I’m Still Here Haiku

Well, there’s no question it’s been more than a long time since I wrote anything on my blog. And even with that said, I’ll save writing about what I’ve been up to, my family, the Coronavirus, and all that stuff for another day. Truth is, with all this working from home I have a little more time to do stuff like this, so hopefully you have a moment to read these little guys. Full disclosure, these haiku were written back in October of 2019, but as I was reading over them to select which to include in my post, some of them appeared almost eerily prescient or at the very least far too .timely. Anyway, enjoy, thanks for reading and wash your hands. I wish you peace and good health.

Namaste,

Jason

5230
It’s hard to stay sane
In a world gone truly mad,
Where nothing’s normal.

5231
There will come a day
When the nations of the world
Unify in love.

5232
How shall we proceed,
In anger and bitterness
Or forgiveness?

5233
That which flourishes
Will diminish tomorrow
While we ride the waves.

5234
Que sera sera
Is such a Buddhist notion.
What will be will be.

Here is our kitten, Ickasik, (Icky for short) demonstrating social distancing by taking up all available room on the bed.

5235
Don’t let them make you
Dream any size less than big.
Small is not enough.

5237
Don’t give up the ship!
Plug the leak and head for shore.
You’re unsinkable.

5238
Be magnanimous.
Kindness, forgiveness, and grace;
That’s what it’s about.

5239
Just once I’d like to
Be like my cat: no worries,
Sleeping in a sink.

5241
We have yet to fight,
Live, love, prosper, grow, transform
To our potential.

Here is Quicktop assisting me in getting fresh air into the house and any germs out by falling asleep in the open window for five hours. He and his sister are very helpful.

Haiku for an uplift

Well, it’s been a week. (I seem to say that a lot.) And that means writing haiku to bolster my spirits. I’ve been working seven days a week (doesn’t everybody nowadays?), celebrated a wedding anniversary, marked the 89th birthday of my father who crossed over 19 years ago, and just tried all manner of strategies to keep my head above water. So here you go! If these little guys bring you any peace, comfort, or joy, I’ve done my job for another week. May you be calm and blessed.

Namaste,

Jason

5216
Let today be a
Peace, Love, Light, Healthy, Happy,
Groovy kind of day.

5217
Who you choose to be
Is entirely your call;
Not a group project.

5218
We become our thoughts;
Our thoughts become our actions;
Actions, character.

5220
I brake for flowers,
Good food, sunrises, rainbows,
Slow turtles, and cats.

5221
Dance the cosmic dance,
Making up the words and moves
As you go along.

The Tao of Kittens

5222
There are some people,
No matter how hard you try,
You’ll just never please.

5223
Mother used to say,
“Some people just won’t like you.
You mustn’t sweat it.”

 

 

 

 

5226
Seek help if needed.
Don’t suffer in silence while
Putting up a front.

5227
Live today today.
Put yesterday behind you
And tomorrow off.

5228
Try to breathe today.
Don’t let the grind get to you.
Hold to your stillness.

Scary Halloween faces

This Week in Haiku

I find that I’m writing again. One haiku a day; but one is better than none. There’s been a lot of stress in my life these last few weeks, and I know it comes out in my writing. But my focus is still primarily inspirational/motivational, even if sometimes the voice is pushing from a place of frustration. Either way, the weather is beautiful today, and it’s Monday, and the week is filled with possibilities. So enjoy, thanks for reading, and I wish you a stress-free, productive week.

Namaste,

Jason

Hopes and fears and dreams,
Endlessly intertwined, each
Craving attention.

Open your heart to
Reveal compassion bursting
Forth like a rocket.

For your sanity
There have to be days when you
Say “no” and mean “no.”

Always be prepared,
For people will let you down.
So just be ready.

You need to let go
Of the bullshit in your past
And focus on NOW.

 

You can’t fix stupid.
You can’t motivate lazy.
You can’t turn back time.

Know that there are times
When the best thing you can do
Is just walk away.

I’ve always dreamt big,
But I now find small actions
Are the way to go.

 

 

There will always be
A new battle to win and
A new hill to climb.

I am not perfect.
I strive for perfection, but
I miss the mark often.

John Adams wishes you all a Two Thumbs Up kinda day.

Don’t Dream. Do. A Sonnet for You

It’s been awhile since I wrote a sonnet. I’ve only written 20 or less in my whole life. But I do like the art form, and lately I’m trying to flex both my artistic and creative writing muscles, so here goes! I hope you enjoy it. If it is imperfect, its message, at least, is sincerely intended.

Peace,

Jason

 Don’t Dream. Do!
By Jason J. Michael

A dream is but a dream until you act.
The act of dreaming never made one true.
For dreaming’s but the start of “false to fact.”
A path that’s tracked, compact, from dream to do.

Too many, meek and mild, suppose to sit,
As if the sitting is the act itself,
And while away the hours in a fit,
While more constructive measures stay the shelf.

So please take heed, you need to hear me now:
A dream’s but the beginning of the quest.
Yes, dream, but steam ahead to “when and how,”
For dreams are naught but air till pressed to test.

And if this formula is followed through,
I can but hope for you your dreams come true.

May your day be filled with beautiful flowers.

Autumn Haiku Musings 2019

Happy Fall, Everyone! It’s been two months since I posted and it’s time I do something. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, dreaming, some would say procrastinating, and it’s coming out of me in the last few weeks as haiku. I know, my old standby. Anyway, enjoy, read, reflect, reject, take comfort in, or what have you. And as always, thanks for reading.

Namaste,

Jason

5188
Open wide your heart.
Embrace all inhabitants
Of this universe.

5190
Take back what is yours.
Take a vow to reclaim your
Personal power.

5192
Today, you’re stronger.
Today, you’re more in control.
Today, you stand tall.

5193
Part of the “Good Fight”
Is educating oneself
How to fight better.

5194
Each day is a gift;
A Present Moment is time.
Use each day wisely.

Flamingos in the Mist

5195
People: just two kinds:
Those who fear and don’t do, and
Those who fear and do.

5196
Read voraciously,
Open-hearted and open-minded;
Absorb the masters.

5197
Know when to hold’em,
Fold’em, walk away, and run.
Thanks, Kenny Rogers.

 

5199
Don’t care what they think.
Don’t keep up with the Jones’s.
Just run your own race.

5200
The art you create
Is a reflection of you,
And your soul’s cravings.

A joyful family moment at Belvedere Plantation

Musings in Haiku-time

It’s early summer and I’m busy (who isn’t?) and I’m just feeling the need to share some new haiku. I thought after I’d written 5,000 that maybe, just maybe, I’d put the bug behind me. I guess not. Anyway, enjoy, thanks for reading, and have your best possible day.

Namaste,

Jason

5178
Good and Bad exist,
Whether God or Man made them
They exist nonetheless.

5179
Know that rewards come
When the naysayers say “no”
But you respond “yes.”

5180
Making enemies
Is sadly part of the game.
There’s always a foe.

5181
It’s far too easy
Too acquiesce in defeat.
It’s hard to stand strong.

Don’t let the aliens get ya!

5182
There’s always someone
Less fortunate than yourself.
Fight on in their name.

5183
Lead by example.
Courage, integrity, grace:
They’re not unnoticed.

5184
Your son deserves the
Best you you can offer him.
Don’t squander his wealth.

5185
Faiths that focus on
Fear, division, and judgement
Don’t speak to my heart.

5186
Have you ever seen
A sick giraffe and uttered
“Now that’s a sore throat?!”

5187
“Where do we go next?”
the boy asked sitting by Dad.
“We go on,” my son.

Fat Man and Little Boy

Well, It’s Been Awhile Haiku – March 2019

For some reason I just needed to get these out today. I wrote many of these weeks and/or months ago, but they are no less relevant today. Life has been crazy, busy, tempestuous, frustrating, and (time permitting) joyous. A more thorough update/investigation of me and my family is warranted, (or at least a 4 page summary), but today these haiku will have to stand as testament to my mood. I hope they bring you comfort, inspiration, resilience, and motivation. Yeah, I’m working on it too.

Peace to you all.

Until next time,

Jason

Carefree and reckless;
How alive one must feel when
Running with scissors.

It’s all too easy
To repay low with low, but
High requires work.

Don’t give in to fear.
Real or manufactured, both
Should be met with love.

Some people lack both
Common sense and decency.
They are our crosses.

Who can you count on
To be there when it matters,
When it’s not easy?

 

Nancy and I on a very cold camping trip in Prince William State Forest

Science and wisdom
Await our return from the
Lowlands of the Lie.

When someone hurts you,
Focus on healing yourself,
Not taking revenge.

Hare or tortoise? Choose.
Each offers advantages.
Me? I’m a tortoise.

 

 

 

Roll with the punches.
Take what life gives you gladly.
No, it’s not easy.

Let’s work together,
Build our ‘more perfect union’
On peace, love, and facts.

Shadow says, “May you find time for this today.” And food. Lotsa food.

New Year, New Haiku (2019 Edition)

Dear Reader,

Happy New Year, 2019. It has been over 5 months since I connected with you. So much in my, and my family’s life, has changed. We live in a new house; we’re closer to our work; I have started a new job with the Stafford Regional Choral Society; Nancy is two chapter revisions away from defending her dissertation; John Adams is in Kindergarten; and there are many smaller, subtler changes and adjustments that have altered our lives since last writing. We are still packing and unpacking. We are still finding our footing in a new home. There has been less than a little time to be creative with the move, and then  into the holidays. But I am still here; we are still here. And I am still dedicated to my blog and my writing. So with that said, please enjoy these new haiku, written over the last few days; the first new writing I’ve done in awhile, and certainly the first writing I’ve done in 2019. Until, next time, thanks for reading, thanks for noticing me, and thanks for being a part of my life, online or other, in 2019.

Blessings, Bounty, and Bacon,

Jason

The New Year’s begun.
Will it bring big surprises,
Or more of the same?

We are our actions.
Inaction is an action,
A choice of no choice.

Character matters.
Your actions and words matter.
Children are watching.

Model behavior
You wish to come back to you,
For it will return.

We have adopted
A white lump of fat some say
Used to be a cat.

Shadow set to spin

The road up is hard.
The road down all too easy.
Which road are you on?

No resolution
Can survive January
Without discipline.

I love New Year’s Day:
We resolve, renewed, hopeful;
Tabula rasa.

A cool blast of change
Blows with a wintry crispness
Across our country.

 

Pray for each other.
Listen to each other.
Love one another.

The family on Christmas Eve, 2018

Last New Haiku in an Old Home

Well, here we are: less than ten days away from moving into a new home we are blessed to have been offered, but the sadness and nostalgia of the moment is competing with the excitement, challenge, and exhaustion of a major move; even one just across town to convenient Fredericksburg. Our little 9-room idyllic rancher in King George, VA has been mine and Nancy’s home for eight years. It was our first home together. While in it we became engaged, married, pregnant with John Adams, gave birth and raised him for almost five years. I received my MFA. She all but completed her doctorate. We adopted our beloved cats, Duke, Ceyde, and Shadow. We leave our hearts behind with Ivan, Scoutie, Kisaki, The Nix, and many, many fish. We have borne illnesses and celebrated Openings and successes. We have as many memories as the clutter that we seek to escape. Who knows what comes next. Hopefully, we are trading the good for the great, the inconvenient for the convenient, the isolation for community. Only time will tell. So much to do before and after the move. We are so truly excited. Well, excited and scared. Anyway, enjoy the haiku, draw strength or insight from them if you find them worthy, and we’ll talk soon.

Namaste and may your life be one of exciting change,

Jason

 

 4776
Most differences
Can disappear with the words,
“But I accept you.”

4777
Be reliable.
Be someone they can count on
Even when they’re not.

4779
Animals know us;
They perceive our fears and moods
In ways we can’t hide.

4780
Attention expands
Those things which we put it on.
Where is your focus?

4781
Meditate daily
On your unique perfection.
You’re like no other.

 

First Forsythia of Spring

4782
In adversity
The most gorgeous flowers bloom.
Seek out mud puddles.

4783
I am perfect health.
I am perfect abundance.
I am perfect love.

4784
Why are you waiting?
With each passing year you age!
Take those risks right now.

 

4785
There’s only one way,
And that is the way forward.
There’s no going back.

4786
Seek the difference
Between opinion and fact,
Between spin and truth.

Our home in King George, VA (2010-2018)

Haiku – Late May Musings – All is Perfect

The school year’s ending. Life is crazy busy as we all gear up for summer. Change is in the air. Pause and appreciate the accomplishments of the last few months, and of your place in the universal whole. Take a moment to glance through my haiku below, and remind yourself that you are perfect. All is as it should be. And as changes arise they too are part of the ever-evolving and expanding perfection of the universe. And remember…breathe.

Namaste,

Jason

 4763
Within or without,
The Source of All surrounds us.
We’re part of the Whole.

4764
There is only now.
Whatever you do with now
Defines the next now.

4765
Rejoice and be glad,
For God made you as you are,
Perfect and unique.

4766
Christians, Muslims, Jews,
Buddhists, Hindus, Confucians,
Taoists, Pagans, Love.

4767
I have a strong heart;
It beats in empathy for
Myself and others.

 

Caledon riverscape

4769
When we help others
We reveal our best nature.
Service is godly.

4771
The mind’s eye sees all.
Though words can deceive the world,
Souls know only truth.

4773
Grasp infinity
With your warm, mortal tendrils,
Yearning to know both.

 

 

4774
Unclutter your soul.
Discard the broken pieces
Of the half-lived life.

4775
Love that which loves not.
Love that which knows only fear.
These are our burdens.

“I can do anything!”