I love you like a negative STD test

When was the last time you wrote a poem?

My freshman year “Writing the Essay” teacher, Rajiv Joseph assigned each student to write a weekly poem. Poem day, which I think was Wednesday, was always something I looked forward to. Before we began the typical class lecture, we’d all share our weekly genius with the class.

A few things I remember about my freshman year classes… I read a lot of plays and essays, I wrote a lot of essays, and POEM DAY.

The poems were never graded. It was simply a chance to create art just because.

So today when I was working a L’Oreal promotion at Duane Reade; a far from glamorous gig, I noticed a cashier writing in her notebook.

She confessed that when the store wasn’t busy… she writes poetry. She proudly announced that just yesterday she wrote a love poem for her husband. When she read it to him, it brought tears to his eyes. (I got that warm fuzzy feeling all over)

For the sappy romantics out there, an ode to your lover is probably apart of your daily routine. But for everyone else, when was the last time you wrote a poem?

She brought me back to freshman year Poem Day. Besides the fact that poems are artsy and such… I couldn’t help but wonder why my teacher had us write poetry??? Was it…

To hear the crazy thoughts of college freshman?

To take time away from “Writing the Essay” curriculum?

To spark creativity in general?

Who really knows, I’d assume to spark creativity, and to get us out of our heads and into our souls… Or maybe the method of his madness was just to have fun, to break up the monotony.

I wonder if Rajiv writes weekly poems… I do know Rajiv writes brilliant plays. 

I find myself creating art solely for an intended goal… it’s been awhile since I’ve created art, just for art sake. So I’ll try my luck at a poem this week. And maybe, just maybe it’ll lead to writing brilliant plays. 

I'm not super proud of this jargon below... but I thought what the hay!!

22 February 2006

This is a testimony of my true love:

I love you like a negative STD test

I love you like an afternoon rest

I love you like my easy bake oven

I love you like some late night lovin

You can preheat my oven any time

You're my consensual sex crime

I love you coat check boy

I want to make you my bedtime toy

Rapture, Smapture

In honor of the supposed rapture…

“Life is too short to hate what you're doing everyday.”
                                Tribes by Seth Godin

Whether dooms day is upon us or not, life is short.

Do you relish in misery?

If you didn’t hate your job, would you have nothing to talk about?

If life didn’t suck all the time, would you have no reason to open your mouth?

Well if that’s the case, man up and change it! What are you waiting for? Finally begin your creative journey. Fulfillment is possible. Discipline yourself to take steps toward your artistic dreams everyday. Your life story will shift and morph, and misery will be but a faint memory.

Hold close to your heart this simple phrase…

“The pain of discipline weighs ounces, and the pain of regret weighs tons.”
                            Jim Rohn

So choose your path. I’ve chosen mine.

Goliath Lost

Every artist must remember, Goliath lost.

We all get fired up, excited, and determined the minute we set a new life changing goal… but then reality sets in. We are reminded by our family, friends, and our Ego to pursue non-childlike dreams.

Be a nurse.

Be a lawyer.

Be content with the way things are.

Enjoy mediocrity.

So when all odds are against you, when you’re ready to give it all up, when you’ve failed countless times, remember Goliath lost, and the little guy won.

You’re the little guy. You have the power. Make your heart’s desire come to life. Share your art with us, we are waiting for you.

Every “NO” means you’re just one step closer to “YES”—Les Brown

I've Broken Out In Hives

This afternoon I found myself sitting in the audition waiting-room surrounded by beautiful auditioners. I kept my headphones in, in order to avoid the pre-audition jargon. 

As I pretended not to listen to the girls chatting it up; I heard one mention that she was "soooo nervous" she was beginning to break out in hives. I assumed she was the typical over dramatic actor, you know the kind that gives the rest of us a bad rep, so embarrassing. I kept my head down and focused my energy on Seth Godin's latest blog posts.

Finally, the drama queen, Ms. Hives was called into the audition room. A few minutes later, she left the room and wished us all good luck... Her good luck sincerity prompted me to raise my head and thank her. And as she smile and turned, I saw splotches of hives all down her back. 

Wow! She really wasn’t over reacting... All her bottled up nerves had manifested in a real break out!!

I wanted to run after her and say "I'm sorry I didn't believe you... Please can I help you overcome your nerves?" 

But then I thought... who am I?! Really?!

I then thought some more.

Too late.

My mind was racing, but I couldn't quite pin down what my heart and mind were trying to release.

And then it came…

Dear Ms. Hives,

Learn to accept the emotion you are feeling. Don't try to deny it or make it into something else. Accept your nervousness, rather than becoming frustrated with it, and maybe your hives will dissipate.

Or maybe, the hives stick around…

But consider this, “Henry Fonda was still throwing up before every stage performance, even when he was 75” (The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield).

In other words the fear, the nerves, the frustration, the anxiety is never going to go away… It may subside here and there, but your emotions have a life of their own, it’s YOUR life. So why not use those crazy, funky, scary emotions to your advantage?

Feel those emotions. And before you know it, one emotion will shift and morph into another emotion. This new emotion could be better or worse, but feel it. And when we finally give over, we undergo truth. This truth helps us to create art from the stuff that really counts, the soul.

And finally...

Whatever we are most afraid of…

Whatever our Ego likes to tell us we SUCK at…

Whatever we’ve given up on and then started again a million times over…

Whatever gives us HIVES…

That nemesis, that thing, that dream…

is what we need to dedicate our lives to.

 Like Henry Fonda and his nausea… you’ve got your hives. It’s a sure sign you’ve chosen the right career path.

“Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel towards pursuing it.”

Steven Pressfield, Do The Work

In my own vernacular, the definition of Pressfield’s Resistance: a force of nature arising in anything from thoughts, to people, to a skin break out that tries to stop you from achieving your dreams.

Become aware of the fear your Ego creates, and let it steer you toward the creation of your art.

Wishing you so much success!

Sincerely, 

Malorie Bryant

Do the Work by Steven Pressfield is dedicated to helping you accomplish your biggest endeavors, and dare I say, DREAMS. I highly recommend you read it ASAP. It came out April 21^st, it’s hot off the press. I ordered it day of and I’m now reading it for a second time. It’s a must. Plus it’s only 98 pages, with a large font. Have I convinced you?!