#writerscommunity – Page 5 – OVERVIEW AFFECTED

Poetry

Distance

March 20, 2018 Bradley Ward

You may be distant

But you aren’t pointless

Detachment is a symptom

Of a beautiful soul

Poetry

Writing

March 19, 2018 Bradley Ward

You write about lost love

I write about dying friendships

And chaotic nerves

Poetry

Dive

March 19, 2018 Bradley Ward

Take a dive

Immerse yourself in art and expression

Floating gently

In the human soul

Poetry

Entryways and Exits

January 29, 2018 Bradley Ward

Balancing
Between panic and panic
Just beyond reach
Crystalline portals
To new worlds
Beyond this one
Of heart rates and clenching

They take the forms
Of night skies
Dancing fields
Miniature hands
Shooting stars
Freckles faces
Celestial sounds

Always visible
Always audible
Always unattainable
Both escape and entrapment
Entryways and exits

Poetry

Beneficial Dysphoria

December 28, 2017December 28, 2017 Bradley Ward

I feel too much.
I have emotions that are far stronger than most people understand.
I feel my guts in knots over the slightest things.

I was a pushover.
I was a doormat.
To many people at too many times.
Maybe I’ve swung too much in the other direction.
Maybe my insecurity makes me seem prideful.
I’m just trying to stay out of the fetal position.

I’ve found myself in the stars.
I’ve found myself in freckles.
When stars and freckles aren’t present I’m often lost.
Am I really independent after all?

I’m a perfectionist about the things that don’t matter to other people.
I let the things that do slip through the cracks.
Am I determined to myself but lazy to others?

Maybe I’m too aware of the cracks in my personality.
Maybe I should step back and learn to live without worry.
Maybe I should pretend that’s even a possibility for me.
Is there such a thing as beneficial dysphoria?

Uncategorized

Smoke Breaks

December 20, 2017December 20, 2017 Bradley Ward

I’ve always been a proponent of small breaks from your daily work to clear your mind, rest your eyes, and recharge your energy. For some people this takes the form of smoke breaks. Wouldn’t you say it’s a sad reflection on our priorities as a corporate society that people take up unhealthy habits just to get a small reprieve from the stressful grind of work? I have met people in my career that have done just that. They don’t take a break to smoke – they smoke so that they can take a break.

We as a society undervalue the benefits of a content and happy person. We focus on the amount of time put into a project rather than the gross amount of energy and excitement that is dedicated to it. This makes our most gifted individuals less productive, while all the while we operate under the assumption that they are more productive because they put in longer hours. That’s a backwards understanding of the human psyche.

This idea of the smoke break has applications in our personal, “extracurricular” lives as well. The average adult in the US spends 5 hours a day consuming visual media via one screen or another. If you consider that the average individual may only have 14 hours a day to distribute across work and other duties, that leave very little room for peace and quite. We are actively robbing ourselves of the time alone with our thoughts that is needed more than ever in today’s world. Our brains are shellshocked by the bombardment of eighteen different storylines from all of the shows that we watch – on top of the data that we feed into them at our places of work. It’s no wonder we are tired, anxious, and oblivious to the things that are most important.

All that said: we need more smoke breaks. I’m not encouraging you to take up the habit of polluting your body. Simply this: give your mind a rest. At work, at home, and at play. And I’m mostly speaking to myself.