Buy my book! It will change your life :-)

Last year was my twentieth high school reunion and, although it was great to reconnect with my classmates from Orange Park High School's class of 1992, there was a reunion that I had later on that meant a lot to me.

While cleaning up around my apartment, I found an old journal of poetry that I wrote during my freshman year of college. Two decades later, I revisited the thoughts of a vulnerable 18-year-old student who was on his own for the first time in his life. At first, I was depressed because I was surrounded by a lot of uncertainty. But, as time passed, I found my voice amid a heady optimism that marked the pre-9/11 world of the 1990s.

In my journal, there are poems of sadness, separation and then joy and life. I marvel at how I took the time to express myself in a journal when I thought that nobody was watching or listening. I shared my thoughts at a random poetry reading here or there, but soon put away my poetry journal for what I deemed to be more 'grown-up' things.

In the last year, I gathered the courage to publish a selection of my poems and share them with the world. Back then, when I was editing my college newspaper, I knew that my audience was limited to the faculty and students of South Georgia College in Douglas, Georgia. I don't know how I would have reacted to today's World Wide Web, blogs and the Information Age. The title of my book is "Twenty Years Later: A Collection of Poems from a Past Life."

As my work was intended to help me through dark times, I promise to donate proceeds from my book to help with mental health services for today's young people who need to find a way through what appears to be the great unknown in their lives. Please visit the link below and purchase a copy! It is only $4.75 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Years-Later-Collection-Poems/dp/148113759X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372128968&sr=8-1&keywords=9781481137591

Desiderata and the new year

The new year is less than an hour away and I take comfort in the wise words that have held up to the changing times. And these words will endure long after I depart this material world. Desiderata is from the Latin word for 'Desired things,' and I know that we all desire good for the coming year. This was a lesson that I enjoyed teaching to my Sunday school classes and I hope that you will find lessons from as well... Happy New Year!

Desiderata by Max Ehrmann (1872–1945)

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.