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 |   Theses are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call life. |
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These are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call Life. I blog with these groups:     "Blogging Circle of Friends "  [E] 
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30 Day Blogging Challenge Motivational Monday! My mother, born on this day back in 1954, once told me when I was young, "It doesn't matter what you do when you grow up; just make me proud." What's the best piece of advice your mother (or other strong female presence in your life) has given you? The strong women in my life - my mother, my Gramzie and my Auntie Kay - have all loved me, encouraged me and given me the feeling that I could do whatever I put my mind to... the words were probably not spoken but they were there in felt presence. From them I am loved unconditionally. That is a blessing in and of itself. Other strong women I admire and seek to listen to their advise - Oprah Winfrey, Brene Brown, Elizabeth Gilbert, Gloria Steinem, Shandra Rimes, Glennon Doyle Melton... and the list grows. These women have all brought the truth of their experience to light and made the darkness of what was once seen as taboo subjects, something that is no longer something to hide. Speaking our truth makes us more vulnerable, but there is strength in that vulnerability that connects us to others. Be brave, show courage and speak your truth so that you may live life authentically. Don't be afraid to be who you really are. Don't hide your light. Shine for all the world.  Blog City β Day 918 Prompt: Sanskrit word MuditΔ means the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being. In what ways, do you think, muditΔ could help a personβs enjoyment of life? I would say Mudita builds on itself... like a pebble in a lake.... it cascades out in ripples affecting the others around you... all in a positive, uplifted way. Love grows and magnifies. Mudita Delight in another's well-being A warmth spreads Like comfort on a rainy day Uplifted spirits Rise above the mundane And see the possibilities That expand... As Joy grows Exponentially Love flows And travels outward Like the ripples On the ocean Forever changing The world Around you In a positive way. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge The Sunday News! This week in the UK, police we called on approximately 50 students because they were wearing improper uniforms. Should students be required to wear uniforms in schools, for any reason? And should these uniforms require very specific standards, or should families be allowed a little leeway regarding lesser items like accessories, jewelry, and shoes? Have you ever had to wear a uniform to class? How would you feel if you had to purchase an expensive set of clothing for your child to wear, only to be told it wasn't enough, or that he or she was wearing something improperly? I read this, with thoughts of 9/11 in my mind and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close playing on the TV beside me. This prompt just seems so trivial today.... Even Facebook reposted my link to my blog on this day in September 2014 - I reread it and added a comment: It is also important that EVIL has no face, creed, culture or ethnicity. Evil is just that... a force.... like the dark side. Light must prevail and to do that - ALL of humanity must come together in LOVE. LOVE = LIGHT, DARK = EVIL. Let the world be filled with this loving light as we remember 9/11 and all the inhuman evil acts the world experiences. This was the original post: 2 Years Ago - See Your Memories Carolyn Lukas September 11, 2014 Β· I just want to post something from my blog at writing.com Sorry it may be a wee bit long... What were you doing and where were you on 9-11 when the twin towers were attacked? Working in a special education class. The Day was just getting started. We heard the news and could not believe it... it sounded so surreal. Before too long televisions were set up around the school so people could catch the news and discuss the events that played out. The older students wanted understanding, the younger students wanted comfort that everything would be all right. The world felt a shift that day... a shift that we are not so far from the onslaught of terror... it breeds in pockets closer to home than we want to realize and we need to be vigilant. We also need to care for each other and reach out to God for guidance and love. Trust in that higher power to heal, when the world is destroyed by evil forces beyond our comprehension. We will never understand the complexities of our world, but God is there to hold us up. The pain and cruelty of such a horrific event is hard to understand, to make sense of.... there is something bigger going on here. But as we watched in horror, we pulled together and prayed. We, all as one, called out to God and in all of it found a peace... for those not directly affected, we moved to be God's hand, feet and hearts to help and provide for those greatly affected. We came together and that is a powerful sense... a sense far greater than the brutalness of the evil that plagued us. Love stepped in while hate was called out. More love than hate.... and that is how we survive. To live in a place of hate rips us apart and leaves us dying in the streets. To live in love we reach out and save each other, heal each other, come together and let peace rise. There is nothing worse to our enemies that coming together in strength when they were hoping to crush us. Stepping into LOVE saved us... even though many had to suffer to bring us to that place. We were feeling too safe and secure in our little pockets of life... 9/11 shook us up and brought us back to what is important. As for the prompt.... I think that is just crazy - conformity to extremes of any kind is excessive. Learning and life should not be so controlled. "Faith, Hope and Life is all we need and it cannot be taken from us." - Glennon Doyle Melton (Love Warrior - Oprah's Book Club Choice and her interviwee on Super Soul Sunday - Sunday September 11, 2016) What you wear is not so very important in the grand scheme of things... sure, don't be vulgar or obscene, but let your clothes reflect who you are... in an authentic way. Live your life authentically and be the Light in the world. Light = Love. Life has a way of bringing what you need for the day.... a good movie (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), memories (of a past shared in a blog) and a reminder that you can be evicted from your life (Glennon Doyle Melton) but you can never lose your faith, hope and life. And as tribute to those lost.... but not forgotten by someone who loves them and those touched by the senseless of it all..... full link: http://www.snopes.com/rumors/tributes/budweiser.asp Be good to each other. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge Creation Saturday! I pulled this out from the Challenge War Chest... Your best friend from college has invited you to his or her wedding. You haven't seen him or her in years, so you're excited to catch up. But when you arrive at the wedding, you discover that your best friend's bride or groom is someone from your past- and you realize that you must stop the wedding at all costs... Well I was hoping that the prompts from 30 Day and Blog City would allow me to merge the ideas into one story.... but I am thinking they are too far away from each other to come close..... I only have time today to do the one.... I know him Isn't he great! Well... What's not to like, he's amazing! Well.... I am so happy! You'll be at the wedding, right! Well... A quizical glance, What's the matter? I know him. Yes, you said. But, I know him.... and so do a lot of girls.... That's in his past. He loves me. He asked me to marry him. - I can hear a rumble of her anger brimming. Yes - I begin slowly - But, let's just say.... What? - annoyance laces her tone They wish they didn't know him. She scowls, not understanding. He.... he.... he has done things.... Like what? She has to be told, I take a steadying breath - Like what? - she repeats with thick agitation Rape. I whisper it and make myself meet her gaze. Eyes wide she stares at me. I see the emotions coil and roll around behind her eyes. Confusion, disbelief, anger, fury.... You Lie - she shouts - You are just jealous! I shake my head, sad - I see she refuses to believe Ask around. Others will tell you.... he has done it before..... he forces.... No! - she is adamant as she turns and storms off Next I hear - The wedding is off She's in the hospital with a bloody lip and a broken arm I am glad that is all she got He's in custody for assault. Still, I'll have to watch my own back Who knows if he'll come after me in the future. Vicious boys who don't take no for an answer are not going to like someone messing up their plans... |
30 Day Blogging Challenge Fun Fact Friday! On this day in 1998, four tourists who had paid $32,500 each were taken in a submarine to view the wreckage of the Titanic (the ship is 2 miles below the Atlantic off Newfoundland). Assuming money is no object, what do you think would be a fair price to pay for something that maybe would've been considered at one time impossible to see? Are we talking on Earth or space-wise... because I think a space walk or a week's vacation on a space station would be ever so cool. A joy ride on a lunar module. A walk on the moon. The price would be astronomical... pun intended. It would not be something a regular Joe or Josephine could afford. It would be a once in a lifetime opportunity that could cost millions or even billions. I haven't got that kind of cash.... but I do have a pretty good imagination and the ability to craft stories.... and that gift is priceless. Thank you God. Blog City β Day 915 While at Omi International Arts Center in Ghent, New York, artists Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley built a house that spins and tilts in agreement with the wind, and the shifting weight of its inhabitants. Then they resided in the structure for five days, and will spend another several days living there this fall. Write a poem or story inspired by the image or idea of living in a structure that is constantly spinning, and which tilts up or down as you walk through it. What kind of vocabulary or pacing might mimic or reflect the sensation of spinning? How can you play with emotional weight or levity to create shifting feelings throughout your work? I don't even like it when I sit at a table that bumps around, why would I want to experience living conditions like that.... maybe a seafaring person would feel at home there, but certainly not me. rOund and rOund and rOund we go shifting floors do swwwwaaaay toooo and frooooo p U and D o w n Ti pp ed forward, then kcab Ssppiinniinngg A d an ce of steps Off ba c lan e Then ba ck Endless movement Never S T I L L. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge The Wildcard Round! Today's winner, picked later this week from all eligible entries via Virtual Dice, will receive a Birthday MB! Tell us about the best birthday you've ever had. I have a feeling this prompt was used before.... and I can't remember what I said then.... so I will have to consider it again. As far as favourite gifts... I do remember getting $1.60 in the shape of a sixteen from Auntie Kay and Uncle John for my sixteenth birthday. The money was to be used to buy the ice cream to go with the sundae dishes, long spoons and toppings that they had given me in my present - maraschino cherries, chocolate sauce and sprinkles. I love sundaes and it was an original gift - leave it to my favourite aunt, who is also a teacher, to come up with something so cool and fun. Funny really, that I don't see my birthday as particularly a 'best moment' kind of thing. It is in January on the 12th... at a time when Christmas is over and done and the new year has started and school has resumed... it's cold, wintery and not the best time of the year, to be honest. You're getting older - how can that be fun? I think one year I went skating at the ice rink in our neighbourhood with my two best friends.... but I am not sure if that was on my birthday or around the time of my birthday. I remember falling and my mitt caught on the hockey net leaving me sitting there with my arm stuck up in the air and all three of us laughing. It is good to laugh at yourself - and I am good at creating tons of moments to laugh - klutz that I am! They did eventually help me up. This could have actually been my sixteenth or seventeenth birthday because that's when all of us were hanging out together then. Many of my best moments tend to come in the spring or summer, when life feels lighter and freer. Blog City β Day 914 Prompt: It's a privilege to bear witness to someone's story when they may not have had the chance to tell it before. Lindy Alexander What are your thoughts on this? Hmmmm. I am not sure of the full meaning of this, but it gets me thinking of watching Oprah and how she would have guests on who would share their stories - some painful, some joyful, some a mixture of both and I found that in the sharing of these stories the audience and the teller pulled in closer - an intimate bond of caring and compassion. With the sharing also came the knowledge that strengthened our collective experience - a knowing heart getting bigger for having been part of the exchange. This does happen on a smaller scale as well - when a friend shares a particularly painful moment and you curl in together to provide support and protection of there vulnerable, raw emotions. Shared tears and intimacy that strengthened your bond. Last year I shared my own story of marital breakdown with my friend. She was so supportive. I was hesitant to tell her because I was concerned my failures would taint her own sad story, but she was strong for me, encouraging for me and in turn and over time she shared her own trials and tribulations that she was wary to share beyond herself in the past. I feel blessed that she was okay with confiding in me. This summer I was able to give her some support with her own concerns... and it made me feel I was able to be there for her like she was for me.... I did not want to be the taker and not the giver and she is not one to ask beyond herself... so this was wonderful for both of us. We have been friends for 40 years! And I am so blessed to know her and have her in my life. We need our friends - in the good times, and also in the rougher patches. When the going gets tough you find out who your true friends really are and it is life affirming to know you are not alone when those friends rally around you and give their strength when you feel at your most vulnerable. Humanity really does breath within our world. Don't be afraid to tell your story... search out souls who will be there for you... no judgement, just love.... LOVE. When you need it the most! |
30 Day Blogging Challenge War Chest Wednesday! A prompt from a previous challenger... Imagine yourself staring in your favorite cartoon. What role would you play and how would the episode turn out? How long has it been since I watched a cartoon? And be a character in it. I do like the old cartoon, but they are predominately male and I refuse to be a girlfriends to someone else.... so I am looking for something that uplifts and supports girl power without being condescending or patronizing.... I managed to find this little gem: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/dc-super-hero-girls/dc-super-hero-girls-supe... "Believe in your super self" Who would I be in this cartoon? What would my superpowers be? What would I look like? I know I would fit in... these heroes all work together and build on each others strengths - that is a good message. The pen is mightier than the sword.... I would use my words to sculpt and bring beauty and positivity to the world around me. My words would make people think and bring people together - use your words not your fists. I could be a negotiator, when needed. My pen would be from my fingers and my mind would control the colours and the fonts. I could also sing out the words if I was bound. Able to heal the sorrowful and defeated with kind words and images; able to celebrate the defenders of the realm; able to bring people together and smile with gratitude. I would look much as I do now - though younger would be nice. My costume would be my WDC T-shirt and a pair of leggings of midnight and cobalt blue that shimmer with stars. My boots - comfortable hikers. My jacket a denim blue jean with a cool creative writing logo blossoming out on the back. I'd also wear bookish tortoiseshell rimmed glasses to accentuate my big blue eyes. On one baby finger I would wear a silver celtic ring and around my neck a sterling silver celtic cross. Helios Border Knot If you trace the path of the line around this knot, you find that it flows in a gentle sine wave, and then suddenly turns back, zig-zags, and then continues on its way. This pattern suggests a way of moving through life. There are cycles of flowing gracefully ahead, and there are cycles of looking back and reviewing, and perhaps re-experiencing from a new viewpoint, integrating, or at least slowing down to really behold, and look the beauty around us. Like this, only without the white pearl and in a ring form. I wear it, but I can't find a picture of it.... http://www.celticjewelry.com/helios-pearl-pendant.html Blog City β Day 913 Prompt: They say you can't go home again. Do you agree or disagree? I agree you can't go home again. Times change. Nothing stays as it was. The memories we hold dear in our mind's eye are true to form, but they are captured moments - like a photograph, bound within the confines of time and space. Going back we see the changes and feel the pain of moments lost, but they are bittersweet, held in that time as we gaze on the reality of now and wonder where it all went. My hometown has taken on the times. Gone is my childhood home - burned down and replaced by a new family in a two story house built up and sticking out along the line of bungalows. Odd it seems. Out of place. Different.... but no longer mine. Now others play and live there. The people that lived there when I was a child have moved on as well... families have grown up and moved away to start their own families. Age fills in the time as we see those people again. they are more grey, wrinkled with age and experience. My grandparent's farm, a haven of my childhood, now sinks back into the wilderness around it. Trees and foliage have claimed it and time breaks what once was, into a shabby reality of now. The walls break away and sag, even the outhouse is on its side and the stench is gone. You have to fight the vegetation to even find it now. I mourn the loss of the place as much as I mourn the lost of my sweet Grandmother - Gramzie. My favourite bookshop still stands, but the owners have retired and a 'For Sale' sign sulks over what was. I have found a new bookshop in town, and though I like it, it is very different. Gone is the old book smell, the well worn wooden floors, lines of books from floor to ceiling. Now there is bestsellers and a view. There is a coffee bar with tables and chairs. There is a room for gaming Dungeons and Dragons kind of things.... all very cool, but different. The old buildings stand in town, but new shops have taken over. The old library stands amid it all - closed on Sunday and Monday and not open most days until eleven. The hotel stands... but is boarded up. The post office looks the same, but the rush and bustle of people is missing. It is no longer a central hub. Even the snack bar at the beach is gone.... and the lake is empty because the water is too dirty. Even with the saw mill dumping its debris when I was a child we still swam... now a few extra water birds and the town says 'No." Gone is the spinning carousel - too dangerous - and the playgrounds that have been put in to replace what once was, are now closed so that the spongy 'tarmac' can be put down so children don't hurt themselves. there is nothing wrong with skinned knees.... we just need parents to watch their children - not tune out on their cell phones. I know change is inevitable, but even at my age... not yet half a century, I feel old beyond my time. Going home, ages me and makes me miss what was.... |
30 Day Blogging Challenge Talk Tuesday! There has been some backlash in the press recently about a staple of men's fashion: the cargo shorts. Some think this style of clothing is an abomination and no longer appropriate for a man to wear, while its defenders claim their roomy comfort and the functionality of multiple pockets remain a practical and timeless feature. What's your opinion? Comfort and roomy is all good so long as I canβt see your underwear half out of the top. And since that is not done with Cargo shorts, all is good. The only time it may be an abomination is if you wear them to a more formal event... one that requires a suit and tie. They even have cargo kilts... (I am Canadian with Scottish roots) Damn Near Kilt 'Em Men's Sport Utility Kilt https://www.amazon.com/Damn-Near-Kilt-Em/b/ref=w_bl_sl_ap_ap_web_6393989011?ie=U... http://www.utkilts.com/utility-kilt/ Blog City β Day 912 Talking about characterization, does each of us have the potential of becoming a monster in the right circumstances? Just how does an ordinary person become a monster? Can you think of a few scenarios? I think we all have the ability to become monsters given the right circumstances. We are both light and dark, love and hate, so many contradictions is one body and soul... what we chose to show the world is part attitude and life experience. The same person could be bitter or grateful depending on how they want to view the world. What would push someone to be a monster.... I am thinking a hard life, poor choices, bad luck, hard times.... anyone can reach their breaking point if pushed beyond their limits. I am reminded of a movie.... Falling Down with Michael Douglas. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106856/ A mild manner, patient man snaps and takes it out on all those that piss him off over the course of the day... and he's just trying to get home to for his daughter's birthday. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge Motivational Monday! Today is Labor Day in the US, and here are eight quotes regarding labor and work...pick one and tell us what it means to you (or feel free to use a different quote if you'd like). Okay here are all the quotes because I like them all... There is no substitute for hard work. - Thomas Edison All labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. - Martin Luther King Jr. I a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. - Thomas Jefferson Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightening that does the work. - Mark Twain There is no labour a person does that is undignified, if they do it right. - Bill Cosby Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life. - Confucius Nobody can think straight who does not work. Idleness warps the mind. - Henry Ford Genius begins great works, labour alone finishes them. - Joseph Joubert I am feeling like these are all good - but they are said by men... so I added a few women to the overall mix.... Nothing will work unless you do. - Maya Angelou βIβve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling thatβs as unique as a fingerprint β and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.β β Oprah Winfrey "We have taught the world that 'woman power' is about the cheapest power on earth. We never put a value on the labour which goes into this or that task." Violet McNaughton, journalist and first president of the Women Grain Growers in Saskatchewan, Canada So now to pick one.... For me the strongest one is the one by Martin Luther King Jr..... and it is echoed in the words of others. "All labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence." I hear it echoed in Oprah's quote - βIβve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling thatβs as unique as a fingerprint β and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.β and in the one by Violet McNaughton - "We have taught the world that 'woman power' is about the cheapest power on earth. We never put a value on the labour which goes into this or that task." But how you say? When we do what we love, following our personal calling, we are doing something that uplifts humanity... whether we are collecting garbage or changing diapers - all things are important and necessary. Where would we be without them? To deem anything more important than something else is not necessary - all positions are valuable. Society often puts 'women's work' down and yet where would we be if it was not done... and why is it considered 'woman's work' when all beings can do it. The concept that 'women's power' is cheap is a ridiculous idea. The fear is that women have a great deal of power and we downplay and minimize it to keep our weak minded men thinking that they are in full control.... when they are really not. Only true power is held when both man and woman work together as a partnership to reach their highest potential.... how they divide the labour is unique to the individual couple... but it should never be divided based on gender, unless both are equally are fine with that arrangement - and then each needs to respect and honour the work of each other. It is not a competition. Okay my rant is over... I believe the world can be a better place if we all find our personal calling and put all our heart and joy into making it the best we have to offer. Labour serves us all and adds to the fabric of our society. Finding your own way, in a job you love is living authentically. It is breaking out of a box that confines our spirit. We all need to shine... in our own unique way. It also means we appreciate what we all have to bring to the table.... each job is needed. Each needs to be honoured and respected. Blog City β Day 911 Prompt: What do you do to adapt to change as a writer? Did any life changes have demanded or can demand such an adaptation? My life as a writer fills in the cracks of my life. I adapt as time permits. During the school year, I write in the morning when I am not supply teaching. I can write all day then, but if I am teaching, I write after school or sometime in the evening depending on what has to get done over the course of the night. Sometimes I am just too tired to come to the page.... but I don't beat myself up about it.... that only wastes time and energy. I stay flexible. During the summer I have more time to create and do things that fill my creative well... things I can use later in the year when time and colder weather restricts my outings. I make more time to write in November for NaNoWriMo - I limit TV viewing and internet surfing. I have found that NaNo has made me more aware of how to spend my time and what is important. I can write everyday and I generally find time to do it. I think my ex-husband resented my writing time.... he didn't get that I could spend hours creating out of nothing. He expected the house to be spotless. I didn't feel safe sharing my work with him and he was questioning why all the work and no payoff.... his hobbies made money (fixing cars and computers). Sometimes adaption requires cutting out things you realize are not good for your soul.... no matter how much they hurt. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge - September 4 The Sunday News! This week, Hurricane Hermine hit parts of Florida before beginning to make its way up the east coast of the US. What's the worst inclement weather situation you can recall being a part of? I have been blessed when it comes to inclement weather. Sure we have lots of snow in the winter, but we have also had ice storms and freezing rain that make life a skating rink and brings down tree limbs. I prefer the snow over the freezing rain. We've had school closures when the weather gets below -40 degrees celsius.... and that often makes me laugh because it seems a little over the top. They did not close schools for that when I was a kid. They expected us to be smart enough to bundle up or suffer the consequences of frostbite. Nowadays I think government has gotten too involved in protecting children.... I think they are overprotected.... and the harm in that is that they can't think and reason for themselves... when the curriculum is demanding that we do that for their academics. They are book smart but not street smart. They need both. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge Creation Saturday! Pick an apocalyptic event, and tell us how you plan on surviving it. Uck! Can I just say this kind of story genre distresses me. I almost want to take a humorous bent on it, but it seems too morbid to even go there.... The sky is falling Chicken Little is said to say... But even now... He's a chicken nugget. The world as we know it is crumbling Falling into the sea.... Take your family and run for the hills Take only what you can carry And look for fresh water. I had another bit about Trump.... but I cut it. That's too scary to even contemplate. Okay.... I will try this..... Darkness spreads like a poison across our land Toxic fumes take out even the hardiest of souls. Leaving only a few of us cunning enough To press down into the earth And live in caves that run like a labyrinth under the surface.... miles down. We that have survived Have adapted to this cruel environment Most of us are blind, Or at least we think we are, Because no light marrs the walls or tunnels That zig and zag in our underground city. How do we survive? Science has gifted us with a hydroponic bubble That floats up and filters in the air and sunlight Necessary for our food to grow. Filters also sweep through the underground water That seeps in along the walls and pools in a reservoir. We live simply. Take only what we need. Share what we have And give what we can. We are all in this together. We have been blessed enough to survive And those that see it as a curse Have left our midst.... or been taken away.... Life is hard But we struggle on Because we can. |
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