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Thursday, February 2, 2017

How to Rise

Hello and welcome to Spiritual Journey FIRST Thursday! Today we are all sharing our thoughts and feelings about Leigh Anne's One Little Word "Rise." Be sure to visit her blog His Turn for a linkup of all the posts!

The word RISE brings to my mind some of my favorite quotes:

fall seven times, get up eight

if you're going through hell... keep going

a winner is a loser who tried one more time

And it takes me back to one of my favorite poems ever: "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. Here's Viola Davis... and then Langston Hughes... giving a beautiful reading!




So rising is really about perseverance, and hanging in there, not giving up.

I know for me, my confidence is built when I have the opportunity to rise. Which means I have to allow myself to fail. Which means taking chances. Which means getting out of my comfort zone. Which means being brave. Which is hard!

How to Rise

A kite needs wind,
smoke needs fire.

A whale dives

d
     e
          e
               p

before it swims up for air.

A balloon doesn't stop
to ask, what's it all for?

It simply lifts,
drifts,
find new mountains
to float over.

And each day the sun returns,
reminding us

              to try
                         once more.

- Irene Latham

                                        

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9 comments:

  1. Carol VarsalonaFebruary 2, 2017 at 8:03 AM

    Irene, this post of yours is filled with strong voice. Viola delivers an amazing rendition of Langston Hughes' poem while Langston's voice fills the air with softness and commitment to the climb. Your poem takes the word rise to another dimension for me. It visually opens a new day for me - one in which I need to try harder to appreciate than the day before. Thank you.

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  2. Donna SmithFebruary 2, 2017 at 10:44 AM

    A very uplifting post! Love both poems on the Rise theme.
    "A whale dives deep before it swims up for air" - love this. It would make a great poster!

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  3. Violet N.February 2, 2017 at 4:52 PM

    Thanks for the inspiration,Irene, both from Mr. Hughes and you. Your path to rise is so accurate: Opportunity-->maybe fail-->take changes-->leave comfort zone-->be brave. I never thought of it broken down like that.

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  4. Margaret SimonFebruary 2, 2017 at 8:28 PM

    I love your poem. Especially the part about the balloon just doing what comes naturally, it simply lifts.
    We both turned to our African American heroes to teach us about rising. You keep rising. I'll follow close behind.

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  5. RamonaFebruary 2, 2017 at 10:35 PM

    Pressing on in spite of difficulties, still climbin' on. I love your words in the poem:
    "And each day the sun returns,
    reminding us

    to try
    once more."

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  6. DoraineFebruary 3, 2017 at 4:47 PM

    Which means you just keep rising up, my friend!

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  7. Leigh Anne EckFebruary 3, 2017 at 9:24 PM

    Your poem is beautiful! I think I will share it with my sister to remind her to keep rising and find those new mountains during her treatments. I was reading "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver today, and both poems kind of have the same message - to keep going. Thank you for sharing in my OLW this month.

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  8. Alice NineFebruary 5, 2017 at 8:57 AM

    "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes is such a powerful poem. Your "How to Rise" is wonderful. Very young children can connect with the message. Thanks for writing and sharing it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Charles WatersMarch 11, 2017 at 12:33 PM

    Yes to all this. And I love your poem, Irene. Great imagery. Viola/Langston what a combo!

    ReplyDelete

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