Camping, in American Haiku

Warning- primitive road.
Three adventures,
Continue on.

Path unknown,
Rocks threaten.
Meadow offers rest.

Yellow flowers,
Shine as bright as the sun.
The pines enjoy both.

Humming bees,
Racing by.
Unaware it’s vacation.

Domesticated animal,
Turns wild.
Free as the wind in the trees.

Turkey vultures,
Soar.
We are not what you are looking for.

Morning cool,
Turns afternoon warm.
Hikers: thankful for shade.

Large ears turn to listen,
She hears no threat.
Her hoves saunter on.

Catahoula watches grazers,
Very respectful.
Good boy.

Four cows,
Sixteen stomachs.
Understandably you eat all day.

Drifting in the wind,
On paper wings.
Flutters by.

The butterfly lands,
And waves.
I wave back.

Sun setting,
Storm threatens.
It’s thunder shakes the mountain.

Trees sing lullabies.
The gently falling rain,
Keeps tempo.

The fire dances.
It’s movement,
Warms three hearts.

Morning fog.
Sunbeams kiss wet leaves,
Shimmering.

Traveling along – primitive road.
Three adventurers,
Returning home.

Path now known,
Rocks permitting.
Meadow wishes best


The American Haiku is a simple three line poem without restrictions of syllables or rhyming. Jack Kerouac revised the Japanese art form in the late 1950’s through the late 1960’s to adapt to Western Culture. To learn more about Jack Kerouac and his Beat Generation, visit http://jackkerouac.com/ website of UMass, Lowell, The Jack and Stella Kerouac Center for the Public Humanities.

How to Focus on the Positive (in a time of Negativity)

“Just focus on the good”. – Advice I’m sure you have heard before.

Kind of a hard thing to do right now in the world. All the scary and bad thoughts that can easily occupy your mind. Everything and everyone is focused on the Coronavirus how terribly it is affecting the world. So if everyone and everything is having you focus on the bad, how are you supposed to get your mind at ease, and off of this pandemic?

The simple answer: change of mindset.

The better answer: small steps can help in changing your mindset.

This will not happen overnight. This is something that takes practice, and dedication. Dedication to see the good. This does not take more than a few moments, and you don’t need any special equipment. 

Right now change of mindset might seem like an overwhelming task. But all you need, is one. One good thing. 

How do you find your good thing of the day?

First assess who you are, where you are, and what you have in this moment. 

Is there someone in your life that is always your support? Have you accomplished something that maybe was a bummer doing, but you are proud that it’s done? Did someone say or do something that made you smile? 

Even if you’re something good is simple as: I had good snuggle time with my dog today. That’s where I need you to start – smallest things. Overtime reflecting on your day it will get easier, and you will find more, or bigger good things. I promise.

Enlist the help of your family and friends to start getting in the habit reviewing your one good thing of the day.I practice at the end of every day with my husband. But as long as we have been practicing, even we found we forgot to think of our one good thing, once this virus stopped the world. 

But being dedicated to our mental health, we picked it back up. Don’t let a slight lapse in practice discourage you. Just start again and let you one good thing of the day be that you are back focused on remembering your one good thing!

You’ve got this, friend. So go out there, and be prepared to start counting your good things!

Anything you can think of right now as your one good thing? Share it below in the comments.