'tis acknowledgement, more than thankfulness, that allows a being to reap all of the glorious benefits that this life has to offer.
it is seeing. it is believing. it is acknowledging
. . .
all that exists . . . acknowledge it. so that its existence does not go unnoticed.
and, notice, i am not asking you to focus on it, i am not asking you to give everything in life more attention than it deserves but be aware.
when something pops into your realm of awareness, acknowledge it;
that's how you stay aware. don't ignore it, don't overdo it.
universal acknowledgement will do
. . .
and once you've acknowledged the presence of the object, only then will you be able to decide how to feel about it.
only then, will you be able to truly understand what is going on around you.
'tis acknowledgement that is the key to our emotions.
before we know how to hate or to love, before we know how to be happy about, before we know how to be sad about, before we know how to feel indifference towards
. . .
we must have acknowledged the object of our feelings . . .
before we are able to be thankful for . . .
before we are even able to thank . . .
we have to acknowledge
. . .
i've fiddled with this idea for a while and i believe i've finally come to a temporary conclusion, just bear with me.
. . .
we pray and we pray and we thank all day long.
we speak to God, or any other entity that will listen, to send us some help or to appreciate.
yet, how do we even know what to appreciate . . . if we are not aware, if we have not acknowledged all that is present in our lives
. . .
how can I say "thank you" for a blessing I know nothing about . . .
how can I know what needs to leave my life if I have not acknowledged it as such - simply a thing that is no good for me - how do I feel no good about something I have not felt
. . .
if I keep my eyes shut long enough, will all of life disappear without ever giving me a chance to be thankful, or without ever giving me a chance to see what is necessary and unnecessary.
will things ever change if we do not open our minds, our eyes, our hearts, open up our ears, if we are not open to all ideas, will we ever be able to see what is truly right and what is truly wrong
. . .
acknowledgement. an automatic ability of a being but there is something that keeps us from acknowledging the presence of the ability to acknowledge, within ourselves . . .

thank you,
for reading my words.
this community is so welcoming
and im never afraid to show what i feel.
every like, love, repost,
makes me feel proud
(not something i feel often)
and every comment
makes me cry
to know someone spent their own time
on my poems.
and those comments move me and my poetry forward.
we are all evolving together,
and we are working towards something greater,
and you poets are inspiring
individuals like me
to express ourselves
so thank you,
to all the poets before me,
remembered or forgotten,
I will always remember how you've embraced and lead
communities like us,
and still do to this day.
thank you,
to all the poets of the new century,
for opening our minds to something new,
nothing stagnant.
thank you for accepting yourselves and your words for
what they are.
continuously remember how much you influence our generation,
the students,
the teachers,
the parents,
the children.
Each.
word.
counts.
thank you
from the bottom of my heart.

Ashley Marie

you always seem to make me feel better
even when you don't know I'm not okay