Category Archives: personal blog

Slo-Mo Man

17th post for #bloganuary (a WordPress event)

The Prompt: What is a superpower you’d love to have?

When I saw this prompt come in I was a bit confused as I thought we already had this one earlier in the month. Turns out I had written a post on a very similar theme last December. I had to laugh when I realized. Since that was posted on my old blog site, I figure I can repurpose it here. It’s still 100% valid. Enjoy!

Slo-Mo Man

Originally Posted: 20 December 2021 on MontysScribbles.com

If you could have any superpower what would you choose? Super strength? Invisibility? X-ray vision? How many times have you played this game of imagination growing up? More than I can count, for me. I’ve answered differently throughout the years. Weighing the pros and cons of each choice.  Debating the finer points with whomever would listen.

My youngest fantasy was to fly. I dreamed both day an night about flying away. An escape in more ways then one. X-ray vision was a favorite during puberty, but it always required some special fine tuning to avoid very disturbing results. I spent many a night trying my way to think that one through. Oh, the not so innocent innocence of pre-internet pubescence. Later in life, I would discuss the same question with my kids. No matter what I chose they always had an argument as to why I was wrong. They made some pretty good points.

I’m not exactly sure how I came to consider this question again this morning. It was a meandering thought process with a murky beginning and the final conclusion that from now on my super power is going slow. When the world is spinning out of control and life gets unruly, I take it slow. 

Here’s the logic: When I slow down, life slows down too. In fact, life slows down exponentially in relation to the pace I live it. By going slow, the world around me pauses. Suddenly time gets vertical. Urgency, with all of its stresses, fades away. Life becomes calm. I transform from impatient to compassionate. From insensitive to kind. From selfish to giving. The slow me is grateful. The slow me is my best self. 

I’m Slo-Mo Man!

Be well,

Monty

A Call for Humanity

16th post for #bloganuary (a WordPress event)

The Prompt: What is a cause that you are passionate about and why?

Humanity: Compassion, Empathy and Kindness.

“Anew” (originally published in Monty’s Very Short Shorts)

Perhaps this answer doesn’t address the prompt as it was originally intended, but I’d like to use this opportunity to make a call for humanity. There are many causes in this world that I’m aligned to. At the center of every worthy cause, there is a core value of humanity. We may chose to direct our efforts towards various causes from saving the earth to fighting for greater justice or racial equality. Either way we are tapping into the fundamental values of humanity: Compassion, Empathy, and Kindness. If we guide our actions and behaviors with these values, we will be living up to our species name.

“Motherland” (originally published in Monty’s Very Short Shorts)

Be well,

Monty

Still Standing

Still Standing

Standing wizened and bowed;

Knotted with weary worries and gnarled guilts;

Aged by oaken regrets and willowy dreams, broken;

Twisted by time passing in ever shrinking rings,

Of passing draughts interspersed with hopes, lost;

Deeply bowed, yet standing;

Still standing, still.

Knees stiffly bend,

With creaks and popping cracks;

The ground rises, catching him gracefully by the seat;

Settling down, tired boughs finally at rest;

Eyes dripping closed,

Whipping winds of worries calm;

Gusts of guilt and shame slow and quiet;

Willowy dreams wisp away;

Oaken scars fade;

Time pauses, still.

Another rung drawn, he rises,

He stands, again.

Today’s poem, Still Standing, was inspired by my morning meditation.

Be well,

Monty

1001 Life Lessons…

15th post for #bloganuary (a WordPress event)

The Prompt: What is a life lesson you feel everyone can benefit from learning?

The Answer: Always include a number in your blog title.

Ok, I’m being just a pinch sarcastic on this one, but tell me it isn’t true. No, please tell me. It feels like so many blog titles are following a recipe that calls for a numbered list. All this math is exhausting. Anyway…

I shared my perspective on this topic already in the very first post of this series, however it received very few reads as I was just newly onboard this WordPress platform and hadn’t built up an audience yet. So I highly encourage you (beg of you), to check out Dear Monty (1st post for #bloganuary). Don’t miss out on this life lesson!

Be well,

Monty

The 6am Job Interview

14th post for #bloganuary (a WordPress event)

The Prompt: Write about a challenge you faced and overcame.

Facing challenges, overcoming some, learning from all, has been a central theme in my writing. Earlier this month, I wrote about my journey of recovery from chronic pain and living with depression (Discovering Hope). I won’t repeat myself. So, I’ll share with a you a simple story about the challenge I faced this morning and how I approached it. Life is not always about the big challenges and events, sometimes its just about meeting the little challenges of the day.

At 6am this morning I had a job interview. I’ve got a good job already, and this company had reached out to me, so it wasn’t a high pressure situation. However, this was my second interview with them and the during the first interview I kinda started to get my hopes up about the potential opportunity. I really liked the line manager and, if there is one thing I’ve learned after a quarter century of working in industry, a line manager can make or break a job experience. There is nothing worse than having to go to work everyday and face someone that doesn’t trust you (or you them). Anyway, I started to get excited about working for this new company/line manager and it got my mind speeding up, building up expectations, and stress.

Last night I tried to calm my mind by jotting down a few key points that I wanted to make during the interview, but I still slept restlessly and awoke at 5am tired. What to do?

I did the same thing I’ve done every day for the past 30 days and off-and-on for the past few years. First, I rolled out the mat and did a simple 20-minute yoga session to wake my body up. Starting the day with a self-care activity is the best way for me to remind myself about my priorities. Starting off today, like any other day, helped remind myself to keep the day ahead in perspective.

Following the yoga session, I sat for a 10-minute guided meditation to get my mind in synch with my body (doing the yoga first is key for me as otherwise I’ll tend to fall back asleep when I try to meditate first thing in the morning). This morning, my mind was on fast-forward and I really struggled with staying present. I was so fidgety that I laughed out loud at myself at one point. But I sat and did my practice. It’s more important for me to do the work, than how well it goes on any given day. In fact, I would say that the practices that are more rough tend to be the most valuable for building my emotional resilience.

At this point, it was about 5:40am and I only had a bit of time before my interview. Not enough time to take my coffee, but too much time to just wait. I decided to try something to release my nerves. There was an exercise offered on my meditation app (Calm) called “Daily Move” and today’s movement was focused on dealing with strong emotions such as anger and fear. While I wasn’t feeling these emotions, I thought it could still release some of my nervous energy. The guide had me in horse position punching the air. I really got into it. Maybe I was feeling a bit of anger after all? Haha. Not sure, but it felt great.

With 10 minutes left, I needed to get set up and take a quick look at my notes. I logged onto the video conference at 5:59am. I felt energized. I felt calm. I felt confident. While it will be some time before I know the results of the interview, it doesn’t really matter for today. Today, I took care of myself. Today, I’m feeling good. I’m ready to face the next challenge of the day.

“Namaste” by Monty Vern

Be well,

Monty

Aging Grey-fully (a Paint Chip Poem)

No Love For Fatties invites us to join in on her Paint Chip Poetry by creating our own poem inspired by the paint chip colors of the week. I think this is a really creative and fun idea so I’m giving it a try. Check out her original post and join in too if you feel inspired.

Paint Chip Poetry

Aging Grey-fully

I never planned to age gracefully;

I never planned to age at all;

But with every attempt to abort a failure,

I’m still here;

Well, most of me;

I find myself disappearing top down;

Almost nothing left on my crown;

So, it’s a shopping day;

What shall I go with?

There are so many choices:

Silver Ash?

Whitewash Oak?

Arid Plains?

Something more macho,

Battleship Grey?

Or, perhaps one for each day?

A day-of-the-week toupee?

Yes, that’s it!

I’ve gotta take a pee, but I’ll be right back;

And I’ll take the multi-pack!

Be well,

Monty

Weird Science

13th post for #bloganuary (a WordPress event)

The Prompt: What does your ideal day look like.

The Answer: Frictionless.

I dedicate this post to all of my fellow science nerds.

Originally Published on MontysScribbles.com

WORK

If: Work = Force x Distance
Then: Work = Effort × Progress
Therefore: All Effort plus no Progress equals no Work


However, without work there is no progress
Therefore: No Work = Effort × 0 or Effort = No Work / 0 = 0/0 = 0
Therefore: Effort is worthless


Reality check:
“Work” (i.e. this here poem) is clearly worthless yet took a lot of effort
Therefore: Conclusion confirmed!


Implications:
1) I made an ASS(umption) of myself and /or
2) Physics is bullshit and /or
3) What the %$&@?


I’m gonna go with all three…I’ve discovered three new natural laws!


Wait?! Then evidently this poem is not worthless.
It must be priceLESS…oh no…not again.
Therefore:

Be well,

Monty

Speechless

12th post for #bloganuary (a WordPress event)

The Prompt: What emoji(s) do you like to use.

I make my own.

How I first felt when I read today’s prompt:

“sad”

But then I realized I could showcase some of my previous masterpieces:

“tantrum” – originally published in Monty’s Very Short Shorts
“on-fleek” – originally published in Monty’s Very Short Shorts
“not laughing!” – originally published in Monty’s Very Short Shorts
“outsmarted (by self” – originally published in Thirteen Words (vol. II)
“shh” – originally published in Thirteen Words (Vol. II)

I fully expect this post to translate into a spike in sales (and I will notice as I haven’t had a sale in over three months…haha). Happy emoji-ing.

Be well,

Monty

Living Courageously

11th post for #bloganuary (a WordPress event)

The Prompt: What does it mean to live boldly?

First let’s get grounded…

Boldly:

(1) in a confident and courageous way; showing a willingness to take risk.

(2) in a way that is characterized by having a strong, vivid, or clear appearance.

– Oxford Dictionary

Ok, so based on this literal foundation, I’m going to reframe the question for today as “What does it mean to live courageously?”

Living Courageously

Living courageously is being open, honest, and vulnerable.

Living courageously is admitting to my mistakes and making amends.

Living courageously is loving myself with all my faults.

Living courageously is loving another unconditionally.

Living courageously is changing the things I can.

Living courageously is accepting the things I cannot change.

Living courageously is choosing life even when I don’t want to.

Living courageously is finding joy amidst the pain.

Living courageously is simply,

Living.

What does living courageously mean to you?

Be well,

Monty

Sun, Happiness, Coffee, Writing & Gratitude

10th post for #bloganuary (a WordPress event)

The Prompt: What are five things you’re grateful for today?

1) The morning sun. While it’s not a sunny morning per se, the sun is doing it’s job and lighting up the morning sky. Reminding me to appreciate the improbable wonder of life.

“Life” – originally published in Thirteen Words (Vol. I)

2. Happiness. I chose to feel happy this morning. I’ve been making this choice more and more in life. I think this is what they call wisdom.

“Happiness” – originally published in Monty’s Very Short Shorts.

3. Coffee (and a sense of humor). Hehe. I make myself chuckle.

“Coffee” – originally published in Thirteen Words (Vol. III)

4. Writing. Writing saved my life once…and every day since.

“Wild Writing” – originally published in Thirteen Words (Vol. III)

5. Gratitude.

“Rebirth” – originally published in Monty’s Very Short Shorts

Be well,

Monty