Category: Lessons

My Lenten Journey 1 - I'm Still Standing

3/5/2014

This Ash Wednesday, I just can't seem to find it in me to give up something for the next 40 days. After losing Ollie last week - no. I just can't bring myself to throw something on the sacrificial alter for the sake of piety after a reaper was circling my pet for 5 months. I remember what the prophets said about God hating sacrifice without sincerity, and I have enough respect for the Lord and myself not to do that.

No, I'm not an "it is well with my soul" type. I know that God has a plan and a purpose, but the simple fact of the matter is that there's only one reason I'll get for having to watch Ollie suffer and ultimately lose what seems to be a senseless battle. It's the same answer to all of the pain, suffering, struggle, sacrifice, and crap in the world.

And that answer is really three words: because I live.

Yes, that's it. As long as we live, breathe, and walk this Earth, we will see all the extremes that the natural order of chaos brings to this world. We will struggle. We will suffer. We will cry and weep and mourn, and then we will rise and find the mountaintop again. Today we remember that we are ash and to ash we will return. And yet, for the first time since Ollie passed last week, I heard that voice in my head. The one that won't let me quit. The one that won't let me despair for too long before I snap back to my senses and am brought back to life. The one that said yes, someday we all die but, as they say in Game of Thrones, what do we say to death? "Not today." And as long as it's not today, then this is still our world, we still have a purpose, and we still have an obligation to all God created us to be to get out there and live life to the fullest.

Yes, I've struggled with a lot of things recently. No, I don't understand those struggles. I don't see how any good could come from it. But with the Imposition of Ashes, I realized: I'm still standing. I'm standing in the power of the Holy Spirit. And with that, I can do anything. So why be somber? Why dwell on death? No, I'm not perfect. I know I don't deserve what Christ did to save me. But I can have joy in my gratitude for it, and I can demonstrate that gratitude by living the best way I can.

I suffer because I live. I rise because I'm saved. I crawl out of the valley and start climbing the mountain because I'm forgiven. I have joy because I'm thankful. I know that all things are possible with Christ, and it's time to start making great things possible.

Maybe I'm on a different kind of Lenten journey. Or maybe I have given up something. Maybe I've let go of fear and doubt that have plagued me for too long.

And maybe a different kind of journey is exactly what I need.

That's all today. Take care and have a great rest of the week.

Bye!

What I Learned From Going Back to Work

1/9/2014

Of course, the flip side has its own lessons. There’s more to getting back to the grind than you realize! Here are a few things I’ve learned from returning to work after a holiday hiatus:

Zack, Chloe and Ollie either adjust to our schedules really well, or they like us going to work and leaving them in peace and quiet. I suspect they enjoy having that time during the day to take naps, eat and play without silly humans hovering over them. And they don’t seem to miss the Christmas songs on the radio, either (guess I overdid it with that one).
Having the flu last week had one advantage – my work clothes weren’t tight from the holiday bulge. In fact, they’re a bit loose. Now that’s a first!
Yes, a 2 hour shift is significant. I thought that sleeping until 8 a.m. wasn’t much of a departure from my normal 6 a.m. wake up call these past couple of weeks. It is. I’m just now recovering from my zombie state, self imposed jetlag from the past couple of weeks.
Home is at least 15 degrees warmer than work. I’m sure the polar vortex, the window cubicle, and shutting down the HVAC system between 6PM and 6AM doesn’t help with heat retention.
The little things really do count. You don’t realize how much things like that morning cup of coffee, fifteen minutes of reading time, writing on your lunch hour, a phone conversation with family and friends, playing with your parrots, watching a favorite TV show with your husband means, or wasting time and goofing off online means to you until your time is more fully engaged with the business of life.
Time management matters. Speaking of, it takes a special amount of coordination to keep chores and errands done when you don’t have all day to do it. You remember how to make effective use of every minute really quick!
Good health matters, too. Recovering from an illness is probably one of the best, most relieving feelings in the world. I’m so thankful that I finally feel better, and that I have the energy to go about my day without struggling against myself!
It is good for you to get out and around other people besides your family, closest friends, and your home. Yes, people can wear you out, but they can also build you up. Getting out in the world and interacting with real people (not online) makes us better people and contribute to a better life balance.
The post holiday blahs will hit. It usually happens in the 2-3 days of returning back to your routine, when you’re caught up and things are falling back into their normal rhythm. It’s completely normal to think “Christmas was 2 weeks ago, New Year’s Day was a week ago, and now I’m right back here so soon!” This is a good time to take your thoughts captive. Give thanks that you have a job, or that you’re in school getting an education preparing for a better future. There are many people unemployed that don’t know how they’re going to pay their bills this month, or in too poor of health to get out and about that feel like prisoners in their own homes. Count your blessings. Engage in hobbies or activities that you enjoy in your free time. I think, in fact, that the post holiday blahs are why I always work on a novel in January – it focuses my energy on doing something productive that I enjoy instead of whining about what’s done. Be glad that you had the time off to enjoy, and for what you have to build a better life. The holidays always come back around. And in the year to come, there will doubtless be many more blessings to enjoy, both big and small, every day.
Southerners aren’t equipped to deal with the cold. This polar vortex exposed our weakness. As much as we complain about heat and humidity in the summer, the fact is that we handle it much better than the polar express that just ran over us. I have remembered every heat wave ever over the past few days, and vowed to remember these days and not complain the next time the mercury soars over 100 degrees!

Wow, you really do learn new things every day. Here’s hoping this is the start of some great discoveries in 2014! May your new year be filled with less “awkward” and more “improvement” now and in the days and weeks to come.

That’s all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a great weekend.

Bye!

Bleed It Out

1/29/2013

I did it! I completed the final draft of Move last night and sent it to one of my publishers! Now cross your fingers and pray they accept it for publication. I hope they do. I've put a lot into this one. It's my longest novel to date at around 60,600 words. And you all know that I've worked on it, and worked on it, and researched it, and slaved over it. But it's worth it. I feel it's a good story and it's ready for the world - or at least, it will be when I get the right publisher and editor working on it with me.

Another world created. I enjoyed working on this one. In a way, I'm sad that it's done! I loved that world and it's sad to leave it - and the characters that really do seem like familiar friends to me - behind. I pulled from all over, passed along some lessons learned (and reinforced), drew from lots of experiences, and relationships, and people that have come and gone in my life over the years. Indeed, a writer's muse draws from reality and experience. Every time the world cracks open a bit more, it's a ray of inspiration to creating our own new worlds.

Such is the life of a novelist. You bleed it out through your writing. All you learn, all you know, all you do, everything around you, inspires you to create new characters and worlds that mirror reality and reflect what you know to the world in visions that allow them to escape, and yet take your world back to their own.

Yes, I love being a novelist. And even though I plan to take a break from novels for a little while to focus on writing short stories and articles, I know I'll be back. I always am. I hope the ideas never run out.

Naw, that won't happen. Where there's life, there's inspiration. And that's a ray of hope that keeps me going.

That's all today. Take care.

Bye!

The Villians Make the Story

4/10/2012

I'd like to expand on something I said in my last blog entry about how "the villians make the story." We don't actively think about, but it's true that without the villians there would be no story - not in real life or in fiction. That's one thing they share in common. After all, where's the excitement in just another day? There's not much, is there? In fact, we have a term for long periods of time without resistance. We call it a rut.

That's not to say that problems are desirable. Heck no. I could do with fewer "adventures" in my life, truth be told. But the fact of the matter is that we grow when we have resistance. It's the tough times, struggles, and pain in the butt people where we learn and grow the most. That's not a truth many of us want to face, but it is a truth. Look back over your life, and I'll be the times you learned the most were during your greatest struggles. It was true for me. I took a lot of lessons from those instances I described in my last entry. I learned how to stand up for myself, how to stand up for what's right, and how to deal with fragile egos (because frankly, a lot of those problems went to a root of fragile egos addicted to approval). I learned not to fear change and to have confidence in myself and my abilities no matter what other people thought or said about me, and that strength gave me the confidence to build a house, successfully move to and integrate into a new office, and to publish 4 books (and some inspiration for said books too). To put it bluntly, manure is a fertilizer and fertilizer makes things grow. If you learn from your experiences and use those lessons to better yourself then you will be prepared for greater blessings ahead. So think of the crap you deal with as the stimulus to grow your spirit and take you to new heights.

I know, that's not a pretty metaphor. Frankly, it stinks. (Oh, another bad joke). But it's relevant and you have to admit that it's not a cliche comparisome. And you won't forget it either, will you?

Anyway, back to the point ...

I believe the series finile of "Smallville" hit it close to the mark when Lex Luthor told Clark Kent "I used to think your friends defined a man. But it's actually enemies that define a man." I believe that's a bit extreme and one sided, but it has a grain of truth. Our enemies, or rather the people we find ourselves clashing with and struggling against, do have a certain amount of definition to our own lives because they are often dark images of ourselves. I've blogged in previous entries about how each of us tends to be a magnant for people that are our polar opposite and that the people we struggle with tend to have a common root issue - for example, with me it seems there are always jealous, petty people around. I can't seem to get rid of them. And the reason I struggle with them is because I want to be my best and help others be their best. Therein lies my own Lex Luthor. We all have one and if you look at the people you're in strife with, I'll bet you'll see that same dark image of yourself in them. The real story and lessons lie in how we deal with them. Do you fight to win, stand your ground, or swat them away like a bug and keep on keeping on. There is no one right answer becase it depends on who and what you're dealing with. I had to stand my ground and occationally fight the last ones in my life, but the answer for the present ones seems to be ignoring them. Just keep doing my thing and let them seeth and have their pity party all alone because I'm busy and have stuff to do.

That's why every experience is different. It's because you can have the same situation and a different answer due to the context of the situation. The last jealous people I dealt with feared confrontation and avoided it, so fighting forced them to do something they found so unpleasant that they'd back off. But the ones in my life now live for and absolutely love the fight and the challenge it brings. They hate to be ignored - so I ignore them. As I said before, different context = different solution. And the same principle applies in fiction as in real life.

Yes, the villians do make the stories. It's provides the catalyst to grow and learn in real life. It provides the plot in fiction. Because without villians, there is no story. There is no growth. there is no spark to life.

So don't be too hard on those pain in the butt people. After all, they can be quite useful if you know how to utilize them correctly. In fiction and in reality.

That's all for today. Take care and have a good week.

Bye!

My Lenten Journey 1 - I'm Still Standing

What I Learned From Going Back to Work

Bleed It Out

The Villians Make the Story

Escape Reality

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