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 |   Second blog -- answers to an ocean of prompts |
 "Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself." CHARLIE CHAPLIN  Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you. David Whyte        This is my supplementary blog in which I will post entries written for prompts. |
For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"  Prompt: Write about 5 magical winds. === I’ve never heard of the five magical winds, maybe because I am not much of a dedicated fantasy reader. All I know are the five elements of Godai as earth, water, fire, wind, and void (ether) in Japanese Buddhism, upon which the teachings of ninjas are based. Then, there’s the five magic rings, a business approach based upon the Ninjas' teachings, which not being interested in the wheelings and dealings of any business practices, I have no inkling what they are about. Tolkien also talks about the rings of power but those rings’ numbers are more than five. This, I imagine, leaves me to invent my own five magical winds. Wind 1. It is the wind that sneaks in before a hurricane hits the land, especially on where I now live, and leads the hurricane away to the open seas and no human’s belongings or life on land is compromised. Wind 2. A wind of peace, as soft as a breeze but as powerful as an electric current, spreads all over the earth. No more wars or battles or fights, ladies and gents. How about that? Wind 3. A wind of abundance surrounds the earth that protects the people from hunger and need as well as favoring and taking good care of all the animals, wild or domesticated. Wind 4. A wind of good health blows all over the planet and penetrates into the most hidden corners and holes to rid us from epidemics, pandemics, and all kinds of diseases. Wind 5. A wind of smarter thinking and judgment blows into the USA's capital city, and the factions there stop arguing about insignificant things. As an example, wearing the masks. Look at it this way. If we the people were told from the beginning that a mask saves both the wearer and those around him, people wouldn’t put up a fight. But no, what the idiots insist is that the people have to wear the masks to protect others. Well, hello? Only a few people are that altruistic. People who are ignorant of human nature shouldn’t be made into legislators and rulers. Here! Now that I ranted and carried on, I feel better already!   For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From innerlight   ’s "The Magical Leprechaun" “Even though I'm not full Irish, I believe in the myths in a major way. Write about this in your Blog entry today,” says  Megan who is into magical thinking today.--- While innerlight ’s poem talks mainly about the leprechauns, there are so many other myths and mythical creatures in the Irish lore. Yes, the leprechauns are whimsical little people and they engage our minds in a certain fun-loving way, but what about Macha, the goddess of the horses, pixies, shamrocks, etc.? Who hasn’t looked for a shamrock for luck insides a field of clovers?Yet, there is more. Have you ever heard a banshee’s shrill cry in your nightmares and fled to the Druids to save you from its shenanigans? How about the many gods and goddesses, too? Yes, they abound, but I can’t tell their names for two reasons. First, if only for the silly reason of self-preservation, I don’t want to invoke a far-away deity’s name and cause disturbance for him or her...or me. Second,  I don’t know the names of all the Celtic deities.The Celtic myth I like the most, though, is the magic fish, Salmon of Knowledge. A person who tastes its flesh becomes wiser and more knowledgeable, like Fionn who tasted the salmon Finegas caught and became the greatest warrior of all time. I think I may now go on a strictly salmon diet. It might just be that Fionn’s story is much more than a myth.  |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: When do you feel rushed? --- Right now, and always. It isn’t because there aren’t enough hours in the day. It is because some or most of the things I need to do depend on institutions, companies, and other people’s urgencies. Just to get to the right person or solution, waiting three to four hours on the phone, then either being dropped or if lucky enough, reaching someone to take care of the situation with some solution, which only would take a few minutes, is a hassle. Computers answering the phones and keeping the people on hold hasn’t been a big help either. Then, of course, there are the fake, threatening, and solicitation calls, which eat into the time of the day and my and other people's nerves. With my own schedule or to-do lists, I usually keep on time, because my motto is, “Do it immediately, now, as it may not get done at all.” If only the others, such as companies and institutions wouldn’t be so selfish… For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Rhoswen - Relentless Victory  ’s "Muse Got Lost" "Total mind-blank is here to stay. I wish my muse would return; Oh, I want to write something…" How about you? Do you want to write something? If so, have at it. --- Oh, that silly muse! I told mine I don’t need such iffy help. I have a keyboard and pencils, pens, and paper in abundance that might last me till Kingdom come, should I live that long. Thus, I have a solution for those who have stinky muses. Just do it! My own just-do-it solution is freewriting. I got so much into freewriting lately that when I want to write, say a poem or a story, it ends up being a freewriting exercise, as my blog entries almost always are. Freewriting, to me, is writing just about anything. I mostly start with an idea, but if my attention takes me to what’s outside the window, within the room, or the bug inside my mind, so be it. Freewriting is a nothing-barred kind of an exercise. While I am at it, sometimes, a few creative ideas sneak in; then, at other times, something else finds its way into my lines. If I didn’t come up with the subject that I wanted to explore, this may indicate that the subject was not meant for me at that specific time, which doesn’t mean that it won’t ever be addressed because some ideas need time for brewing. As for the “Oh, I want to write something,” I just did, didn’t I? |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: William Butler Yeats defined symbols as “images that are living souls.” Can you think of and talk about a few symbols in your culture or in your life that you hold dear that might fit Yeats’s definition? --- Aren’t symbols something? They affect the trajectory or our thoughts and ideas, especially when we are not aware of their existence at the moment. Take gestures for example. In our culture, a hug or a kiss on the cheek symbolizes close ties; in French and Mexican cultures they are only basic greetings. Still, in some other cultures, actions like that may be taken as stepping over your bounds. In that context, I like the waving of a hand as a friendly greeting, especially now that we are practicing social distancing. Then, as symbols, there are the traffic signs, logos, flags, drawn depictions of animals and objects. I think this symbol thing started with the dawn of the mankind since we can observe them from the petroglyphs, the carved or scratched signs or simple figures on rock, or hieroglyphs on the walls of caves and tombs. This shows, whether we admit to it or not, symbols have a way of entering our lives. When I think of the drawn symbols, I like the figure of the dove which means peace, whereas the bird dove in real life is a chatterbox that argues with all other birds. Go figure! Still, I like that image and what it represents. I also like the butterfly that, in myth and art, signifies transformation. Then, there are religious, national and international symbols, which we should all respect like the flag of our country as well as those of other countries. My favorite symbol is the ocean, as I think of myself as a drop meant to be blended into the vastness of its whole. To me, the ocean symbolizes unity and togetherness as well as resilience and depth. That ocean in my mind can withstand, clean, and digest all the ills of this world and possibly of the entire universe.  Just, maybe. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Sharmelle'sThankfulExpressions  ’s "Angel’s Surrounded by The Rainbow" “They are giving us blessings even though humans in the world cannot see the angels, we are happy for all of our blessings.” === Sharmelle, in her poem, assigns an angel to each color of the rainbow, turning the colors into symbols for the angels’ positivity. Angels, as divine creatures, flood the texts of scriptures in almost all religions. They are the ministering spirits who live for eternity and who can influence us through our senses and intellect. Most of us believe in them and treat them as we would our dearest and most loving friends, since we’ve been told that they watch over us. I think, the idea that angels exist is a positive thing and the poem does justice to that idea. After all who doesn’t want to be encouraged to become a better and happier person? |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" ’ Prompt: “Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .” ― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves Is there someone in your life that you've had that ‘what, you, too?’ moment with and when you thought it happen only to yourself? Share something special about that relationship. ---- Yes, actually there have been several people like that in my life, but I’ll talk about the earliest one as it is also the longest best-friend relationship. It started probably years before I turned 10. It had to do with our love of writing, drawing pictures, plus some mischief, which the elders tried to steer us toward more sensible areas. My cousin and I quickly discovered we both had the same exact likes, dislikes, and complaints about our family. I can’t recall any one single moment but probably it started with one and was reaffirmed through consequent moments. Although later on while distances and different lifestyles have changed a bit, our friendship still stays very strong, and now is being re-emphasized through the internet. My cousin is a year younger than me and nowadays more upbeat while in her earlier life she was moodier than me. Still, we usually have the same thoughts, and when we talk on the phone, we end up saying the same exact sentence, word, or phrase at the same instant, just as it used to happen in our earliest days. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Rhyssa ’s "Dreaming" Without the words that form my dreams and impulse themselves upon my hand, I am nothing. Use this line in your Blog entry today. --- “Without the words that form my dreams and impulse themselves upon my hand, I am nothing,” says Rhyssa. I think she is much more than that, but knowing how well she uses her words and how easy and sincere her writing sounds, I can’t argue about it much, can I? It isn’t easy when writing an essay to escape from the tone of a corporate memo and give the writing a human voice with a sincere conversational tone. One would need a few sparks of energy, a dash of compassion for oneself and others, and sincerity, and still be able to write something different, respectable, and enjoyable. Well, Rhyssa has done it in her personal essay, providing a great example for us. Her tone is perfectly sincere, as tone is the attitude with which we write. Good writers inspire others into action and initiate change. Instead of being bossy and sounding knowledgeable with our writerliness, we can all start by understanding our readers’ frustrations, wishes, hesitations, and fears as well as our own. Then we can put all those in a simple, clear, and understandable words, by possibly omitting too long sentences, so our unique personality shows through our work. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Use your favorite song title to inspire your entry today. --- I have many favorite songs, but at this moment, The Sound of Silence comes to mind. I wouldn’t start with “Hello Darkness, my old friend,” however. Even though darkness refers to a mood here, I don’t take silence together with darkness. Quite the opposite. “A vision that was planted in my mind” for a neon light touches the silence and makes a vision universal and benign. Let us look at it this way. What does any problem-solver, a fixer of people and situations, do? He or she listens in silence and observes. What does she or he observe? Not the sidewalks or cobblestones but what the other person is saying or is trying to hide. The silence in trying to hide gives away a person's innermost thoughts and worries. Then, some spells of silence between people can be awkward and at times, intolerable. Still that silence says something profound, if we listen to it closely. Usually, those--the fixer uppers among us--are the more silent ones. Why? Because they are listening. Listening is a form of consciousness, evolving from within and it is an art, especially if we are listening to what is missing or what is silent. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From innerlight ’s " Quotes" Read the above item and choose a quote and write about it. “Snakes like you usually die of their own poison.” Neath the Arizona Skies (1934) --- Don’t you think snakes get the worst rap in the animal kingdom? For our own twisted reasons, they instill a deep-rooted fear in us that the other animals fail to do, well, mostly. If you take an objective look at snakes’ existence, they are more helpful than harmful as they take care of the pesky rodents in our yards. They only attack if threatened and if you dare walk close to their nests where their young may be. The quote here refers to a bad person while unfairly pointing at the real snake. Plus, the quote is wrong in a second sense, the scientific one. Snakes don’t die from their own venom because they make their own antidote, except maybe if bitten by another snake such as the King Cobra. So, while I don’t like the targeting and blaming the snakes, as animals, I can comprehend what the quote means. To me, it means what will do away with a rotten person will arise from his very own rottenness. A simple example: Who usually kills a bandit? Another bandit. Or maybe one of the bad habits he has fallen into. Case closed. So, for being not so hot ourselves, let’s just leave the animal kingdom alone. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: "A cup of tea is a cup of peace." What is a cup of peace for you? ----- I love tea, especially because I mix Bigelow’s Earl Grey with a dark brew like Tazo’s English Breakfast, and I let it brew a few minutes. It is my morning fare that gets me ready to face the day. I am, however, not sure how something with a good dose of caffeine can deliver peace. I rather think that a cup of Linden tea could do the trick better, there. In fact, my cup of peace doesn’t come inside an actual cup. I find peace in listening to the rain or getting lost in a good book. Lately, some of my peace has been coming from the TV, a turned-off one that doesn’t annoy me with the election rhetoric, bombardment of ads, and fake news. So, peace is where I find it; except, it may not be in a cup. And it definitely is not on the TV screen. For: "Space Blog" From "Food in Writing" Prompt: "There is no love sincerer than the love of food." George Bernard Shaw Let's write about food today. Thanks, Megan! Well, I have to say our favorite dish, just the sight of it, ignites something poetic in our consciousness, as food satisfies one of our most essential needs and it doesn’t talk back at us. Luckily! But, what if food could talk back at me? It would probably chide me by saying, “So you think you are a bon vivant! You idiot! You consume me and look what you turn me into at the end!” , Then, I’d have to tell food that, although I might not be able to create security for it and ease its worries, I am forever grateful for what it has given me, my life plus serotonin and oxytocin. If it were not for food, where else would I find my most basic bliss and happiness! |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: When you revise a piece, what are the steps you take, and where do you stop? Do you stop when you think you are making things worse instead of improving them or when you are sick of working on the piece or when you think you’ve done the best and this is it? ---- Not that I do many revisions, but when I do, I first read the whole piece over to check for plot loopholes, and if it is a poem, to check for unneeded repetitions and for the unity of the ideas and form. Funny thing is, I am never done, not really. At the moment when I stop, I may say, “okay, this is it,” but the next day or the next time I read, I see probably ten other mishaps, even those my reviewers don’t catch or may think are acceptable. So, I am never done, and that is where I flunk. An identical problem is, I have about ten novels, all in first draft; well, maybe with a few surface edits, but the novels are not done, and I’m afraid will never be done. So, possibly to appease myself, I say, “It doesn’t matter! I had fun writing the first draft!” Maybe in another lifetime…? For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: From Koyel~writing again ’s "Down the Memory Lane" "I am absolutely alone in this world with no one to empathize my sorrow." --She said she is battling an incurable illness. As a therapist and chaplain by profession, my heart goes out to her. Can we give her some love?--says Chris Breva  ---- This is so touching! We live in a world where we value communication more than anything. Yet, probably all of us have experienced isolation at one time or another when the entire world seemed to stay behind a fence that became impossible to cross. A few people like me may value a bit of isolation to get in touch with ourselves. Yet, we all fear feeling alone and forgotten deep inside ourselves, permanently. This may be because in our world, extroverted behaviors and tribalism or the idea of belonging with a certain group has become the accepted norm. This line from a poem, which otherwise also reflects happier moments from the past, shows the importance of social and human contact. Otherwise, the sense of defeat and helplessness form a vicious cycle and aggravate the ills of both the body and the mind. On the positive side, writing poetry about our feelings connects us to others, as this poet has connected to those of us who have read her poem. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “Whenever a poem enacts what it is about, it creates a way for itself to live dramatically inside the reader. It becomes an experience unto itself.” Edward Hirsh, from the book How to Read a Poem, page 45. Do you agree and if so, which kinds of poems leave the same or similar effect inside you? ---- Enjoying poetry has to do with participating in something that mostly cannot be explained through reason and understanding alone; although, there are examples of poetry that are only meant to be understood by reason. The majority of good poems that speak to me, however, create a space for fantasy, something like a dream time, while they pull me in through their music and hidden messages. For the same token, two different people can interpret the same poem in different ways intuitively. This means we sense and feel the poem even if our understanding of its entirety can be lacking. Then, a poem also can have the theatrical privilege, a big idea in a single line, which may be the poet’s gift from his subconscious, like that of Shakespeare. Thus, I like a bit of the theater in a poem, too, plus the hidden or implied universal thoughts that target the spirit of being a human. I think Poe does that well in his theatrical fashion; Pablo Neruda does that well; Rumi does that well in his story-poems; Emerson does that well; as does Elizabeth Bishop to some degree. But I also like, simpler, shorter, concise poetry, too, like that of Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, and some WdC poets, here on the site, whose names I am keeping to myself. . For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: From lezismore-moreislez ’s "Crashing Waves " “The waves continue their endless cycle and crash upon the seashore.”. Write about this in your Blog entry today and be sure to read the above item. ==== “The waves continue their endless cycle and crash upon the seashore”. is a pictorial lyric as this line displays itself as a metaphor representing the cyclical nature of life. Everything works together in harmony in it, though the words are seemingly simple,they are well-chosen and well-placed in relation to one another. This is one of those perfect lines in which the places of the words shouldn’t be changed or their implied meaning could be lost. Plus, the sound and the meanings of words set in motion the reverie, the daydreaming capacity, or a reader’s ability to see the picture the words draw in the mind’s eye. and then, feel them in the heart and the mind. In my opinion, a poem, even when understood differently by each reader, should leave something to ponder and dream about. This line, I believe, does that well. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" " Writing is thinking out loud. Blogging is thinking out loud where other folks think back.”~ Liz Strauss What are your thoughts? -- Some people write only for themselves to think and figure out themselves and the world around them, and I am one of them; well, kind of. Blogging is similar to it in that it is thinking things through while writing but not minding that others see it. As such, while blogging thinks for the present and the future, other types of writing is mostly based upon the past experiences of our civilization. Then, there is the fact that world’s breakthrough ideas often occur to different people at the same time. This may be because our ideas are our environment’s products and they emerge when they are ready. Before they emerge though, they give off signals. Some of those signals may well come from our blogs for our future. The good thing about blogging is that the bloggers’ thinking becomes public, regardless of the blog’s subject matter. Then connections take over, and the blogger doesn’t usually get a massive audience, but an audience made up of people with similar interests and thought processes. This is one reason why the established media people have at first scoffed at bloggers for being the small fish. The established media’s looking down on bloggers had to do with their parroting the past information, a curse of their know-how, while believing that others will immediately grasp their rhetoric. Unfortunately for them, the average person-- dealing with his or her everyday matters--didn’t. When the bloggers emerged, however, despite the confusion of blogging’s nature, the free-thinking, personalized rhythm in most of the blogs shook up the established media, as the small fish multiplied by leaps and bounds. Thus, noticing the positive results, some of the writers of the established media joined in, as well. Now, with so many of us blogging, the ideas and events may change the way we think and live much faster. As a result, for the average person today, making connections is an opportunity for connecting to others. It is also an opportunity for the future of thought. For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: From jaya ’s "Invalid Item" Use this sentence in your Blog and be sure to read the above item for your ideas --- Thinking that life is trying to give us a hard time is unjustified and incorrect. Things just happen and sometimes, they happen in multitudes. Yet, the point of living isn’t what is happening but how we are responding to it. We all experience difficult times and low points in our lives that may be tough and painful. Yet, pain is a fundamental part of living and it may well act as a teacher. Thus, minding the teacher and learning from the difficult lesson are important. It is also important to stay positive and fix our attention on the brighter sides of life, so the lessons learned can be put to good use. Staying positive means--without disregarding the lesson--changing our focus from the difficulty of the experience to other things like the beauty of a dawn or a sunset or the book we are reading or anything that brings us joy. In this way, the quote, “Even as I go through some trying times, every dawn, everyday feels truly fine,” is justified. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What are some things in your life you take for granted? --- I’d really like to say I take nothing for granted, but that would give me the biggest, longest Pinocchio nose. I guess I, as another human, take too many things for granted such as my five senses, my ability to read, write, think and decide (faultily or not), that my limbs and body are working, that hunger, shelter, and other such needs have never been an issue, that the nature is so versatile, beautiful (and at the same time, deadly), that this planet we are on has beautiful oceans and majestic mountains, that I have heat and air conditioning, that people in their essence are interesting, varied, and mostly decent. Although I take all these and many other things for granted, I am grateful for the friend who came up with this prompt, which made me count my blessings.  For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: From lizco252isback’s "Invalid Item" "We all knew the jerk was inept But what is life but a reality show" What do you think? Could life be a reality show that some alien is watching? === That thought about the aliens has occurred to me also, and on many occasions. How can it not when so many things and happenings don’t make sense at all? I dare think that not only we are being watched as a reality show but also, we are being played like a computer game, which accounts for the plot twists in our lives and the weird stuff in our daily living. I mean, this can be true for the fact that I have been watching from a webcam a bald eagle couple in Fort Myers, Southwest Florida, along with possibly millions of people: https://www.dickpritchettrealestate.com/eagle-feed.html That poor raptor couple have no idea that they are being ogled by so many of us, and thus, the possibility or the near-certainty that we are being watched by higher forms of life. Just why wouldn’t the aliens, for many weird reasons of their own, watch us in the same way we watch other species? More than a few serious physicists such as Enrico Fermi think that due to the age and size of the universe, there has to be civilizations like ours and even much more advanced than ours. Since we, the tiny bumbling earthlings, came up with the idea of webcams, how in the world a more advanced civilization could not come up with a better tool to watch us? Worse yet, play with us? On the other hand, as a precaution for your mental health, just don’t think about this issue when you are undressing or are in the shower.  |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What would you do with 3 more hours in a day? --- I guess I would read or attend to unfinished business of the day. What am I saying, I would definitely read since I always leave the unfinished business alone, just to read. Unfinished business or any type of stuff like it has already been interfering with my reading. For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: Becca Winchester  ’s "'You Talk Of Freedom'" "How would you describe freedom?" So how would you describe it? --- Freedom to me is a feeling, first. I may feel free inside myself even if I am bound and tied. Then, I may not feel free even if I have everything I need and I am free to do anything or go anywhere I want. The most important freedom is the ability to learn from my mistakes as it enables me to do things right or fix them properly. Freedom is when I can make decisions about my own life, as long as what I do doesn’t step on the freedoms of others. Freedom is when I create what I create as long as what I have created doesn’t hurt anyone else. By the same token, freedom is being free to like or dislike anyone else’s work or creation. Freedom is being able to do things without being forced into doing them or refusing to do things that I don’t want to do. Freedom to say my thoughts, opinions, and ideas on any dimension of life or faith are among my fundamental human rights. This is guaranteed by the US constitution here, although it may be different elsewhere in the world. Freedom also has a sister called acceptance and a cousin called tolerance. When these three unite and work together, we can all have the ideal society with the freedom of the mind, will, and integrity. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” — Mary Shelley, Frankenstein What are your thoughts on the idea of the fearless feeling powerful? --- That’s exactly what a monster would say, isn’t it? Despite the scary horror a monster is, fear is a normal reaction because its absence marks pathological feelings and actions like cruelty or the lack of sympathy and empathy in a person. As such, Shelley’s Frankenstein was not well-received at first, probably due to the experiments. Isn’t it a coincidence, an unconscious imitation, or a defect in people that a few decades later, similar experiments were conducted by the Nazis? Yet, Shelley’s monster isn’t truly evil, but it is upset by the negative treatment it receives from others due to his scary appearance. He is unhappy because he cannot relate to normal humans. He’s even nice at times such as when he rescues a drowning child. Thus, my conclusion is, yes, a monster can be fearless; yet, underneath that fearlessness lie a heartbreak and the fear of being unacceptable. Talking about fearlessness, because I have been rationally irrational all my life, when I was eighteen, I read the books and scriptures of all the religions I could get my hands on, and yes, even that of the Sumerians and the Babylonians. Not that I remember much of any of it by now, but I came to the conclusion that all religions return to God by default. When I saw this quote about Frankenstein, I recalled the path of fearlessness as a Zen habit that advises its followers to see their internal underlying goodness. As our most basic fears have to do with uncertainty, not being good enough, and thus rejection, finding the goodness in us leads us to better behavior. In conclusion, possibly there is no such thing as fearlessness, as fear is built inside us for survival, but maybe, there are degrees of fearlessness. I think, on scale, fearlessness should stop at confidence because when we remove all fear, it ends up being a death sentence. For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: from Kurt Philip Behm ‘s "Invalid Item" "What are we afraid of if not ourselves?" What do you think? --- This made me smile, not the quote but the similarity of the two prompts. This coincidence or synchronicity, if you wish, happens quite often among the prompters throughout the blog world in WdC. I am thinking we are all giving out thought waves or something. As to the prompt, I agree with it 100%. We all have unknown, hidden corners in our psyches that are scary. We may also have experiences that we don’t remember that may influence our behaviors. Earlier traumatic experiences, even when totally blocked to the memory, can affect the way we feel and the way we respond to events and other people. So, we must keep in mind that the hidden negatives in us are the missions of our psyches searching for a resolution and crying with longing for some kind of a rescue. Yet, we have to be fearful of some of those missions, and each time we catch ourselves acting or thinking spitefully, we must be on the alert and use our willpower not to say or do that hurtful thing. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “Literature was born on the day when a boy came crying ‘wolf, wolf’ and there was no wolf behind him. That the poor little fellow because he lied too often was finally eaten up by a real beast is quite incidental. But here is what is important. Between the wolf in the tall grass and the wolf in the tall story there is a shimmering go-between. That go-between, that prism, is the art of literature,” says Vladimir Nabokov. From your own personal point of view, what is literature to you? --- Literature may be any written work for most but the way I see it, literature is something that leaves a lasting effect on me or at least some effect. It may have been written at one time or another, but also it may be spoken, such as in audiobooks or even speeches. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” and Ronald Reagan’s Brandenburg Gate speeches, for example. Yes, they were rhetorical but they moved us, didn’t they? Then, there are the works written for stage and film, some of which I consider great literature. The beauty of literature is that it emerges from the interior of the human head and heart, which are infinite. Of course, crappy stuff can emerge, too. I should know about that since I’ve produced some myself and keep doing it. The music in the lines of poetry, the sounds and meanings of words working together, unseating the prose from its throne even when fractured and dissonant, is literature, too. Be it prose, poetry, fiction, or non-fiction, to call a piece of work literature, it must be universal and at the same time deeply personal. It has to be fluid with identity, dealing with a fundamental human situation, metamorphosis, or a bit of transformation. As to fiction, it can be realistic or imagined. I make no distinction between genres or the literary general fiction. Neither do I have any prejudices as to language, form, or length when it comes to literature, even in the work of a newbie writer who is an author in the making. What I don’t consider decent writing, let alone literature, is this whirlpool of disinformation some of the media has sunk to recently, during these most trying times. Over such pieces, I’ll take the worse pieces of WdC members who are at least trying and working very hard to produce something halfway acceptable. Then, I also think some of the work here is also truly stunning and high quality. For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: From Charity Marie - <3 ’s "Ordinary Heroes" Heroes. Write about heroes, fictional or real. {size} --- A hero to me is someone who acts courageously when faced with a difficult problem. People who perform heroic acts at the drop of a hat without realizing what they are doing are not heroes, in my estimation. For example, if you see a little child on the path of a gunfire and you run to grab her and get her to safety, you are a hero. But if you are cowering behind a crate when gunfire erupts and a little child comes near you to hide with you, you are not a hero. Talking of today’s problems, healthcare workers who face this Covid 19 threat are heroes. But healthcare workers who quit their jobs because of the Covid 19 threat are cowards, not that I blame them or anything, but in every profession and calling some danger exists. Those who can’t face that danger shouldn’t be in such a profession. Other kinds of heroes can be the policemen, firefighters, parents who raise children alone and with no help from anyone, people working in labs to find cures or to explore, people who try to help the homeless and the unfortunate, etc. In short, to be a hero, a person has to have some moral brilliance and has to show it. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Tell us about your writing space. Where do you write your blog posts? ==== When we first moved to our house, I took a separate room to write in and my late husband had his study, but we weren’t seeing much of each other. So, we decided to unite in the family room, into which we put small desks and simple bookshelves for our immediate needs. After him, I am still writing in the family room. On the three bookshelves against the wall are my reference books and a few favorites only. My desk holds my notebooks, both empty and half-full, and a few magazines. My laptop used to be on the desk, but about two years ago, I bought a stand so I could write or surf the web standing up. Cute, right? But that standing up writing biz, unfortunately, never happens. Well, almost never. Instead I have cranked up my desk chair. On the wall, to the right of me, hangs a large framed collage of family photos, for my emotional comfort. Under that frame, on the half-size bookshelf next to me I have a desk lamp, which is rarely used, unless there is no other light in the room. This is where I write my blog posts and, at the moment, I am not standing up…as usual. For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: “Chewbecca and I traveled to a new planet” from Lostwordsmith ’s "Invalid Item" Read the above item. Happy endings were real and wishes came true. Write about this from a child's view. ==== For showing us the way to this poignant and beautiful poem, I am really grateful to you, Megan. I think, however, the poem is much more than a child’s view, as sweet and happy a child’s view we might assume may be.It is also very difficult for me to take such a child’s view at this late point in my life. If I tried, I would sound fake. It may just be that I am too linear and literal. Plus, I don’t think all children share a happy outlook on life. Being an only child, overprotected and always under adult supervision, I certainly wasn’t happy all the time, and I knew that not all my wishes came true. So, instead, let me write about the poem. As Walt Whitman said, “We convince by our presence,” I think this is a poem that convinces by its presence. First, its construction is superb. Subject, style, content, and form are interconnected. Then, it has its own particular music. The poet’s unique voice is there, and it sings. Diction--although seemingly simple but it is not-- and the imagery--so poetic in a charming way--unite splendidly. All in all, it left me in a poetic fairy dust. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Write an anecdote. According to Merriam-Webster.com an anecedote comes from the Greek word anekdota, which means unpublished. It is defined as a short short story concerning a funny or interesting occurrence or event. ==== The year 2020 is like a killer bee’s menacing, unpredictable stab…Although a bee sting may look powerless, considering what 2020 has been when compared to the good old days This is exactly what I and my kids talked about when they came for a visit yesterday. We all agreed upon the fact that this year’s sting has been (and is) so bad that we fear the good old days will soon be forgotten just like the old fairy tales of lore that are forgotten. So, here is a fairy story. While every fairy thought that the nasty fairy among them was bewitched and now, she was dead and they were safe, the nasty fairy wasn’t dead. During the ceremony after Beauty’s birth, when the fairies bestowed gifts upon the newborn, the nasty fairy emerged to announce that Beauty would die from a tiny prick (like that of the killer bee’s). While everyone was shaken and terrified, another fairy came forth to adapt the old fairy’s spell to Beauty's sleeping for a hundred years. And you know the rest. Same with 2020, the nasty fairy'spell and the killer bee of our lives. I am quite sure we’ll get through the stings of it without half the world’s population going six-feet below the ground. Except none of us would want to sleep under its spell for a hundred years. And now,I want to ask what happened? Who cursed us? ----- Note--As much as this entry may not qualify to be considered an anecdote, this is what came out when I sat down to write. So, sorry prompt! Another day, another time. For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: From "What happens to the Dreams?" [E] by Sharmelle'sThankfulExpressions Where do our dreams lead us? Don't chase your dreams, live them! Use this line in your Blog entry today. === Although I have several dreams each night, I don’t dwell on them. In fact, I don’t dwell on any kind of dreams, maybe because I never wished nor attempted to stand the on podium of a superhero, saint, or goddess. Granted that goal setting—-much better if done loosely--can make people work toward a destination, but this is as long as those goals are attainable. For the reason that dreams can be far-away, impossible things. Plus, aren’t dreams a form of enduring reality? Or maybe dreams are our way of challenging reality, testing, and contesting it. As if flying in a night dream without wings, without falling, without demise, while altering the rules of the natural world. What about when we wake up from any one kind of a so-called dream? Won’t that be our real fall? Therefore, “Don't chase your dreams, live them,” is a bogus saying in my point of view. So, I think maybe it is a good idea to wake up, look around at where we are, and take it from there. |
| For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: From "Rice" "No one single person is truly represented by any political party." What do you think? Is a person truly represented by a political party? --- Although I hate to talk about my political views, I agree with the quote because my ideas can be both liberal and conservative, depending on the issues. Unfortunately, in our time, tribalism has become the norm for political parties. I hear this is the same, not only in the USA but in most other countries around the world, also. The mindless affiliations, polarization, and gridlock are preventing the citizens from finding a common ground. Thus, exist enormous social and political challenges heightened by Covid-19. The glue that holds people together is also being undone by foreign forces and money, which is using racial undertones and other divisive undercurrents, which lead to feuds worse than blood feuds and unjust and untrue accusations on both sides. As to where I am, I worry that we are losing our respect for our Constitution as foreign voices are hurling themselves into the heartland to ask for changes in the Constitution, the one thing which has held us together through time. When a country loses its respect for its elemental laws due to the factions’ impositions, it fragments under the power of these extremists. Surely, as we progress, we can change, but we can do it within our laws and not lawlessness that is being coerced on our country. Needless to say, I am deeply disappointed in our parties. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt “Cats are dangerous companions for writers because cat-watching is a near-perfect method of writing avoidance,” says Dan Greenburg. What other excuses like cats make your mind wander and take you away from your writing? ----- Excuses? Let me count the ways. The fact is, I prefer reading to writing. So, reading is A number one. I feel richer and illumined while reading, while writing is excavation. It is digging into yourself, your brain, the hidden parts of your psyche, and all that you have gathered as know-how in your life. It is hard work. No wonder some prefer cat-watching. Aside from reading, my methods of avoidance include: • Housework: It needs to be done, doesn’t it? • Sewing, mending, clearing out the closets, etc. • Plants. Although I don’t have too many, at least not as many as I had when I was much younger. Since they are scattered in the house and back and front yards, they can take a good amount of time. • Of Microsoft’s Word games, Word Twister • Mahjong (2 different kinds) • Solitaire but not too much. This can get boring and annoying. So I probably play only one game a day. The fact is, I don’t consciously avoid writing. I think this happens because I like doing other things, too. On the other hand, I have a couple of novels unfinished, a slew of others only in the first draft, and a whole bunch of other writings that need organization, plus a lot of ideas that need to be attended to. And yet….. Well, go figure! For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: From Lostwordsmith ’s "Invalid Item" "Not all those who wander are lost".What do you think this means? Analyze and report. ---- I am rather hesitant to answer this question. I am not a goal-oriented person and not a good example to other writers. Believe it or not, I did start my adult years as a strictly goal-oriented woman, but life has a way of distracting a person, and for good reasons, too. Mine were family and kids, travel, a slight switch in my vocation, plus other ever-changing hobbies and things. However, these excuses are not entirely correct. Strict goals feel sinister and demanding to me, and being a half-cooked perfectionist, I make myself miserable trying to meet them. This is one of the reasons, I stay away from the “weekly goals” thing on Newsfeed here in WdC, which is very useful to most writers. I think, maybe I am an organized wanderer, while I like being spontaneous within reason. Spontaneity lets me find meaning in all things, and not because I am an aimless nomad, uncertain of direction. Mostly, I am rather curious about life and wandering can cause me to come upon unplanned yet interesting avenues. I just don’t like to plan my every move, and this doesn’t mean I don’t make any plans. It means I make plans loosely so my life has some bit of organization, while I keep my plans adaptable unless I have promised others to do something at a certain time. In that case, I am strict with myself. This is only because I can’t expect others to wander along with me. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt “We may be totally unaware that many of the challenges in our lives are not our issues. They are our parents’ issues,” says Shirley Rose in her book, Integration: Heal past Trauma and Prevent Future Trauma. Which kinds of issues in one’s life can be their parents’ issues? Do you ever find yourself thinking, this isn’t me but my parent? ----- It is easy to blame one’s problems on their parents, but blaming doesn’t help. Knowing the source of the problem does. The way I see it, although abuse and mistreatment can put a heavy burden on a person’s psyche, it isn’t always the abuse or the mistreatment by a parent that may cause some of the people’s problems. Parents may do a wonderful job in their parenting, yet some issues may still originate or have something to do with the parents' own unexplored or ignored problems. For example, if you had a wonderful mother who was also a neat freak and you as an adult, cannot fall asleep at night, thinking of the armchair you did not place just-so after sweeping under it, your neat-freak problem is coming from your mother. This is because children learn by imitating and a good portion of that imitating, they may think, is coming from their own selves and not from anyone else. Some of the issues that may relate to parents in some way may have to do with: • Which kinds of people we can tolerate and which kinds we can’t • Money matters: Are we a big spender or are we thrifty, and does this have anything to do with our parents’ behavior with money? Do we think money is dirty or money is to be spent as soon as it is made and it doesn’t matter if we owe someone or some institution? • The way we are with our own children: Are we knowingly or unknowingly passing on our parents’ expectations from us to our children? Watch out for your language, here. How many times did you catch yourself saying exactly what your parent used to tell you? • The way we are with our work ethics or housekeeping and other areas: Watch out for stuff that is becoming a problem for you. Having said all this, it doesn’t mean that all our actions, thoughts, and beliefs are our subconscious imitations of our parents. A good portion of those, we derive from our own life experiences. Then, on the positive side, some imitations of our parents can be very useful if we have trusted and believed in their astuteness and knowledge. Such parents are a joy to imitate, but if you think you are having a problem with any of your behaviors, it is a good idea to think of its source. After all, parents are people, too. For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: What will life be like 5 years from now? I have no idea. I am not even sure I’ll be around then or any of my friends or relatives will be either. This is because life is tricky and we never know what’s going to hit us next. I am hoping, however, this Covid-19 will be something of the past and no other virus or epidemic like it will hit this planet again. On the medical front, I believe some serious advancements will be made in the studies of the human brain and hopefully Alzheimer’s and Dementia will have some positive treatments, if they are not totally eliminated. I think more inventions are in the horizon, too. One of them could be, crossing my fingers, free internet for the entire planet. Also, again crossing my fingers, world hunger will be eliminated, and even by a farther chance, people will stop warring and fighting. We may take some steps in exploring the solar system, as well, which I don’t see how it will benefit us, but as a general rule, I believe in exploring because you never know what you’ll find. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: July 4th! Here in the US, this is Independence Day. Tell us what independence means to you. ---- Independence means sovereignty for countries and autonomy for any one person or a group of people. Both mean having the ability of making one’s or the group’s own decisions. In the case of autonomy, a group can still be allied with a larger group or country, while their internal affairs are their own business. As much as I like the term independence, however, I ask if a person can be totally independent on the personal scale. The answer is no. We do depend on one another to live in this world. We all do different things and we are trained to do different things; so, some kind of a give-and-take cannot be avoided. Still, on some level, we all like to do what we wish to do and are able to do on our own. For example, once a child learns how to feed herself with a spoon, a parent’s intervention is one intervention too many. The same criteria can be applied to individuals, the state, or the country. To me, independence, above all, means the ability to think for myself and express myself freely, as long as I don’t step on other people’s freedoms. Unfortunately, it is not accepted as such by some people, therefore leading to vandalism, theft, and violence. Still to me, independence is being able to do what I want with my time and money, but is it possible? Yesterday, I spent six hours on the phone by being sent from one computerized answering machine of my health insurance company to another, circling about, and at the end being sent to the first number I dialed. No kidding! The answer was there and it took two minutes for a representative to clarify it. Go figure! I think, at least until really capable robots are invented, if the companies could man their phones properly instead of letting computers do the work, wouldn’t we all be freer? Since I am an older person and, recently, I have seen others in residential places for the elderly, the idea of independence has translated into assisted autonomy for each individual who needed help due to health concerns and changing mobility. This means a person’s wish to stay independent does not go hand in hand with their capabilities. For the sake of honoring any one person’s independence, letting an older person in on their care gives them a feeling of empowerment and may add more ease into the practice of their care. Therefore, independence is a complicated concept because it has different meanings at different levels and for different people. For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: From Emily  ’s "A Piece Of My Heart" "When it came time for me to start blogging again, I found myself paralyzed. I was trapped by the belief that my blog had to be unique, that it had to have a defined theme, and that it had to be appealing to everyone. After some time, scouring Google for advice, I realized that if all I did was worry and plan, I would spend forever worrying and planning and never get to writing." Analyze and report. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? ----- One great rule I learned is that if you want to write anything, you sit down and write it, regardless of any rules. Rules can always be applied later. I have word files and paper books in which I have written whatever comes, freeflow, and it is my favorite kind of writing. The way I see it, blogging is the newest form of journaling, and a blog is what you wish it to be. I especially like the freedoms I can take with it. Having said that, I understand one does need to plan only if they have an assignment and a deadline to write a piece. Yet, a blog piece is not such an assignment. It is what one thinks offhand about a subject, any subject. Granted, when we first began blogging, I didn’t know what it was, and I did do some research like Emily . I believe the year was 2003. I found out that most of the popular blogs on the web were subject-oriented, as the bloggers wanted to have readers and followers. Luckily, I am not a very ambitious person and I like to do what I like to do when I like to do it, even though I have a few different book items here in WdC on specific subjects. After I started my first blog with the idea of penning pieces on the craft of writing, a friend who isn’t on this site anymore invited me to blog with the Blog City. Thus, my writing blog turned into a prompt-answering blog. After some entries to it, I thought I should have a separate book item just for writing to prompts. So, the blog I am writing in now was born, and it has proven itself to be the most fun to write in because the prompts are varied as they are given by several different people. As a general personal rule, I don’t answer to very many prompts in one entry because I have a big mouth which transfers itself into what my fingers on the keyboard can transcribe. I also like to write more than a paragraph or two on a subject. For that reason, in the past, I had refused to subscribe to other blogging groups, and I have only been writing for the Blog City alone until the Space Blog came about. When Chris graciously offered an invitation, I figured writing for two prompts wouldn’t take too much time at this point in my life, and I can always let a day or two pass by without me blogging. So, here it is, me doing my thing. I hope everyone is enjoying their blogging like I do mine. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What are your plans for the 4th of July with all that is happening? ----- I have no other plans than to wear a tee-shirt that has a print in front of it that hails the USA. Then, no more parades or concerts this year, which we will all miss, and as to the fireworks, I stopped being a fan of those a very long time ago when I saw and heard the cries and howls of all the pets in our neighborhood while our trembling New Foundland (rip) took refuge in between my legs. We all need a celebrating this year, though, especially yours truly, but we can't necessarily celebrate the same way we did in the past. Like my shirt, it might be flags and red, white, blue colors everywhere. Then, lanterns or Christmas lights maybe. Flowers would help, too, although I like flowering plants in pots or on the ground. Cut flowers turn me off somehow. Then maybe we can all have a bring-your-own-food party over the internet. For: "Space Blog Group" Prompt: "Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?" Henry David Thoreau Write about this quote in your Blog entry today. ---- This is such a beautiful quote. I think it goes along the lines of a quote I cut off from a periodical and pasted on my desk that says, “According to some psychiatrists you are sane whenever you are able to take somebody else’s point of view. It’s supposedly that simple.” Of course, Thoreau said it more poetically, but the idea is about the same. Although it is easy and quite common to forget that our own point of view is not the only way, looking at a situation from another person’s or all others’ viewpoints helps us develop a better perspective, a multi-dimensional one. It also aids us in communicating with others in a better, kinder, and more civilized way. This shift in focus is difficult because we may think or sense that we are absolutely sure we are right, and if we see things from another point of view, we may have to give up our own. And nobody wants to lose ground due to the inborn or inbred sense of resistance that assures us our standing place in this world. Then, when someone sees things differently, we might consider that person’s reasons and the events in their life that might have resulted in their way of assessing things. Surely, the same goes for ourselves. Why am I looking at this situation this way? Is this stance coming from my self-interest and/or religious, parental, or educational training? When we question ourselves often as well as other people this way, we are bound to become better people who create harmony wherever we go in this world. |
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