Post No. 156: For St. Patrick's Day, Part 5 — "You Can't Stop Living Life Just Because You Might Be Dead"

(Image from Happy Holidays 2015)

You Can't Stop Living Life Just
Because You Might Be Dead

You can't stop living life [today]
just because you might
be dead [tomorrow].

-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., A Creative Writer)
"I maybe say too much about how life really is!"

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My Writing About Still Living Life Even Though You Might Be Dead: You can't stop living life just because you might be dead. And I intend the aforementioned statement in the most positive, and respectful, way possible—and without any disrespect for anyone who may been dealing with some kind of life-threatening health condition, or terminal illness, like I am. (The reader should know that I am HIV-positive with full-blown AIDS. And I have almost died on multiple occasions, due to multiple infections, but that was mostly before I started taking HIV medications, which greatly improved my health.) So, I wrote the above-mentioned statement when I realized that I wasn't really living life because I was so afraid dying. Thus, that was the place where I was coming from in giving this kind of flippant life advice. –Paul Whiting (written March 16th, 2015, revised August 25th, 2022 and revised April 17th, 2023)

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My Writing For St. Patrick's Day 2024 [March 17th, 2024 Update No. 1] (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," Which Is On My "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" Blog): Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

By the way, the proper shortened name for St. Patrick's Day is "St. Paddy's Day," NOT "St. Patty's Day," as explained below from Merriam-Webster.com:

St. Patrick’s Day can be referred to in informal contexts as “St. Paddy’s Day.” Paddy is the shortened form of the original Irish spelling of Patrick, which is Pádraig, and for this reason is usually preferred over “St. Patty’s Day,” which could also be mistaken for the shortened form of the name Patricia.

And the following is 'My Writing' for St. Patrick's Day 2024 (or, "St. Paddy's Day" 2024, as noted above).

My Writing About 'A Bit Of Irish,' Version No. 1: There's a little bit of Irish in all of us! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About 'A Bit Of Irish,' Version No. 2: There's a bit o' Irish in all of us! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About Luck Not Being An Accident: Luck is no accident! For, luck is based upon hard work and honesty, assuming calculated risk, facing your fears, planning ahead and following through, making mistakes, then learning from those mistakes, and doing better in the future. Thus, the reason that you can be lucky in the future is because you were hard working and honest in the past! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About Being Lucky In The Future: The reason that you can be lucky in the future is because you were hard working and honest in the past! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

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My Writing Notes:

The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: I wrote this poem when I was worrying about dying (as I often do, since I am HIV-positive with full-blown AIDS) and I realized that I couldn't stop living life today just because I might be dead tomorrow!

And this poem was also published on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Small All White in the Forest" blogs (please see the hyperlinks below for the blogs), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message I am trying to convey through "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Small All White in the Forest."

This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.

-Paulee

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com

This "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Post No. 156 was edited on March 18th, 2026.

"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]

Post No. 155: For St. Patrick's Day, Part 4 — "The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow!"

(Image from The Hope Blog)

The Pot Of Gold At The
End Of The Rainbow!

I think that the phrase "Finding
The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The
Rainbow" is actually a reference to
"Creating The Wealth Of Self-Love!"

In other words, "Finding The
Pot Of Gold At The End Of The
Rainbow" really means creating a
Self-Loving and Abundant Life!

Therefore, if you live a Self-Loving,
Self-Directed and Self-Sufficient Life,
"Finding The Pot of Gold At The End Of
The Rainbow" actually means "Creating
The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow!"

-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., A Creative Writer)
"I maybe say too much about how life really is!"

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My Writing About "Finding The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow": I think that the phrase "Finding The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow" is actually a reference to "Creating The Wealth Of Self-Love!" In other words, "Finding The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow" really means creating a Self-Loving and Abundant Life! Therefore, if you live a Self-Loving, Self-Directed and Self-Sufficient Life, "Finding The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow" actually means "Creating The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow!" –Paul Whiting (written March 4th, 2014 and revised August 24th, 2022)

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My Writing For St. Patrick's Day 2024 [March 17th, 2024 Update No. 1] (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," Which Is On My "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" Blog): Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

By the way, the proper shortened name for St. Patrick's Day is "St. Paddy's Day," NOT "St. Patty's Day," as explained below from Merriam-Webster.com:

St. Patrick’s Day can be referred to in informal contexts as “St. Paddy’s Day.” Paddy is the shortened form of the original Irish spelling of Patrick, which is Pádraig, and for this reason is usually preferred over “St. Patty’s Day,” which could also be mistaken for the shortened form of the name Patricia.

And the following is 'My Writing' for St. Patrick's Day 2024 (or, "St. Paddy's Day" 2024, as noted above).

My Writing About 'A Bit Of Irish,' Version No. 1: There's a little bit of Irish in all of us! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About 'A Bit Of Irish,' Version No. 2: There's a bit o' Irish in all of us! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About Luck Not Being An Accident: Luck is no accident! For, luck is based upon hard work and honesty, assuming calculated risk, facing your fears, planning ahead and following through, making mistakes, then learning from those mistakes, and doing better in the future. Thus, the reason that you can be lucky in the future is because you were hard working and honest in the past! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About Being Lucky In The Future: The reason that you can be lucky in the future is because you were hard working and honest in the past! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

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My Writing Notes:

The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: "I think that the phrase 'Finding The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow' is actually a reference to... ....'Creating The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow!'"

Also, on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog where this post was originally published, beginning in January 2013, I tried to create a post for virtually every holiday and special occasion of which I was aware, but I realized by September 2014 that I did not have enough time and energy to continue posting for every holiday and special occasion. And I decided to keep the poems in that series which were the most relevant to my "Small All White in the Forest" blog, of which this is one.

And this poem was also published on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Small All White in the Forest" blogs (please see the hyperlinks below for the blogs), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message I am trying to convey through "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Small All White in the Forest."

This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.

-Paulee

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com

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This "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Post No. 155 was edited on March 18th, 2026.

"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]

Post No. 154: For St. Patrick's Day, Part 3 — My Haiku-Style Poem About St. Patrick's Day

(Image by Paul Whiting)

Make Your Luck Happen

In order for the
road to rise up to meet you,
you must rise up too!

-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., A Creative Writer)
"I maybe say too much about how life really is!"

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My Writing About The Road Rising Up To Meet You: In order for the road to rise up to meet you, you must rise up too! –Paul Whiting (written on March 17th, 2013 and turned into 'my writing' on March 17th, 2024)

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My Writing For St. Patrick's Day 2024 [March 17th, 2024 Update No. 1] (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," Which Is On My "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" Blog): Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

By the way, the proper shortened name for St. Patrick's Day is "St. Paddy's Day," NOT "St. Patty's Day," as explained below from Merriam-Webster.com:

St. Patrick’s Day can be referred to in informal contexts as “St. Paddy’s Day.” Paddy is the shortened form of the original Irish spelling of Patrick, which is Pádraig, and for this reason is usually preferred over “St. Patty’s Day,” which could also be mistaken for the shortened form of the name Patricia.

And the following is 'My Writing' for St. Patrick's Day 2024 (or, "St. Paddy's Day" 2024, as noted above).

My Writing About 'A Bit Of Irish,' Version No. 1: There's a little bit of Irish in all of us! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About 'A Bit Of Irish,' Version No. 2: There's a bit o' Irish in all of us! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About Luck Not Being An Accident: Luck is no accident! For, luck is based upon hard work and honesty, assuming calculated risk, facing your fears, planning ahead and following through, making mistakes, then learning from those mistakes, and doing better in the future. Thus, the reason that you can be lucky in the future is because you were hard working and honest in the past! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About Being Lucky In The Future: The reason that you can be lucky in the future is because you were hard working and honest in the past! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

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My Writing Notes:

The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: "In order for the road to rise up to meet you, you must rise up too!"

Also, on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog where this post was originally published, beginning in January 2013, I tried to create a post for virtually every holiday and special occasion of which I was aware, but I realized by September 2014 that I did not have enough time and energy to continue posting for every holiday and special occasion. And I decided to keep the poems in that series which were the most relevant to my "Small All White in the Forest" blog, of which this is one.

And this poem was also published on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Small All White in the Forest" blogs (please see the hyperlinks below for the blogs), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message I am trying to convey through "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" and "Small All White in the Forest."

This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.

-Paulee

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com

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This "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Post No. 154 was edited on March 18th, 2026.

"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]

My poems that are Haiku in their style—within which one stanza is composed of three lines, where each line has words containing five syllables, seven syllables and five syllables, respectively—are a lot more like Senryū poems in that the topic of these poems is typically about people, rather than the topic of these poems being about nature, as is usually the case in classic Haiku poems. And that is why I call these types of poems "Haiku-style." –Paul Whiting [September 19th, 2023]

Post No. 153: For St. Patrick's Day, Part 2 — "God's Miracle: The Universe!"

(Image by Paul Whiting)

God's Miracle: The Universe!

God literally embodies

everything all around us

—and even through us—

in order to Create Life.

And so, the Universe

itself is God's Miracle!

-Paul Whiting

(a.k.a., A Creative Writer)

"I maybe say too much about how life really is!"

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My Writing About God's Miracle—The Universe: God literally embodies everything all around us—and even through us—in order to Create Life. And so, the Universe itself is God's Miracle! –Paul Whiting (written March 22nd, 2012 and revised August 24th, 2022)

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My Writing For St. Patrick's Day 2024 [March 17th, 2024 Update No. 1] (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," Which Is On My "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" Blog): Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

LBy the way, the proper shortened name for St. Patrick's Day is "St. Paddy's Day," NOT "St. Patty's Day," as explained below from Merriam-Webster.com:

St. Patrick’s Day can be referred to in informal contexts as “St. Paddy’s Day.” Paddy is the shortened form of the original Irish spelling of Patrick, which is Pádraig, and for this reason is usually preferred over “St. Patty’s Day,” which could also be mistaken for the shortened form of the name Patricia.

And the following is 'My Writing' for St. Patrick's Day 2024 (or, "St. Paddy's Day" 2024, as noted above).

My Writing About 'A Bit Of Irish,' Version No. 1: There's a little bit of Irish in all of us! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About 'A Bit Of Irish,' Version No. 2: There's a bit o' Irish in all of us! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About Luck Not Being An Accident: Luck is no accident! For, luck is based upon hard work and honesty, assuming calculated risk, facing your fears, planning ahead and following through, making mistakes, then learning from those mistakes, and doing better in the future. Thus, the reason that you can be lucky in the future is because you were hard working and honest in the past! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About Being Lucky In The Future: The reason that you can be lucky in the future is because you were hard working and honest in the past! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

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My Writing Notes:

The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: "God literally embodies everything all around us—and even through us—in order to Create Life. And so, the Universe itself is God's Miracle!"

And this poem is based upon a quote from "My Posting Sabbatical, Part 1" that was originally published on my "Small All White in the Forest" and "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blogs (please see the hyperlinks below for the blogs), since I decided to publish some of "My Posting Sabbatical Writing" as blog posts when I republished my old blog posts on my new "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blog, which I created in order to have "a place to place all of my best writing in one place!"

And this poem was only published on my "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blog.

This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.

-Paulee

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com

https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com

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This "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Post No. 153 was edited on March 18th, 2026.

"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]

Post No. 152: For St. Patrick's Day, Part 1 — For the Goddess Enya on St. Patrick's Day

(Image from The Hairpin)

The Goddess Enya

Enya's music is
like hearing seeds of hope grow
in the Irish soil!

-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., A Creative Writer)
"I maybe say too much about how life really is!"

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My Writing For St. Patrick's Day 2024 [March 17th, 2024 Update No. 1] (Originally From My Blog Post Titled, "I Am No Longer Being An Activist In The Same Way That I Was," Which Is On My "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" Blog): Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

By the way, the proper shortened name for St. Patrick's Day is "St. Paddy's Day," NOT "St. Patty's Day," as explained below from Merriam-Webster.com:

St. Patrick’s Day can be referred to in informal contexts as “St. Paddy’s Day.” Paddy is the shortened form of the original Irish spelling of Patrick, which is Pádraig, and for this reason is usually preferred over “St. Patty’s Day,” which could also be mistaken for the shortened form of the name Patricia.

And the following is 'My Writing' for St. Patrick's Day 2024 (or, "St. Paddy's Day" 2024, as noted above).

My Writing About 'A Bit Of Irish,' Version No. 1: There's a little bit of Irish in all of us! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About 'A Bit Of Irish,' Version No. 2: There's a bit o' Irish in all of us! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About Luck Not Being An Accident: Luck is no accident! For, luck is based upon hard work and honesty, assuming calculated risk, facing your fears, planning ahead and following through, making mistakes, then learning from those mistakes, and doing better in the future. Thus, the reason that you can be lucky in the future is because you were hard working and honest in the past! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

My Writing About Being Lucky In The Future: The reason that you can be lucky in the future is because you were hard working and honest in the past! –Paul Whiting (written March 13th, 2024 and revised March 17th, 2024)

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My Writing Notes:

The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: I wrote this poem as a homage to Enya, who is one of favorite musical artists, because she is an incredibly talented singer-songwriter! And Enya is her own economy, since she is Ireland's best-selling solo musician. Below is a sample song from her work! (Please see the hyperlink below for the video.)

And this poem was also published on my "Small All White in the Forest" blog (please see the hyperlink below for the blog), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message that I am trying to convey through "Small All White in the Forest."

This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.

-Paulee

https://smallallwhiteintheforest.blogspot.com

Watch "Triad: St.Patrick / Cú Chulainn / Oisin" on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/9e269FbWUuM?si=ZItwQmnMA3vc4NhY

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This "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Post No. 152 was edited on March 18th, 2026.

"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]

My poems that are Haiku in their style—within which one stanza is composed of three lines, where each line has words containing five syllables, seven syllables and five syllables, respectively—are a lot more like Senryū poems in that the topic of these poems is typically about people, rather than the topic of these poems being about nature, as is usually the case in classic Haiku poems. And that is why I call these types of poems "Haiku-style." –Paul Whiting [September 19th, 2023]