TITA | Life-Built Poems

INNER PEACE SYMPTOMS: The Start

Netta Comments 12 comments

For a number of years now I’ve played around with sharing little bits of thoughts on walking through the world – lessons I’m still learning. I stuck them into my Facebook offerings and folks seemed to think they were cool. I’ve got over 1,850 of the things (and still counting).

THE DEAN OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

The IPS (Inner Peace Symptom) thing started because I was remembering a radio program, Our Changing World, by Earl Nightingale. When I was a youngster I’d stop whatever I was doing to listen to the radio when Earl came on. His rich and resonant voice captured my attention completely. Apparently his thoughts sank into my own head (sort of) and they’ve influenced my own search for answers when I started looking.

Earl’s program was one of the most highly syndicated programs ever. As a writer and a speaker he dealt with the subjects of human character development, motivation, excellence and meaningful existence. They called him the “Dean of Personal Development.”

Nightingale was inspired by Napoleon Hill’s THINK AND GROW RICH. It was six words that set him into motion: “We become what we think about.” They informed his whole life. Earl produced the first spoken-word recording to achieve Gold Record status in 1956, The Strangest Secret. He wrote books, co-founded a corporation, and had a radio show heard around the world.

This YouTube video, Change Your Life in 19 Minutes with Earl Nightingale was shared by Andrea Callahan International, Inc., a small business development consultant firm. Callahan’s mission, she says, is “to teach small business owners to eliminate the business problems that are personal problems in disguise.”

Earl Nightingale died in 1989. His thoughts on walking in the world and doing business are as valid today as they ever were. His clarity of mind is an inspiration. His aphorisms, pithy sayings that take your head in new directions, are a joy. For more on Earl Nightingale, you can visit his website: http://www.earlnightingale.com/

THE BIRTH OF IPS (INNER PEACE SYMPTOMS)

My own efforts at making aphorisms and pithy sayings have been geared towards a different goal than Nightingale’s. I want to achieve that elusive thing called “Inner Peace.” Great and not-so-great minds have pondered on this for as long as humans have had minds, I think, and the effort continues to this day. I’m just a beginner and prone to stumbles along the way. The IPS things are notes to myself that I like to share with my friends.

For my own self, I tend to believe that the way to Inner Peace is through diving into the flow of the power of the Creative and dancing in it. It’s the most human thing I can think to do – to play and help other people play. So, hey, let’s play, shall we?

ANOTHER IPS (Inner Peace Symptom): an understanding that the World is your mirror. [Nothing you do is ever done in a vacuum; the World reacts to the way you are walking through it. It’s like walking down a hallway that’s been outfitted with a low-powered laser security system. Unlike the movie burglars and spies, you can’t see the light-beams, but you sure will feel the effects of it. So…what is the World showing you?]

And here’s another poem…

TITA

I am a tita.

I like living out loud.

In my life, I am determined,

I will be huge and proud.

I am a tita.

You can see what you get.

I call ’em as I see ’em.

You got a problem with that?

I am a tita.

I’m not too scared to sweat.

I work and play the native way.

I ain’t nobody’s pet.

I am a tita.

I’ve got “attitude,” they say.

I guess that just means

I don’t play their way.

I am a tita.

I will not creep; I do not crawl.

I am proud of being who I am,

And when I stand, I am a wall.

I am a tita.

Don’t matter ’bout my size.

My heart is large, my spirit strong,

And one day, I will be wise.

by Netta Kanoho

“Tita” is pidgin. Some folks say it is the equivalent of “diva;” others think it is more like “bitch-on-wheels.” I remember there was a company for a while with two young women who said the word was an aphorism for “Tough, Intelligent, Talented Artists.” That company, unfortunately, is now defunct.