Mythos & Marginalia

life notes; flaws and all

  • it takes understanding

    Do you speak your truth, unapologeticaly or otherwise?
      Often the words you use in response to something that was said or something that you read. 
      You react. 
      Perhaps you felt wronged, or disrespected, or ignored, and the words just come out.
      Feelings and emotions can, at times, be difficult to express in a written form. Other times it is easy, and there is a direct connection between your mind and your fingers, and you type out, or tap out, exactly what you mean. 
      Brutal honesty.
      Maybe you don’t think about it (or you aren’t thinking), but when the words appear they seem like they were intended to hurt. 
      Perhaps there was no time? Or you didn’t take the time to temper your thoughts, because that takes time, and your outright reaction took over common courtesies. 
      It was time you didn’t have, and that cannot be an excuse, because you were more concerned over expressing how you felt rather than feelings of someone else.
      I’m guilty of this, I admit. Not often (I don’t think) because most of the time I allow myself a moment or two to consider the impact of my words, or my actions, or even my intentions.
      Emotions do, however, get in the way, and I try to live or write with my emotions every single day. If you don’t write with emotion, words are simply words.
      Honesty is always the answer, but the truth can hurt.
      Valid or not, an expression of anger or distaste will be, or can be, interpreted by someone else in ways you cannot always decipher. We cannot usually know how someone else will feel. We don’t always remember what was said before or how another person will deal with your words, or your thoughts.
      Sometimes it takes another person to point this out, and while your reaction, at first, is one of anger or insignificance, it does more than prove the point.
      We all need to think a little more about the words we use with someone else. It takes understanding, and patience, even in the moment. In this digital age, communication can be instant, yes, but taking that little bit of time to consider the feelings of others can go a long way.
      You can only hope an apology will be accepted as directly, and as truthfully, as your original response.

    © 2018 j.g. lewis

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  • within

     

    Along these streets and neighbourhoods.

    Homes. Dwellings in which comfort is found,

    and desire or disappointment. Hidden within.

     

    Every house has its secrets. Floors creak with

    the essence of another era. Past generations

    lived here, loved here, celebrated birth or death.

     

    Within those walls, life left its shadow. Time

    before and since. Each occupant felt familiarity.

    Yet, we know so little of what went on. Before.

     

    And so, at 5, or 3, or 6 a.m.; time soon to shift, 

    and with it our intent. We already know enough 

    about what is happening elsewhere on this planet.

    © 2026 j.g. lewis

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  • the journey

    Finding our direction may take miles, or

    days or years. Detours, disruptions and 

    distractions, no matter how purposeful or

    meaningful as they may be, are certain to

    prolong our progress. It takes time to know.

    The journey is involved. Each step, or stop,

    of the path allows reflection. We are guided 

    mainly by instinct or instruments, our moral 

    compass not often strong. Finding our true

    destination will take days and years. Or longer.

    © 2026 j.g. lewis

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  • meaning in the madness

    Each letter on its own, singular in its presence, distinctly strikes the page. 

    A single letter, one of 26 forming the alphabet, joins characters placed moments before in an irregular rhythm. The pattern builds as each letter forms another word. It culminates in a sentence, and then one more. Word by word, a thought that minutes ago was simply floating in the ether becomes a reality. 

    Each letter has strength, but joined with others a power takes hold and ascends into deeper thought. A stronger sentence lays down its humility next to another. Punctuation dictates the pace. The resulting paragraph takes you further as if an explanation or decree.

    There is meaning in the madness that has unfolded. Until now.

    After several sentences (perhaps even a couple of paragraphs), there is a point where the writer and the reader become one. The attention of each participant finds a commonality that may well diverge into separate meaning. 

    To each its own. 

    A word, statement, or stanza may pull each person towards another meaning; we all experience life differently or interpret our actions separately from others. Like a letter.

    Always, there is more to write. Nothing is complete; that is both the beauty and the curse of the written word. We want more. Always.

    Explanations are rarely accurate; truthful yes, but something is always missing. Or too much is said that it cannot hold attention. Morals shift, mistakes are only natural, yet we crave a more definite approach.

    Details are so telling.

    Say what you mean, mean what you say; to write it out is a commitment. 

    These are your thoughts, now, in this time, at your pleasure. The words may change, as will the writer, but in that very specific moment a realization is made or met.

    It is truth, and it tells so much. 

    © 2026 j.g. lewis

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  • subconscious thought

    The mind is full, yet the pages are blank.

    Haven’t we all kept a notepad and pencil next to our bed to capture thoughts that arrive at night? Yet so rarely do we find the time to record what has been on our mind. 

    We only sleep when we dream. 

    We only dream when we sleep.

    Dreams: we know we have them; those flashbacks that invade our thoughts in slumber. It is mental activity below the threshold of consciousness that depict or predicate certain moments in time. Often other people are involved, but the dreams are wholly your own.

    We don’t take notes while we dream. We can’t take notes because we are dreaming; to do so would interrupt the flow of thought, thus eliminate the dream. You cannot be conscious to fully dream. You must rely on the subconscious thought not immediately available to your consciousness.

    In the morning, you may write down what you remember from memory which is, more often than not, what involves a dream. Memory: the aftermath of life.

    Dreams are not reoccurring but happen again and again. Dreams do not stop and start; they are continuous. We only choose to tune in when we need relief from the life we have been living. Any notes we may take are nonsensical. Dreams do not involve logic. Logic requires validity.

    © 2026 j.g. lewis

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