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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: When was the last time you were creative? --- I don’t know. While I just do things like write, cook, sew, etc., I never think I am being creative. If I thought that, I’d jinx myself. For whatever reason, it is true that I like doing things differently each time. For example, I never follow a recipe as it is written. Even with writing, an outline makes the work easier, but I like meandering much better, which doesn’t mean I don’t do outlines. It means I change routes from them. It is a natural process, but not because I am trying to be “creative” or any such thing. Being creative means being innovative and fresh. It means being imaginative and acting on it. Creativity demands resources, either stored or learned, as knowledge, insight, and inspiration. It means taking advantage of opportunities and making new connections. Creativity itself can be huge and inspiring, and also, a very scary concept to live up to. If I thought all that about anything I attempt to do, I’d run for the hills for not living up to the level creativity requires. So, I just do things for those things themselves. Trying to be creative, therefore, is not in my vocabulary.  For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Brian K Contest Judge-y   ’s "A Slower Return" "Make the most of each moment...before it's gone".How do you make the most of each moment? --- To make the most of each moment, one has to know oneself to the best of his or her ability. We humans always trick ourselves by saying, “I know what I want” or “I am this or that.” This is how we get stuck in a rut, and that rut traps us into not using our time and life well. This may also be because we may have holes in our pasts that weren’t filled and wounds that weren’t healed. After getting to know the real person inside us, then, we need to cultivate excitement and contentment for life. Making the most of each moment doesn’t necessarily mean filling our time with constant action. It means knowing who we are and feeling gratitude for it and for what the world offers. With that feeling then, we can begin our true contribution. This way, we may find ourselves to be effective in making the most of every moment of our days. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “The earth laughs in flowers,” says Ralph Waldo Emerson. Which flowers do you like and why do you think people like flowers so much? --- The day before yesterday, my daughter-in-law brought me a lovely bouquet of roses for no reason at all. I think this is the best reason, this no-reason thing. It delighted me to no end. So, every time I pass by that vase, I stop and smell the roses and I admire their petals, scent, and colors. Roses are one of my favorite flowers. Probably I like their thorns, too, as it is the thorns that feed and keep alive the roses. Just like the thorns in our lives that teach us and make us grow. Yet, I like all flowers. Daisies, for example. Those that grow free, flouncing and curving, in the wilderness or in rows in a garden. In the Victorian era, the language of flowers was the in-thing as it was uttered in symbols and silence. The frivolity of the idea, especially for us word-people, added to the frivolity of corseted fashions now seem to be empty and meaningless, but would we think this if we were to have lived in those times? I don’t believe so. I imagine we would take those symbols to heart and converse with one another through gifts of flowers. Come to think of it, getting and giving flowers wouldn’t be such a bad thing, would it? Then, imagine what would happen, if in the election ads, the opposing parties handed one another flower bouquets…I think, for my part, I wouldn’t turn off the TV when such ads were to pop up. And that would be an improvement for everyone concerned. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Jenn Webster  ’s "Invalid Item" "But for right now, I would very much like to know: Which symbol of hope would very best represent the calendar year of 2021, in which we hope would be a Year of Hope?"Well, what do you think? --- Well, who’d know! This item is a poll and I voted for the dove because being a bird, it can fly and rise over anything. Plus, a dove is a universally known symbol of hope. Hope helps us to ignore the unpleasant present. As such, it is all we have at the moment to provide us with strength and bear the misery and misfortunes of 2020. Hope encourages us to persevere with the onward journey, despite the obstacles, fear, or simply the masks that make the entire planet earth look like a cave for bandits. Hope offers us a positive belief and a doable path, and directs us toward specific directions, destinations, and goals. Hope, then, becomes a mindset that urges us to keep on trying, at least one more time, one more month, or for the next year of 2021. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “When leaves have to let go of the tree, they wear their best colors and they dance all the way to the ground.” Karen Kingsbury, Finding Home What do you think of autumn, and why is it difficult to let go of things or people we become used to, unlike the leaves? --- Who doesn’t love autumn leaves in all their splendid colors! Their charm and appeal are boundless for the simple reason that they have matured under the sun. Yet, autumn means change. How we judge or adapt to change will predict how much we love or hate this season. After all, what follows it is winter, and unless one is lucky, winter is difficult on most of the places in the world. Autumn also refers to the time's passing drip by drip like the autumn rain, with weekdays following one another in a row just as the months and years do. This passing of time makes us get used to people and whatever we love, or in other words, whatever and whoever has tamed us. Then, as time passes, like the autumn leaves falling off the trees, our loved ones also leave while the traces of their images become just as colorful as the leaves of autumn, and the bare branches they’ve left behind are just as desolate looking and painful. As St. Exupery’s Little Prince said, “One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets oneself be tamed...” For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Stormy Lady  ’s "Never Love A Poet" "Never love a poet, she warns..." Why should we never love a poet? --- I used to love (still do in hindsight) Stormy’s forum. I don’t think I ever missed a prompt of hers, then. As to the question, I think Stormy answered it best: “Their hearts beat too strongly to hold.” I think it is also because poets are already married to poetry and anyone who loves them will be no more than a mistress or the male equivalent of it. Poets will always obey the muse, and not always mind their partners. Then some, if not most, fall in and out of love very easily. Unless you want to be the spare tire in their trunk, you better set your sights on someone more stable. In addition, not many poets write or talk openly. You need to have the ability to pinpoint and understand the metaphors and the like. Then, your poet doesn’t always mean what s/he says, either, although their words are their truths at the moment. Plus, anything you say, do, or think can and will be held against you, and there, in communication, lies the greatest challenge you’ll ever face. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" "Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable." ~ Sydney J. Harris Discuss this quote in your blog today. ---- Truthfully, I am not a proponent of any quote that idolizes regret. Any kind of it. I am of the thinking that says, ‘Proceed boldly, and only look back to learn, and do not waste your physical or mental health over it.’ Unfortunately, regret is a common emotion, and it is the most negative one. It doesn’t help to rewrite history in one’s mind over and over again. It helps to look forward and not be afraid. Things happen whether we caused them or not or whether we interfered or not. Thus, what if we had done the thing we regret not doing, and the results were to be even worse? We can’t know that, do we? Plus, sometimes we don’t interfere or do anything about a situation for self-protection. Good enough reason, I say. An example: A policeman is chasing a criminal and you happen to be in the way and you tackle the criminal while at the same time, the policeman aims at him and shoots you instead and the criminal escapes. Did you realize you got that policeman in major trouble, both emotionally and professionally? You acted, didn’t you, so you wouldn’t feel your precious regret? In life, whatever is wrong needs fixing, and from our experiences, we learn this. We need to learn this, but we need to learn how to employ the tactics of doing it properly and in a way that our actions help and do not hurt. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From THANKFUL SONALI Now What?  ]s "Ping" “I'm not a person, I'm just a ping in queue.” ----- Yessss, to this poem! I have always applauded the electronic revolution, but not this. I guess this is the dark side of something so addictingly helpful. Things I used to do easily with one phone call in five minutes, I can’t do now even when I stay by the phone for three hours. Then, there is always the chance that my call can be dropped at any one moment. And yes, any time a computer voice says, “Your call is important to us,” I want to do something so vile that their whole circuit gets broken for good. Unfortunately for me and fortunately for the companies or whoever, I am not a hacker and I don't know enough stuff to pull it through. I am reacting this strongly because this poem has touched so deeply on my most recent pet peeve. I can’t even get in touch with a doctor’s office to handle something simple about a medication. Ring! ring! A computer. That computer sends me to another one. Then to another one. Then to the nurse’s phone, which says leave a message; we’ll call you back. Although their computer voice takes my request, no one gets in touch with me. We’ve been playing this ring-around-the-rosy several times a week for more than a month now. Their probable, custom-made excuse: It is Covid-19 era and they are busy. Nice going! I can change doctors you know or I can sue you, but I don’t like doing this because I have never sued anyone. That’s not me. Plus, I like this doctor (best cardiologist in the area) although not the way his office is run. If this is the sign of things to come, woe is us! |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: (from yesterday since I didn’t write yesterday and didn’t see today’s prompt) : The ACM Awards were on last night. What are your views on country music? --- I do like country music, but recently I have the TV shut out totally since I don’t want to hear any fake election ads from either side. I don’t necessarily watch TV in the first place. Thus, I didn’t see that show or any other show. Although my real interest has to do with the Classical music of the earlier centuries, I am partial to any kind of music. As to country music, when it is the folk music or the cowboy music with the addition of a string instrument, I like it just fine when I hear it, but I wouldn’t necessarily put on a country music album or turn to a country music station and listen. I also don’t like it when the lyrics are about nothing but complaints that drone on and on.. Talking about singing the complaints, I think Kenny Rogers sang them the best and with a humorous, satirical dip. I’ll listen to any complaints from him, such as “You found a fine time to leave me, Lucille.” I guess my age shows in my likes and dislikes, also. Thinking about this, I suddenly remembered Glen Campbell with his, “Rhinestone Cowboy” and other perfect songs. See, I have my favorite country singer picks, too, however dated they may be. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From "The Tenor at the Opera" “Only truth can be sung.” Thanks  Princess Megan Rose 22 Years  ! ---- There are the facts and there’s the truth. The facts can change but the actual truth does not. Then, there is that thing about the arts. The reason we admire them is because they have a way of touching the truth. The artists in any area may not be aware that they are reaching for that truth themselves, but the nature of the arts requires such an undertaking. Otherwise, what they are attempting as artists has nothing to do with the truth, and what they are putting forth can be considered as trash and not the truth we all seek. That truth is the truth of our feelings, the truth. of why we do doings even if we are not aware of our hidden intentions, or the truth that is too difficult to face or too profound to handle, which becomes deeply immersed in our illusions and dreams. The item in the prompt refers to that truth, which only true artists can handle. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What life lessons have books taught you? --- Just about everything I know. I learned to read before I turned four, and ever since I was never without a book. To begin with, I was an only over-protected child in an adult-filled home. Books became my companions. They gave me a greater understanding of myself and other people. They unveiled parts of life I might not have understood otherwise, such as understanding the lives and feelings of others. Then, the more I read the more curious I became. Even to the point of thievery, that is borrowing books I wasn’t allowed to read and reading them under the tables and beds and behind the couches. Most of my lessons came from just reading, and although a few specific books impressed me immensely. Nonfiction or fiction, books gave me my view of the world and, I believe, they encouraged me to think for myself. To this day, they are my biggest companions that provide the best consolation when I need it. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Ԝ€ß☆ԜiʈCH  ’s "To Robin Williams" How did you feel about Robin Williams? ---- I first came to know Robin Williams in Mark and Mindy, a show I didn’t care for much, except for the novelty he brought to it. Then came (for me) Dead Poets Society and his other movies. Plus, any show on TV perked up if Robin Williams was in it. I didn’t know Robin Williams personally. So, I can’t say for sure what he was really like. I knew him as a great actor, an A+ comedian, and a human being who probably couldn’t cope with life at the end. I think this may happen when you give so much of yourself to others, very little or nothing is left for you, and especially if you have a brain disease, handling even another day becomes a huge task. At the end, Robin Williams was a big actor on the world’s stage, and his exit was just as dramatic, which left us with broken hearts. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Isaac Asimov says, “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” Is Asimov right? Is society falling behind? What do you think? ---- Yes, I do think Asimov is right. Even my kids and others much younger than me complain about having to do anything online, like pay bills, find information, relate to people or to use new electronic gadgets and things. They often express the wish that things returned to the “good old days.” They just don’t know how deprived some of us felt in the “good old days” and how much time it took to do one simple task like driving to a bank to send money to someone. I guess it is in human nature to not be content with the status quo. This discontentment makes us look for different avenues and even revert back to the older ways of doing things. This discontentment can also be a way of projecting our failings on science. I think this is mainly the reason that makes society fall behind science. Plus, not everything science comes up with is correct either. We still suffer in the hands of natural disasters, some of which we can’t predict or avert long before they happen. Then, take the computerized answering of the phones, my pet peeve, which all companies use or rather disuse. This just makes our lives miserable, even if it may save a company from paying more workers to answer their phones. These companies don’t realize while they are profiting by it at the moment, they are wasting their clients’ time and making them frustrated enough to change with whom they do business. Still, I respect and appreciate science, primarily the kind that came with the electronic revolution. I only wish I had the background and the mind to grasp it fully, at least much better than I do now. I think, only through the findings of science, our species can survive and progress. So, what if, along the way, there would be some glitches! For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Brandiwyn🎶  ’s "It's So Easy" "It's so easy to talk to you It's so easy to share everything with you" Besides a spouse, do you have anybody in your life who is easy to talk to? --- Yes, I can talk quite easily to some people, especially to my cousins, and specifically one of them, who has been more than a best friend to me throughout my life. Although she lives overseas, there’s always the phone and other ways of communication. I used to have several friends who were very easy to talk to, but most of them live far away, but with a few of them, we have grown in different directions. Being oldies like me, some of them do not care for electronic communications of any sort, which has also added to the distances among us. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Ray Bradbury advises in Zen in the Art of Writing, “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” If reality is so bad and destructive, which I agree that it can be at times, why are we seeking it under the guise of believability factor in the books we read and the movies we watch? What is your opinion on the matter? === I am not sure I would want to shun reality altogether, as writing only reflects reality. Even with the fantasy genre or with any other genre, we want to relate to the characters and other elements of what we write about. Reality and relating. They sound similar, don’t they, with some of the letters in them being the same? This is because we warm up to things that we know of and that we have experienced. What is reality, we have to ask, then. Reality is simply what it is, which we may think rightly or wrongly. We may experience what we call “reality” in our specific ways and perceive it through our five senses and filter it through our thoughts, feelings, and other sensations. In this way, we relate to it. Sometimes, our perceptions become too heavy, too sad, too destructive to handle. Still, don’t we refer to or reflect them in our writing? This may be why the most prolific writers are reality-oriented as they get “drunk” on writing. I suspect, not because they want to escape reality but because they want to find it. After all, despite what we think we experience as reality, to really search and find that unchangeable yet mysterious being has to be a lot of work. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Raven ’s "We Minus You Equals A Lonely Broken Me" “Have you ever had a broken heart?” --- Who hasn’t? One has a broken heart because of a loss. It could be any loss that feels a part of you, a country, a goal, a parent, a sibling, a lover, a partner, a friend, a pet, etc. Did I ever have a broken heart? Definitely! Anytime I say goodbye to a loved one for good, my heart shatters. In our culture, a broken heart usually refers to a lost lover. Yes, that too did happen to me, very recently, too. I lost my husband and best friend of fifty-four years. Yet, I try to cope with it since there is no other alternative and because I appreciate all those good years, and I am immensely thankful that I had them. With that, I have been one of the few lucky ones. Especially because I am aware of the big-picture perspective of my life in its entirety, that is a huge consolation. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Write a story about a shipwrecked-adventure on an island. --- I don’t even recall being at sea, let alone being in a shipwreck. Yet, the evidence is there, in the broken, shattered parts of the vessel all around me. I rub my hands, then my toes together to get rid of the wet sand clinging to them. I look around. A rocky crevice. Does it open into a cave? Should I look? What if there’s an animal there? I give up, rising to my feet. The sand moves beneath my arches, tickling my toes and skin. I shuffle about. No one in sight, just a stretch of thick, dense woods behind the desolate shoreline. Such weird woods, though! Its trees are all colors. I recognize only a very few palms at the edge. Then, I notice the stones on an elevation separating the sand from the woods. Small, colorful stones and a couple of large rocks. My legs are weary and my feet itch. Without thinking, I amble toward one of the rocks. That should make a good observation point. “Don’t you dare!” I jump up rubbing my behind to ease the burning feeling. I turn to the rock. It’s smoking with a tiny flame on the side. “Don’t ever sit on me, again! You inconsiderate mortal!” A talking rock? “Sorry,” I mumble. “I don’t know how I got here.” “Obviously, you don’t. You mortals know nothing, accept nothing, understand nothing.” “Sorry!” My voice comes out in a whisper. “Stop saying sorry when you don’t mean it.” “How did I…I mean…get here? How do I go back?” “You got caught in the essence of an old titan. He does that sometimes, to get on our last nerves. As if it wasn’t enough turning us to stones!” “Those small stones, too?” I ask meekly. “Those are the sirens and nymphs the divine son of a god touched, under the titans' influence, for sure. Now, be careful. Don’t walk on them.” “But how do I get out of here?” I hear a sigh from the rock. “Me and my soft heart!” Another sigh and it continues. “Keep walking on the sand, but first take that dagger behind me. Who knows who you’ll meet on the way. When you leave here make sure there is not even a grain of sand on you, or else. Someone, something, will come after you if you don't shake off the sand.” I reach behind the talking rock. Sure enough, there is an object there. I reach for the hilt. The blade has a serpentine shape and is of bronze. It is fixed to the animal-skin-covered hilt. “Thank you,” I say. “I wouldn’t know how to use it, though.” “It works on its own volition. Now, go!” I step down onto the sand, my pulse loud in my ears for I am aware of the sharp dagger I am holding. I take several steps and, to my horror, I see the tide coming in to take over the beach. I close my eyes and shudder. When I open them again, I find myself in my living room, still holding the dagger. But… But my bare feet are covered with sand. Oh, My God! For: "Space Blog" Prompt: Solace.Bring  ’s "Land of Poetry" “Somewhere over the rainbow and into the blue.” --- Somewhere over the rainbow and into the blue, the Eagle rises from the top of the fallen twin towers. This image has been with me ever since, although a phoenix rising from the ashes had been the original version. Then, another image with tears shining on the Eagle’s face. “Lest we forget,” says the Eagle. No, we won’t forget that! We won’t forget that freedom isn’t free. We won’t forget our gratitude for what we have, despite the negative elements that have sneaked in to fool the weaker ones among us. Despite the division and the pain they are causing. No, we won’t forget all that, Our Eagle! |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks and years seem wasted – stretched there upon my bed in the dark looking upward at the ceiling I get what many will consider an obnoxious thought: it’s still nice to be myself" ― Charles Bukowski, Your thoughts on Bulowski's comment? Do you think it's obnoxious to be ourselves? === Bukowski can say that. In fact, Bukowski can say anything and we’ll savor it because he puts it in words so cleverly and neatly. If your life seems wasted when you are contemplating it, you can doubt if it’s still nice to be yourself, as Bukowski put it. Being oneself, in my opinion, is the sincerest way of being. The self gets distorted when we push it to show itself as something other than what it is. Then, in every life there is some value. Such a value may fit our general understanding of values or not, but how do we know if even the worst criminal didn’t mean something to someone or s/he didn’t do one kind act, something of value? Yes, I think, even for the lowliest of us, it should be nice to be them, if they are really them. Plus, if they are still alive, there is still hope to find themselves or to fix what has gone wrong, isn’t there? For: "Space Blog" Prompt: On Lili J. - On/Offline ’s "Invalid Item" “If you were to look/ In all of the right places / You'll find happiness” ----- Okay. My first question is: How do we find those right places and where do we search for them? Another question is: What is the measurement and definition of happiness? Even if the answer to this is more or less common, don’t this measurement and definition change from person to person? Yet another question is: Is there a length of time for happiness? Let’s face it, even if you were the happiest person on earth, would you still be happy if your mate of a lifetime or your only child passed away or if your country was devastated by war or a natural disaster? Thus, the right-place equation is not a given because nothing ever stays the same in our lives. It just may be that we can experience happiness only in small doses and not continually. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: If any person wants to change the world or anything about it, where should they start and what can they do? Or do you believe we should leave the well-enough alone? --- As much we want a better world, no matter what we do, it feels as if the world is unchangeable, isn’t it? Yet, just look at the history. It is full of people who changed it, some for the worse, most for the better. So, how do we do it? I’d say start from where we are, even right here in cyberspace. We can start with kindness and acceptance of those with different ideas and beliefs from ourselves. I see so many times, in different social sites, when someone voices a different political or religious belief, the nastiest replies. We are all entitled to our opinions but not nastiness. Then, we can pick an issue dear to our hearts and volunteer and help in any way we can. We can also begin by showing kindnesses to strangers, to those who have no families or friends left. Other things we can do could be take things more positively, so we can become role models to those who are feeling low. We can also plant a garden, plant a tree, plant something to help the environment. Plus, we can show kindness to animals. If we can’t adopt them for any reason, then we can help the organizations that help them. These are only a few suggestions. I am sure there are many others we can easily think of. Why not try? We do need a much, much better world, don’t we? Prompt: Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” As best stories sometimes come out of their authors’ fears, what do you say for writing about one thing that scares you every day? For example, what scares you today? --- Fear has energy that can be harnessed and used, like a work horse. How do you think Lovecraft, Ann Rice, Bram Stoker, Dean Koontz, and Stephen King came up with their works that scare and excite multitudes? They first notice their own fears. Yes, exactly that. What scares me today is the possibility of a hurricane that might arrive sooner or later in this season, since I live in the area number one that a hurricane is most likely to hit according to the National Hurricane Center. Although I have lived through a couple of hurricanes, it never occurred to me to write about it. As if I wrote something like it, I might draw its negative energy on me. But then, every year this time, we go through the same scare. If I were to write about this or some other fear, I would probably name my fear first and describe it as thoroughly as I could. Plus, I would look at its subtle signs, to start the writing with, which would probably be a fiction piece. Later into the story, in the middle of it, I would focus on the event or the process instead of the results, making things harder or easier on the characters remembering that the worse case scenarios get more attention than something wishy washy. Then, the result or the results of the event or character that induced the fear could be the ending of the story. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From HollyMerry ’s "Treasure Chest" If you found a treasure chest, what would you do with it? --- I think I would call the police or take it to the police station. No treasure chest should be in my hands and neither should I be using what’s inside it. This has nothing to do with morality, either. It is self-preservation. I don’t want to get caught with stolen goods, any more than I would want to throw myself inside the flames of a fire. Prompt: From PureSciFi  ’s "WDC My Home Away From WDC" “WDC is a home away from home.” Where is your home away from home? I guess I have to agree with the writer. My home away from home is WdC, and it has been so for 19 years, as I spend quite a bit of time on the site, although mostly, it has not been home away from home but rather, “home inside my home.” Just look at my portfolio page where I’ve written, “Writing.com is the best writing site and my home in cyberspace. In this home, Reading and Writing are my twins.” Enough said.  |
If you missed any, here are the trinkets by me for WdC ever since our trinketeering adventure began. Enjoy!                                |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Charles Darwin said, "We stopped checking for monsters under our bed when we realized they were inside us." What are your thoughts about what's inside us? Do you ever check under the bed for old times sake? --- Do I ever check what’s under the bed? Not recently. I have a new bed, thanks to my son, for which I got rid of stuff like dust ruffles or bedskirts for good. My bedroom now is not fancy but down to its bare bones especially after I got rid of the rugs. So, nothing can hide anywhere. As to the monsters inside yours truly, don’t get me started. I think, however, I am winning over them. Unfortunately though, it took a lifetime to gain some leverage over those impostor monsters. In my case, they were (sometimes still are) feelings and thoughts about my own self. "You didn't try enough!" “You’re wrong, again!” "Your work is not good enough!" “Don’t even try! You can’t do it.” “You’re not good enough. Be like so and so!” “Others fare better.” “There you go again. Your luck always runs out.” “Did you see what you just did? You goofed again.” “You’re just not lucky enough, good enough, strong enough…etc.” These monstrous thoughts have tucked me in some kind of a comfort zone, from which I rarely wander away or if I do, it is after weighing all the pros and cons. I can now pinpoint most of my safety mechanisms that begin with good intentions but end up with dubious effects. As to my monsters' origin, most of them emerged as inherited behavior since I had a wonderful mother who attended to all my physical needs and taught me many things, but she was also highly critical with a good deal of negative talk, which I internalized. An exaggerated but similar situation happens with all abused children, people with spousal violence, and victims of bullies, whether the abuse is verbal or physical or both. At the end, however, we have to really put the blame our very own minds that take the info fed into them and change those into poisons and hidden monsters. There's no use in blaming others while we feed and go along with the monster-maker inside us, is there! For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From afinger83’s "Invalid Item" “Secrets that you know you can share. Support that lasts a lifetime” Isn't it so nice and comforting to have a best friend through life with whom you can be absolutely frank and who does not care about how you do things, how you look, or how you have fared in the world, since they accept you just the way you are? But who can those best friends be? They can be in our immediate family just like one of my cousins who is a year younger than me has been my best friend for life. Then a life partner can become a best friend, too, as my husband was for me. A teacher, a parent, a workmate, even friends in faraway places can give us support that may last a lifetime. Sometimes, even a sincere simple word uttered to comfort us becomes a support and a motto for life, too. My grandmother’s “This, too, shall pass.” has become one of those comforting mottoes for me. Then, when people, our best supportive people, pass away or are unreachable in some way, what they were to us and their words stay with us as long as we live as gifts of a lifetime. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Write a story that either starts or ends with someone asking, “Can you keep a secret?” ---- “Can you keep a secret?” You ask me this with a smile and your eyes twinkling. I want to answer, “No, I can’t,” but I don’t. I just watch your face, not saying anything. But I think, ‘Surely, I can keep a secret, but how can I keep something when I don’t know what it is about? I don’t want to play with fire, you know. What if your secret has to do with hurting someone or, Heaven forbid, me? What if knowing your secret will make me scared for my life? What if your secret can make me ashamed of being your friend? What if I end up reacting to you differently, afterwards? To tell the truth, I am afraid of secrecy, and when I am afraid, I might not be objective or rational. Also, depending on your secret, you might not be honest or true to yourself. Remember, George Orwell said, “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.” But you haven’t done that, have you?’ So, I keep staring at you, wishing for that lurking possibility that you’ll give up telling me any secrets. You chuckle at my indecision. “Whether you keep my secret or not, I’ll tell you anyway,” you say. Oh, oh! I hope inwardly that your secret doesn’t cause heartache or isolation for me. “I’m not only your friend,” you say. “I am in love with you.” Well, now. This is different, isn’t it? It is okay if I can’t be objective or rational. And I am not afraid, either. Instead, I rejoice. Yes, I will be reacting to you differently, now that I’ve learned your secret, and it won’t be the scariest thing in the world. (Note: This is only a made-up story in a few minutes. Don’t anyone read anything into it.)  For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Monty  ’s "YOU CAN DO ANYTHING" “You can do anything if you but try to be like the eagle and set your thoughts high.” ---- I guess the second part of the quote has more meaning to it, rather than the first part. Most goals usually depend on the second part. As to the word “thoughts,” I would rather say mind. Thoughts may have been a replacement for mind during early twentieth century, but I think there has been a lot of meaning change by then. “You can do anything?” No, you can’t. You can’t change yourself into a fish or get a different set of genes as if another being, for example. Yet, “You can do anything if…” makes sense. The trigger word here is if. Now that I’ve taken the quote apart, I do love the meaning it conveys. The real challenge the quote puts forth is about sharpening and maintaining the focus. This type of focusing makes personal productivity possible, manageable, and of significant value. You take any person who is famous for high productivity, and you’ll find a focused mind. Most of us usually complain that we have too much on our plate and too little time and strength to do it. This is because we haven’t learned focusing and using our time wisely. Still, not everyone can do everything at the same time. Focusing is the catalyst and finishing what we start is the magic touch for the success of all projects. How efficient we can be depends on our focusing, choosing and eliminating, and finishing up what we have started. This way we can do almost anything if we set our minds on it. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: "To me, there's no better feeling then arriving home." Use this in your Blog entry today. === “There is no place like home,” says Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, meaning Kansas. She may have a point there; however, the definition of home depends on the person who uses the word ‘home.’ To a dedicated sailor, home may be the open seas. To a surgeon, it may mean the operating room. To a lawyer, it may mean the courthouse. To an author it may mean finding the right words for the right project. To most of us, home can be the place where we relax and sleep at night. In my younger years, home was wherever I happened to be. In old age, home is the place where I have my things, my books and objects like photos and items that carry memories. In other places, such as other peoples’ homes, markets, or even the beach--which was my favorite outdoor place--nowadays fill me with a sense of having fallen into some other world, similar or adjacent to my own, and one from which I wish be pitched back. I guess home is not a place but, when encountered and experienced, a feeling of belonging that gives a person a sigh of relief. Yet, at this moment in my life, it is an actual house that feels home to me. This may change in years, whatever years may bring, just as the idea of home has changed so drastically in my past. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Nixie  ’s "Gifted by Nature " “Go placidly amid the noise and thy haste and remember what peace there may be silence.” (by Max Ehrmann) --- Beauty not only means aesthetic pleasure but also harmony, and appreciating the hidden or slightly visible beauties around us, in reverence, points to an emotionally and spiritually evolved human being. We experience our surroundings with our senses and find pleasure in what we see and feel. This type of experiencing needs silence, especially the silencing of our internal judges and critics, worries, and that flood of unnecessary thoughts. In other words, we need not be distracted by anything else, internally or externally such our smartphones, so we can pay attention to, observe, and delight in our surroundings, in their lines, colors, sounds, smells, patterns, textures, and meanings. Appreciating whatever we can appreciate enables us to come closer what is sacred, that is deserving of reverence and respect. It also sharpens our senses and awareness. This is because beauty strikes just about everything indiscriminately. We just need the silence and the eyes to see it. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What was the best party you ever had or attended? --- Where we lived once, close to our house, there was a very large open field with a creek running by the side of it. It wasn’t a park, but the field was for public use. It housed fairs, community picnics, or temporary markets. This place has been the setting for the best parties I attended. One day, a circus came to town to stay a week, and a whole group of us, I think we were ten to twelve noisy teens, made a party out of it. We went to the circus as a group, and we were enjoying ourselves so much that the clowns began to address us and the riders made their horses kneel before us. After the show, someone approached to invite us to the back of the large tent and showed us the animals and the workers’ cramped living spaces in tiny tents or on wheels. It was an amazing experience. Of course, this was way back when, before the laws “for security” messed up people’s lives. The next day, my grandmother made a whole lot of pastries and I and my five friends carried them to the circus to thank the people who were so nice to us. They said, we could always join them. To this day, I wonder why I didn’t join that circus. But then, maybe I did in some way. Isn’t this entire life a circus? For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From celiasgirl ’s "Invalid Item" "What would life be like without beautiful dreams?" What would it be like? ----- I call dreams brain-stories. Yet, some claim they are more than that. They claim we travel to places and events, leaving our bodies behind. Others attach them to the machinations of heavenly beings. One thing is for sure. They are linked to our emotions and our inner worlds. Sometimes, emotionally traumatic memories are rehearsed and then new kind of reality or a simulation of it is created, resembling some kind of a psychological therapy. No matter what causes dreams, the beautiful ones fulfill our wishes and cleanse us from the results of fearful experiences. If these beautiful dreams didn’t exist, we would probably enjoy a deeper sleep and would be well rested; however, we would, then, have to resolve everything in real life, which could present unsavory consequences, as if there isn’t enough strife in the world, already. As for my beautiful dreams, I like them when they are like stories with a plot, a beginning and an ending. Most of my dreams, on the other hand, present themselves in fragments. Another thing I noticed is that during my most troubled times, I don’t recall my dreams at all. This is an anomaly because most of the time, I dream five or six dreams a night and I can recall them upon the moment I awaken, although they evaporate later on, just like anything beautiful with a short life. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Tommy Orange says in There There, “Numbers are consistent. You can count on them.” What do you think of number 20, the now-age of WdC? === Numerologists think number 20 symbolizes spirituality. If you are 20 or you keep seeing the number 20 all around you, it may mean your spiritual journey has begun. Does that mean Writing.com has begun its spiritual journey? I thought it was doing just perfect before, but let’s find out what else it can accomplish. Let’s watch the site and ourselves really closely. On the other hand, what about 2020? Does it mean a double dose of spirituality went to this year’s head? Those who know these matters claim that religious/spiritual and somewhat divine people who have risen up and have achieved some success are the ones who may likely fall? Remember the fallen angel? In which case, I am going to stick with the lone 20 of WdC. I predict there is even more success in front of our community, with love, harmony, and superior writing, waiting to be explored and experienced. Happy 20th Birthday, WdC! For: "Space Blog" From: ruwth  ’s "The Pressure Is On . . ." “Who are you?” === I think there is a song “Who are you?” by Who, which I am dubious about its lyrics, that is the choice of words in it. Truth be told, I believe this is an esoteric question to which very few if any know the full answer. If asked, “Who are you?” I would probably tell you my name, my age, my ss number (well, just maybe), the kind of family I have, my education, my job status or the lack of it, my height, weight, medical conditions, lifestyle, etc. Some of my answers would keep changing though, like my weight, my likes and dislikes, where I live etc. A person, take me for example, may have so much more (or less) to her than what she sees in herself. How I would describe myself, as to what I believe and do or what my goals are, are only for the moment. My own description of me wouldn’t be correct and it could change. For that reason, I wouldn’t bet a penny on it. You shouldn't either. So, to the question of “Who are you?” I answer with my own question. “Who am I? You tell me!” |
| 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 Spring Break 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. |
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