The Easy Stagnation

Don’t want to just be a yearner

But a doer, learner

Accept shame, doubt, and regret

Move on

Not let it hold me back

Hold me down

Rushing through my mind

Creeping from my heart

All these ideals, appeals, and zeals

But these words rather express

Through the everyday get-by

Living

Time is ticking

Pressure gaining

Aging forthcoming

Reminiscing ambitions

Reign on imagination

Reality sets in with cynicism and predictability

Must not give into lower expectations

Into the easy stagnation

Aspire to fuel passion and creativity

Progress towards full potential

No more fears, excuses

Let them come and go

Like irrational thoughts shoved aside

In the end

My independence empowers me

Progression begets purpose for me

With this the more of a doer and learner I become

By: Amara Van Orden

Top Song Choices of 2011

    My Top 20 Song Choices of 2011 

    1.      Dia Frampton – Bullseye --

(Great voice and creative sound)

    2.      Tinie Tempah – Let Go Feat. Emeli Sande  --

(Stirring rap song with sweet beats)

    3.      CSS – City Grrl Feat. Ssion --

 (Appeals to my punky city girl side)

    4.      David Guetta – Sweat Feat. Snoop Dogg –

(Great motivator in the club or on the treadmill, plus amazingly mixed)

               

    5.      Vanessa Carlton – Hear the Bells

-- (Soothing and well-orchestrated with piano)

    6.      Panic at the Disco – Ready to Go (Get Me Out of my Mind) --

(Cheer-me-up/ pump-me-up-song)

    7.      Lady Gaga – Heavy Metal Lover

(My top favorite from Gaga, magically intensifying beats; takes me back to NYC)

    8.      Laura Marling – I Was Just A Card --

( Jazzy, soulful, and bluntly put)

    9.      Ellie Goulding – Lights --

(Unique voice to a disco-alien-like-sound)

    10.   Mutemath – Blood Pressure

(Rock at its modern best, plus darn catchy)

    11.  Jessie J – Do it Like a Dude --

( Bold and clever, girl power song)

    12.  Tech N9ne – So Lonely

(Rap worthiness, plus someone who actually sings about being okay with lonely, and killer beats, with an alluring electric guitar strum) 

    13.  Oh Land – Wolf & I -- 

       (Supreme voice and hauntingly sweet, reminds me of True Blood)

    14.  Alexandra Stan – Crazy --

(Saxobeat singer, but this one I like more, yet still has the melodic Saxophone) 

15.  Pistol Annies – Lemon Drop --

(Country girl band with grit, yet cherry pie voices, plus uplifting song)

    16.  Demi Lovato – Unbroken --

(Upbeat, catchy sound, ‘I’m stronger than yesterday’ song)

    17.  311 – Sunset in July --

(Original 311 sound that makes me feel like I am on the beach on a sunny day)

    18.  Drake – Take Care feat. Rihanna --

(Great duet, smooth poignant song)

    19.  Dev – Bass Down Low feat. Tinie Tempah, The Cataracts --

(Sounds amazing with the bass up loud surrounding you while dancing)

    20.  Feist – Caught a Long Wind --

(Soothing, subtle, with Feist unique hypnotic voice) 

Enjoy!

By: Amara Van Orden

A New Year, New Goals and Aspirations

New Year’s Resolutions


   1.      Improve GRE Score
   2.      Apply to Five Graduate Schools 
   3.      Lose ten pounds and eat healthier
   4.      Be in better physical shape
   5.      Save money
   6.      Go to France!
   7.      Read books more often (make a list to read)
   8.      Write more (stories, poems, journaling)
   
      "Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines."
     - Brian Tracy 
    
      "Set your goals high enough to inspire you and low enough     to encourage you." - Anonymous 


     “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill


     “Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” - Helen Keller

Get Yourself Out of a Funk!

Movement:

    1.      Upbeat music and dance (especially if no one is looking, let yourself go)

    2.      Do the three essentials: Drink Water, Stretch, Breathe deeply

    3.      Take a walk outdoors

    4.      Exercise vigorously

    5.      Initiate an evening of sport playing with friends/ acquaintances (ultimate Frisbee, flag football, etc.)

         

       Focus on gratitude and others:

    6.      Count your blessings

    7.      Do a random act of kindness

    8.      Volunteer

    9.      Visit a memorial and bring flowers (realize life is short and be grateful for the time you got and for those you have defended your life and freedom)  

   10.  Cook a meal for someone else

   11.  Donate clothes and belongings no longer needed  

   12.  Recycle

Write/ Read/ Inspire/ Express yourself:

   13.  Write a love note/ poem to a significant other

   14.  Write a thank you letter

   15.  Write about your fears, doubts, worries, stress (usually seems less overwhelming when put on paper)

   16.  Write a timeline of your accomplishments in life 

   17.  Read a biography about a figure you admire

   18.  Be creative (Drawing, writing, painting, photography, crafts, etc.)

Pamper yourself:

   19.  Plan a vacation (and then do it!)

   20.  Hot bubble bath

   21.  Do your nails

   22.  Put some make-up on (if done well always motivates me to show it off in public)

   23.  Get a massage 

   24.  Make a healthy smoothie

Get It Done:

   25.  Organize/ Clean a room in your house/ office

   26.  Make a To-Do-List (make sure to check off what you get done, always gratifying)

   27.  Choose your most precedent projects and break them down into small steps. 

   28.  Remember it takes patience, perseverance, and time to achieve goals you will not get it all done at once. Be realistic.

Be Present:
29.  Turn off electronics
30.  Learn to meditate

      31.  Remember to live in the moment and to not always worry about the past or future 

      32.  Really listen to what people are saying 

      33.  When you eat focus on the flavors and aromas

      34.  Don’t multitask focus on one task at a time

Learn:

    35.  Take a class on a subject or skill of interest

    36.  Learn from others – ex: when your father is fixing the car, your friend is knitting, your mom is cooking your favorite dish, boyfriend cleaning his gun, and so on.

    37.  Learn from a book about a skill or on a subject of interest 

    38.  Think of a past failure and learn from it. (What could you have done differently? How you have improved since?) Then a layout a plan for succeeding or pinpoint your already occurred successes.

See:

    39.  Visit an art gallery

    40.  Explore nature

    41.  Meet up with an old friend and catch-up

    42.  Look at old photo albums, scrapbooks, journals, etc. (reminiscence and let it inspire you) 

     

     NOW GET UP, GET OUT, FEEL, BREATHE, AND LET YOURSELF FULLY BE!

 
    No yesterdays are ever wasted for those who give themselves to today.  - Brendan Francis


    Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.  - James Thurber


   Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.  - Coreta Kent

    By: Amara Van Orden

:

Mysterious World

Late night dreaming

Imagining a perfect world

A lone

But well-aware of those that care

And dream similarly even within

This mysterious world

Somehow I still am able to be surprised

Stimulated

Awoken                

Life’s offerings plentiful

Whether the same, new, or well-earned

Somehow despite the many possible reasons

To remain coldhearted, bitter

I cannot because I still laugh

Dream and speculate

Reach out and often grasp

Something of significance and understanding

Find balance

When I most need it

Or least expect it

See the horizon before the sun

Somehow I know everything will be alright

Having already overcome many obstacles

When love is lost

Or forgiveness given

Learn to love more wholeheartedly

Cherishingly

Find hope

Make a choice

To believe only what is seen

Maybe sometimes it can only be that way

Yet at times

Believe in something much greater

By: Amara Van Orden

The Dreamer's Fire

Bold

Determined

Lifelong metamorphosis

Self-discovery

Lifelong journey

Of wisdom and experience

Free to be practically anything I choose

Think any way I like

Freedom, freedom is found

Freedom always has been

No more tying myself down

I know what drives me

Yearns from me

I know my capabilities

I keep learning and perceiving

What is right and true

So here I come

Precept-by-precept

Goal-by-goal

Node-to-node

I will become the woman I want to be

Tired of my excuses

I won’t let the pain hold me back

I won’t let what people say discourage me

My independence keeps growing

Yet slowly letting myself be dependent

On the few that matter and care

I have a set of skills and talents

I have a mind full of ideas and knowledge

I have a plan and a dreamer’s fire

That just will not fade

I know somehow and someway

Anything is possible if you set your mind to it

Ultimately, I am the one who holds me back

Holds me down

I will adapt, understand, and expand

Until who knows when…

Break the class barrier

Get out of this town

As long as I keep my eye on the expanding horizon

Take it day-by-day

And not let my natural tendencies

Of immediate gratification blind me

I can, I will be and do

The you  can’t(s), you won’t(s)

Only fuel me

Life can be hard

Yet at the end of every dark tunnel is hope and wisdom

Different pathways and possibilities

Here I go

Striving to be the greatest that I can be

Never settle for less than my potential

Because I am most happiest

When I strive to be my best

When I let my intuition, creativity, authenticity, and empowerment

Flow

By: Amara Van Orden

A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive.
- Pearl Bailey

Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.

- Bruce Barton

Repression is not the way to virtue. When people restrain themselves out of fear, their lives are by necessity diminished. Only through freely chosen discipline can life be enjoyed and still kept within the bounds of reason. - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Wisdom and Dalliances

A memory, a feeling

An ideal, fantasy

Daydreams and dalliances

Chilling warmth

Distracting

Mind boggling

Only an unfinished feat

No fait accompli

Selfish unfulfilled expectations

Pulled in, flung around

Hopeful hopelessness

Cat-and-mouse

Ridiculousness, naivete

Lack of copy

Fuzzy communication

Misled astray by

Romantic ideations

Looking into the eyes

Of yearning affection

Glimpsing warm smile

Laughter for a gripping second

Words soaring, wonderfully vitalizing

Moments of desire

Grasping the alleged unattainable

Like waking from a dream

It slips away

Reality sets in

Impossibilities disintegrate with the

Possibilities already pending from time and space

Realization taking over-whelming

Like an abrupt accusation, judgement

Wrought to one’s character

A sense of lack of power and vision

Just a desire, a fruitless pursuit

The fait accompli of life

Wonderments and flashbacks everyday

Looking beyond

The expectations and feelings

Yearnings occur for a moment

Walking away

Brings one rather to full potential

Despite the suffering involved

Yet surprisingly inspiration and joy too

A sense of accomplishment

Wisdom gained to bear the pain

To hope for more

To see more

And gain more than anyone’s

Ideals, judgments, insincere smile or laughter

Could ever offer

Self-reliance

By: Amara Van Orden