Continue

It takes what it takes,
Not everyone will understand that,
But there’s no shortcuts.
It’s one mile at a time
And a lot of process and focus and work every day…
Every day.
You get up and you continue,
It’s a lifestyle,
And it’s not considered normal…
To a lot of people it’s considered toxic…
They will want you to take a break
Take it easy…
You’ve already come so far…
It will be easy to find people who want to waste time,
And waste nights
And waste money…
And those things are easy to do,
Because it numbs the responsibility of it all…
But you’re building
And you have to start, really, before you even see a return, understanding this…
It’s more than survivalism
You have to desire more than just making it…
It’s more than staying safe and below the radar so everyone around you is happy…
It’s more than what you’re used to…
It’s taking inventory of where you are
And
it’s getting a little better
Every day…
It’s more than just winning…
Because you’re elevating not only yourself but those on your team and those in your community and those in the water with you.
It’s cultivating something new
Something with a return …
Something that hasn’t been done before
Something that some of us may have never even seen before…
And this is why it’s important.

-E
Regardingsamuel.com

Golden Fields

What if?
This never goes away?
This, being whatever you need it to be…
What if?
It always aches?
What if?
We never go back
to the way we were?
How do you go on?
continue …
You may never be what or who you were…
And so now, you know the face of things…
Pain, heart ache, life, work and hunger…
it makes some of us hard and some of us soft and it made me …
Made me want solitude…
Solitude
And quiet places….
But
All of it is useful….
You are still you…
Even in the face of these things…
And in these quiet places, there is a stillness and a depth
And there is a new you waiting.

-E
Regardingsamuel.com

Legacy

The earth lets a breath out
Just before the seasons change
These days
You are building
Are a foundation
For a house
A life
A legacy
——
How are you?
How can I love you,
Better,
Connect,
And know….
Set all of these emotions aside
And make a small difference
Within these dynamics …
Communicate,
So we know
Inside of these breaths
These seasons
That we loved
That we connected
We held eachother
Through the weather
And we lived …
Gently
And boldly
And we left a legacy
This house
A home
To elevate humanity
And empathy
-E
Regardingsamuel.com

Haunted

Oh Marie,
All your favorite flowers already came too…
Then drifted back to sleep…
It’s just like this weather,
She drinks her coffee black,
Puts it right in the fridge and calls it iced…
She wields her pistols and knives…
I never said I was ready,
I’m not ready,
And I
try to retreat from society,
Just to hide away,
Watch the moon behind this mountain…
You know how human we are…
She says she has her issues too
And god knows,
Mine are coming due…
I never said I was better….
Look at all of this weather…
The way that we are…
She says
To come back down…
Be honest with myself…
And
We all have our issues…
God knows mine are coming due…
All the flowers already came too…
Then drifted back to sleep…
She drinks her coffee black,
Puts it right in the fridge and calls it iced…
All we have is time
All of mine was loving and living
And everyone is leaving
I went back home
Looked over that field
That basement
That land
Where poverty left it’s mark
Where I said
Never again
Never again
Never again
never said I’m ready
You only get the chances you take
There is no security
Only opportunity
All we have is time
New mountains
New stars
Ready
Ready
Ready
Put the old ways to rest
Bury the dead
The old vices
Face the ghost
Let these bones know
To let these things go
Build
-E
Regardingsamuel.com

Ache

But this body ,
Aches,
From all the lives it’s lived before,
This heart,
scarred from all the loves it’s loved before…
These hands,
Stained from all that they’ve held before…
——
Cut quick to the truth
Get it all out while I’m standing now…
Me and the you…
To young to know …
what the warning signs really meant…
to comprehend the true cost of things …
The true depth of pain…
——
These hands stained
From all the love I’ve held before…
This body aches from all the times I’ve fell before…
We are not perfect…
We are only human…
Clay and stardust sunset
High dives
That first breath when you’re out of water
That first light…
That moment when you know…
——-

We are human
And not done yet
We are still working
We are still walking
We are still building these lives we live.
-E
Regardingsamuel.com

One

There was an America here, United and strong, curious about its neighbours and hopeful for its future. This was before fear and loathing, before anger and bitterness and conspiracy and chasing ghost and faceless enemies…

There was an America that was before the towers fell, it feels like a lifetime ago, and it feels like it is gone…

I was 11 years old…but even I saw the young man that was our president as he realized in real time …whatever his ideals had been for the future, they were changing…

There is a world before and a world after…and they are two very different things…

There was a loss here, that continued on…with the heroes fighting for their lives and their faces aged before their time…

We have a new moment in America….
In Alabama alone, we have lost over 12k in a pandemic that is ongoing…

It doesn’t feel so far away anymore…
It seems as though every day we lose something or someone once familiar, once close to our hearts…
And we have to find our footing so we can continue…

We have those brave heroes working and fighting everyday…

And like the heroes from 20 years ago…
These are putting their lives on the line…
they have faces, they have names, they have families…
And they will be changed…
And there will be a generation
Who grows up
Changed
From time
And there will be a generation after this …
Asking for the stories ….

There was an America here,
An Alabama,
And it feels like it has gone …
But we continue on…
It is here
Through us…

We maintain our place …
With dignity and humbleness
And courage for discipline and greatness
And refusing to give in to fear…
We continue
And we will tell the stories
And we will keep the courage
To build. To remember. To continue.
For all of us …
For all of our heroes…
We are one.
-E
Regardingsamuel.com

The details

This morning, I was not feeling it.
I was anxious, sore and tired.
I had 10 pallets to work and it was 3am
(That’s a relatively small truck for us too)
It was my sixth day in a row.
On top of that, we were short handed.
But my boss came in at 4am,
Just to help and give me some pointers on small adjustments I could make to be more efficient with my time…
You see,
Every minute counts and those add up.
And the truth is, it’s hard to see and hard to hear sometimes but it really is time management that either makes your day or breaks your day.
It’s usually not the big things killing us.
For example,
Small adjustments,
So easy I was almost mad that I overlooked it…but once I adjusted ….
I had 7 out of 10 pallets broke down and done by 6am.

You need other people to help you grow
You need that other perspective
You can’t win on your own….
You need smarter people in the room
You need to surround yourself with people who force you to grow and challenge yourself
You need people who tell you no…
You need people to help you level up.

That’s how you make it
That’s how you grow
That’s how you learn and how you help those around you grow
And achieve their goals.

-E
Regardingsamuel.com