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Build Character and Values with High Self Esteem Poetry
Self Esteem Poetry is more than poetry that makes us feel good about ourselves. It has its roots in ancient secret harmonies that resonate on subconscious levels.
A poem leaves much unsaid so it can allow for that individual inner resonating to occur, taking with it into the subconscious the message in the words. This is what makes it an ideal tool for imbuing a young mind with self esteem and character building concepts, or any mind for that matter! In ancient times bards, like the modern British Bard at left, Taffy Thomas, were highly skilled in this subconscious manipulation where each word has a connotative (an associated value) and denotative (a literal meaning) crafted for special effect with word techniques like Onomatopoeia (words that imitate the sound they denote, like buzz, beep, click), or Assonance (the repetition of certain vowels in successive words, like the long e sounds in free and easy), or Alliteration (the repetition of a starting vowel or consonant, like dainty daisies danced), all put together with rhyming patterns, meters etc. to elicit a desired mental/emotional effect. Today we call these literary, or rhetorical devices, but these were once considered the secret magic of the bard for casting spells over imaginations. As we begin to understand the profound subconscious effects that self esteem poetry can imprint on our psyche we can begin to realize the prfound effects self esteem poetry can have on our self concepts at the most basic level of our being. Certain poems can be very pleaseant and useful tool for instilling a sense of character and values in our children. In every culture in the world since time began there have been individuals whose job it was to pass on character building lessons through word of mouth and poetry was one of the most effective story telling methods because of its evidently magical effects. Poems were a way to insure that their teachings were passed down through the generations without profaning them, which storytelling had a tendency to do. The French Troubadours, the Anglo-Saxon Gleemen, the Japanese Zenza, the African Griots, the Navajo Indian singers, these were all professional poet bards and they apprenticed at their craft for many years. Self Esteem poetry is some of the finest poetic art, and when you run across it it's easy identifiable by its mentally uplifting effects on both you and your children along with a hard to desribe quality that makes it "stay with you" with unusually easy recall from memory. Here are a few favorite examples. -------------------------- ::::: ------------------------------- BE YOURSELF by Ellen Bailey Why would you want to be someone else When you could be better by being yourself Why pretend to be someone you are not When you have something they haven't got ~ Cheating yourself of the life you have to live Deprives others of that only which you can give You have much more to offer by being just you Than walking around in someone else's shoes ~ Trying to live the life of another is a mistake It is a masquerade; nothing more than a fake Be yourself and let your qualities show through Others will love you more for being just you ~ Remember that God loves you just as you are To Him you are already a bright shining star Family and friends will love you more too If you spent time practicing just being you!
You'll find dozens more of Ellen Bailey Self Esteem Poems at: www.ellenbailey.com/themes/selfesteem.htm -------------------------- ::::: ------------------------------- IF by Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you But make allowance for their doubting too; ~ If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise; ~ If you can dream-and not make dreams your master; If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two imposters just the same; ~ If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools; ~ If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; ~ If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”; ~ If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings-nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; ~ If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run- Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And- which is more- you’ll be a Man, my son!
-------------------------- ::::: ------------------------------- DON'T QUIT - Author Unknown When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road your trudging seems all uphill, When the money is low and the costs are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit Rest if you must, but don't you quit. ~ Life is queer with its twists and its turns, As everyone of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about When they might have won, had they stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow, You may succeed with another go. ~ Often the struggler has given up When he might have captured the winner's cup; And he learned too late when the night came down, How close he was to the golden crown. ~ Success is failure turned inside out The silver tint of the clouds of doubt And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far; So stick to the fight when your hardest hit, It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!
-------------------------- ::::: ------------------------------- TREASURES IN YOU - Author Unknown There are treasures in life, but owners are few Of money and power to buy things brand new Yet you can be wealthy and feel regal too, If you will just look for the treasures in you. ~ These treasures in life are not hard to find When you look in your heart, your soul, and your mind. For when you are willing to share what's within, Your fervent search for riches will end. ~ The joy and the laughter, the smile that you bring; The heart unafraid to love and to sing; The hand always willing to help those in need; Ones quick to reach out, to labor and feed. ~ So thank you for sharing these great gifts inside; The caring, the cheering, the hug when one cried. Thanks for the energy, encouragement too, And thank you for sharing the treasures in you. -------------------------- ::::: --------------------------------
THE BARGAIN by Napoleon Hill I bargained with Life for a penny, And Life would pay no more, However I begged at evening When I counted my scanty store. For Life is a just employer, He gives you what you ask, But once you have set your wages, Why, you must bear the task. I worked for a menial’s hire, Only to learn, dismayed, That any wage I had asked of Life, Life would have willingly paid."
This book is a special favorite of ours -- the collection of Carolyn Kennedy's best loved children's poetry. The cover features a photo, taken in the White House, of 5-year-old Caroline reading to her stuffed teddy bear.
Carolyn Kennedy grew up reading poems and having them read to her by her parents, President Kennedy and Jackie. "Both of my parents really loved reading, and it was one of the special things they shared with us." The book, which even includes poems by ee cummings, Ogden Nash and Sylvia Plath, features many of the poems she and her brother John grew up reading -- and which she still shares with her children. CLICK ON THE PHOTO to learn more.
Do you recall any self esteem poetry from your childhood? Any nursery rhymes, or ditties, or self esteem poems of any kind that made you feel particularly good about yourself that you can recall to this day? Do you recall having a favorite self esteem poet who moved you? Self Esteem poetry has likely had a lasting effect on our self concept in one way or another.
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