sometimes you just gotta DIY...

I see nothing wrong with tooting your own horn once in awhile. pat yourself on the back. high-five yourself. give yourself kudos.

Because we all need a cheerleader now and then, and we shouldn't always have to rely on others to BE that cheerleader - though I will admit that there is a rather giddy feeling that explodes out of my skin when someone I love tells me I'm awesome!

So, why am I feeling particularly awesome today?

Because, dear friends and readers, I have almost COMPLETELY completed the November PAD (Poem a Day) challenge with Robert Lee Brewer!

I have participated in this challenge (and the April PAD challenge) for the past several years, and though I usually come out at the end of the month with about 15-20 new poems, I've never completed a challenge where I've written a piece for every prompt.

and I am VERY close to doing just that!

I currently have 26 new poems written - plus a few non-prompt poems I've written this month - and let me tell you, this feels great!

So, I'm going to start compiling a second collection and start looking to publish. I mean, why not? Three Thousand Doors needs a follow-up, right? (my Mama likes to joke and tell me my next collection should carry the title "Three Thousand MORE doors." ~shakes head~)

Prompt #83: I'm going to work on compiling another poetry collection. What are you gonna do?

Fear can make a donkey attack a lion...(Arab Proverb)

Fear is an ugly word. an ugly four-letter word. 

A few months ago I had an email conversation with a dear friend of mine (we've known each other since high school.) We were discussing the upcoming release of my poetry collection (which is causing some mild anxiety - because of course, I want it to be PERFECT!)

I used a variety of words to describe my state of mind, and wrote: 

it's not fear.  it's just slight antsy-ness. a mixture of anxious and something else.  not worry or concern - but jitters.  like going on stage. excited, but mildly nauseated.  

and she repeated the word...FEAR.

I said:

but they (my words) don't sound as bad as FEAR! ...and it's not something that would keep me from doing it. there's simply a YIKES about being so close

Then, my long-time friend, my confidant, touchstone...the woman who calls bullshit on me, said:

You can’t escape fear, it’s an autonomic response.  A good one, as it’s what makes you haul ass so the saber-toothed tiger doesn’t eat you.  Or in this case motivates Karen’s DELUXE gene  – the Yikes factor – to avoid perceived failure.

Fear by itself is simply a motivator.  Fear is being on the verge, fear is the unknown, fear is the state right before a revelation, breakthrough etc.  It’s what happens on the other side of fear that can be good or “ugly.”  Fear is a vehicle to harness.

to which I replied: 

it sounds so pretty when you say it that way.

I've always associated fear with those who are too afraid to try anything! too afraid to change. too afraid to MOVE. too afraid to do anything but lock up inside themselves and let the world go on around them. 

Fear, by my definition, and what I've witnessed in life and people around me, has not been a motivator, but the thing that causes one to completely stall out. 

That's why I detest the word. Fear, in my vocabulary, has a very different definition than what you've just given. 

I like yours better.

prompt #14 Do you allow your fears to motivate you or stop you? What do you fear most? 

~ Blog Giveaway ~

I will be selecting two people to receive a copy of my poetry collection Three Thousand Doors. In order to get your name in the hat all you have to do is leave a comment anytime during August. I will announce the winners on Monday September 6th.