It’s no longer National Poetry Month but ya’ll know it’s always time for poetry around here! All or Nothing (read it here) is now available. Listen below and don’t forget to subscribe!
Tag: truth
Remembering Martin and Maya
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hatred cannot drive out hatred; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr., 1/15/29 – 4/4/68
Martin’s Top 10 Rules for Success
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Maya Angelou, 4/4/28 – 5/28/14
Angelou’s Top 10 Rules for Success
Establishing Boundaries
I’ve learned to establish boundaries. To understand that if I don’t feel good about something, it’s OK to say no, turn it down or cancel a commitment and not feel guilty about it. Establishing boundaries is a form of self-respect. You are honoring your integrity and taking responsibility for who you are. And when you allow people to treat you in ways that disrespect your boundaries, you are not being true to yourself.
Although having boundaries is not a bad thing, it may feel like rejection to other people. You will still lose those who feel you are no longer for them and that’s OK. We cannot continue on with relationships that no longer serve a purpose. But because we may lose people, it is our responsibility to be clear on what our boundaries are, to tell people when they have crossed it or when we can’t cross it ourselves, and to have patience with those who forget and need to be reminded. Although you will lose people, if you are clear and consistent the people who are meant to stick around will and they will understand that there are lines that you simply cannot cross and places you simply cannot go and that it really has nothing to do with them. They will understand that you are capable of loving them and staying true to yourself at the same time.
Why My Blog Name is Weird
PBS is short for Pearls Before Swine and is a term that comes from Matthew 7:6 of the bible:
Mat 7:6 “Do not give what is set-apart to the dogs, nor throw your pearls before the pigs, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
In this context, pearls are symbolic of the word, truth. It’s precious, delicate, and priceless. A pig, on the other hand, is a filthy and unclean animal. Anything you put in front of a pig he will either eat it or step over it. When you give a pair of pearls to someone who wants it they will accept it, protect it, and value it.
But, if you give a pair of pearls to a pig he will tear it apart. Some people are pigs and will not accept what you have to offer. When you give people the truth not everyone will value it or take care of it. Some people will take their disagreements and turn their anger on you. When this happens, it’s important to step back and not allow yourself to be put in a situation in which a pig will trample your pearls.
If people don’t want the truth, don’t force it on them because the truth is precious and should be protected. Thus, “don’t cast your pearls before swine.”
My views are controversial to some so it gets a bit heated on this blog! I don’t follow trends or jump on bandwagons. I am my own person. If the majority says the sky is blue, I will probably say the sky is really black. Maybe the sky is only blue because of the sun’s light reflecting off the water and when the sun sets, maybe that’s when we see the sky for what it really is, black.
I don’t do a lot of talking but what I am passionate about I will speak upon. I don’t shy away from the truth or bite my tongue when the spirit compels me to speak just because it makes people uncomfortable. As Malcolm would say, “I don’t scratch my head unless it itches and I don’t dance unless I hear music.” I believe a person can be both humble and firm in their beliefs at the same time without forcing those beliefs on others.
The truth should never be forced. There’s no reason for it. The truth defends itself by just being.
“You can’t help it. An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.”
– Nina Simone
Because of the controversial nature of some of my topics, I need to remember not to “cast my pearls before swine.” Not to force-feed or argue back and forth with people who have already rejected what I offer. You can’t make people believe anything so I am not here to force anyone to agree with me or to see my point of view. I am not here for praise or applause. I am here to tell the truth, and to build with those who are in agreement with that truth.
I am not for everyone and everyone is not for me.
PBS is a reminder of that, of why I am here and what I must do and that’s why I stuck by the name.
The Tagline
“Because Truth is Stranger Than Fiction”
When I first started this blog someone reached out to me. They said that I had made a mistake. They thought I had meant to say that truth is stronger than fiction. No. I did not mean stronger. I meant stranger.
“Truth is Stranger Than Fiction” isn’t just a fancy tagline put together by a writer of fiction; not something I dug up between the inspirations of Mark Twain. What it seeks to communicate is the notion that nothing we can create can be as unusual as what we find in actual life, and speaks metaphorically of the unsettling realness of truth. The “strangeness” of reality. You think something is weird until you find out just how deep the rabbit hole goes. You think my blog name is weird until you understand what it means.
Mission, Purpose Goal
My mission for this blog is to spread truth through the written and spoken word. Whether we are talking biblical truths, historical truths, writer/authorly truths, or my personal truths. To paint poetic justice against the backdrop of heavy keystrokes is my motto.
To paint poetic justice means to use my writing as an underground railroad to freedom. If people can’t be liberated in their own lives, I hope that my writing can provide a road-map. Of course, this isn’t easy to do considering the heavy misinformation, deception, and religious ideologies that have enslaved us for so long. These are the heavy keystrokes.
Here you will find:
- Poetry
- Articles (various topics)
- Creative Writing
- Indie Author / Self-Publishing Tips
- Blog Tips
- Inspirational Quotes
- Biblical Analysis
- Black History
- Music / Throwback Jams
So there you have it. Doesn’t sound so weird now does it? Tell the truth 😁.
Guilty
I vomit kindness from my gut
And I am overflowing
(drowning)
in compassion for people
who have none
for me.
Guilty
I let them swim here
for free.
Indie Authors and Controversial Posts – Should You? Should You Not?
DISCLAIMER: This is simply my own opinion. I also stress throughout the post that no one has the right to be disrespectful. Writing is a business and publishing books is a career move. I always encourage you to use wisdom in all that you do. Even if you are speaking truth, don’t put people down. That’s not wise.
I think it boils down to why you write in the first place and what you hope to gain from it. It should be a personal choice, not a commandment.
I understand why people propose you don’t post about super controversial topics. The reasons are obvious and have been stated repeatedly already. I won’t bore you with a regurgitation of the facts (see disclaimer.) But at the same time, I don’t understand why some propose Indies stay clear of it altogether. Even if it can help others. I think about what it means to be a writer. For me, this is not a job. It’s much more.
I know most people don’t take blogs and bloggers seriously, but when it comes to writing, it’s not like the 9-5 you go to every day where there are rules, regulations, and guidelines you must live by. Let me put this in perspective.
I am a part-time teacher as well as an author. I know what it means to go into a place that already has a set standard and to clock in and out.
I blog and I write books but when I am not doing this, I am teaching.
To teach, you have to be certified, have the educational background and follow the governmental guidelines necessary to do so. There is already a schedule, a curriculum, etc. (It is why one day, I would like to open my own school. I try not to do anything without an ultimate end goal.)
When I think about being an author, on the other hand, I think of having a much greater freedom than working a 9-5. The freedom to own my own and to speak the truth. Now, there are some that say that because this is a business (writing is) you shouldn’t talk about things that are controversial because you’ll lose readers. Perhaps it is a matter of perspective because I do not think of it this way.
Losing readers for cursing people out is one thing. Losing readers because you are rude and arrogant and just don’t care is one thing. Professionalism is important. If you don’t know how to talk to people, perhaps you shouldn’t be in business.
On the other hand…
If I lose readers for being real. If I lose readers because they cannot stomach the truth I have to offer. If I lose readers because they do not agree with me, then they were not my readers, to begin with. If I lose these people because I decided to be real and they didn’t like it, then they were not part of my target audience in the first place. I know it sounds harsh, but I see a lot of Traditionally Published authors speaking their minds too and writing their truths. I see a lot of them using their platform to raise awareness of social injustice and other things. There’s a lot they say that can be considered controversial and it seems that for Independent Artists there should be more freedom. It is only when I get to Independent / Self-Publishing that I hear this talk about how we should, in short, censor ourselves and I understand the need for it but only to an extent.
Using wisdom is one thing, I understand that. In the words of my father-in-law, “Don’t be a fool your whole life.” However, using your art to expand conversations and to raise awareness cannot be done without some inkling of controversy. Someone somewhere is going to disagree with you. The whole point of writing, it seems to be, is to ultimately expand the conversation of the book. To not speak about your thoughts concerning the political, religious or social climate of today, to censor this in fear of losing readers, doesn’t make any sense to me. Why are you alive?
If I am going to write then I am going to write the truth and if people feel that it is a truth they cannot accept then they weren’t part of the chosen few I was meant to reach in the first place. I have long given up trying to save the world. I am not that naive anymore. I am only trying to reach those who are interested.
I am not saying to be disrespectful. Be choice with your words. That’s important and I’ve spoken about that a lot on this blog. I am only saying that if you are truly speaking the truth you are going to offend someone somewhere sometimes and that it’s not something you can control. If your job is not to offend anyone, where does that leave you? You may as well go work for someone else.
Listen, my intent is not to offend but it’s inevitable that when telling the truth you will annoy someone. To spend my life writing trying not to do so is to not do my job. In case you haven’t already noticed, I do not write to get rich. I don’t care about being famous, political correctness and offending people who can’t handle the truth and all that. It would be nice for my books to reach a large audience of course, but that is not why I write.
“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” – Elbert Hubbard
The PBS Blog Podcast Ep 8 – Facing Your Fears
This is probably the shortest of my podcast episodes, it’s only about eight minutes long.
Today’s podcast is inspired by Luvvie’s recent Ted Talk which is a good encouraging one. I have posted the link below as well as on the podcast description. (You can also find this on YouTube but I’ve only seen the audio version). Her analogy of the domino is a good one as well as on Skydiving.
I can relate so much to what she’s saying and while I am not about to go Skydiving, I love the analogy of feeling like you’re on the edge of that plane and being that domino and falling out of the plane. That very scary, uncomfortable and nervous feeling. People often laugh when I say I am shy. They don’t think I am telling the truth. That’s because I do so much of what I am afraid to do to step outside of my comfort zone.
I am not outspoken. I am just thrusting myself from the edge of that plane. I am just taking risks. Striving to be that domino by facing my fears because fear paralyzes. It literally freezes you into place and halts your progress. This is because you’ll always be concerned about what people will think, what they will say and how they will react. Rarely do we consider the few people who will listen. The few who are listening and the few who are being impacted.
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Episode 8 – Facing Your Fears
Link to Luvvie’s Ted Talk:
The PBS Blog 