Poems, Essays, etc.

Life Untwisted Targeting Your Potential with a Fearless Attitude

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"Life can become so twisted at times that we lose the balance in our lives and don't even know it until we land face down in the garbage we've accumulated. When we untwist our lives, the walls become halls."  - Life Untwisted

In trying to live our lives, we inadvertently get things twisted around. We lose sight of what's important for our spiritual growth and what's inconsequential. Of course, nothing is really inconsequential because lessons are there to be learned regardless. However, it is still important for us to prioritize the people, the actions, the feelings, the thoughts in our lives because most of us tend to turn our worlds upside down. We make the least important the most important and vice versa. We carry the residue of experiences around with us that we should have released long ago and let them rule our lives. 

In order to live a happier life, we must learn how to develop a fearless attitude and how to target our potential. Each of these undertakings involves certain areas of work. To develop a fearless attitude, we must work on building a foundation, healing, and strategies, each of which also include many areas of focus. To target our potential, we must understand the creative process, develop visions for our life and business as well as learn how to create better relationships.

Each of these chapters were written at different times before finding a home within the pages of this book – all for the purpose of untwisting our lives. 

A Weary Traveler

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Words can never really be adequate to express all the nuances of an experience. However, if they can stir your emotions through stories or poetry, you may get the indescribable opportunity to relive your past, perhaps with a new perspective offered by the author. Perhaps the words will bring you to a deeper understanding of what others are going through.

Words bear fruit both for the giver and the receiver. For the giver, the one from whom the words come, they serve as a release of emotion. Even when angry, the words give voice to that anger. When sad, the words mitigate the sorrow. For the receivers, the ones who have free will to accept the gift or not, the words find themselves in a variety of emotional circumstances among the receivers, ranging from resistance to acknowledging the chords struck by the words or to a complete and joyful immersion in the experience. 

I have no idea how you as the receiver will resonate with some or all of these offerings. All I can tell you is that they all emerged from an emotional and creative point in time for me. These words I am sharing are not about me or you specifically. They are about sharing what is universal in humankind – emotions. No matter what the other markers are in this world with which people label us, we all share laughter, joy, sorrow, compassion, anger, pain, confusion, jealousy, inspiration, depression, just to name a few.

It is our passions that bring us together in groups to seek more of what we love or more of what we hate, to fight for what we love or against what we hate. How we employ our emotions is not what’s really important. Understanding what the emotions represent is. The circumstances engendering emotions for me are not mirror images of yours, but the emotions themselves are. They vary in degree and expression, but they emanate from a source that is common to us all. The common thread that holds us together despite all the outer differences is emotions. They have the power to bring us back into harmony as we recognize our commonality.   

So, these offerings are simply that: offerings. Take them. Leave them. I am giving them to you because it is how I have dealt with my emotions, my passions. Anything else is up to you. 

The Seasons of My Soul   A Poetic Diary

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Dear Friends,
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These poems were not created to measure up to some literary standard. Instead, they simply manifested from the outpouring of emotions from the time I was fourteen until my fiftieth birthday.  I do not apologize if their structure falls short because these “poems” were my safety valve—the outlet that let me release my unproductive emotions. They were also the way I was able to express my personal growth when those around me did not see things the same way I did. So, I bless them ... warts and all!

As you read the poems, you may notice I have given you the date each was actually written, beginning in 1963. I also shared the event or attitude that sparked the poem. After I discovered these expressions of mine tucked in-between the boxes and boxes of paper I had accumulated over the years, I absent-mindedly put them in chronological order. This was when I realized it was an order that defined my spiritual journey with all its ups and downs, lessons ignored, and lessons learned. So at the top of each poem, you will see a running commentary. It is psychological in nature. With hindsight and hopefully greater wisdom, I have tried to present an inner perspective, showing my true journey from 1963 to the poem I wrote when I reached fifty.

Friends who have read my compilation have uniformly told me that even though I had different experiences than some of them, they still recognized the emotions behind the different poems. They said some evoked memories while others stirred up emotions they thought they had resolved.

Whatever their effect on you, I do believe we are all one, struggling to express ourselves and experiencing the same emotions with differing circumstances. If my journey can help you in any way, I am simply grateful! 

The Book of Metanoia   Wisdom to Facilitate Your Journey

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Metanoia is an ancient Greek word meaning "changing one's mind." Changing one's mind is the only way to move into a new level of understanding and experience. You can't continue to think the same way about everything and expect your life to change. We are self-developing organisms, which means that it is imperative that we learn from our experiences so that we may evolve in our understanding.

Is this a process that happens by simply making a decision? No. It happens one increment at a time. The process can be so slow that you don't even realize that anything has changed. People often give up on their journey because they don't appreciate how far they've come. Of course, we are not talking about material changes. Those are by-products of our internal changes. We are talking about how we choose to view what happens in our lives, whether we choose to respond or react, and whether we choose to take responsibility for the state of affairs created by these choices.

The Book of Metanoia simply offers you thoughts to contemplate on your journey. They are not in any particular order. They are simply thoughts for you to contemplate. 

 Blossoms in the Snow Poetry: by Robert DeBurgh  [Greta Burroughs]

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Blossoms in the Snow is a collection of poetry compiled over 50+ years of observing life with all its twists and turns, and bumps and bruises. Robert DeBurgh’s fascination with nature, aviation, science, and history provides the backdrop for his haiku, free verse, experimental, and traditional poems. But it’s his life experiences

Interwoven into each poem that shape each piece into a tale that grabs and holds the reader’s interest, possibly bringing a tear to the eye when Bob’s old dog crosses the Rainbow Bridge.

 In his early years, Robert enjoyed traveling to out-of-the-way places, learning about different cultures and ideas. In “Songs of Journey,” he applied this priceless knowledge to his ever-growing, ever-changing perspective of what life is all about.

As an aviator, Bob experienced the good and the bad along with everything in between. The Fates often had the final say in the outcome, though. There were times when the weather gods granted him perfect flights with clear skies and unlimited visibility. That was balanced with the occasions when he found himself surrounded by thunderstorms unleashing tendrils of invisible wind shear threatening to tear his airplane to shreds.

Bob expressed these emotional highs and lows through his poetry offering a glimpse into where he’s been, what he’s done, and the lessons he’s learned. His attention to the smallest details allows us to see, feel, taste, smell, and hear the sensations that meant so much to him.  You could almost consider it his personal memoir: a story of his life, loves, longings, and losses.

Robert may no longer be with us, but his legacy as a teacher, aviator, check airman, and friend continues in the hearts of all who know him. There was more to his life than his passion for airplanes, dogs, and old motorcycles. That’s the side of Bob you will discover while reading Blossoms in the Snow.

Note from the author:
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If you haven’t guessed already, Robert DeBurgh was my husband. He passed away on July 13, 2020. Robert may no longer be with us in person, but he left a legacy cherished by all who knew him.

​Bob loved airplanes and shared his passion for flight with many pilots, students, and applicants. The last 25 years of his career were spent doing what he loved best – mentoring airmen and helping them to learn and appreciate the absolute beauty of flight.