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 A new blog to contain answers to prompts |
Since my old blog "Everyday Canvas "  became overfilled, here's a new one. This new blog item will continue answering prompts, the same as the old one. Cool water cascading to low ground
To spread good will and hope all around.  |
| Prompt: Autumn Impressions "Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they’re falling like they’re falling in love with the ground." Andrea Gibson Write about what this quote brings to your mind? ------------- This quote brought to my mind nothing about autumn, but the dual love and curiosity I feel for life and death. To love life is an instinct hardwired into the very core of my existence, such as the sun's kiss on my skin, the laughter bubbling up from a baby, the warmth of my sons' hands in mine. It is the taste of my favorite foods, the thrill of discovering new things, the quiet comfort of my family even those who are far away, and the fierceness and determination of purpose I feel when I start a new task. Life, then, is a kaleidoscope of sensations, emotions, and connections as they paint my days with meaning. I can't say I love death, since I haven't experienced it yet; however, I have a fascination, morbid though it may be, with its timing, and a deep, quiet acceptance of it, some feeling almost tender, since I imagine it to be an achievement of a different kind of freedom and (I hope) possibly a more complete way of being. I suspect or can imagine death to be not as an end but as a transformation, something important to life, as if its life's partner in a lively dance. It is the turning of a leaf from green to gold, its eventual return to the earth to nourish new growth. Death gives life its poignant urgency and its preciousness. My dual respect and love is not a contradiction, nor is it pessimism. It is something that offers wisdom and harmony as if a light shining brightly against a backdrop of shadows. Then, doesn't music need its silences? Doesn't the brightness of the sunlight give its place to the calming of the moonlight? I think, therefore, to love life as well as death is to love existence wholly, beautifully, and without reservation. It is to be truly, utterly alive, until the very last breath, and beyond. |
| Prompt: “Bring down the curtain—the farce is over.” The last words of French philosopher and comic, Francois Rabelais What do you think of life? Is it really a farce? -------- Who knows! Life may well be a farce. Yet, I'd hate to think this farce to be meaningless. After all, we all are players in life. Also, which one of us ever stops the search for meaning while we are alive? No, we don't stop, and I won't stop. This is because life itself is fragile, and much of it can feel ridiculous, contradictory, and hollow. Yet, within the “farce” lies that search for meaning. And even foolish plays can carry a strange beauty. The awkward entrances, the ill-timed gestures, the hollow laughter...all of this is part of the spectacle. Yes, after when the curtain finally lowers, footlights fade, and the painted backdrop collapses into shadow, the actors dissolve into silence. Moreover, so far that I know, there is no encore. Maybe, no applause either. This could be because, in the first place, the set might have been borrowed, the lines half-learned, and the performance only temporary. So, this whole thing turns into a declaration that the roles we’ve been playing, the pretenses we’ve been maintaining, and the illusions we’ve been trapped in can no longer hold. And that silence after the last curtain is the most honest thing. It asks for no more laughter, no more applause, no more frantic improvisation. It is just a release. Maybe the deepest grace lies in bowing honestly at the end, knowing the farce was absurd, but that we gave it our brilliance, breath, and presence for as long as the curtain was lifted. |
| Prompt: Cousins “A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.” Marion C. Garretty Do you have cousins and how much do you like them? ----------- I love my cousins. All of them. Granted, I am closer to a handful few, but having been raised without siblings, my cousins became my siblings without the trouble that sometimes arises among the flesh-and-blood siblings. In my somewhat suppressed and thus chaotic childhood, my cousins became the golden threads that tied me to life's joys. They were always the unseen anchors. Those of them closer to my age became my gang and co-conspirators. Unlike with interactions with the adults, my interactions with my cousins were much freer. This is because we had a shared understanding born from navigating the same family dynamics, even if blood-linkage-wise, the family bond between us were second or third and thrice removed. Plus, I always thought my mother acted more nicely toward me when my cousins were around. When I was the only kid in the house, I guess she felt, it was the time to really bend and educate me to her ways. This made my cousins a safe harbor when my mother's upbringing storms felt too overwhelming. That must have been one of the reasons why I cried and begged an uncle and all the other elders to let a certain cousin who was only a year younger than me and with whom I got along with very well, to stay overnight or a few days in our house. Usually if that cousin's school schedule didn't interfere, the adults gave in. In adulthood, too, my cousins' importance deepened further even though life scattered us all over the world. Still, they are for me the keepers of our shared childhood, our family history. Moreover, most of them became the shelters I still take refuge in over the phone, even if I don't talk about my troubles or life at length. Just hearing their voices or getting a text message from them is a great comfort and it adds richness to my life. My cousins are the laughter echoing across generations with their quiet nods of understanding, with their hands reaching out across distances and decades. I am very grateful to God for putting my cousins in my life, as an extended network of love, understanding, and shared experience woven into the very fabric of my being. |
| Prompt: Have fun with these random words-- switch, x-ray, install, series, reconcile, dead, maze, cupboard and bother. ----------- My Inner Cupboard I open the *cupboard, dust falls slow in it, *nostalgia sleeps, from long ago I flick the *switch, light spills wide, an *x-ray glow on what I hide keepsakes *installed are in place as *series of ghosts I cannot face my silence is heavy, my heart feels *dead though I've *reconciled with what was said but my thoughts fly as medley and *maze darker in corners, in a hollow haze for memories bind me, I cannot sever some things I've kept, *bother me forever. |
| Prompt: On this day in 1976 The first episode of The Muppet Show, which was cocreated by Jim Henson, aired, and the TV series became hugely popular, known for a cast of puppet characters that included Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. Did you see it when it originally aired? Which character is your favorite? What fun facts do you know about the Muppets? ----------------- I am more familiar with the earlier Sesame Street Shows than the Muppet shows. When my older son was a tiny tot, I used to sit him in his swing and he'd watch the Sesame Street. The year was 1969. At the time, we were living in an apartment. If I'm remembering correctly, he used to love Ernie and Kermit, but not so much Burt. Then, about a year later, he loved and preferred Oscar the Grouch, which worried my husband as to why our son appreciated a negative character. I'm so glad to say that, eventually, Oscar the Grouch left no ill-lasting effects on either of my sons. By the way, Miss Piggy annoyed my husband greatly, also. He thought she was a fake character and she was advertising, to young boys and girls, the idea, "Fat is good." After my younger son turned two in 1974, we moved to our own house, in which the boys had a separate large room with their toys in it, which they named, "Play Room," and they had their own TV there. It was next to the kitchen and the living rooms, so I could hear them all the time. As to the Muppet show that came later in 1976, I'm not sure I remember any of those shows, myself. We did, however, watch as a family several Muppet shows in my husband's study, where he sat in his desk and did some other thing, while I either sewed or read; however, we were both there to make the boys think we, too, were enjoying the Muppets. I am sure I watched half or whole shows of either the Sesame Street or the Muppet Show, but I can't recall any of it, now. At the time, my husband and I knew enough to converse about the shows with our sons. Our sons are both in their fifties now, and I suppose they might not recall any of this. Maybe for the better, as life has to go on. |
| Prompt: What is your idea of a cozy home? Write about this in your Blog entry today ---- A cozy home for me is a place where those who live in it live in peace without any strife but with cooperation and mutual respect. It is a haven where its occupants can just be themselves. This is because coziness isn't what one sees and touches. It isn't a place that is showroom-perfect with the finest, expensive things. It can be imperfect, lived-in (tell me about it!), and its walls and furniture serve as a sanctuary. For example, a comfortable chair is just a chair until I settle into it to read. Plus, I know where my things are, even though, at times, I make myself crazy, forgetting where I put anything, even a minute ago. Still, it is a soft landing, a gentle embrace, and a reminder to rest, reflect, and reconnect. As such, all furnishings and every aspect of the house tell me, its occupant, "You are home; you are safe; you can relax." A cozy home also shows the personal touches of the people who live in it. Its objects tell stories with its photographs on display that capture shared memories and souvenirs. These aren't just decorations, but they are the artifacts of a life, filled with meaning and history. I can say this because, at my age, my artifacts abound.  More than anything, my cozy home is also about the atmosphere where every detail, no matter how small, whispers to me the message of "Welcome. It is here, where you belong." |
| Prompt: "The tests of life are not to break you but to make you." Write about this in your Blog entry today. ------------ I am not so sure the tests of life have intellects that can come up with any kind of an aim. That is, the aim of going after us and to make or break us. It is up to us, however, to make the best of every situation and stay on top, at the end. Let me come up, then, with a scenario involving a blue earthen bowl to illustrate the tests of life. Suppose, once, on the highest shelf, there once was a favorite piece of pottery I've always liked. But then one day... The first shard of the pottery felt like a betrayal... It was a bowl I had made with my own hands, coiled and smoothed over hours in a dusty studio, glazed a deep, hopeful blue. I had placed it on the highest shelf, a trophy of my patience. But the earthquake, a brief, violent shrug of the earth, had other ideas. My blue bowl lay on the floor now, shattered into a dozen jagged pieces. I wanted to put it together again. As I worked at it and while piecing my blue bowl back together with seams of glue in shining gold, I understood. I understood why the earthquake and why the shattering... The bowl now sits finished on the table. Yet, it is not the same as the one that had sat on the shelf. It is infinitely more beautiful, more complex, more valuable. The web of golden veins tell a story of resilience, of fracture and repair. This happened because it was tested, and in its breaking, its true character surfaced. As such, life’s tests are the earthquake. They are sudden, violent, and often inexplicable shocks, and they threaten to shatter our original form. At first, we may think they are meant to destroy us, just to prove our fragility. But they are not. They are something similar to the kiln’s fire when it first formed us, and now, they are testing the quality of our spirit. And the breaking itself is not the end. It is the beginning of the truest creation. Our scars, our fractures, our healed-over pains are not flaws to be hidden in shame. They are the seams of gold. Possibly, no life is unbroken to sit prettily on a high shelf, untouched and gathering dust. The goal is a life that is mended and richly patterned with gold. It is a mosaic of all the times we are tested, but at the end, it shows we succeeded. And with flying colors. |
| Prompt: "There's a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words." Dorothy Parker How short is the distance between wise-cracking and wit, and what do you think of wise-cracking people vs. people with wit? ------------ Both wise-cracking and wit live in the town of humor, in their essence. They are, however, not the same thing. To begin with, wise-cracking is shallow, usually exaggerated and spilt out as a reaction, but it is quick. It can also be funny in a way to shock, mock, sass, or rebel. I think I've used up my wise-cracking on my poor mother just only once or twice and her reaction cured me for life.  Still, wise-cracking can be a snappy comeback or a jab, which was never my forte, anyway. I can usually think of comebacks after the fact and after many hours or days, once I've finished stewing in my disillusionment. An example to a wise-crack to someone who has arrived late: “Oh, glad you could finally join us—did you stop to invent the wheel on the way here?” A witty way for the same situation, that may be more clever and less biting could be: “Ah, don't worry! You’ve arrived just in time—punctuality, after all, is only a matter of perspective.” After all, wit is like a candle's flame, steady, giving off light, and lingering in the mind, whereas a wise-crack goes off in a flash. Unlike a wise-crack, wit has more finesse. It is thoughtful, layered, and often shows one's intelligence mixed with humor. Then, mostly, wit has more of a staying power. As Aristotle said, "Wit is educated insolence." That, I guess makes wise-cracking just a streetwise loser, in comparison. Yet, Voltaire said, "A witty saying proves nothing." True, it proves nothing, but it doesn't bite like a wise-cracking quick utterance or insult, either. |
 HAPPY 25th, WdC!  Entries for September 1 and August 31 Prompt: Celebrations "Celebrate the success of others. High tide floats all ships." Susan Elizabeth Phillips Write about this quote and/or what Writing.com's Birthday celebration means to you. ------ Today, WdC is 25 years old , in (I think) SMS's words, "a full quarter of a century of writing, reading, creativity, and community." So true! How would I have known WdC would last for so long, with me in tow, for 25 years! I had no idea this would happen when I registered here 24 plus years ago, using a link a friend had sent in an email. If this isn't an occasion to celebrate, I don't know what is! As to the quote, to celebrate someone else's win, it is good to be genuinely enthusiastic, express admiration with a verbal "well done," and share in their joy by listening attentively to their experience. Maybe, one can also organize a social gathering, give a thoughtful gift, or plan a surprise party to acknowledge this success. Focusing on accomplishments helps us to live in a positive culture where success is contagious and can inspire motivation in everyone. I think WdC has encouraged us for 25 years with more waiting on the horizon. Will I be around in that horizon? I hope so, as long as the breath in me lasts. If it doesn't, then I hope WdC will stay forever being a home to all the lovers of word arts. ================= Prompt: "This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun." Julia Child Write about this prompt, about how good you are in the kitchen and if Julia Child is talking only about kitchens? ==== I cook for myself and I have cooked for my family, almost non-stop. I don't do French cooking, sorry Julia!. I like Italian better. And even better is the kind of cooking I invented for myself, which takes a tiny bit from all the cuisines I was introduced to. My late husband and I, when we went out to eat, we chose restaurants on the water or those with some kind of an ambiance. We never went out for the sake of any food. As for Julia Child, I don't think she was only talking about food, as she said, "learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun." These words can apply to many situations and above all to life itself. Anyhow, being fearless doesn't mean feeling no fear. It means acting in the presence of fear without allowing it to paralyze one, which often involves acknowledging fear, understanding its source, and taking small, consistent steps to manage it, rather than eliminating it entirely. Real fearlessness is a balance between self-awareness and constructive action. Then, learning from mistakes is a good advice in any situation. Most of the troubles in this world happen because people or nations haven't learned from their past mistakes. As to her advice of "have fun," however, how in the world one can have fun, if that person only thinks of having fun in any situation. If I insistently thought "I'm going to have fun," I wouldn't have fun because I'd be checking myself if I am having fun or not, all the time, while supposedly having fun. Still, Julia Child was fun to watch as long as she and her show lasted. |
| Prompt: “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to the page and write." — Stephen King Do you sit in front of your computer waiting for inspiration? Or do you carry a notebook and go do things, jutting down notes throughout your day and then write. Share how your writing begins... we're curious. -------- Nope, I don't have the time for sitting around and waiting. I never had and never did. And I have notebooks, yes; however, I don't carry them around with me. Carrying my cellphone is enough pain as it is, but I have a notepad in my cell, with limited memory. It comes in handy, although I use it rarely. I carry my cell with me all the time, only because I promised my sons to do that. Silly guys! They worry about me. I used to write a lot more and often, but since my eyes, due to old age, are slightly failing, I don't spend too much time trying to write. That is why, lately, I only write in my blog and the monthly WdC NL. I promised myself to write into my blog, each day, just so that I don't forget how to write.  Then, in the evening, I write in my journal longhand. I miss the old me, though, who used to write a lot from the NANO novels to you-name-it. As to how my writing begins, I sit at the computer, open a page, and write whatever, or bleed into the page, as they say. If I am writing about something I have little or no knowledge of, then I run a search on the internet first. Never in my life, have I waited for inspiration. Just maybe, inspiration passes me by. |
| Prompt: Who was born on August 29, 1915 and also died on August 29, 1982. This same person was involved in a scandal and reprimanded on the Senate floor. Can you name something their famous for besides the scandal? --------- Who else but my mother's favorite actress, Ingrid Bergman? My mother talked about her in Intermezzo all through the years that I knew my mother. I saw Ingrid Bergman live on stage on Broadway, during her later years possibly last, and even then, she was spectacular. I still can't believe she was reprimanded on the senate floor, although I remember the incident due to my mother's interest in it. Just because she had an extramarital affair, as if other actresses and actors never did! The incident happened in 1950, after Bergman left her husband and became pregnant with director Roberto Rossellini's child. So what! But it was the 1950s and we, as a nation with our senate, were blindsided with our far-out expectations of God-Country-Morality ideals, then. As to her being famous for, here's what Wikipedia says: "She won numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, four Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Award, and a Volpi Cup. She is one of only four actresses to have received at least three acting Academy Awards (only Katharine Hepburn has four)." Also, I found out that during World War II, she contributed to the Allied war effort by starring in propaganda films, promoting war bonds, and entertaining troops through the USO. I think, she was a real lady in the real meaning of the word. Certainly, she was a true royal in the film industry. |
| Prompt:"At that moment, she felt that to be Mistress Of Pemberly might be something. " Jane Austen Write about Elizabeth in this quote today. ------------ Before I say anything about Elizabeth Bennett D'arcy, let me add that royalty and class systems turn me off, unless the royals act royally. Yet, they are also people, and I do feel for their lot in life. Still, I try to stay away from all that pomp and circumstance. I only read Pride and Prejudice once, a very long time ago, and I don't know anything much about Elizabeth after she became Mrs. D'arcy. I believe there is a sequel all about her, but I didn't read that; however, I like Jane Austen as an author for her style, storytelling, and courage to write about a shaky subject as class, and I also liked Elizabeth as a story character. After all, Elizabeth caught the much-sought-after Mr. D'arcy's attention because she was the prettiest among her sisters, or was that what D'arcy thought? Even so, he must have noticed Elizabeth's several admirable qualities, too. Elizabeth was clever to start with but had a sharp tongue, although she sounded brilliant when she spoke. As a person, she was straight forward and often rose above the nonsense of the royalty's bad behavior. She herself points to that fact with: “There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.” To her credit, though, she rose above her class-crazy, spiteful society that included her parents and her sisters. In fact, Elizabeth placed little value on money and social position. On the other hand, she also thought a bit highly of herself, which I don't know if that is good or bad because most of the time she could see through people. Except for D'arcy, at the beginning. Those were her mistaken impressions of him. But then, if she didn't make that mistake, how in the world would we have Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice! Still today, I can recall enjoying Elizabeth's prejudiced banter with him a lot. She was really fearless while insulting him, the man she loved, but didn't know yet that she loved him. “From the very beginning—from the first moment, I may almost say—of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish distain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of the disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world on whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.” To put it in a nutshell, I liked Elizabeth's character because she valued a human being's independence of character and their personal understanding of morality, and she wasn't swayed by all that glitter and ceremony surrounding her. |
| Prompt: "The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things as well." Horace Walpole Write about this in your Blog entry today. --------- Look at that! Another blueprint for life. I wish it were that easy to live our lives based on blueprints! Especially me, the one who is interested in a multitude of things... At first look, I thought the quote was trying to anchor me into just one thing so I could get good at it. That is a positive attitude, perhaps doable, but only at first sight. This "one thing" is often a passion, a craft, a field of study, or a calling that demands focus and full dedication. To be profoundly interested means to give up passing interests for genuine understanding, to face challenges head on for the main subject, so to contribute meaningfully to it. In my case, that specific area is lit, writing, languages, etc., which is very wide in itself. But then, I'm also interested in numerous other things. Accordingly, the quote also favors "paying attention" to other "thousand things" as well. I guess those other thousand things are there to feed the primary passion. If so, they may inspire creativity and offer fresh ways of seeing things. Imagine a lawyer interested in poetry or a math wizard who also paints! Okay then, I'm in agreement with the quote now. Granted, a profound interest and effort on one thing can build identity and a sense of purpose. Then, the other hobbies and interests can frame that identity. Hmmm...not bad at all! But why does Horace Walpole say this is "the whole secret of life"? I mean, what is so secret about it! |
| Prompt: "A generation which ignores history has no past and no future." Robert Heinlein Write about what you think of this quote and/or about what historical event had the most impact on your life. --------- I should say the end of World War II that had the most impact on my life, but at the time of the war's ending, I was a baby, so I have no recollection of it. In a roundabout way, however, it did, since it caused my core family to fall apart. Still, I am more consciously aware of the attack at the towers on 9/11. This I can say easily that it did have an impact, or rather more of a loss of the feeling of safety added to the grief about what happened and the fear of its aftermath. It was the feeling that the USA was not a safe place anymore, although I didn't openly say it and neither did many others. After 9/11, came strict regulations on travel and on other areas of our lives. For example, at the least, on a personal level, I used to treat airplane travel as an opportunity to read and write, and the planes had become like my personal study room, by then. After 9/11, this and many other things changed greatly. What I could take with me on the plane became minimal, as to books and reference materials, compared to what I could do earlier. Be that as it may, to ignore what happened, that is--what happened as history, may mean cutting the thread to our past and endangering our future. This is what this quote is pointing to, be it in my lifetime or later. After all, history is not only a holder of facts and dates. Inside it, history has lessons, triumphs, failures, and wisdom. History shows why nations rise and fall, how cultures grow and transform, and what mistakes humanity has made when blinded by pride, greed, or ignorance. As the result, any generation, in my lifetime or later, cannot afford to turn its back on that knowledge by trying to erase its own roots. No generation or group of people can prosper if they think the struggles, sacrifices, and achievements of those who came before us are unimportant or are considered as if they never happened. Also, if people ignore history, they are bound to repeat its errors, such as: wars fought for the wrong reasons, freedoms taken for granted and therefore lost, and societies collapsing under corruption or intolerance. In other words, not paying attention to history can mean repeating the errors of the past by walking blindly into the same pitfalls. After all, we need to keep in mind that the past and the future are inseparable. So, while we learn that we have inherited a past rich with meaning, we should also aim at a future with brighter more humane possibilities. This is true for my generation and all other generations to come. |
| Prompt: Perspective "The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective." Al Neuharth How has your perspective on life changed as you’ve grown older? ------------ How does my perspective change about life? "Let me count the ways." In fact, my perspective changes all the time, unlike other possibly normal people whose perspective-changes may have more to do with their life events or the passage of time. In the long run, although I think I am quite resilient in general, the way I feel about life has more to do with how I wake up each morning. I mean, when my first thoughts go from, "Wow! How lucky! I'm still here!" to "Aaaargh! Another day to deal with!" So my mountains and molehills can be closely related to how I wake up each morning. Although, once I get going, that first thought in the morning can shapeshift an awful lot, as well. Regardless of what I think about me and my handling life, the mountain and the molehill metaphors have a lot to do with the mindset. A “mountain” represents something overwhelming, daunting, and seemingly impossible to overcome, while a “molehill” is something small, manageable, even insignificant. When fears, anxieties, or frustrations, even small problems are exaggerated, they can loom large and cast long shadows. This is not a too terrible thing, by the way. It helps writers an awful lot. I can say this very easily, especially because, at the moment, I am reading another Haruki Murakami book. If it weren't for that far-out exaggeration of his and other good writers, where would literature be, today? Don't you think? Plus, don't we all bask in the long shadows cast over us by such writers?Yeah, but afterwards, after I close the book before reading the next chapter, I step back, breathe, and view reality with more clarity. What is unsurmountable in the book or in my life shrinks into something I can handle. So I guess that's how perspective shapes reality, and what I label as a crisis might simply be an inconvenience with the right frame of mind, if and when I can find where my mind is. As to the part in the question "as you’ve grown older," I had to laugh. Older has nothing to do with good perspective. I have seen five-year olds with much better perspectives than (ahem!) eighty-some-year-olds. Maybe someday, no matter the age, we'll all learn that many “mountains” in life are, in fact, only molehills waiting to be stepped over. That is, if this new techie thing, artificial intelligence, doesn't beat us to it! |
| Prompt: "What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?" E.M. Forster What's your favorite way to enjoy nature? --------------- My favorite way to enjoy nature is to watch it. I like to watch, from my porch, the tree branches swinging in the wind, the green grass on the golf course that is so impeccably kept, and all the wildlife in animal or human form that show up on the 7th hole. I also love the ocean, the waves, stormy weather, etc. Yet, more than anything, I love the animals, even spiders and tiny bugs, and lately, the Mexican Salamanders that crept up into Florida and on our porch screens, then did away with the existing smaller species. As to the stars, sunrise, and the wind in the quote, they inspire awe but they are distant from me. I notice their beauty when I think of them abstractly or when I notice them momentarily, while I pass them by. So on me, those too distant beauties become a bit wasted. The good in those lies whether they happen to enter my life in an intimate, tangible way. A sunrise, if I am awake enough to notice it, is not just a spectacle on the horizon; it is a chance to feel renewal and to recognize the day as a gift. The wind is not just a movement of air, but a presence that can cool me, carry scents and bird songs, while also reminding me that life means motion. Still, at times, that motion is too much, when my area is hit with a hurricane, but then, there's a beauty in the wildest, harshest of things, also. Since the deeper meaning in noticing nature encourages me to pull it into my own personal life, when I comply, I feel happier and more connected to life and nature This might have more to do with appreciating life and what I am granted with, here on earth. For the good of my being here does not lie in my existence alone, but in my ability to let Nature enter my life and transform the way I act, think, and feel, each day. What good is the sunrise if I rush past it, my head bent toward errands, while the horizon burns with promise? What good are the trees if I never pause to lean against their patience, to breathe in their green wisdom? What good is the wind if I do not lift my face to it, letting it remind me that life is movement, and I'm never still for long? The stars, the sky, this earth they are not ornaments for the world, but invitations— to listen, to look, to see, and live more deeply. |
| Prompt: The phrase "Don't take life too seriously; you'll never get out of it alive" is a quote attributed to the American writer Elbert Hubbard. What do you think Mr. Hubbard meant? Are you guilty of taking yourself too seriously? ----------- If I am understanding this quote somewhat, I might have been guilty of taking myself too seriously, I guess, at a much earlier age. Not anymore, though. That it drains a person should be the number one reason. I now think taking oneself too seriously is a disservice to life. It makes us blind to the facts and reasons of our existence. This quote, however, is a tongue in cheek one. We all know we'll never get out of life alive. I guess Mr. Hubbard liked cuteness no matter how serious the subject he was commenting about. So I checked him up, just a tad. I found some disconnect in his ways and thinking, however done with much honor and good will. Plus, the sites that write about him still praise him to high heaven. I found out, he, who said this quote, is also the guy who said, "I am not Elijah but I am something just as good. I am Pericles – with a Socratic bias." Wow! So I said to myself, "Look who is taking himself too seriously!" But then, we're all human and we are allowed to contradict ourselves. As such, humility and bragging are the two opposite poles on the same existence. In spite of all that, let me take a closer look at the quote. Taking oneself too seriously, I believe, has to be a flaw. It is like mixing up one's identity with one's performance, opinions, and status, wrongly or rightly perceived or not. Such a person is unable to laugh at his own quirks, mistakes, and foolishness. As for me, I laugh at myself all the time. Maybe old age and its follies help with that, also. If I were taking myself too seriously, my spilled coffee wouldn't be just a silly accident, but a testament to my clumsiness. Come to think of it, that idea of berating myself for my clumsiness would show a fragile ego. Why foster an inflated sense of one's own importance, then! After all, after we leave this earth, who's going to remember our greatness! Even those who are remembered long after they're gone are subject to be forgotten millenniums later. As for me, I certainly don't need that pressure to be perfect, to be right, to control every outcome, and keep a spotless image. That kind of a self-image belongs only to God! |
| Prompt: It is said, the English language is very difficult to learn because of all the commonly spelled words there are. Do you agree or disagree? How many words can you think of that you think are easily confusing? And words that you think are commonly misspelled? Do you find yourself checking to be sure when you're writing or let spell check find them? ------- I don't think English is that difficult to learn. The basic English, grammar and such, is mostly well organized. I can say this since, as a linguist, I've studied quite a few languages, except for the far eastern ones; however, I can only speak about three, but I can read and understand several others partly or as a whole. On the other hand, English vocabulary is very rich, since so many different influences have forced themselves on the language and an enormous amount of words have seeped into English from other cultures. This is what makes spelling so difficult for some. I'm guessing, words that came in from the outside of the language can be difficult to spell for the users, especially those longer ones of several syllables. Yes, I now check what I write often for spelling and other mistakes, not because of the language's idiosyncrasies, but because, lately, due to old age, my eyes are somewhat failing. Also, with the new technologies, the do-gooder, overly enthusiastic AI programs change the words into wrong meanings, when I'm not looking. Even though, now that I've slowed my typing speed greatly and on purpose, I still find that some words have been changed into different ones after I've checked a paragraph as safe, earlier. This doesn't happen in WdC, though. For that reason, sometimes, I write the whole thing straight from scratch on a WdC page or entry, directly. The problem, I suspect, is mostly Microsoft 11's and MS Office's doing, and sometimes, things also happen on the Messenger section of Facebook. This is not my conclusion only. Several people I know are having difficulties with Ai and Windows. One of them says that after she writes a whole message, the system sends a blue color over her writing and deletes the whole thing. This never happened to me because I am trying to be extra vigilant. What is more annoying than the idiosyncrasies of any language, therefore, is the eager-beaver attitude of companies to use the new technologies without fully educating their workers. |
| Prompt: Grief doesn't mean that you can't enjoy your life anymore. Write about this in your Blog entry today. -------- I should know this well, but I don't know how true it is when this quote says that grief doesn't mean you can't enjoy life anymore. I have to say maybe you can but not fully, not like as before. Still, one can and does enjoy some stuff like a friend's joke, a cup of coffee or tea, the relief from having finished a task, and other small things like that. Such things, however, are only small instances of enjoyment, and they have nothing to do with the overall enjoyment of life that we (case in point, I) have experienced before grief struck. On the quote's side, human spirit, in its depth for resilience, tries hard to enjoy life, "like before." But, in my experience, it is never "like before." Yet, alongside with our resilience, we humans have vulnerability. When resilience and vulnerability work together, they may manage to cover up our deepest wounds, especially grief. So, the enjoyment we push ourselves to feel becomes as if we are wearing a temporary mask. It depends if we can breathe behind that mask. As such, immense emotional energy is needed to stay behind a mask, for the mask very often can betray its user. This betrayal may show up in an almost unnoticeable flinching at certain words, a quick intake of breath, or a momentary loss of composure before the mask is swiftly reapplied. This is because, although this temporary enjoyment-mask may be a charade, it does serve a purpose. I mean, who wants to make other people sad, too! So we fake it, until hopefully we can make it. Still, this "making it" isn't easy, I know from my own experiences. For example, long after my husband passed away, I invented different facades of enjoyment to maintain a semblance of normalcy, as if I were performing on stage to reassure others that the pain isn't consuming me. My sons, however, saw through me, even if others didn't, despite my most convincing smiles and disproportionate cheerfulness. Grief is not something one can overcome easily, because it is a very strong emotional response to a significant loss. It takes time to overcome its strongest effects. Sometimes, it takes years, and sometimes, it takes a lifetime. |
| Prompt: What animal would you like to be for a day and what would you do? Write about this in your Blog entry today. ------------ Oh, okay, but aren't we all already human-animals? This brings to my mind, about 47 years ago, when my younger son, at five years of age, came home from kindergarten, all excited. Our conversation went like this: "Mommy, mommy, I'm an animal!" "Oh, sweetie, don't say that. You're a human." "Yes, but I'm a human animal. In class, we learned all about it." I've never forgotten this conversation! As for me, if I were to change into another animal, even for a day, I thought I'd like to fly up high, but then, with my limited know-how about birds, I thought those high-flyers like eagles and hawks were carnivorous hunters, which didn't sit right with me. So, I ran a search for a high-flying bird that didn't kill. And I got very lucky. Here is what I'd like to be for a day: Rüppell's Griffon Vulture, and the facts are:"Rüppell's Griffon Vulture, highest flying bird, flies higher than airplanes to 35,000 feet. Rüppell's Griffon Vultures are carrion specialists, primarily feeding on the carcasses of dead animals. They are not predators and do not kill their own food, instead relying on scavenging for sustenance. They play a crucial role in the ecosystem by removing dead animals, which helps prevent the spread of disease." See, not only I would be flying higher, but also, I'd be a cleaner-upper. Yet, I'm not too keen about feeding on carcasses, but it is only for a day, and I bet I won't even be hungry for I'll be busy exploring the skies and watching the earth from high above. And again, it'll be for only a day! |
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