours become years and our trespasses become their prejudices.

Evil rides upon the high winds blowing through our hearts, within our souls. We struggle to hold our ground as the leaves are ripped from the trees and the branches strain to hold on the roots which give them life.

And yet we sway in the breezes of compassion and forgiveness. We become fragile in strength and weak in our resolve. And as the years become decades, we dwindle away into the dust from which we were created.

And in time we will have experienced this journey called life. We will know what it is to cry, sigh, and die within the centuries that have allowed us the moments we used to take steps from the birth to burial when at last time waves to us all a lasting goodbye.

My New Book is in Pre-Order

Greetings,

I am excited to let everyone know that my book, “Chopping Down the Tree of Knowledge” is now available for preorder. The release date is November 15. A link will be provided for those interested in ordering a copy. The book is available in digital format and paperback.

Unlike my first book “In the Midst of Reality” which is a compilation of Mindsets, this book is a journey into life as explained through my personal experiences and the failures which make them up. It is the understanding of a belief system that failed me and hopefully a wake-up call that yours may be failing you.

Through Mindsets, I have always tried to convey positive messages that I hope to help people view the world with a sense of optimism. This work, however, started out very differently and without the intent to share positive insights. It was born out of anger and disappointment toward a God I have worshipped and trusted all my life. As I wrote in the above paragraph, this work is a journey. It has a destination I thought not possible when I began writing it and a message I was always afraid to know until I knew it.

It is my sincere hope that this work affects you as much as it has me.

P.S. Click Here if you missed the first link.

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Mindset: Instructions For Life Are Closer Than You Think

By C.L. Harmon

Buried within each of us is a set of instructions. We are not born empty vessels void of direction but created with a knowledge and understanding whose origins are beyond our comprehension. Many of these instructions are of a physical nature such as breathing, sleeping and heart functions. But there are also other instructions woven into our creation. These are of a moral nature and instrumental in the course our lives and our world will take. Knowing what is right and wrong are not only lessons we learn as we grow, but guidelines ingrained into our very souls.

We are not created to do harm or create chaos. We are created with a sense of rhythm to coexist with each other and nature. Each of us knows this and when we stray from these internal instructions, we feel a betrayal inside that is undeniable. Humanity has not evolved due to an absence of these instructions but instead flourished because of their existence. Without such a guiding force, we would certainly destroy ourselves and our world. An age of enlightenment is not some period of time, but every time we choose to be enlightened from the knowledge within us.

And though there are many who choose to ignore these instructions for living and bring about chaos as a result, there are also many who choose enlightenment and follow the knowledge that is created within them. It is these people who propel us forward through their examples of decency, respect, compassion, and sense of fairness and equality, while it those who opt to ignore our internal instructions which keep dragging society back toward the dark ages.

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Pardon Me, But Is This Your Butt?

By C.L. Harmon

While stopped at a stoplight recently, I noticed the vehicle in front of me had two decals on the back glass. They had been placed there with care to produce the most visible angle for the world to see the owner’s views. The first was one in support of Bernie Sanders for president. The other was 4ocean, an organization that promotes clean oceans around the world. And though I care nothing for this person’s political views, I certainly support everyone’s right to promote their views in a safe and legal manner. I did, however, respect this person’s views on protecting our natural resources. That opinion lasted all of 10 seconds. That was the span of time between first seeing the decal and the cigarette butt which this person then nonchalantly flipped out the window.

So, it’s okay to support the clean-up efforts of one aspect of our world while trashing up another? Perhaps this young lady of 20 something (I eventually passed her because my curiosity got the better of me) assumes her future grandchildren will pick it up when 4ocean expands to 4land and sea or something else clever. Where does such a breakdown in common sense come from? How does one not understand that the very mentality which polluted the oceans is the very same one that throws a butt out of the window? I can’t help but wonder if this young lady even grasps the concept of what it means to save the environment. Perhaps, she just thinks it’s cool to be a young hip democrat who belongs to something of which so many others are members.

Whatever her motive, I feel her comprehension of what it means to truly sacrifice for the good of a cause is lost on her and many other young people today. Promoting yourself as part of an organization and buying some trinket or subscription in support of that organization is not sacrifice. In fact, It’s barely even commitment. Sacrifice means change. It means effort. It means the giving up of something. Commitment means the willingness to do all these things followed by the actions to make sacrifices. Picking up trash in your front yard and dumping it in the back yard is not progress. All this accomplishes is making the neighbors in front of your house like you better than the ones behind the house.

I certainly do not wish to single this young woman out, but I believe her actions are indicative of what we see everywhere in the US today by so many young and old alike, democrats and republicans and across every race. If you choose to support a cause, then support it whole-heartedly. If you believe in something, then work for it and not at it. If you want to change what is wrong, then do what is right…even when it costs you. If you want to solve problems, then be willing to meet everyone at the table of compromise. And if you want to impress your neighbors, take your trash to the garbage can…even those living behind you will like you.

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Traveling with the Past

Traveling with the Past

Mindset

C.L. Harmon

As we build our lives moment by moment, we are cognizant of the seconds which are eroding behind us. As such, we move forward in hopes of leaving what was to a distant void we call our past. But nothing is ever truly gone as long as we still breathe. Though the minutes of yesterday have vanished, we carry a residue with us that is alive.

Within that residue can be despair, regret, and shame. Each of these is impervious to the erosion which destroys time. They are a part of us, but a part we can control and conquer. As such, we are not prisoners of our past but stewards of what we become in the future. We can choose to be victims of yesterday or conquerors of tomorrow.

As our yesterdays crumble away into the abyss, we have the power to send our past mistakes into an internal prison liberating us from what was. It is imperative we retain what we consider negative in order to gain enlightenment, but equally necessary to realize that these are only ghosts which possess no power if we keep them under our control. Each moment born belongs to us, but each one past should be imprisoned away from tomorrow and free of us as we step into the future.

Photo by Nicholas Kampouris on Unsplash

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New Book Due Out

Hey Everyone,

I realize I haven’t posted in a while, but life has been very busy for me these past months. I would, however, like to announce that I have a new book coming out very, very soon. The book will be available on Amazon and I will post more details after it is released. Unlike my first book “In the Midst of Reality”, which is a compilation of writings like I usually post here, this one is more of a journey into life. I am excited for this work to be available to those who read my work because it will allow you to get a glimpse into how Mindsets originated and evolved. Thank you to all you who read my musings! More Mindsets and book details will be coming soon.

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Where Have I Been?

I haven’t posted much lately. I have been in a place where my life passion to create art with words has become lost on a dark road. I have felt this absence like the death of a friend whom I miss terribly. For whatever reason, tonight was the first inspiration I have felt in some time. I don’t always know what messages these inspirations are supposed to mean or to whom they are intended. But this one, I think was given to me for me. I hope others get as much out of this as I have.

Thanks for reading!

To be lost on a dark road is not to be forsaken, but to be found in the hollow path of someone who has traveled before you to the light of a new direction. As much as we may feel alone or lost in our hearts or minds in this life, we have never been completely abandoned for our roads are shared, sometimes by many and other times by only a few. Existence is a network of connecting roads and pathways that bridge time and consciousness from minutes to millennia, from souls to spirits. Whatever it is that burdens you today is simply a stone awaiting you to throw into the future for someone else to pick up and carry into their tomorrow. See, it is not your troubles which you give them with that stone, but your promise that we can all free ourselves of our burdens once we decide we have carried them long enough. This is the gift you leave for those who will one day find themselves on their own road wrapped in darkness. You may not be their direction on that road, but you will be their inspiration, their hope, their reason to one day throw that stone into someone else’s future. Always remember that you matter more than you can ever comprehend because your travels lead you through the darkness to become someone else’s light. And it is those same travels which shine onto another’s darkness becoming their light. We are all someone else’s rock and that matters to those who need you to throw them something they can hold onto and carry until they find their way to the morning light.

~C.L. Harmon

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Mindset: Happiness Is A State Of Acceptance

Mindset: Happiness Is A State Of Acceptance

It’s often said that we are responsible for our own happiness and that we simply choose our internal strength and will of mind to help us find comfort and joy. I don’t believe this to be completely accurate.
Although I do believe that we are responsible for our own happiness to a degree and that choice is a contributing factor in our happiness, I also believe that others play a key role in how we feel as well.
Human beings were not created to be alone or to exist in solitude. We are created to learn, live and love with others. Though it is true that we experience love from our Creator, it is only through others that we can experience intimate love with another, trusting love with a friend or the pure love that is raising a child.
Each one of these types of loves brings happiness and a sense of joy that is unmatched anywhere else in creation. The absence of them will most certainly cause us to feel sadness, depression, and pain. We can only learn to accept this absence with grace and a belief that there is a purpose in that absence. But true happiness only comes through our connections to each other, our will to seek happiness and the choice to make them one.