Category Archives: single

SOAPBOX of the week: seek the naked truth

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     “Know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”     – The Bible

Funny thing about the truth.  It can never lose its original properties, never be dismantled or destroyed.  IT simply is.  Transparent in nature, it hides nothing but can be hidden with but a word, and is oftentimes manipulated for one’s own benefit.  Therein lies the problem, for fear and temptation are powerful motivators.  Whether you’re the unassuming recipient or the panicked deliverer, fibs, facades, fallacies and infidelities alike will all weave the same tangled web.  And freedom can only be obtained by releasing the energy of honesty.  Create a positive future by seeking authenticity in all who surround you…More importantly, choose respect for yourself by unabashedly standing in truth.  Reveal its power and revel in the liberation it returns.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: carpe diem, folks!

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 “There is a difference between the waiting of the prophet and the standing still of the fool.”     – Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher

 

SO, you say you’re waiting for the perfect time to do …something.  No doubt you sound like a broken record…even to yourself… because fear has paralyzed and reduced you to excuse-filled victim of circumstance.  What are you waiting for?  The cows to come home?  Hell to freeze over?  The stars to align?  Well, for all you don’t know, existing outside your self-protective bubble of naive expectations, there’s a herd of cud-chewers standing, on frozen ground, under a sparkling constellation…waiting on you!  No alarm will sound.  No telegram will proclaim: “The perfect time has arrived.  Go for it!”  Tell yourself it’s here!  Right now!  Passionately dive into creating the experience you’ve been keeping from yourself and embrace the freedom that comes from ignoring the ticking clock.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: the dessert of life

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“Having a dream that you don’t pursue, is like buying an ice cream cone
and watching it melt all over your hand!”     – Anon

So, what’ll be, folks?  Chocolate or vanilla?  Or a stack of napkins?

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: new year, old wisdom

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“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”     – John Quincy Adams, US President

Gooooooood morning, race fans! How’s the ride so far? Let me guess. As soon as the second hand strikes and Dick Clark alarmclocks the world onto a clean slate, you set to full throttle and take off like a mid-life-crisis man in a new Corvette.

With heart pounding and champagne in your eyes, you decide that you will take the wheel and make things go your way this year, come hell or high water. Righting the wrongs. Shaking the systems. Cutting the fat. Testing the waters. Revolutionizing the resolutions. Painting a free-wheeling, forward thinking phantasmagoric mural of all that is, was, and ever will be the real future perfect you deserve. All in the name of an unyielding loyalty to the natural selection of self, at least until about mid-February.

I must confess, I too burn a rouge of rubber just as eagerly each year. Even ponder the thought that the heavens will magically open up and confetti my little field of dreams with all the blessing and adornments that I’ve kept cooped up for the past twelve months. Sound familiar? Well, I have both good and bad news for you.

Bad news first: A supercharged vehicle won’t get you through the roadblocks any faster. No matter how much shifting and strategizing you perform, the course will dictate your life’s journey. Not the other way around. And if you’re thinking you can brainstorm your agenda-ed TripTik into an immediate reality, think again. Enough with the red line, race fans, you’re libel to blow the whole engine again.

Now for the good news: You’ve already done the work. You’ve got the ride, the route, and reason for success in all pillars of your future. So, recline with the resonating truth that patience remains the worthwhile virtue that will never fail to fuel your expedition. Coast over your holographic horizon to discover another bountifully balanced year ahead, in body, mind, and spirit. And embrace the magical open road.

Copyright 2000-2008 by Kimberlie Dykeman. 
This vignette is an excerpt from Pure Soapbox… a cleansing jolt of perspective, motivation, and humor  (July 2008)
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: the place is not the point

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    “Life’s a journey, not a destination.”     – Steven Tyler, rock-n-roller

Hey there, rock and rollers!  Here’s a hidden treasure from one of the disciples of lyric and noise With a flick of his mic and a howl from his chops, he time enlightens us with but a few words.  Deceivingly simple at first glance, you must step back to appreciate its expanding profundity and note how it levels the playing field for every age, ethnicity, and walk of life.  With commonsensical clarity it serves to remind us that we are all on the same map.  It’s called Earth, folks.  You’ve already reached your destination.  Now it’s up to you to create the experience.  So, enjoy the route, the scenery, the pit stops, the landmarks, heck, even the 7-11s along the way!  Take it all in before someone folds it all up.

Copyright 2000-2008 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.

A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: a wish for tireless thankfulness

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A special feast from the book “Pure Soapbox”…  SOAPBOX vignette #57

thanks•giv•ing – n. an act of giving thanks; an expression of gratitude

Hope you’re hungry, because this timely concoction of culinary soapboxing doles out not one, but two servings of epicurean delight to drive home a notion that so very many of us have overlooked, and continue to pass over.

In black and white, the operative word here is giving. Needless to say, the actual form of the thanks takes on as much importance as the act itself. Some slaps on the back are best soft-served with a smile. Still, this world-renowned date for thanks-giving has been anchored in time by our forefathers in an unyielding attempt to showcase its kinetic nature. And so, I ask that you humor me with this two-for-one homage to the aromatic brilliance of a few of connoisseurs of the Canon.

1st Course
“Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart
 as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.”   – Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. President

You are the main ingredient and you’re alive and kicking! You may even have all your fingers and toes, as well as a college education, and the luxury of pushing pause to digest this meal of literary morsels. Burrow in and bear- hugbearhug the irrefutable fact that you are truly blessed, and, in turn, equally limitless in opportunities to show appreciation for the gifts you’ve received.

2nd Course
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation  is not to utter words, but to live by them.”     – John Fitzgerald Kennedy, U.S. president

Go ahead and dish ‘em out however you choose, stuffed between hors d’oeuvres or piled high atop Mom’s fabulous pecan pie. Fifty bucks says your belly-full sensation of satisfaction comes not from the feast of fruitcake, but from your dynamic expression of thanks for the boundless bounties before you. Fill your Tupperware with these leftovers…and season the rest of your days with provisions that’ll never spoil…regardless of the cook!

 

Copyright 2000-2008 by Kimberlie Dykeman.  Excerpt from Pure Soapbox… a cleansing jolt of perspective, motivation, and humor, published July 2008.
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.