THE LIFE-CHALLENGE SERIES: THE ROOT OF IT ALL

This post is now available at http://honorthespirit.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-life-challenge-series-root-of-it-all.html

AGAINST ALL ODDS

Next month will mark 11 years since I moved to L.A. from the Bay Area. When I arrived, I had a movie script, a half-written novel (One Man's Treasure), and the dream to be a successful writer. Yesterday, I published for the 13th time (books). When I look back at this journey, I'm amazed at all I've done and been through to get to this point. I didn't even start publishing until 2007 because I spent the first 4 years here stuck at my 9-5, dying a horrifically slow, painful spiritual death. I chose to resign at the end of 2006 to save my mental and physical health (NO joke), and so I could properly nurture my life's mission as a writer. But between the day I set foot here, and now, I've encountered more challenges than in my entire life. I had two major surgeries 3 years apart, one of them saving me from paralysis; I've lost all my major possessions; been homeless; endured the Universal System of Income (which means getting up every day not knowing when or from where income will appear); and stood up confidently in the face of being ignored and rejected in my career, and people's "encouragement" to get off my path and do something else because [clearly, to them] it wasn't working out. But through all of that, I have always done what I came to L.A. (and into this world) to do: write, create, and make a difference in people's lives while doing so. I can honestly, and proudly, say I've accomplished that feat, with much more to come.

A lot of what I've written over the years has derived from the lessons I've learned in the past decade. My sincere intention is for my words to teach and inspire (even my fictional novels are set up to do that). I invite you all to view and partake in what I've created. Yes, I write because I love it, but I publish for the public. My standards are very high for myself, so when I do, I take great pains to ensure that it's always my best at the time. Not all of my content makes it into the books. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me along the way. You've confirmed that I'm doing my job properly, and well. My appreciation for you runs deep.

What I've learned the most is how serious I am about my craft. Nothing has kept me from it. Nothing. This is what doing a life mission is about. You find ways to keep it pushing, no matter what. I'm thankful for everything I've gone through and learned, because it's only solidified me in my work, not deterred me from it. I couldn't be prouder of myself.

You'll find the links to my work below.

Poetry/Motivational Speaking

Editing/Consulting

Novels

MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY

My Sentiments Exactly, my most personal compilation, was written over the course of about four years, while I was deep in the throes of major life changes and spiritual transformation. It's my favorite poetic work to date, and it features poems such as "Asunder" and "Time Management." 
To order, click the "Treat Yourself" link below the book.                                                                 
                                                                               

    

$15.00

 To purchase additional products, please visit www.hustledivaspeaks.com.

TIME MANAGEMENT

Over time

the heavy of you

has gotten so much lighter

the weight of my affection

has decreased

to something manageable

pocket sized

only visible when I decide

to take it out and look at it

and even then

it’s just a glance

sometimes a lingering gaze

but nothing I can’t handle

cuz I’m in control now

I learned how to buck the system

the one where

my anxieties had me

strung up

doing a painful puppet dance

slave to their uncomfortable beat

but those days are over

cuz I finally accepted that

I would never be able to outrun

my heart

couldn’t even escape it

by hiding in the darkness

of my own shadow

it’s etched there too

so I stopped running

resisting

got proactive

realized I couldn’t just

hang around and wait for time

to make things better

in its own time

I had to get aggressive

and push the clock forward

when the sun shines so brightly

in your path that you can’t see clearly

beats down on you with so much vigor

that you feel assaulted

you don’t stay there

exposed to its harshness

you find ways to diffuse it

protect yourself

so you don’t get burned

now

when I window-shop you

it’s from a healthy distance

without the compulsion to

rearrange your exhibited position

reaccessorize you to fit my preferences

I accept that I may only be able

to admire you from afar

where I fantasize briefly about
what it would be like

to take you off display

out of the view and reach

of the others who’ve been

coveting you

and then I keep walking

can’t loiter too long

cuz time has a tendency

to get away from you

if you don’t monitor it closely

it’ll run amok and then have you

scrambling to backtrack on

important things you didn’t tend to

while you were distracted

like keeping the pieces of yourself

in proper order

from coming unassembled

and amid the chaos of your undoing

you’ll realize you were so busy

standing unprotected in the unbearable sun

getting scorched

that now there’s not enough time

to put yourself back together

before the parts get lost

Copyright 2014

Charlene E. Green

KILL SUICIDE: STAY ALIVE AND FIGHT!

My self-transformation poetry is meant to shake you up, make you look at your life honestly, make you face yourself ... and wanna strive to be better. It's also meant to do the same for ME. I may write like I'm only talking to YOU, but when I pen these poems, the messages are just as much for me to heed. I have to do my own work every day on my life, too. This is no holier-than-thou mission I'm on. It's me and all of you, working together to change for the best.

In December 2010, I was suffering badly, emotionally. It was to the point where I felt I was drowning in my own misery. I hated the feeling, and I wanted an out. I knew a woman (still know her) who was also struggling. She owned a cafe I visited frequently. We would have long talks, and she would often tell me about the deep issues she was dealing with and I would offer encouragement. I decided to get out of myself and go down to her store to check on her to take my mind off my problem. When I arrived and asked how she was, she told me that she wanted to kill herself the night before. Not only that, but she said she saw herself doing it and felt GOOD about it. This stunned me at my core. I was actually speechless. I had heard [of] people saying they wanted to kill themselves, but no one had ever said it to ME, and I had NEVER heard anyone say they saw the action and felt good about it. I was truly shaken on a level I had never been. Fortunately, she moved past that moment and came to work that day, though I apologize that I can't remember what she said made her decide to stay alive. What I do know is this: Her comment disturbed me so deeply that when I left 2 hours later, my soul ached for her and everyone who's ever felt like her. That conversation made me reassess my own life and problems and how I was handling them. I had been in distress, but [that time] I didn't wanna kill myself, and I felt fortunate. But I suddenly realized how important it is for us to put our own suffering aside, come out of our shell, and embrace other people. You never know where they are in THEIR suffering, and hearing their story may change the way you view YOURS.

Later that night, as I was still flooded with angst about her, and about my own issues, I got angry about how we sometimes treat ourselves, the ways we don't protect ourselves, the situations we allow ourselves to be in because we haven't learned to love ourselves enough to steer clear of them. And then "Zookeeper" spilled out of me with fervor. In this poem, I was talking to her, myself, and everyone else out there who has ever carried burdens so heavy that they feel they're gonna break at any moment, but because of their lack of self-esteem, and often the heaviness of whatever mental health issue they may be struggling with, they sometimes can't push themselves to fight for their happiness. 

I still revisit this poem regularly, to check in with myself, to make sure I'm fighting. Cuz sometimes ... that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel just doesn't seem to be there. The darkness feels like a ruthless, weighted pillow suffocating my soul. I, too, have experienced that awful feeling of there not being any hope of getting to "the light"—of not even believing that it existed—and consequently, I've felt hopeless to go on. Thank goodness I pushed through those times.

Please listen to the poem, and then please share this post with others who are suffering. This self-work is serious. It's necessary. People need it. And I wanna encourage as many as I can to dive in and swim to the light.

Click link to listen.

ZOOKEEPER 

IT'S TOUR TIME!

Hello, everyone! It's been a while since my last post, but I've been busy creating, as usual! The highlight of my career right now is the launching of my new tour campaign, The Human Revolution Project.

Since 2010, I've known that I would eventually take my poetry on the road, but it wasn't until the end of that year that the idea for the theme of the tour came to me. I was scheduled to be a featured poet at a big event, and I was allotted a 30-minute set, which was the longest I had been offered at that time. As I was putting my set list together, I noticed an important theme among the poems I had chosen: self-esteem, self-reflection, self-improvement. In my thinking regularly about touring, the question was always what kind of tour it would be. I knew I needed it to have structure and deliver a truly valuable experience and message for my audience; I didn't just wanna bounce from place to place doing poetry randomly, simply because I could. As I looked at my set list, it dawned on me that the structure for my impending tour had developed all on its own. I had come into a full mission in spoken word that I hadn't planned on, and now it was perfect for what I intended to accomplish in the way of using my words to help people grow.

Once the idea took form, my goal was then to expand on it and really make it something marketable. Since that time, I've added many more self-transformation-themed poems to the pot, and with countless hours of their rehearsal, presenting them at open mics weekly, showcasing them at events monthly, and getting constant positive feedback on their subject matter and how they move the listeners, I know it's time to get out there and do my work on the largest, most profound level possible. Won't you help me make that happen?

Below is the link to my campaign, which contains more details about the tour, samples of some of the poems I'll be featuring, and the many ways you can contribute. Thank you in advance for your support! Please also share this post and/or the campaign link with your networks. I'll see YOU in YOUR state, soon!

THE HUMAN REVOLUTION PROJECT TOUR

THIS BOOK HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

My book Building Faith and Character Through Life Challenges is the foundation for my Life Challenge Consulting service (learn more about that HERE), but I highly recommend that it be utilized on its own, as well as with the service.

At its core are twelve stories (here's a sample), that highlight lessons I've learned, growth I've experienced; and how to use prayer, faith, and wisdom to navigate through our challenges. My hope is that the stories will inspire readers to implement healthy ways of moving through day-to-day life challenges, as well as those that are huge and really rock them to the core. In addition, there are some other valuable elements included that round everything out nicely, so you'll be spiritually full.

What I think makes this book special is that it's not written for people with specific religious or philosophical beliefs; it's for everyone. I've even said atheists can make good use of it. I've compiled the stories in such a way that I feel it really does classify as a "one-stop shop" for all beliefs. It's also short and to the point, so you can get in and out quickly but leave with a lot of perspectives to put into action.

Here are a couple of reviews:

"At the intersect of vulnerability through personal openness, compassion and encouragement, Charlene hits the mark with Building Faith and Character Through Life Challenges. In a society where microwaved results are quickly sought after, her book is a gentle, yet firm reminder that there is so much inner work to delve into, and how a focused and optimistic mindset can sustain us through hardships, yet draw the goodness of life to us. This book speaks to anyone who stands (firm or wavering) in their own faith and spiritual system, and sincerely encourages us all to lean further into it, in order to live fully and richly in our personal journeys." ~Shay Ensley, Author, Artist, Entrepreneur

"Within the genre of "self-help" books (I've read a few!), Charlene E. Green's newly published Building Faith and Character Through Life Challenges is the most profound and practical literary resource I have encountered. It is a great read--clear, logical, and full of personal experiences to support the guidelines Ms. Green has discovered/uncovered, applicable to everyone. Whether the reader be agnostic, atheist, Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist etc. etc.—something will resonate with that seeking person and make his/her journey more enlightened.

Ms. Green touches the core of everyday human experiences: interpersonal conflicts, physical and mental illness, financial distress. Yes, this book offers a doable guideline, a way to change one's thought processes and behavior habits so seemingly unsolvable situations become untangled.

Using problems, sufferings, desires as stepping stones toward enlightenment (as in living with joy, wisdom, compassion and courage), Ms. Green provides a method—using personal, honest proof, filled with humor scenes from her nitty-gritty life experiences.

This book is for the strivers--the seekers of effective and healthy ways to overcome life's challenges."

~Dianne Bye, Los Angeles Unified School District Theatre Arts Teacher (grades pre-k-12)

I look forward to having you all partake. You may order directly from here, using the link below; or, you may order from my site HERE, where you can peruse my other products.

        

                              
                                     $10.00