Kern Carter's Blog, page 94
October 7, 2021
Editor Picks — Favourite Posts On CRY Last Week
I’m going to skip the preamble this week, but I will say that choosing a single story isn’t getting any easier. The submissions are getting better and better and making this choice impossible. But alas, we must choose, so here we go.
Kern
Sometimes, a piece is just so damn real that it feels like the writer is in your head. That’s what happened when I read “Would I Be Happier If I Were Rich” by Melissa Steussy. She broke down what so many of us feel by sucking us into her innermost thoughts but in the most casual way possible. Side note: Great writing doesn’t always have to be flowery. Melissa’s story is an example of how a writer can connect with a reader in a deep way without elaborate prose.
Favourite excerpt:
I was able to buy my out-of-state son a ticket to visit me and yes, I am out of money on the first day of my check. Yes, I live paycheck to paycheck. No, I don’t have savings. I know, I feel screwed. I have a huge student loan debt and lots of other boring financial problems, but tonight I was out taking a bike ride and I noticed the nicer houses in the neighborhood. I live in a suburb in Northern Minnesota and it’s actually really beautiful right now. The leaves are changing and the temps are warm, but I rode my bike through this new development and I watched these people inside their huge brand new beautiful houses and I questioned my own worth. I questioned my own happiness. I started to feel poor again.
Safia
My favourite piece this past week was “It’s Time To Follow My Heart after The Success of Hard Graft” by Verbieanne Hardy. Verbieanne describes the promise she made to her readers that she plans to keep and shares why writing provides a necessary structure and motivation each day after the loss of her husband.
In her own words:
I plan to write for a decade, sharing stories of life, asking hard questions, or reminding us of our better selves. If I achieve that, my bucket would be full of treasures from a life well-lived.
Editor Picks — Favourite Posts On CRY Last Week was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Stay-at-Home Mom-ing: The Decision of (Almost) a Lifetime
The doors to re-entry may not be barred, but the keys have surely changed
as the world changes
this morningsweater and sockspre-frost coolnesswaitingfor the turn
If I was a natural weather event
a haiku about being in an elevated mood and feeling out of control
October 6, 2021
Call for Poetry Submissions — What Will You Release In Order to Receive?
Photo by J.Balla on Unsplash“Damn, I thought I let go of that already.”
Have you ever said those words to yourself?
It seems like thinking our way out of constraints is sometimes the quickest way of sinking ourselves into a similar situation.
Whenever we go through something painful or unfavorable we, think of endless ways to make sure it never happens again.
Feel sick after eating a tub of ice cream? → “Well, I’m not doing that again. I just won’t buy ice cream.”
Feel taken advantage of after giving “too much” love? → “Well, I’m not doing that again. I just won’t give love so easily.”
How about when you hold back from pursuing an opportunity because a million reasons pop up for why you shouldn’t? → “……..”
It’s hard to think your way out of that one
It’s often the internal, emotional habits we hold onto that receive less attention yet do the most damage.
Whenever they pop up; we’re surprised again. As if a similar thing didn’t happen the previous week, month, or year.
Tapping into your soul’s wisdom isn’t a light-hearted fairytale of magic and fantasy—it can be dark. It can be painful. But it will transform you into the person you know you already are—beneath the fears and insecurities.
That is where you shine.
The toughest thing to accept is: there’s no guarantee you’ll get what you envision.
This journey of self-exploration has no end and no promise that you can physically see.
It’s based on how you feel and finding the essence of self-expression that you feel most confident in.
To find newfound freedom, you must release emotional baggage.
That freedom might look different than you originally thought, but it will always…always be worth the weight of what you chose to let go of.
Look deep within…what do you need to let go of in order to receive emotional fulfillment?
Even if you could trade “this for that”—what would be at stake? And would the trade be worth it?
Lastly, even if you don’t know what’s on the other side, what do you need to let go of right now? And why is now the right time?
Let it all out in this week’s call for poetry submissions.
Much love ya’ll.
A few new rules:Keep your submission to ~ 350 words max.Format the poem as it is meant to be read.Make sure to put the “poetry” tag on your story.Avoid writing like a journal entry. Give your submission a story that the community can relate to and benefit from.The same rules still apply:You can submit to this or ANY of our past writing prompts. Just scroll through our previous newsletters. They’ll be marked “Call for Submissions.”If you’re already a writer for CRY, go ahead and submit.If you’re not a writer for CRY but would like to submit to this or any other prompt, let us know and we’ll add you ASAP. Include your profile handle in your message or comment.Be as creative as you want in your submissions. As long as you stick to the topic, we’ll consider it.Just because you submit doesn’t mean we’ll post. If you haven’t heard back from us in three days, consider that a pass.
Call for Poetry Submissions — What Will You Release In Order to Receive? was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Change
Photo Credit: Lilit SargsyanLife is change.
It has a way of bending us
The tiniest bit, every day,
Infinitesimally small degrees of movement
Unnoticeable on the scale of one day.
Not a week, maybe not even a month,
Half a year may be seen
To those who seek to see it.
Change is the meaning of life,
It cannot be helped or altered.
Uncompromising.
Even those who don’t seemingly change,
They morph as resistance grows inside of them
Mutating into a strong concrete wall that
Becomes thicker and taller, and
That’s change, too.
I have changed a million times
Across a million lifetimes.
I have broken and healed and broken and healed,
And broken.
With every smile,
I am gifted,
Every burst of tears,
I am privileged to witness,
Every spirit that has lifted off its vessel,
In front of my eyes.
I have changed.
I see more, I feel more, I ask more, I wait more.
I try to give more.
I hold space, every day.
I look within and seek to see the change
On that too-small daily scale.
The truth of change is immutable
The meaning of it is what’s elusive.
Change was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Two Letters, One Word — Just say it already…
Why is saying “No” so difficult & the simple pleasures of saying it
The Gift of My Time
Photo by Paul Kapischka on UnsplashAnyone who knows me well, knows I am an ardent fan of Brené Brown. Her book, “The Gifts of Imperfection,” changed me down to my DNA. The only other book that has come close to that same level of influence was “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle, but that’s another article.
Since reading “The Gifts of Imperfection” two years ago, I have made an effort to focus on how I spend my time. I, like most women, was raised to be a people pleaser. To be small and quiet. So it is no surprise that by the time I grew into an adult my time was spent pleasing and doing for others, (and definitely not complaining) at the detriment of my own health and sanity. I was trying to pour from an empty cup. Having three children in two years did not help matters either. I tried filling my empty cup with empty things, like binging TV shows and social media. I would binge sugary foods as a way to feel good, even just for a moment. As Brené described it, I was “armoring up and not doing the work.” Then I read “The Gifts of Imperfection,” and I was totally cured!
Just kidding, but it did give me the vocabulary to more fully express my feelings and offered insight into the motivations and actions of myself and others. Something I didn’t even know was missing.
Through the work with a therapist, antidepressants, and lots of time ruminating with myself, husband, and close friends, I found…me. I had not noticed the tiny parts of myself that had been chipped away. Slowly chipped away by abuse, the lack of a support system, low self-esteem, finding worth outside of myself, and the whiplash identity shift that comes with parenthood. After reading Brené’s work, I stopped looking out at everything and everyone else. Instead, I looked down at the ground and scooped up those jagged shards.
Now I know me. I know what I require to fill my cup, and I am not afraid to protect the time I need to do it. I need time to get outside of the house. Not to run errands, but to go for a walk or grab a coffee with a friend. I need time to write. Not because I earn any money from it, but because sharing Story is one of the things in life that brings me pure joy. I need time to sleep. A precious commodity only parents can really appreciate. I have to enforce a bedtime for myself so that I can fully show up for myself and those who depend on me.
In the end, I want what everyone wants. I want to be my best self. Being my best self sometimes means I have to say “No.” My priorities are the people I love and the parts of myself that need nourishing. Therefore, this is where I spend my time. If I have a full cup (and preferably a full cup of coffee), and if I have fulfilled my commitments, only then will I give my precious time away.
The Gift of My Time was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
