The words sound nice together.
Episode 018: I read a poem from my 2012 poetry book, “Dancing in the Sunlight”. “Simple / Dance on the Triangle” is the name of the poem. I like how the words sound together. & I talk about my red & orange “fall leaf hair” briefly at the beginning.
A poem about the new autumn days.
Episode 016 of The Ashlee Craft Show: It’s fall & it’s cozy-time, which means the smell of apple cider & cozy sweaters & pumpkin pie is coming back. The poem, “The End of Summer” from Ashlee’s poetry book “Autumn (Four Seasons #1)” captures the space between summer & fall perfectly.
Ashlee reads “Ground” from A Thousand Cranes, Volume 9
A Thousand Cranes, Volume 9: http://amzn.to/2xTfqPg
“Life is My Playground” T-Shirt, as seen in the video: https://www.shop.ashleecraft.com/collections/t-shirts/products/life-is-my-playground-unisex-t-shirt
GROUND ::
I walked across wet grass & was caressed by raindrops
I trekked across galaxies & stars & suns left unnamed by human tongue
I holed myself up in an apartment contemplating what the answer must be
I time traveled back to the critical moment & changed my mind at the last second
I fought myself in dirty basements of buildings struggling to stay
I took the time to learn about the magic kept locked inside of me
I learned that all that glitters isn’t gold & that gold should not be loved too fondly
I put on my mask to become the person I wanted to be
I felt the breeze of after-rain & touched sunbeams & the earth
& through these things
I discovered where myself was hiding
Ashlee reads a poem from her debut poetry book in Episode 014.
Episode 014 of the Ashlee Craft Show: She reads a poem from The Allure of a Summer Evening, her very first poetry book. The poem? “I Danced Under the Rain Storm”. FUN FACT: She wrote & published the book when she was only 16 years old.
Episode 013 of the Ashlee Craft Show
In Episode 013 of The Ashlee Craft Show, Ashlee reads a poem titled “Shift” from her upcoming poetry book, “A Ship Onto a Sea of Hope”.
Episode 11 of Ashlee Craft’s webseries, The Ashlee Craft Show
In Episode 011 of The Ashlee Craft Show, Ashlee reads the titular first poem from her third poetry book, “Four Roads to Freedom”, which she published in 2012. The poem is about four pathways people can go down in life — the fancy-looking pathway that’s unfulfilling, the sad dark pathway, the repetitive mundane pathway, & the brilliantly beautiful authentic pathway.
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Four Roads to Freedom
four roads to freedom in the noonday sun I sat on the plank by the fountain waters a plane flew overhead & I felt the sun seeping into my skin into my soul / a dove flew overhead carrying an olive branch united with both hands & under a sky painted blue by the ringing of freedom & the music from all around – standing underneath overhangs / trying to find the road upon which my destiny lies / trying to find out where I’m meant to be
but sometimes getting caught in chains as I walk down the roads trying to find out who I am / chains made from the dreams I hold deep in my heart but sometimes I fear my competency to make them come true / chains made from my tears & confusion & phases I went thru / chains made from each step upon mistaken roads I walked / chains made from each contemplative hour I clocked / chains made from searching for my true home / chains made from thinking that I was alone / chains made from trying to please everyone / chains made from chains made from the lies I told myself / chains made from wondering whether my dreams would come true / chains made from my desperation to find you / but I have broken free from these chains
but how was I to know upon which road destiny lies / there’s so many roads I’ve seen & walked down & so many times I’ve turned around only to find that I was on the right road all along / the only map is my soul & sometimes I end up lost & stranded with no place to go
some roads shine with the reflective sparkles of diamonds & gold yellow bricks covering the ground & veils of lace terraces of silk & boughs of silver / you hear the sound of glasses clinking & parties & the overwhelming music of money jingling in pockets down these roads / but be warned / this is a road of plastic lies & a road of everything that isn’t true / if you walk too long down these roads, your heart & soul will be sucked out of you & you’ll become just another puppet / a snake dressed in money’s expensive costume / you’ll gain the world but lose your soul / you’ll be imbued with disillusionment as to what life really is about / you’ll forget who you are / don’t try to be somebody you’re not
other roads are dark & sad & dingy & dangerous / the trees brush against your shoulders as you walk thru them & you can hardly see in the darkness / you can’t see your own hand in front of your face & there’s tricks & twists & turns ready to pull you in & imprison you for eternity / you hear the sounds of approaching animals, yet are blind to whatever else may be out there / as you wander thru the darkness, its so easy to get lost & it takes the brightest light to be able to see anything / pits of quicksand & poisonous animals on the ground & so many turning paths you could get lost upon if you let yourself remain on that path very long / if you go down such a road, tie a rope to your waist to lead you back home / don’t get lost in the darkness
some roads are blocked & just go around in circles & never lead you anywhere but based on how fast & far you’re walking you think you’re going somewhere / but you’re not / look up & notice the canyon you’ve worn in the dirt walking around the same circle year after year / notice how with each repetitive rotation you just dig yourself deeper & deeper into the sand / nothing ever changes along this road except time & the travelers are afraid of change so they stay in the same place doing the same things but still thinking something will change / but change doesn’t come unless you change / some people make things happen & some people wait for someday / but today is the day for your dreams to come true / don’t close your mind to the possibilities
but there are some roads that are happy & beautiful & wonderful / when you walk on them, it just feels right & somehow you know that this is the right road for you to be on / on this road you’re never alone & never afraid because you see that everything you need is in your soul / flowers & trees sway in the breeze & when you follow these paths, you find your dreams / cool brooks edge the paths & birds sing in rhythm with your footsteps & flowers dance / the sun shines brightly & warmly caresses your face & you sleep safe under the bright cozy light of the moon under the twinkling of stars & the music of crickets & frogs / you’re guided by the music of life singing within your soul / it’s on this road that you discover yourself / it is the road of destiny / don’t hesitate to live the life of your dreams
open your mind & your heart & dare to dream / search within & you’ll find all the answers you need to know / be yourself & believe in your dreams / don’t be afraid to take that leap & learn to fly on your way down / live & laugh & love / know that anything is possible /
believe in yourself
& someday, you’ll find your own road to freedom
In the tenth episode of The Ashlee Craft Show, Ashlee reads her article, “This is What Happens When You Choose to Live Life Authentically”, which was originally p& discusses authenticity & loving yourself.
Authenticity is hard. Happiness is hard. But when you start loving yourself, that’s when these things become easier.
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START.
Happiness is hard. Authenticity is hard. I know this very, very well.
I’m not going to give you some fluffy sermon about how if you just take a bubble bath, smile three times a day at yourself in the mirror, & think happy thoughts constantly that your life will magically be better. These things might help you, but they also might not.
You’re probably reading this book because your life isn’t totally, 100% pure awesomeness. If it is, all the power to you! But it probably isn’t. You probably don’t feel like you love yourself as much as you could, or you feel depressed, or you really just feel you’re not living up to your potential. The best part is, whether you can believe this yet or not — you have all the power in the world to change & improve your life.
Hating yourself is boring. Feeling ugly & unloved is boring. Living someone else’s plans for you is boring. Being depressed & feeling hopeless about your future is boring.
Those feelings are all completely valid. They’re also sadly common. But when you really think about it, those aren’t very interesting things to feel. Break them down, & all those feelings relate to sadness. Society has romanticized the idea of sadness. It’s made personal sorrow seem alluring & mysterious & beautiful. Like that without it, you won’t be an interesting person for people to know. Like you will be shallow & one-sided if you’re always happy & you feel good about yourself. Like your art won’t be as good if you don’t have all this sadness as your muse.
Those feelings aren’t making your life any better. They’re not serving you in any way. They’re not even true.
You deserve better than that. Your body is made up of the remnants of stars that were born & died long ago. You are literally made of stardust. You can do anything you want to. Stars didn’t die so that you could loathe yourself & live an unspectacular existence. You can have better than that. You were born to live an awesome life. It’s your duty to yourself to pursue that, as vibrantly & lovingly as you can.
Why not give it a try? You have nothing to lose, & everything to gain.
Happiness is thrilling. Love is beautiful. Self-acceptance is rebellious. Success is triumphant. Hope is alluring. Peace of mind is interesting. Boldness is adventurous. Resilience & determination are courageous. Living a life you’ve created is compelling.
Sometimes, I ask myself why I should bother loving myself. Sometimes, the whole thing seems impossible, & even pointless. Sometimes, I don’t feel like I deserve it.
Why should you love yourself?
Because you’re vast & brilliant & awesome & kind & smart & filled with potential. Because you might as well. Because the only way you’re ever going to even KNOW what you’re capable of is if you try. Fear of missing out on what you could become should be the biggest FOMO of all.
You don’t want to be a product of a society which profits off promoting self-loathing & insecurity. You don’t just want to be another face in a crowd of mediocrity. You want more for yourself, even if you can’t admit that to yourself yet & don’t think you deserve it.
What do you have to lose in learning to love yourself? Or in trying to be happy, & starting to live a life that genuinely makes you feel good? There is nothing to lose.
Change is hard. Taking all the bullshit & the bad feelings you’ve been accumulating & shoving them out the door with their cardboard boxes of baggage isn’t easy. In fact, changing & creating the kind of life you always hoped you might be able to live & becoming the person you hoped you could become might just be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done.
There will be kicking & screaming & tears. There might even be days when you don’t even think you can get out of bed, much less move forward.
But the thing is, you will. You will get up. You will open the curtains, & the sunlight will stream in again. And you will feel better. You will make it through this.
On the other side of the dark stormy seas you’ve been sailing, there will be sunlight, & warmth, & a life better than you ever hoped you could have.
To be completely honest, I’m not there yet. But I’m on my way. I make my progress in great leaps & strides. Sometimes, I fall down. Sometimes I stumble & slide back on the hill I’m climbing. Then I get back up & brush the sand off my clothes, & I keep climbing. Someday, not long from now, I will get to where I’m heading. And then I will find somewhere else to travel to.
I am on my way.
So are you.
Change is hard. But the ability to adapt is the thing which separates the winners from the losers. You are trying to make your life better. That puts you in the category of the winners, right now. You’re strong enough, & smart enough, & determined enough to win.
Think about this. You have made it through everything that’s happened to you in your life so far. You have made it. If you can do that, you can do this. You can do anything.
You can love yourself. You can feel better. You can be happy.
You can start living any super-awesome amazing life of your choosing.
And you can start today. Right now.
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The key to having all this starts when you start loving yourself. Self-love is the backbone to everything else available to you. It’s the ship that you’re sailing on, & the wind that fills your sails & your lungs. It’s the star you see up ahead in the dark of night. It’s the start of everything else. The first brick on the yellow brick road.
When you start loving yourself, everything else falls into place. You become stronger & more resilient. You start respecting yourself & knowing your worth & only accepting the things you deserve. You start realizing that you can create whatever life you want for yourself, & start empowering yourself to go out there, & go get it.
Happiness is hard. Authenticity is hard.
But when you start loving yourself, that’s when these things become easy.
Here’s how…