Good things:
Answering your own questions
Breathing the same air as a loved one
Comfort in your own skin
Doing what you know you should
Eating as if you valued your body
Fighting for someone who can’t
Going to the movies
Holding on when it would be easier to let go
Impressing yourself but not telling everyone about it
Joking at your own expense
Knowing your limitations and pushing them back
Loving whoever is around to be loved
Meeting the meaning of your own life
Noticing the shifts in your perceptions
Outdistancing your appetites
Putting regret behind you
Regretting only what you can change and then changing it
Smiling when you’d rather not
Testing yourself
Undermining your weaknesses
Visiting people who need you
Wanting what you already have
Xeroxing a picture of your face and making masks out of it and…sorry, couldn’t find a way to get poetic here. Feel free to run with it.
Yielding to someone who never gets to be right
Zipping your pants up before the big meeting
Josh
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photo credit: teresia
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
What about the numerical alphabet? That might be harder. Smiling when you’d rather not is pretty powerful. Just smiling a little bit changes your thoughts. Going to the movies, me like movies!
Henri, I usually pretend that numbers aren’t real. I only like to do things that I’m good at immediately. Adding fractions is still difficult enough for me that I need 100 compliments after a math problem just to make me feel safe.
Love this!
Thanks Jodi. Do you have a suggestion for x?
I agree… almost 100% (I’m still not sure about X).
Funny, my son was just reading the X section of the dictionary yesterday (bored to tears, obviously) and said he liked the word “xenophobia: a dislike and/or fear of that which is unknown or different from oneself.”
You could probably get pretty poetic with that one. Where would we be without 9-year-olds, huh?
X-acting vengeance and making an end table out of your arch-enemy’s bones?
That has a lovely ring to it… melodic almost. I like it!
Great idea JH. E, F and V really hit me. I always seem to forget Z. Once in high school, I made a presentation to the entire school (700 students). About half way through I realized my fly was down. Nothing subtle about turning your back on them to zip it up. Needless to say the students thought it was hilarious…the teachers…rolled their eyes once again at Dean Dwyer
I think my pants are accidentally unzipped most of the time. I should probably just start wearing sweatsuits everywhere.
Josh, this was a really cool way to take the alphabet and give us some awesome life lessons. This could actually be a poster that you sell,an idea for some extra revenue
I agree, Srinivas! In fact, while I was reading the list, I thought maybe this list was from a book or something. .. that is, until I got to X.
It is from a book. The book of Josh the Blackhearted.
Hmm…maybe.
This is poetic. I’m going to Tweet it now.
Tweet away! But poetic is a word I will never be able to apply to myself with a straight face.
Hey Josh,
I recently had an inner debate regarding what strength really is. I think that some extraordinary people, like you, have learned exactly what it is through your disabilities, like the Tourette’s syndrome you have. I really respect you (and I only say this when I mean it) for what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, and I am hopeful that you’re proud of what you are able to give to us. All the wisdom that you gained are reflecting really strongly through your “alphabet”. Poetic or not, it really inspires me. Thank you!
Zoli
Wow Zoli, that means a lot, thank you. I am mostly proud that I have been in the middle of bringing such a diverse group of readers together. Seeing the readers on the blog starting to interact with each other versus just showing up and reading is one of my favorite things in the world.
I hope you were kind to yourself during the inner debate and let each of your personalities have a chance to speak:)
I think that B is vitally important because once you are able to breath the same air as your loved one, look at the world through their eyes, and love them the way that they have always desired to be loved, you will fulfill the NUMBER ONE human need….LOVE!