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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 “Anger points powerfully to the denial of rights, but the exercise of rights can’t live and thrive on anger. It lives and thrives on the dogged pursuit of justice.” Ursula K. Le Guin What do you think about anger or about the expression of it? ----- Anger is a basic human emotion, rising up as a rage when something doesn’t go our way. Only self-awareness is able to tone it down. Otherwise, like cell-division, it multiplies and enlarges itself. This is usually a reaction to perceived danger that threatens us and makes visible our insecurities, irritations, and impatience with other people or events. This type of an anger also tries to safeguard our self-respect against misunderstandings human fallibilities, and the ill intent of others. Yet, when we really think about it all, anger has a response-to-fear element in it. In this way, it has nothing to do with self-respect or anything positive. On the other hand, anger becomes a destructive force fed by a self-indulgent fury and hate, and shows up in public outbursts as if a reactionary right with uncontrolled behavior. We need to stop ourselves before letting anger get out of hand, as anger starts with a hurt or annoyance, rises to fury and hatred, resulting in vengefulness and self-righteousness. Worse yet, in its most concentrated forms, it causes destruction, riots, vandalism, and wars. I believe no hurt in the world should result in such anger, destruction, and maladaptability. There are always better and more peaceful ways to handle difficult matters. If we can’t find any better ways, we need to try to create them; in fact, we must try to create them for the welfare of all of us.  For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Happy Adore♥   ’s "Love Scars" “True love heals; it is a fountain of life.” ----- I have the suspicion that we come to Earth willingly and out of love, and possibly we are sent here with love, also, with the sole purpose of finding out and learning about love. This is not an easy place to live, but here, we learn how to choose love over fear. Fear may feel real but it is an illusion, and once we learn how to love unconditionally, we’ll fear nothing. That unconditional love, loving others, compassion, empathy, and the ability to discern and connect to others makes love a healer. All relationships involve love, but unfortunately, due to our inexperience, we expect something when we give something, which also seems true of love, but it isn’t. True love doesn’t expect a payback. True love heals, blows life into the inanimate, makes it possible to have the other person see, experience, and share their worth. True love doesn’t hold grudges and forgives all abuses and betrayals, and it lets everyone it touches to live in joy. Yet, it is a very difficult subject to truly learn and assimilate into our psyches. Very few of us who are born onto this earth are able to master it, but almost all of us recognize it when we see it in action. Thus, it is a good idea to choose love over everything, especially fear and ego, so we can all graduate with honors after having learned what we came here to learn. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" “Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you - sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, then you would live forever.” ― Lauren Oliver Do you agree or disagree with Lauren? --- I would neither agree nor disagree with Lauren Oliver. What she is talking about is her own experience and she is entitled to it, as we all are with the ways we experience our surroundings and our moments. As for me, sitting still and pausing for second or two works well, especially if I have been preoccupied, rushing to get things done, or feeling the weight of the world for one reason or another. Such a pause is an exercise of reverting to simplicity and giving myself a break, so I can think clearer and act more wisely. This taking a tiny time-out has a calming effect on me. Yet, unlike Lauren Oliver, I don’t think just because I paused, I could live forever. I think my time-out can only be good for a little while. To each, her own! For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Beholden  ’s "Fall Poem" “The world's a bright and kindly place when our autumn friend returns.”. --- I am not so sure autumn has been a true friend to me. At one time in my life, it was my favorite season. That was until I developed an allergy to ragweed and just about anything else in the atmosphere. My allergies were comprehensive, but ragweed took the cake. All allergists I visited agreed that my kind of ragweed allergy they couldn’t cure for good or even calm down a bit. It wasn’t just the allergy that was the culprit but that it led to a full-blown asthma, resulting in a move to Florida from New York, so I could stay alive. Mainland USA is the main producer of ragweed, but Florida and most parts of California have a less amount of it in season. However, I might be blamed for some of this trouble, too. Where we lived on Long Island, we had a two-acre backyard of wild vegetation and huge trees, mostly oaks. I liked to lie in a hammock, read for hours, and watch the colorful leaves fall about me as nature donned its finest outfits. I think I overexposed myself without noticing what too much beauty can do to a person’s immune system. I just couldn't handle it. So “bright and kindly” for me has been dubious. Bright, yes; kindly, no. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: How did a teddy bear get on the moon? Write about this in your Blog entry today. --- the man on the moon asked for a friend “very soon” so, in a cocoon sent by a raccoon accompanied by a tune dressed up in maroon teddy bear at noon landed on a dune on moon for my odd lampoon For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From GabriellaR45  ’s "Invalid Item" “With a melody of remembrance, mutating the rainy clouds tomorrow.” ---- This reminded me of the song, “Raindrops keep falling on my head,” and me in flipflops enjoying getting wet together with my cousins when we were pre-teens. This was the time when we all skipped into mud, puddles, and trouble, and not away from such stuff. In general, getting caught in the rain and the bad weather may not be a desirable occasion, but on the plus side, it is said that people score higher on memory tests on such days. Such a positive about dull days and inclement weather, don’t you think! As far as negatives and positives go, rain isn’t only about the floods, clogged traffic, and forgetting the umbrella at home. It is living in the moment, appreciating the nature’s beauty and the music of the raindrops. When the rain stops, kids can come out to play and frogs can jump into the ponds, and the nature can shine in its green colors, to let the earth give off its fresh aroma. Precious, I would say. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Douglas Adams says, in his book, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, “The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” Considering everything that has happened and keeps happening, do you think, as a joke or a fact, the creation of the Universe was a bad move? --- Joke or no joke, first, I wouldn’t mess with why the creation happened. I am too much of a coward for that. I don’t take well to being punished. Second, I don’t believe any brain ever created on earth is up to the task of knowing or understanding why the universe was created, let alone my poor little gray matter. After my first and second reasons above, who am I to judge if the creation of the Universe was a bad move? Who am I to pass judgment on an intelligence that is much, much greater than all the brains on earth put together? Enough said. For: "Space Blog" "Most often conditions [ of ] life push us to do things we think we cannot do; challenges are here."--- What do you think? Can we overcome the challenges facing us? How? --- Since the item was invalid, I am answering the quote from it. This quote might refer to the idea of the “great schoolroom earth” and the truth about how we create our reality through the process of trials, errors, failings, and successes. Yes, I think we may overcome the challenges facing us, at least, most of the time. According to Einstein’s E=MC2 and the teachings of religions and spiritual groups, we are mostly or totally made up of energy. We, however, do not know it or believe it or we forget about it because it is easier to disregard difficult concepts since we have such small brains. That is where the life’s challenges come in. They push us to face our strengths and possibilities and that we can overcome that hurdle and pass the test. Even when we are in the brink of giving up, conditions can attack us, forcing us into action. When we are so pushed, if we have any guts, we take on the challenge and find out we overcome it with some or partial success. Thus we find out about our strengths and that challenges will always be here to be met head-on. Addendum: RANT I try not to complain much or just about anything, but I am getting fed up with our blackness or whiteness. Just about half an hour ago, I received in the mail Sept/Oct 2020 issue of Poets and Writers. Writing arts should be the one place that should be color-blind. But no. It obviously isn’t. On page 57, is an article titled I’m Writing to You. It has letters from writers of the black literary community. The first letter starts with Dear Fellow Black Writers. Then, in one of the letters toward the end there is a different one To Writers Struggling with Their Whiteness. Imagine if we came up with a White Literary Community and wrote something like To Writers Struggling with Their Blackness. There would be blood on the streets. Now, I have dear writer-friends who can be black or white. The color of their skin matters nothing to me. It matters that they are writing. God knows most of us, starting with me, carry inside us both a black gene and a white gene, if not some others as well. After all who among us can trace their origins for thousands or millions of years? Can’t we just accept one another without racism either way? Why do we bring it in the holiest of holy arts, our writing? |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “Where is the love, beauty, and truth we seek But in our mind? and if we were not weak Should we be less in deed than in desire?” Percy Bysshe Shelley What do you think the poet is asking? And what are your opinions on the subject? --- I consider Shelley a poet of emotional extremes, and as such, here he dramatizes the battle between caution and idealism. No wonder he questions why what we so desire in our mind stays undone or partly done, if only we weren’t so weak. To paraphrase the poet’s words, his words merely say, in question form: What we go after, like love, beauty and truth, is already inside our mind, showing us a map. The reason we don’t put those ideals into action is because we are weak. I think Shelley is passionate with his wording as an overly hopeful romantic. Not that we should stop seeking love, beauty, and truth inside ourselves, but putting what we find to actions just can’t be done, always. Imagine forgiving and loving a terrorist who demolishes a whole city and kills all the people in it! Only Christ might forgive and love such a person, and in my opinion, only Christ would. In this sense, a perfect achievement of the highest ideals means a Shangri-la or a pipe-dream if you will. It is just not doable in the world we are living in, if not for anything but for the constant change everything about us goes through, and this includes our language. As such, this year, I took upon myself to read all the novels of Dickens. Dickens is fun to read and his novels were written in the middle of the nineteenth century, which is not so far away when compared to the historical age of our planet. Still, the language and the author’s storytelling can try a reader. And this is a minimal deed that emerged from my wishful mind. This quote, by the way, comes from a personal poem by Shelley, an account of a discussion he had with his friend Byron. In the poem, when Byron, named Maddalo, questions the above words in the quote, Shelley (named Julian in the poem) answers,” there are many more things in the world which are not attempted by man. Moreover, man has not exploited his own capacities fully.” To that Maddalo (Byron) answers, “You talk Utopia.” I wholeheartedly agree with Byron, however wishing that Shelley’s pipe dream could be possible. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Patrick McDonagh ’s "Invalid Item" The specimen we found is "Out there, there is a hidden world most don't take time to see." Do you agree that most don't take time to enjoy the beauty that is right in front of them? Why? --- I believe this is a missing-out-on-life quote, pointing to the fact that when we get so wrapped up in our little lives and its shortcomings, we do not notice or pay attention to the gifts strewn on our way, by nature or by our day-to-day living. We overlook the kind words thrown our way or do not notice tiny gifts of nature, such as how a white ibis searches for worms on a freshly mown lawn. Probably, we may concentrate on the bills to be paid, the rooms to be cleaned, or the stress of what we must do according to our daily agenda. Yet, there are a whole lot of roses to smell, people to appreciate, and oceans to delight in, while even inside a speck of dust a whole universe exists. We can, however, pay attention to those and many other things, if we are able to achieve a clarity of thought that can enable us to notice what we miss in our busy, everyday lives. This needs conscious effort and is not easy to do, but so well worth the work. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Flash Fiction-- You live alone and have just finished playing at your piano. Someone starts clapping for you. And??? ===== My fingers ache from playing for hours at a stretch, and with arthritis, my joints are now swollen to an astronomical size. I have more than an octave and a half of reach, which had awed the teachers in my youth, but the pain is too much. My hands deserve better. Time for medication and a soak in hot water. So, I stop. Yet, I still feel music still circling inside my head and running through my fingers like blood. I rise. Suddenly, I hear the clapping. I turn around, staring at the empty room, and lower my gaze to my slippered feet. Then I lift my head to the ceiling like a shipwrecked person looking at the sky on an empty beach, and next, to the wall behind the piano. There, my glance finds the photo. My mother’s picture, her eyes filled with tears, smiles at me, at her peppery, obstinate daughter, and I recognize everything at once. She was my audience, even though the tide of life stole her away together with my career. Her huge brown eyes stare unblinkingly at me, as if saying, “I knew you could do it. That’s why I pushed you.” Right then, I grasp it, for sure. The clapping was real, not in my head; it came from my mother. She clapped loud and with passion for me to be able to hear her. I bow in front of her photo. Today, the magic between us has worked…finally. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Prosperous Snow celebrating  ’s "The Brightness and Color of Stars" “Religion and science are partners and not enemies.” --- It is proven that the perplexity between the tenets of science and religion has existed throughout the centuries. In the earlier times, this rift caused major problems for mankind with scientists being persecuted for their findings, some factual and others not, while the religious were thought of as being dogmatic and thick-headed. Even today, the idea of evolution gets both parties in a tizzy. The problem is, inside both science and religion, controversies exist, as each side tries to explain its perspective while sticking to its stand. The way I see it, theology is more even and inflexible than science, while science, most of the time, can offer proof based on itself. Religion deals with moral and aesthetic values. Science deals with the facts of nature as observed and tested by the humankind. This clash of ideals, however, should be an opportunity and not a defeating set of opinions. As human beings, we have the problem of partiality, just the way we take sides in sports events. The minute we take a side, we tend not to budge. Still, when we can see the benefit in both sides and take the entire evidence of both into account, I hope, we will be able to merge the ideals of both sides to our benefit. This isn’t easy to do, especially with the several dogmatic religions worldwide and the hard-principled scientists who reject any or all kinds of religious and spiritual beliefs. I believe and hope, however, that we are slowly closing the gap and accepting the teachings of both judgments, as science has begun to prove the truth in some of religion’s concepts and religion has begun to adjust itself to the scientific approach. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What does it mean to be a good neighbor? ---- About a month ago, about two streets away from where I live, a neighbor killed another neighbor and his eleven-year old daughter because the murderer’s Pitbull had bitten someone and the victims’ family took him to court. https://www.wptv.com/news/region-st-lucie-county/port-st-lucie/authorities-to-re... Although this is an extreme case, being responsible for one’s pets and rowdy children has to be the rule one for being a good neighbor. Then, abiding by community rules, obeying parking restrictions and etiquette, keeping to the trash and recycling schedules and landscaping requirements, and being friendly and helpful when and if needed should follow. Should there be a conflict, using tact rather than harsh words and actions is very important. A good neighbor, also, offers help when needed or asked, but doesn’t impose his ideas on the others. As a bonus, being friends with a neighbor has its many advantages. Block parties and just calling a few people over for coffee may help foster good relationships as well. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Happy May 2024!  ’s "The Dragonfly and the Ladybug" “Good friends will always look out for each other no matter what.” --- What I don’t agree with, here, is the “no matter what” phrase in the sentence. I am not going to look out for someone who is planning a terrorist act on my country. I am not going to look out for someone who sells or bakes or makes drugs from his home. I am not going to stand by someone who is the perpetrator of domestic violence be it on the spouse or his/her children. Some people can be good friends and may have done favors for me, but if they are perpetrating the above acts or others like them, I will not look out for them, “no matter what.” Having said all that, with most of my friends, I aim to be trustworthy and trusting of them. I listen when they want to unburden. I am supportive of them in good or bad times. I try not to be a burden to them if I am going through a bad time myself. Then, whenever I can, to the best of my ability, I help my friends if I feel they need my help. This is because integrity and trustworthiness come first, in any friendship. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What is your favorite part of the morning? ---- The fact that I woke up. There is so much to be said about waking up. Especially when we wake up to our truths. I like the phrase “wake up.”  Even when talking about the actual waking up in the morning idea, the alternative wouldn’t be so happy on the people who’d find me motionless, would it? I also wake up, in the morning, to recognize that I am in one piece and whatever I did or wherever I went was just a dream, which has floated off to nothingness. This is the best recovery one can have. When I wake up, I don’t just jump out of bed. I think inside my head the things I need to do during the day and form a rough mental list. Maybe one day, I won’t wake up at all. Neither will I need to make mental lists. Or maybe I’ll wake up to a better place than this crazy earth. That, too, will be exciting and acceptable to me. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Tim Chiu  ’s "Righting the Ship: A Tide Beckons" ."Allow the sounds to vacate, Avail their raucous strength, With each and every vile strait Those preachers raise at length." Do you think politicians are preachers or do they promise us things they have no intention of delivering? --- Politics are everywhere. Religion, not so much or rather not effectively enough. While preachers are being accused of offering too much religious talk, politicians can very well be accused of spewing too much garbage. It means, there is such a thing as the gift of gab versus such a thing as the gift of garbage. As teaching is done by repetition mostly, I don’t blame the preachers, but the politicians should just shut up telling us lies. Most of them stretch the truths, promise the impossible, and are politically incorrect while they are treating us like ignoramuses. If that’s not an insult on this nation’s honor, I don’t know what is. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “There have been times in my life, when I now realize I over reacted to a situation. Many of these times were triggered by feeling controlled.” Shirley Rose What do you think about overreactions, and is the feeling of being controlled the only trigger for overreactions? ===== I think we all overreact at something or other, at times. Yes, the feeling of being controlled could be a reason, if not the main reason, but there may be other instances when emotions are triggered suddenly, also. Such as the fear of getting hurt or being exploited. Thus, we may overreact to protect ourselves against what we consider as threats. Some people panic and get carried away at the sight of snakes and spiders, for example. I would probably overreact if I learned that my country will be in a war. I know of a very nice lady who is overreacting to Covid-19, to the degree of refusing to see her perfectly-healthy only daughter for months. We may also overreact to situations that may have the potential of hurting us or someone we love, especially when similar situations might have happened in the past. In the same vein, I'm quite sure that all our exaggerated reactions have more to do with our pasts than for anything else. Then, there is that thing we all observe in our pets, which makes them go berserk during a storm with thunder and lightning. This might be a product of evolution, a sort of built-in alarm system against danger. I also believe we overreact because, at the trigger-moment, we might believe subconsciously that there is nothing and no one to protect us against a threat or from being mistreated. Still, in some cultures, overreacting is associated with weakness, and people who overreact are frowned upon. In our today’s culture, however, some overreactions are socially acceptable as they are considered as standing up for one’s or a group’s rights, even when such exaggerated behavior causes social unrest and lawlessness. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From IceSkatingSugarCube  ’s "Summer Splendor" > COVID-19 has been rampant. What, if anything, have you done for summer vacation? --- I have never been a fan of summer vacations, even when we lived up north. After the move to FL, where it is summer year-round—well, almost--, a summer vacation meant visiting the family in faraway places. Not anymore! I have traveled more than my share in my life, inside and abroad, and I have no will or desire of travel anymore. I like my quiet life, more or less, and Covid-19 is the added reason for not moving around so much. As to answering the question, the only thing I have done these days is having the air conditioner on round-the-clock. When and if the heat takes a pity on us, sometimes in late afternoon, I sit reading a book, inside the covered porch in the back of the house. That is my best summer vacation. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: On this day in history, North America had what is thought to have been the worst power outage. The weather channel is projecting record heat days above normal for the vast part of North America. Do you think we're better able to handle the demand for power? Your thoughts? How do you handle power outages in general? Some of us have experience from hurricanes, tornadoes, or winter storms that might have suggestions for those unfamiliar. == It must have been sometime during the 70s or the early 80s. We had an ice-storm on Long Island in midwinter. All our neighbors went to the shelters. We stayed home. We had lots of wood to burn on the fireplace and enough provisions in the house. We spent several days together by the fireplace. I took my knitting out and I was fine. The others were bored, especially my hubby. So, I started a campfire storytelling among the four of us. The kids were entertained greatly, although the younger one fell asleep. The dog was the happiest of us all. He got to sleep and hang out with his whole pack. During the days, I cooked in the fireplace. Since the kitchen was cold and the freezer in the basement wasn’t affected, we had lots of food. I think the storm and the lack of electricity lasted a few days. I can’t recall how many, I am guessing three to six, but I am not too sure. Since we’ve moved to Florida during 1993, we rarely experienced any long-lasting electricity shortage. Sometimes during the storms, the lights flicker but come back again. It's no big deal except for resetting the time on things that don't have backup batteries. The only real electrical shortage on my street happened during the 2004 hurricanes, Francis and Jeanne. Even then, we got the electricity two days after. Other people in the same city as ours were without it for days and weeks. I guess we just got lucky. We also got lucky with our landline. That phone was never cut off. Thanks, AT&T. Then last year, when Irma hit most of the state, she kind of passed us by. Even during the storm, I had both the electricity and the internet. Thanks to Florida Power and Light and Comcast. Still, every year, when the hurricane season comes, I put friends here on WdC on alert, so that they can take over some of the stuff I have to do. Luckily, this year, so far so good, and knock on wood! For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Roari ∞  ’s "Innocence" “It's better they not know the treasures they hold.” --- I am not sure if I am too keen on innocence if the word means a lack of awareness. As to childhood innocence, it is a romantic notion, initiated during the XVIII th. century by Jean Jacques Rousseau, shaping our view of childhood, which deems children pure and sin-free as they haven’t yet learned about life, badness, and guilt. What I can accept is that we need to protect children from the too harsh realities of crime, depraved sex, etc., only because their life experiences are limited and they would have difficulties understanding adult matters that may give them unnecessary fears and worries. What I don’t understand or agree with is the quote’s saying, “it’s better they not know the treasures they hold.” If what they hold is a treasure, they’d better know about it so they can handle it, work with it, and use it according to their best interest and to the best interest of the public. Keeping them unaware of their best assets is like hoarding another person’s valuables without their assent or knowledge. Just yesterday, on the news was a six-year old’s work and willingness to help the homeless. That willingness is a treasure, and I applaud the parents for encouraging it. I am glad there exist such parents that do not put value on some fake innocence to the detriment of the child and the society in which she or he lives. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Every story has an ending. Every ending has a new beginning. As writers, do you agree with this statement? --- Just maybe. I am not sure about every ending, though. Some endings are just that. Endings. Others may open to another beginning, as in serial stories. Talking about serial stories, I am not a big fan of them. Especially when any episode is left unfinished. I can understand, however, an author leaving a tiny something to the reader’s imagination after really finishing with the main storyline. What gets me see red are the authors who stop the story in the middle or in an exciting place in the plot, so the reader feels obligated to buy the next book. That is not fiction. That is plain greed. If I have committed my time and feeling for a book, I deserve a wrapped up main plot at the end of it. It doesn’t matter if the following books are given out freely, as Amazon does, sometimes. It has to be an author’s honor to finish the main storyline at the end of a book. When I read the last page, the book has to feel finished, even if, later on, the author takes the same characters and/or setting and tells another story. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Monty  ’s "OLD FRIENDS" “I wish once more to find the friends that I miss so.” --- I think I miss all my friends, although they may have grown in different ways and if I saw them again, I wonder if we would have the same rapport, for life changes and alienates people. Still, I do miss my old friends: My best friend in Grade School who wanted to be a jet pilot and she ended up becoming something totally different, my friends in High School who went their own ways each, my friends in college most of whom became High School Lit teachers and a few others who took different paths, my friends in my adult life and my friends in my own family who have settled in different places of the planet, and most of all, my husband who was my best friend and who I miss terribly. Friendship is a relationship like no other. To me, it means camaraderie and mutual support and understanding. Add to it, fun times we have had together, and why wouldn’t I love to see them, again? I think that would be great, and I would accept the different ways through which each of us might have grown. I would hope they’d accept me, too. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Shadow Prowler-Spreading Love  ’s "Invalid Item" . Tell us, do you agree that many people create their own problems? --- Yes, although some problems are unavoidable like the cliché of death and taxes, we tend to create our own problems. I am guilty of one problem I recently created. Due to the social distancing and isolation concerns of Covid 19, I didn’t use my car. Actually, I probably used it once in 15 or 20 days, and it stayed stuck in the garage. The result: its battery died, after only two years of life. When I called the dealer, the agent told me they were getting the same kind of battery calls several times a day. The result is, I now have a brand-new battery. I could have avoided this by starting the car with the garage door open and letting it run or just by driving it around once in a while. This, however, is a simple problem which had a solution. There are other more serious problems people create whose solutions may be hard to come by. They may be things like, overlooking the misbehavior of our kids and letting that misbehavior lead on to more serious consequences, not realizing the needs or not deciphering the pain or joy hidden under the words of our friends, not taking care of our own needs, and worrying about little things while we let big stuff pass us by. Many of our actions and thoughts lead to consequences, which create problems for us. This mostly happens because of our faulty perception of the circumstances and our omitting to see their intrinsic makeup. Thus, we give the situations an undeserved power, and that power steamrolls into problems and misery for us. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What does a perfect day look like to you? -- Is there such a thing? I don’t believe in perfect anything. As to my better, more satisfactory days, I left them behind. But talking about days, I like them to be without storms of any kind. Atmospheric or internal. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From 𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕖𝕪𝕖𝕫  ’s "Recipe For the Morning After" What do you do if you wake up sick? --- I’d hate that! I don’t like being sick and incapacitated. Still, I think I’d call the doctor or the nurse, but first, I’d try to figure out from which part of me the sickness is arising. Chances are, depending on the severity of it, I could do something about it until help could arrive. 𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕖𝕪𝕖𝕫 ’s poem, however, talks about hangovers. I don’t drink at all when alone, but sometimes, I take a sip or two with company, only to be companionable. I don’t even like what that little sip of alcohol does to my senses or to my stomach, either. So, I can understand how bad a hangover can be. I’ve seen people suffer from it. Why bring something so atrocious onto oneself, unless the person is a masochist? |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “All frustration is due to unfulfilled desires. If you dwell on obstacles, delays, and difficulties, your subconscious mind responds accordingly, and you are blocking your own good.” Joseph Murphy Do you agree with the quote, and what frustrates you the most? ---- I am not sure about the unfulfilled desires part of the quote. We may all have unfulfilled desires but we don’t cry over spilt milk, do we? To the second sentence in the quote, I say, Amen. Life is difficult and small things or sometimes big things are irritating. Try waiting on a long line when you shop and just before your turn comes, the cash register breaks down. I usually seethe at the moment, and then, let it go. It isn’t worth wasting my time and brain power. Then, sometimes, other people’s words and actions throw me off. This usually has to do with those who just talk without grasping the entire thing or without knowing my role in it. As Aunt Acid says on the Net, “being judged by someone who isn’t even close to having their own crap together” can be frustrating. Still, I let it pass. Such stuff is not worth a moment’s aggravation. Of course, huge life events that are negative like grief over losing someone do not belong in this frustration category. They are debilitating and crippling and much more than frustrating. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From sindbad  ’s "Face what you must Face" "Krishna says – When you avoid what you must face in life, it becomes bigger than you and takes control over you.* What do you think? --- Absolutely, correct. If we don’t face a difficulty, that difficulty takes over our lives and even our brain power and emotions, if not our health and finances. As a material example, if we neglect taking care of poor wiring in the house, that wiring could cause a serious fire, for example. Then, the problems would be much more than poor wiring. Not just material difficulties but physical and emotional problems, too, when not faced properly may end up with an avalanche of much more serious problems, far too impossible to handle. Besides, facing challenges makes us stronger and probably wiser, too. So why give up the control, when we can handle things more easily? |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “Love makes us good. It doesn’t matter who we love, nor does it matter whether our love is reciprocated or not or if the relationship lasts. Just the experience of loving is enough; that’s what transforms us.” Isabel Allende, from Maya What are your opinions on the subject? === As residents of our planet, we depend on one another whether we are humans, animals, or other living things. We also depend on the so-called non-living things. We need to love just about everything in order to be able to survive together. Love is a misunderstood emotion, in itself, however. Even though its definition may change from person to person, not all fleeting warm fuzzy feelings are love. As such, any kind of affection or a feeling of lust is usually and mistakenly seen as love. Affection alone is not enough. A romantic relationship alone may not be real love. True love, in addition to affection and romance, has to include trust, caring, friendship, respect, and honesty. We learn to love from our earlier experiences when we see how our needs are met. In fact, we learn love throughout our lives, and we also learn not all the love we give will be reciprocated. If we still continue to offer love, even when the feeling is not returned, it means we are true lovers. This is because love is only given without any expectations. When someone says out loud, “I only love. I don’t hate. Because my religion told me so,” and she goes around doing hurtful things to others, that is called selfishness and that person is using love for her own ends. Love grows inside the person if that person nourishes it. No one, not even a religion, can mandate love. As Isabel Allende says, “Just the experience of loving is enough; that’s what transforms us.” For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Kate - Writing & Reading  ’s "Taking Flight" "For a moment the sky and snow-clad earth reverse; on wings of wind upheld fleet skiers glide as birds." Have you ever been snow or water skiing? Do you think you'd like to try? === I might have tried all that if I were to be younger and in a different environment. Then, when I was in my teens and wanted to learn skiing, my mother wouldn’t allow it. I tried again when I was 24 and married. Then, my husband was worried that I’d break my neck. I didn’t want him to worry, so that was that. I can, however, understand my loved ones’ concerns for me. Remember Sonny Bono, who hit a tree while skiing and passed away? Who says I would be any better than him? Yet, if I were to try some of those things now, I think I’d go for hang gliding, rather than water skiing. I think it would be fun to be up in the sky like a bird. On the other hand, my doctor would have a fit.  |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/global-warming-and-hurricanes/ Do you think storms are stronger or weaker than they were? What about where you live are there more or less storms. ----- I think they are the same or could be stronger. The jury is out on that. I am not contesting what the article says, but I am not going to believe everything everyone says either. It isn’t that we never had hurricanes before. There were some doozies, say during 1928 and earlier. I live in the part of Florida in zone one where the likelihood of a hurricane hitting it has a much higher percentage than the other parts of the state. Still, the last time we were really hit was in 2004 and 2005. Last year’s Irma passed us by and hit most of the other parts of the state. My neighbor, a born Floridian, said other real hurricanes came by, during the seventies and a much milder one during the eighties. We do have smaller tropical storms, though. Florida always did, but they produce nothing more than a tree branch falling or the traffic lights going berserk. When I used to live on Long Island, I recall having weather events with results scarier than what happens here. I think the earth is a living being, who is very patient with our misdeeds, but it has its own ways of protecting itself, too. For example, several years ago scientists made a big deal of a hole in the ozone layer in the atmosphere. I was really worried about that myself, but that layer is closed now, on its own. By the same token, I am wondering if this Covid19 pandemic is or isn’t the planet’s machination to protect itself from the overpopulation of its pests... Even if we can point a finger to a certain country for going nuts with their illicit and immoral researches. For: "Space Blog" Prompt 2. From hbk16’s "Invalid Item" “When you fall, you get up.” --- With “When you fall, you get up,” the author is recommending resilience and determination to carry on no matter what happens. I think, this statement does agree with what the creation--or God or whoever you believe in—meant for us to do. Nobody’s life comes with a map, although we may believe in the strength of our goals and wishes. Even those of us who have reached a goal or two, fully or somewhat, experience twists and shocks and serious hardships along the way. These changes of adversity, trauma, tragedy, or stress do a number on us in different ways as we each respond to them according to our physical and psychological makeup. Then, when we bounce back from these challenges, we usually find that, despite their adversity, they also provide profound personal growth. Therefore, when adversity shakes us, it is a good idea to accept its changes and try to keep things in perspective, and the most important thing is to never lose hope in the future or in ourselves. Thus, “This, too, shall pass,” has been my motto, to which I’ve added, “Carry on!” It helps. |
| For: "Space Blog" Prompt: prettypoetry’s "Invalid Item" "It is so beautiful the way you all reveal your real selves! The things I learn are invaluable every time we talk! Sharing the greats of your heavens, the hell of your hells! Your stories are mesmerising, the way you walk your walk!" What do you suppose the poet means? --- I think the poet is appreciating people a lot; I might be wrong, of course. For a split second, I wondered if it were a satirical poem. Yet, on second thought, I don’t think so because the entire poem is only of those four lines, and I really think she’s talking to us, the WdC people, celebrating who we are and what we write. What is there not to celebrate? We come from culturally diverse backgrounds, converging upon a single ideal: our love of writing. Our stories and journeys are all different, but we blend beautifully. As much as our individual uniquenesses can be treasured, our medley is a united whole. So, thank you, prettypoetry, for writing about us.  |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What was the last thing you ordered off the internet? --- I ordered a two-tier stand for my houseplants, but it didn’t work well. So the stand stands in the corner in a bathroom holding a few spray cans in the bottom shelf, and tissues and extra toilet paper on the top shelf. I should have sent it back, but I dislike sending things back. It was advertised as sturdy, but it isn’t. It doesn’t look too bad in the little corner it is occupying now, though, and it serves a purpose, although that purpose serves other than what my original need was. As for the houseplants, I have to visit an actual store like Loews or a nursery that sells such stuff. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Samberine Everose  ’s "A Piece of Song" "A piece of melody blends gently with the night, carrying something, I didn't recognize." Have you ever had an experience like this? Tell us about it. ---- Yes, all the time. One example for this is that I read at nights, almost all the time. The music I listen to is usually Classical or reading music for Kindle, etc. This music does something to me that is hard to recognize. It is not just relaxing me but addressing something in my psyche that reverberates through my entire being, although my attention is on what I am reading. If the music had to be in songs with words, I’d say the words had to be inspiring me, but I don’t listen to songs when I am reading because I would focus on the words and my reading would go haywire. I think this effect happens due to the fact that music creates a mode of expressing or recognizing feelings. This must be because music has its origins in the beginning of the human kind when bones and rocks pounced on the stretched-out skins of animals as the people accompanied with their chants, war cries, and laments. This must have been etched somewhere in our DNAs. Then today, when music affects us in a way that we can’t figure out how, I think our combined heritage takes over and we are psychically inspired by the feelings that we are familiar with but can’t exactly recall what they are. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Different people keep the world moving. Use this in your Blog entry today. --- Different people? If this phrase shocks you, imagine the alternative. Imagine we all looked alike, dressed alike, talked alike, did the same things, and felt the same way. Where would the world be today if we were all alike? We’d be like factory-made mechanisms. Is this how we want our world to be? Being different brings different ideas, inventions, and ways of being and we are the richer for it. It is not a bad thing to be different, and it is not a bad thing to cherish our differences and people different from us. Those differences let our world and our lives improve and flourish. They let the earth keep spinning in our favor. For: "Space Blog" From Scarlett Moon ’s "It’s just indifferent I’d say." where the author asks "What if these words could change everything right away?"What do you think? Can words change everything right away? --- Words can change everything, if not immediately but most of the time. Unfortunately, most of us are masters of the unsaid words. Then, we mourn the words we wish we could have said, words and phrases like, “I love you,” “Sorry!” “You have a friend in me,” “I share your concerns,” “I’m happy for you,” etc. Such words, phrases, and sentences show the other person your point, where you stand, and that you value them. When people feel valued, they change for the better. Yet, much tact is needed when mouthing words. Way too many people say things they don’t really mean, especially in arguments. They raise their voices and let slip out an expletive or two. This, too, can change everything but for the worst. So, it is a fine line to walk between the words we mean to say or do not mean to say. I think sincerity should be the key and thinking of the other person should be the context of what we say. If we apply those two together, we’ll see that the words change everything, right away. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What kinds of things such as likes, dislikes, behavior, vocations, avocations, and/or personality traits do you appreciate in other people the most? --- Above everything I look for tolerance and acceptance of differences. My-way-or-no-way people annoy me to no end. even if they share the same convictions and beliefs with me. I especially like people who work on themselves, who try to be better all the time, who can look and see themselves fairly, and who do not cross boundaries. Not an easy job to work on oneself, but so well worth the effort. I also like people who put others at ease, who calm those who are troubled. Then, a decent dose of morality and the idea of don’t-hurt-if-you-cannot-help attitude goes a long way, too. I really, really love gentleness and calmness, which were the first reasons I had married my husband, who I miss terribly. In the same vein, I feel closer to people who like animals and children as well as people with minds open to learning and reading. I like almost everyone who shows an affinity to all arts, not for acquiring financial gains from them, but just for the art-for-arts-sake feeling. We are all human, and I can overlook a bit of anger, jealousy, greed, or the other negative emotions, but when those are not tamed and used while hurting people, then they are unforgiveable. Plus, drama queens exasperate me to no end, as well as those who think the world revolves around them. They think their existence, their successes, and their troubles are the most important. Well, they are not and they should know it because everyone else has them, even if most people do not constantly brag or complain. I know such people from the way they always talk about themselves. I am not picking on the negative people per se. As I said earlier, we are all human, and when I catch myself stumbling, I try to work on myself to the best of my ability. Still, being who I want to be is not an easy job. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: WakeUpAndLive️~🚬🚭2024  ’s "Poet @ Work 2" "It's raining today. Better for the garden, it's been very dry lately. I love the sound of rain, on the rooftop, on the window, on the tiles in the street. It's soothing and comforting." Write about a rainy afternoon. What do you like to do with rainy days? ----- I love the rain. When I was much, much younger, I used to jump under any torrent and drive my mother crazy. I don’t do that anymore; you can be sure of that. On the other hand, instead of enjoying the getting soaked sensation, I like to sit in a dry place and listen to the music of rain. I also like reading while listening to rain. Rain has never made me feel sad. Possibly, it gives me a feeling of renewal. Some liken raindrops to teardrops and that’s why they feel sad. Since I was never a crybaby and in fact I almost never cry, this type of a feeling never affects me. Rain to me is not just a light blissful sprinkling. I like the temporary landscapes it creates especially when it comes down in torrents and forms into rivulets and puddles. After all, water is beautiful and it has a cleansing effect on my soul. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Take any specific part of your body (hands, arms, heart, liver, brain, etc.) Think of it as more than or different from a view of anatomy in the scientific sense, and then write whatever you want about it. --- See, it is like the joke with the elephants painting their toenails red so they wouldn’t be seen in a strawberry patch. What the…? You might exclaim. Don’t. Just don’t. I know how that poor elephant feels. I know why he stood in a strawberry patch. He felt like the once-upon-a-time me. To hide his polished toenails. I used to have perfect toenails; so perfect that while I was in my teens, my mom used to wonder why I polished them, at all. I did, and in see-through-pink, and I thought I was in touch with those days’ fashion and, by a long stretch, with my own polished self, or in other words, ego. But it was then. So many waters under the bridge, and the camaraderie between my toenails and me have soured. I should say thickened, but the thickening is on their part, not mine. The last pedicurist I saw, eons ago, told me, no they weren’t misbehaving at all. It wasn’t fungus either. It was just aging. Thank you very much. It was the last time I saw the pedicurist, and the last time my toenails had a bright red polish on them to hide their hardened, striated surfaces. After leaving the shop, I didn’t know where to hide my toenails. There wasn’t a strawberry patch around, so I wore socks and sneakers for a while, until the polish chipped. You know, all polish chips eventually, no matter where you apply it. Just be careful with your large surfaces, like the ego. The ego can’t handle that applied-later-polish thing. Too fancy! It gives itself away. Nowadays, I wear sandals, and my toenails have been warming up to me, mellowing, and flaunting not their polish but the petroleum jelly, which softens them while allowing them to be themselves. A happy ending, wouldn’t you say? For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Jeannie  ”s "Invalid Item" “I look out and see the sunshine chase the clouds away. I no longer want to hide in the dark but survive.” Use this line in your Blog entry today. === Yesterday, we had a tropical storm. It was supposed to be a category one hurricane, but it ended up as an any-day, Florida storm. My shutters were up and the garden hoses and pots of plants plus the outdoor furniture were stashed away. I felt both sad and bad. I don’t like the annoying preparations and darkened days, and especially the aftermaths of hurricanes. Then, yesterday evening, when the whole thing fizzled out, we had this late sunset with a gorgeous orange sky, while the hidden rays of the sun fought through the storm clouds. This morning, the dark clouds have drifted away, as all darkness eventually does. In their place came fluffy white clouds with a few dark streaks among them; yet the sunbeams are emerging to do their usual dance; We’ve made it through another possible hurricane. The sun is always there behind the clouds, higher up, if we could only remember from where it rules, on its lofty throne, when the clouds darken our days. --- Note: (Sorry, I have difficulty using another writer's exact sentences for several reasons, but I tried to stay loyal to their essence) |
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