Archive for September, 2011
062 Creative Journey
by Charles on Sep.29, 2011, under Creative Journey Blog
Hello my friend,
Welcome to the 62nd installment of The Creative Journey, the experience of one Charles Yerkes, Eadarian Poet, perpetuator, and otherwise mildly creative and excessively modest personage.
Good vs. Best Part 1:
It has been said that the enemy of the best is not the worst, but the good that is not good enough.
I know this is not what I thought this blog post would be about, but as this blog does reflect my thought process, it also turns and twists and changes more ever than so often, so hang on and enjoy the ride.
One of the greatest needs of our time is the rediscovery of the joy of postponed gratification, the rediscovery of the joy found in declining minor satisfactions for the receiving of greater, richer, and more intense ones; to reach and obtain the best for us and not settle for the mere good. And the merely good will always steal the best away from you if you let it.
For example…
The joy of sleeping in and not practicing long and hard will steal from you the joy of winning the big race.
The joy of one more candy bar will steal from you the joy of staying trim.
The joy of feeling warm and fuzzy about yourself all the time will steal from you the joy of self – improvement.
Notice this is about a choice of joys, of satisfactions. One choice will give greater and longer lasting gratification while the other gives briefer and less satisfying gratification. We are not here pitting wrong against right. None of the above would be considered “bad” or “morally reprehensible”. In all the choices, one does negate the other, but in and of themselves, they are not ‘wrong’ choices.
But the briefer and more immediate gratifications are the enemy of those we would truly enjoy the most, that would satisfy us the most. Kind of like…
The child, who being told that Giant Pandas were going to make an appearance at the local zoo for the up coming summer, spends the whole school year getting excited about seeing them. He reads all about Giant Pandas in the library, talks excitedly to friends about going, and even does extra chores around the house to earn some extra money to go.
Then one the day his folks can take him to the zoo, they stop at the child’s favorite restaurant to make an extra special day of this event. Everything goes well until the waiter brings the dessert tray, which has on it a giant chocolate cake. The child, in the exhilaration of the day, becomes very excited by the possibility of eating that large slice of chocolate yummy – ness. The only problem is that his folks only have enough money for the lunch and the ticket to the zoo, not for the added cost of the dessert or anything else. Times are hard after all. If the child gets the cake he will not have enough money to also get a ticket to the zoo and so after the cake he will be taken home and will miss out on seeing the Pandas.
The child, knowing this, but because of the elation of the moment, still chooses the cake, because it is here, now, immediate. All his summer planning is gone. The joy of seeing the Pandas is gone. Why? He chose a good that brought instant gratification over what really mattered most to him, over what would have brought him the most joy.
To be continued…
Charles Yerkes
Eadarian Poet, Perpetuator, Photographer, and Fiddle Player
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To choose a past installment(s) of The Creative Journey click here. To view a Quote of the Week, click here.
078 Weekly Quote
by Charles on Sep.26, 2011, under Weekly Quote
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Chaos: Complete confusion and disorder resulting from irresponsible and arbitrary uses of the will. The end results of which are tyrannical in nature stealing away our ability to be truly free. Our ability to exercise free will, to utilize any self-decision, is lessened if not taken completely away.
-The Eadarian Poet
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To see past “Quote of the Week”(s) click here.
Or to choose an installment(s) of our blog, The Creative Journey, click here.
077 Weekly Quote
by Charles on Sep.22, 2011, under Weekly Quote
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Do not allow someone to have a power over you that they do not actually possess.-The Eadarian Poet
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To see past “Quote of the Week”(s) click here.
Or to choose an installment(s) of our blog, The Creative Journey, click here.
076 Weekly Quote
by Charles on Sep.12, 2011, under Weekly Quote
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FREEDOM: The responsible use of purposeful, voluntary, and independent self-decision to exercise our will in a non-arbitrary or non-despotic manner.-The Eadarian Poet
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To see past “Quote of the Week”(s) click here.
Or to choose an installment(s) of our blog, The Creative Journey, click here.
061 Creative Journey
by Charles on Sep.12, 2011, under Creative Journey Blog
Hello my friend,
Welcome to the 61st installment of The Creative Journey, the experience of one Charles Yerkes, Eadarian Poet, perpetuator, and otherwise mildly creative and excessively modest personage.
Taking a brief pause in preparing the newest topic for the Creative Journey to relate something I just read that is related to a previous entry. This goes back to Creative Journey entries 56, 57, and 58; the subject being Meek not mousy.
I found some incredibly precise and clear statements about Meekness that were just too cool not to share. These come from a book Broadman Press published in 1971, Creative Expectancy by Albert McClellan.
The man of meekness is firm without being hard.
He is shrewd but not wily.
He is strong but not destructive.
He is intelligent but not overbearing.
The man of meekness seeks no credit.
He listens intensely with the heart.
He asserts his love and even his ideas but not himself.
When in trouble the man of meekness does not run.
He does not create false issues or cast false images.
He is no prima donna.
He is not afraid of his enemies.
He never builds himself up at the expense of others.
He is never concerned with what he calls, “My rights.”
He makes no proud assertions.
He does not contemplate his own meekness.
He fights with words and ideas but not with doubts and slurs.
He defends himself with true spirit and an open attitude but not with the destruction of others.
He stands by his convictions and admires his enemies who stand by theirs.
He pitches his battle on fair ground; if he loses, he asks no quarter; if he wins, he helps bind up the wounds of his enemy.
None need fear losing anything to the man of meekness, neither purse, nor character, nor life.
He sits at the foot of the table until he is asked to come higher.
He goes to the bottom of the line and spells his way to the top, never boasting.
He is big enough to look any man in the eyes, but small enough so no man has to look up to him.
To some he looks like a zero, to others a world of hope, a world of wholeness, through whom the earth is about to be reborn.
This sums up rather well the idea of meekness. This is strength under control. I’ll even venture to say that this is the path to true freedom, but that can be a discussion for another day. 
Believe it or not that wraps things up for this entry,
Have a great one!
Grow in freedom;
Grow in peace.
Charles Yerkes
Eadarian Poet, Perpetuator, Photographer, and Fiddle Player
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If you liked this blog entry, check out the shirt designs based upon it. Just click here for: Meek not Mousy, here for: Bold, Daring, Meek, or here for: Meek and In Control at our cafepress store.
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To choose a past installment(s) of The Creative Journey click here. To view a Quote of the Week, click here.
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Worth Quoting
Never be so libelous as to call a man perfect; once a person is so labeled it is too easy to tear him apart for being what he is, a human being.
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