Life’s Contradictions and Paradoxes

Poem explores some and suggests embracing uncertainty over answers and solutions

Face fear with courage Strength to be vulnerable Embrace letting go Accept unacceptable Now need not last forever

Despairing with hope Soft landing at rock bottom Mindfully aware Cautiously optimistic Crooked direct paths to change

Oh, humanity Powerful contradictions How to reconcile? Inapparent causation Paradoxes lack answers

Doubts have benefits

Benefits of doubts Endless possibilities Outcomes uncertain

Beneficial effects of doubts are found in our imaginations where results astound

Try viewing life as an amusement park Rides for both thrill seekers and faint-of-heart Do you see light or only dark or realize that one cannot exist without another Contrast and perception Faith Purpose and place Must these be known or just that they exist? Must a journey have a destination or would you prefer an endless series of waystations? Every action has an equal and opposite reaction as butterfly effects ripple in all directions

Live and let live Live and let die Life goes on Within you and without you

A couple of Joseph Lieungh loop pedals:

Poet’s Notes:

Last week my dear friend of about 38 years, Pamela Busch, posted their first Medium story since they last wrote here two years ago. It’s a short and important read:

Realizing that their two-year absence and dearth of followers would hamper the algorithmic distribution of the story, I started thinking about how I might increase the reads of their personal story that they vulnerably shared with courage.

I suspected that I could weave something together with a response to Paper Poetry’s September prompt but the dots failed to connect for several days. This morning, while in the creative space in between sleep and wakefulness known as hypnagogia, the first line and then the second line downloaded. I decided to continue the creative process by launching into the new journal that jules - Miz Mindful gifted me a few weeks ago, which so far I had only cracked to smell that new printing smell.

I wrote the first stanza, then went back into hypnagogia, and woke to write the second stanza in the journal. At that point, my link to Sitara and my other muses (my dearly departed friends Jason and Andrew) in the realms remained strong and the poem took on a life of its own beyond the initial intent.

I submitted just the first stanza as a stand-alone tanka response to Paper Poetry’s prompt, which asked poets to ponder, “What [does] it mean[] to love and hope in the most difficult time?”

I titled the stand-alone poem What’s Your Vulnerability Quotient? What is a Vulnerability Quotient? Well, in a moment of channspiration, I seem to have coined the term upon reading Dr Mehmet Yildiz’s How I Increased My AQ to Live a More Peaceful and Enjoyable Life, Here’s how to craft and amp up the resilience index (adversity quotient) for a blissful and joyful life. I wrote this comment on Mehmet’s story about ten days ago:

AQ seems to have much in common with VQ. What is VQ, you ask? Well, I may have just coined it as my Google search didn’t turn it up. Vulnerability quotient. https://readmedium.com/communicate-vulnerability-9761f716c1c7 Moreover, vulnerability is also a superpower outside of the realm of love https://byrslf.co/vulnerability-is-my-superpower-199d9ef19c33, as is handling adversity with vulnerability.

Form and Substance:

I started with three tanka stanzas, then flowed into free verse.

I think I’ll dispense with providing any of my thoughts behind specific lines of the poem. Feel free to ask in comments. The first stanza and its connection to Pamela’s piece are discussed at length in the Paper Poetry submission.

In Rama I create, with soul energy surging through my body, inspiring me and breathing wind into my sails,

Marcus (Gregory Maidman)

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Our pub is dedicated to celebrating synchronicity in all its forms and the magical alchemy that can result when we open our hearts and minds to embracing change and uncertainty. ChannSpirations&Coincidences is a home that will welcome with warmth the new essence of your experiences. You’ll find Anthi Psomiadou, Claire Kelly, and I smiling at its doorstep with open arms.