Thoughts in Silence (Observations & Insights) Silence is one of the core requirements, an often unmentioned yet vitally necessary ingredient in the creation of poetry and writing in general. Silence allows the writer to receive the ideas, images, and emotions, which seem to arrive from nowhere but actually arrive from within, or beyond, from the field of energy, and essence that surrounds us, like a shroud. In this section, the poet shares poems that came through that silence, that shroud, at various points during his lifetime. In life, it is rare that we pause to take stock, to ask ourselves directly - who we are, why we are, and what we are. Such thoughts are often tossed aside, cast of with lines like - don't be silly, what are you talking about, that's crazy talk - of course I know who I am, what I am, and why. Actually, most of us do not, we have never been that honest with ourselves or sat in silence, taken inventory, asked ourselves what we feel, what we believe, and why. In a way, it is true, it is crazy talk, after all we are born, we develop our beliefs, we hold to those beliefs firm (generally) and we live our lives without inventories conducted in silence - or Emerson, read within season . Thoughts in Silence (Observations & Insights) is a book in which the Poet pauses, opens the door, and allows us to enter in, to read, to watch, to listen and finally - to consider for ourselves what we feel about, or think about what the poet has written and what response, if any we have from having gone through this experience. The invitation is sent, the door is open, enter - if you wish.
About the Author: The Uptown Poet The Uptown Poet, Jeff Larson (also known as Sifu Jeff Larson) was born in Wabasha, Minnesota on June 11th, 1958. He was the fourth child of Donald and Eleanor Larson; in time the couple would produce thirteen children. He went to Catholic Grade School in Wabash, MN (St Felix) and Waseca MN (Sacred Heart) and Public High School (Lincoln High) in Lake City, MN. and briefly, (Harlem High) Loves Park (Rockford) IL. There are three areas that define the Poets life and career: Food Service/Cooking (from age 15 to age 40) and Finance (from age 40 onward). There is a third area is Chinese Kung Fu and Qigong. The Poet is also the Author of "The Power of Qigong" numerous articles on Kung Fu and Qigong and a training video which teaches the basics of the Qigong system which he trained and taught for more than three decades. Regarding cooking, the Poet notes: while I worked every position in the kitchen, including Chef, restaurant work was always more of a job than a career. He once wrote I enjoyed many of the culinary jobs I had and did them to the best of my ability - but I didn't "think about food" in the same way the great Chefs do." I respect their ability and obsession I simply wasn't born with that gene. Certain influential relationships in his late teens and early twenties drove the poet to pick up a pen as a form of release. In his high school years, he was an avid reader of poetry, often neglecting his assigned study time to read volumes of poetry (or, the library's entire collection of Outdoor Life and Field and Stream as he was also an avid outdoorsman). In Atlanta, in his 30's he began reading books by Peter Lynch (Fidelity Contra Fund) and numerous other money managers. Discussing his desire to leave cooking for a new career with his wife Maura, she said: you spend a lot of your time reading finance books, perhaps that would be a good career for you. With those words, and his wife's support, he headed to Georgia State University (the college Maura graduated from) and enrolled. He graduated in June 1999 with a B.A. in Finance proudly becoming the first person in his immediate family to graduate from college. His mother had a music scholarship to attend college, but marriage and children sidetracked that dream. Her sisters attended university and while she loved her children, she secretly wished that she too had gone to university. The Poet spent the first 27 years of his life in Minnesota (with brief periods in Illinois and Michigan) and the next 27 years living and working in Atlanta, GA. He returned to Minnesota in 2012 and now in 2020 is considering leaving the Twin Cities for Southern Minnesota, returning at last to the small river towns and the hills and valleys, and the fond memories of his youth.