Friday, July 15, 2011

Weekend Inspiration

I came upon this poem from Shel Silverstein's Where The Sidewalk Ends yesterday, and I immediately wanted to add it to my favorite quotes. I'd read it before, but had forgotten about it, and the timing for finding it again couldn't have been better.

This has been a long week, and I'm very glad to see the end of it. Nothing particularly bad happened, it was just a series of irritations, like falling on a wet floor and twisting my left foot one day, and getting stung by a bee on my right foot the next. Taken together, the minor nuisances added up to a major headache. 

It was also the kind of week where I seemed to be losing my ongoing battle with the doubts and insecurities in my head. The poem provided me with not only a smile, but also a much needed shot of inspiration. And, if I'm being honest, the kick in the pants I needed to stop wallowing and get on with it. :D

So for anyone else who might be needing a smile or some inspiration, I hope Mr. Silverstein's words will touch you, too. 


  LISTEN TO THE MUSTN'TS

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me --
Anything can happen, child
ANYTHING can be.


Happy Friday, and Happy Weekend, all! 

32 comments:

  1. LOVELY poem!

    Thanks for this, Julie. I needed it today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow. Simple and yet such an impact. Thanks for sharing, the past couple of weeks have been hard for me. This made me feel a lot better!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love Shel Silverstein. That's a good one.

    Wow, you did have a sucky week. Of course, that only means that next week will be fabulous. :)

    Have a great weekend with Clancy. Explore someplace fantastic for us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Bryce, I'm so glad you liked it!!

    @Bonnie Rae, I'm glad the poem made you feel better, that's great. That was my reaction as well.

    @LG, Clancy and I are planning a trip for tomorrow so I hope it goes well. Thanks, I hope you have a great weekend too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, I love that! It seems we are on the same theme this week.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love the poem! It reminds me that faith is such a necessary ingredient in our lives.

    Hope you have a lovely weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for that final word of encouragement! Anything can be. I needed that. Have a great weekend too!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love it!

    Although, there are a few people (like those who try out for American Idol) who should have had someone tell them the hard truth. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Absolutely wonderful poem. Thanks for sharing :)

    Happy Weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Kara, I'm so glad you liked it! Congratulations again on your winning blog post.

    @JL, thanks so much, I hope you have a great weekend too.

    @Stephen, I'm glad you were encouraged by the poem, that's just how I felt.

    @Donna, oh, you made me laugh about Idol! That is sad but true LOL.

    @Carol, thank you, happy weekend to you as well.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good inspiring words.

    When I read "Where The Sidewalk Ends" I immediately thought George Strait.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Slay them doubts! Want to borrow some armor? When you don't believe in you so much, well, I believe in you.

    Nice poem. Glad you found some inspiration. Never give up, word warrior. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is one of my favorite poems! I never get tired of it. :)

    Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  14. loved this! I adore shel silverstein anyway, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  15. You go, girl ... Happy Writing to you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. ...and HAPPY weekend to you, too. Let's hope next week is a better one for ya.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for sharing this poem. I needed that this evening. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I am going to forward this to a friend whose spirits will be lifted by these words. Thank you very much for posting them. I'm glad to be a new follower of your site.

    Wishing you a great weekend!

    Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is Michelle's friend. I LOVE the poem. Thanks so much for posting it. I've been in a funk for a while, but am pulling out fast. I'm going to post this poem in my study and get back to work!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh, I had one of those weeks and yes thank you, that poem hit the spot. :) Have a great weekend.
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great poem! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Love the poem! So uplifting and reassuring.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Great poem~ thanks for reminding me of it. It's hard to shut out the "shoulds" because frankly, most of us try to please others. But when those others are close family, it gets even harder. The Engineer wasn't feeling so well from working in the hot sun all day. I told him he didn't HAVE to go to the 2nd reception of my cousin's wedding. (First one was in MD, we drove out there. This one was for the locals here in CO) Anyway, he agonized about the decisions.) He had a really hard time deciding, but in the end chose to stay home. The cousin? Totally understood and completely supported his decision. The Engineer? Still wondering if he did the right thing...sigh.
    Tina @ Life is Good

    ReplyDelete
  24. I really do like this and it's something I recently told my teenager as she approaches her last year in secondary education. Thank you for sharing.

    I'm not surprised last week was annoying to you, I think I'd have been annoyed with a week like that. I hope this week proves better.

    ReplyDelete
  25. @Poddys, oh, I forgot about the Strait song. Glad you liked the poem!

    @Mary, thanks so much, I really appreciate it. I may borrow some armor! :)

    @Yvonne, glad you liked it!

    @Samantha, thanks, I hope you had a great weekend as well!

    @Caren, you're welcome, I'm glad you liked it.

    @Joanne, thank you! :)

    @ihaveabackbone, thanks so much. I hope you have a great week ahead.

    @Ciara, you're welcome, it seems like a lot of us needed a little boost. So glad you liked it.

    @Michelle, oh, thank you, it's great to meet you! I hope you had a great weekend too.

    @Rosi, how wonderful, I'm so glad the poem lifted your spirits! I can relate to being in a funk like that, hope we can both pull out of it. Great to meet you!

    @Jules, thanks so much, I hope you had a great weekend and this coming week is a good one for you. :)

    @Shelley, you're welcome, thanks for coming by!

    @Trisha, I really love it too, totally agree.

    @Tina, I can totally relate to that, I tend to be harsh with myself like that and worry about pleasing others. I hope you and the Engineer have a good week coming up!

    @Rebecca, you're welcome, thanks so much and I hope you have a good week too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. That's GREAT inspiration! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Yes...anything can happen - I'm a big believer in the affirmative!

    Great post.

    I've left an award for you over at Pearson Report - when you have time drop by and pick it up - you deserve it!
    It's in the post titled "Something fishy is going on..."

    Cheers, Jenny

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hello from Belgium, have a nice summer holidays,

    ReplyDelete
  29. @Jennifer, you're welcome, I'm so glad you found the poem inspirational too.

    @Jenny, oh, thank you, I will be over to get the award, thanks so much.

    @retriever, thank you, and hello to you as well! :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Oh my! I LOVE this! Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting it! I really needed such a wonderful shot of encouragement and positivity! Hoorah for you!

    ReplyDelete
  31. @Brenda, oh, I'm so glad you liked it!! You're very welcome, hope you have a great week there! :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.