The game of life

How should it be played

There are many right ways

Just as there are wrong

Finding your own way

The search can be long

So many distractions

Wanting to fit in

Until one day

You accept yourself

All that you are

The good

The bad

Forgive yourself

Love yourself

The only person

That you have to win against

Is you

Your higher self knows

Your lower self strives for position

Trying to checkmate itself into control

Overcoming this struggle

Requires letting go

Of old programming

Old beliefs

Embracing the truth

Thoughts create your world

To live differently

Think differently

Then

Make your next move

E.A. Fussell

12.21.2020

Truth sits in plain sight
But the more obvious it is
The less people want to acknowledge it
Lack of acknowledgement
Amplifies ignorance
Follow the money
Truth sits in plain sight

E.A. Fussell
12.17.2020

The safety of convention

The security of social relationships

That wrap around

Encompassing

The heart

And mind

Forming a protective barrier

They are not part of me anymore

Sometimes I wish they were

Sometimes I wish

I could fit back inside

That protective predictable suit

Going about life

In a somewhat normal way

But you see

There was a time in my life

The cocoon of normalcy

Which had held me for so long

Crumbled

Fell away

Painfully

And in healing

Something different emerged

Something ancient

A renewed energy

Flickering within

Content with being alone

No longer desiring to own

Or attach

To anything

Or anyone

Understanding

That there is a different existence

That can be reached

It requires nothing

No ownership

No possession

No things

Looking closely

I can now see

The beauty of me

As it reflects off the old suit

I couldn’t accept myself

When I was inside of

That old conventional suit

I was never pretty enough

Smart enough

Didn’t own enough

Couldn’t accomplish enough

But then I woke up one day

As the old cocoon crumbled away

And I realized that

I am enough

E.A. Fussell

12.15.2020

I am entering the world of

Work-from-home

At first the idea felt a little daunting

Simply because decades

Of programming had taught me

To go into an office

Sit at a desk

Plug-away

Go home

Repeat

The thought of doing it differently

Was uncomfortable

Then I realized the freedom

That was awaiting me

At home I can wear my jogging suit

And go out the door for a short run

Anytime

And

I can play my music

Loud

And

I can work sitting down

Standing up

Reclining outside on my roof deck

And

I can completely control my kitchen

Unlike the break room at the office

Where birthday cakes and other

Diet wrecking sweets often lurk

And

Most interestingly

Sitting outside of the

Programmed decades old box

My mind functions differently

More creatively

Problem solving easier

Brilliant ideas emerging

Suddenly

Work life has become exciting again

E.A. Fussell

12.10.2020

You are a magical combination

Of flesh and blood

Intelligence and imagination

Created by the One

Who made the stars

All knowledge and understanding

Reside in the mind of your heart

As you go out into

The world each day

Remember to shine

Like the universe you are

E.A. Fussell

12.09.2020

Granny gave him one

Every once in a while

A silver Stetson

For his birthday or

Their anniversary

I realize now

That it was a lot of money

From their income

And she was probably

Always saving a few cents

Here and there

To get the next one

I remember how big

The smile

On Grandpa’s face would be

When he saw the large box

Wrapped and bowed

And how proudly he wore

His new hat

To visit family and friends

To funerals or weddings

It would absorb

The sweat of his brow

In the Florida sun

And eventually look like

The older one

Hanging on the rack

The one that he wore everyday

With spots and stains

And stories to tell

Of work and play

Silver felt Stetsons

Will always have

A special place in my heart

Because they remind me of the

Toughest, kindest, finest man

I have ever known

And his wife

Who put so much stock

In making sure a new one

He owned

E.A. Fusssell

12.08.2020

Some days
You’re the big ol’ gator
Some days
You’re the big ol’ bass
Heading out the door each day
Especially in the year 2020
I’m never quite sure
Which day it will be
But as I head out today
I’m planning not to be
That big ol’ bass
Or at least to swim faster
Than the one
The big ol’ gator
Bites in the ass

E.A. Fussell
12.07.2020

Focused on December

And what it will bring

Wrapping this year up

As the Holiday bells ring

I am thankful for so many things

Looking forward to a new year

Refusing to be filled with fear

Taking the time

To write down my dreams

Small to large

No matter how unattainable

They may seem

I’ve decided to go for it

No more living lean

Going big

Going bold

That’s one of the advantages

Of growing old

You can get wild and crazy

Or laid back and lazy

Nobody really notices

So do whatever you like

E.A. Fussell

12.01.2020

Another year is ending

Soon a fresh one will begin

My mind feels the pressure

Of many items still filling

The box on my desk marked “in”

Knowing some inevitably

Will remain undone

Not surprisingly

As 2020 was a most chaotic one

COVID-19

Unprecedented election scenes

A strange new vaccine

Masks hiding faces

With emotions unseen

Maybe 2021

Will offer a bit more fun

Engage better conversations

See a lot more hugs

By now we have an idea

Of what our priorities should be

As we take time

To reflect

To plan

To decide

What we would like

Our next year

To be

E.A. Fussell

11.29.2020