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 |   Theses are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call life. |
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These are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call Life. I blog with these groups:     "Blogging Circle of Friends "  [E] 
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30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 28th Write about something positive. What is something good that’s happened in your world recently? Share a smile, share a laugh, share a success. Today has been a darker day for me. It's one of those days when the beast of the unknown lurks in the shadows and makes me edgy. I try to share a laugh with my mother each day. Whether it is laughing at the cat - who has taken to liking the concrete patio outside, or sharing idiot stories like how we Canadians wear our parka with shorts.... and go out in our Crocs to shovel the driveway. (#onlyinCanada) [It is important to laugh at yourself]. Or how Trump figures he should post military personal at the border to keep us Canadians out (#NoCanadiansTrump). That had my 82 year old mother in stitches. She was laughing before I even told her about the comments on Twitter. Sorry, but that was funny!!! I have also reported about things I have seen when I have ventured out on walks... like several neighbours keeping their social distance, but still sharing their own wine and beer on one neighbours very large driveway. Each couple had there own corner. We've had conversations with neighbours calling over the fence or across the lawn. The neighbour to our left has his great grandchildren living with him and his wife. He told me he needs to get out for a 2 mile walk everyday to keep his sanity. The kids are 5 and 8. I've also started an Instagram account and I try to take pictures of things that make me laugh. One is a picture of a bulletin board that usually has events posted, but since there are no events coming up the push pins were put into a little happy face in the center of the empty board. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 27th Someone shared the poem “The Trough” by Judy Brown with me today and I want to pass it on to you. I found it incredibly comforting during this time of global crisis. In your entry today, write about how the poem makes you feel, or write a poem of your own. The Trough Judy Brown There is a trough in waves, a low spot where horizon disappears and only sky and water are our company. And there we lose our way unless we rest, knowing the wave will bring us to its crest again. There we may drown if we let fear hold us in its grip and shake us side to side, and leave us flailing, torn, disoriented. But if we rest there in the trough, in silence, being in the low part of the wave, keeping our energy and noticing the shape of things, the flow, then time alone will bring us to another place where we can see horizon, see land again, regain our sense of where we are, and where we need to swim. I find it inspirational in that we must remember in this time of overwhelming uncertainty, much like the waves, we need to rest there and not let panic take us down. If we rest and breathe, we will be able to reorient ourselves and find our way out. As I read it, I could feel the panic and disorientation that comes with that wave, just like I feel the uncertainty of our current global situation. But as the poem moves forward, I am able to remind myself to relax and let myself move through this because I know it is only a passing moment in time. Thank you for sharing this. Here is my own poem inspired by hers... Just Breathe We struggle. Push and panic Feel ourselves go under; We flail, Get entangled in the undergrowth That threatens to pull us down And hold us Confined Forgotten. But relax. Let your body float. Breathe. As you resurface And wait for the panic To subside, It will With time. Breathe. Fill yourself up Your strength will return Your way will emerge And you will carry on Stronger for the experience Just so long as you see it through And believe You can make it It is not your time To succumb To the depths Of despair. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 26th Fill in the blanks in this sentence and expand on it in your entry: I think people spend too much time ________ when they could be _________. I think people spend too much time criticizing others when they could be focusing on how they could be making things better in their little corner of the world. If the criticism is not helpful and is tainted with venom it has no place being sent out there. We are all doing the best we can and criticizing behind some unknown screen name is just mean. People who do that have too much time on their hands. I watched the Women Tell All Show of the Bachelor recently... it is not my usual TV choice, but I occasionally let myself get drawn in to the drama. The host, Chris Harris (yes, I know his name) brought out a past bachelorette to talk about the hate emails all of the contestants receive. The comments were brutal and hateful. Some even told the girls to kill themselves. The ethnic slurs were also cruel. It is hard to believe people could be so awful. Would they say these things if they were face to face with the person? I doubt it. And even if they had the gall to do so, they really don't know the person that they are trashing. We see only what the TV producer let's us see and we are not living their experience. I will admit. I have bachelorettes I cheer for and ones I don't like, but I would never air my thoughts out beyond my living area. And I know it is reality TV. The producers can manipulate the footage they get and twist it however they want to make the drama more dynamic. They are paid to do that. I feel for all of the people doing a show like that, but they did sign up for it... but if I don't like it, then I don't watch it. That simple. So that said, I should really be adding some more positivity into the world by making things better in my corner of the world. I prefer to cheer my friends and learn from them and with them as I navigate this new aspect of our socially isolated world. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 25th I need your help to fill the Challenge War Chest! In your entry today, write at least three prompts you’d like to see used in future rounds of the 30DBC. Then, choose one of your own (or one from someone else if you aren’t the first to post) to write your entry on. Tell about a writing reference book you would recommend and why it is important to you. What book inspired you as a child? Why this book? What was its significance? What are some of the ways you are connecting with others during this time of social distancing? I am going to comment on my last idea - what are some of the ways you are connecting with others during this time of social distancing? I am lucky to have several local groups who are connecting with various forms of social media and social networking programs like Discord, Google Hangouts and GoToMeeting. I have had several virtual write ins - where we talk for a designated amount of time, then write for a designated time. We go back and forth between the two for a couple of hours. This is our usual format when we do it live, but on Discord we use a 'bot' as the timer instead of actual timers. We also check in on each other daily... it is a great way to lift each other up when anyone is getting down. My other group has done their virtual write ins with video calling. It's different and I like the variety. Having the virtual write ins gives me something to look forward to and also helps me remember what day it is. Being home all the time, I get lost in the web of time. Thank goodness my computer knows what day it is! Nanowrimo is even booting up with StayhomeWriMo and StayhomeWrimoprompts on Instagram. Camp NanoWriMo is also starting soon, so I will be able to chat with my cabin mates. The of course there is Writing.com where I can challenge myself with blogging challenges like this one and enter a contest a week. That gets me writing and gives some purpose to my writing. I can also email friends I have met and make sure they are doing okay. Blogging and reading and commenting on other people's blogs helps keep me in the loop as well. I may even sign on to do one of the workshops here on WDC. I haven't done too much on Facebook, but I have ventured into Twitter and Instagram. I also have my own web site that I am setting up... but it is still in the works. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 24th Start your blog with these words: “Five years from now...” Five years from now this will all be a memory. Yes, it is freaking me out right now, but all things are temporary. This too shall pass. We will get through this and we, hopefully, will be wiser for having the experience. As it is I am trying to look for the good in it... the silver lining is in there somewhere. I;m getting more time to write. I am still connected to my writing friends through social media and virtual meetups. I am learning about Discord, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting and Zoom. I may not be an expert, but I can muddle through. I like that I can chat with other writing friends by just typing something into Discord and someone will respond. I am not so alone. I am also glad I have online places like WDC to return to for prompts and contests and connection. My mother is also here and our two cats. We have our spaces and our places where we can hang together and apart. Our neighbours are all good. The social distancing is weird. Social distancing does not mean don't smile or say hello. Some people have closed off that way. I try to be friendly. We're all in this together. It's not me against the world, just me practicing healthful ways to keep healthy and keep others virus free. We do what we can. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 23rd What is the best way to spend a rainy afternoon? This blog is easier to consider when we haven't been confined to our homes with few avenues to explore. Right now I would love to say writing in a cafe, watching people and drinking fabulous coffee and treats. But if I chose to stay home, wrapped in my cozy track pants and over-sized sweater, I would still write, and read, and nap. A good book is always welcome. I can't seem to get into any right now. My mind is too frazzled with tinges of anxiety. It hangs at the borders of my life right now. I would also catch up on TV shows I have missed. Project Runway. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. Hudson and Rex. The Masked Singer. And a number of lovey dovey movies from the W network. If its summer and the weather is warm, I would write out in the carport and dance in the pouring rain. I would dance across the wet grass or just sit in the carport and watch the rain fall. But it's March and there has been snow and back to rain... welcome to Canada! I am hanging out in my basement doing a virtual write in with friends I would usually be hanging out with at a cafe. But tonight I have the fire place on instead. Still, we are healthy here and comfortable. I also have chocolate stashed away... that I might have to get into soon. Hope everyone one else is doing fine. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 22nd Write a letter to your younger self. Tell them about something or someone they should be wary of as they move through life and about a specific event they should look forward to. Oh, there is so much I could tell you, but to do so would warn you off the things that make you who you are today. Instead, I will tell you to follow your dreams and take risks. Find you writing friends sooner and learn with them. Maybe finding them sooner, would have you challenging yourself earlier. Maybe it would have guided me off into a different way from where I have come. Wasting less time in a marriage or maybe standing up for myself longer and earlier than I actually did. Who knows, but I think in finding like-minded friends, I would have gained a level of confidence that writing alone in that time did not give me. Everyone needs a tribe. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 21st Write about good things that can come out of a bad situation. If you have an example from personal experience, please share! Always remember - this too shall pass. Everything is temporary. I have been reading The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer and today's chapter talked about death and how it is a great teacher of life. Yes, that sounds odd, but think about it. If you only had a week left to live, think how present and alive you would make those last moments on earth be... they would be precious. The thing is death can come at any moment. We should be living our lives as if that were the case because we all die. It is inevitable. How we experience life is up to us. Do we want to waste it on petty concerns or dive in and experience it fully. That said, I would say, how we perceive a situation as good or bad is all relative. A situation is not one or the other, not really, it is our perception of it that pulls it one way or the other. How we react is determined by that perception. Learning that concept is a huge thing. What if we didn't react. What if we just experienced it as it occurred, staying in the present moment and breathing through it. Letting it pass through us. Not clinging to it or adding the melodrama we often do to that experience. What would happen then? I think we would experience a sense of peace. Through all the chaos, there would be a sense of peace. As for good things coming from bad situations... I feel that if my parents had not separated, I would still be living in Northern Ontario without the benefits of living in Southern Ontario. Would I have still gone on to University? Would I still have the great friends I have now? Part of me doubts it. Don't get me wrong. I love Northern Ontario, but I find it small. Small in the sense of small minded or narrow thinking patterns. I love the natural aspects of it, but I found as a child I was not well received and I would have hated to grow up in that any more than I already had. Southern Ontario is more liberal minded and open. It fits with my general outlook. I always felt like I was on the outside looking in, when I lived up north. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 20th Share a time when your mouth hung open in shock/awe/surprise/wonder etc. What was it that made you feel that way? I feel awestruck at seeing the wonders around me; I look for the unusual and the unique; I look for the funny within the ordinary - bringing a smile; even a small thing can make my day brighter and lighter regardless of the stresses or chaos of the world I have recently opened an instagram account. May of my pictures are snapshots of funny things. Looking back at those pictures, I remember the moment and smile. Life is good. Life is those small moments. Care to see what creates wonder and smiles, take a peek: www.instagram.com/carly1967henderson/ |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 19th COVID-19. It’s affecting all of us in one way or another. Never in our lifetimes have we seen something of this magnitude and severity. So today, check in with yourself and your fellow competitors - how are you? Where is your head at? What’s worrying you? Let’s gather our WDC community around us and hunker down together. I hope everyone is okay. I'm doing fine. I am trying to stay socially distanced. I live with my 82 year old mother, so I want to take care for her and not carry anything home. The only thing I have been doing out of the house in the last few days has been going for walks. Although I did get pizza tonight. The sign on the Domino's door asked for no more than 4 customers in the store at a time and also requested that we wait the 10 - 12 minutes in our car while we waited for the order to be filled. Yesterday two of my writing groups have gone into virtual mode. I have learned a great deal about Google Hangouts and Discord in the last 24 hours. I still have things to work out. On Discord I am two different people - one on my phone and one on my computer. I could carry on a conversation with myself. I have been trying to do the edits on a short story I have going into an anthology, but I have also been procrastinating and doing a lot of cleaning. My desk area is finally tidy. My biggest concern has been financially. I am lucky to have gotten a long term teaching position this year. That means I will still get paid while the school's are out after March Break. I worry what this pandemic is going to do with our economy. I am trying to remain calm and not let the concerns and closures get to me. Stay safe and healthy out there people. I am glad I have this community to help me keep my sanity. |
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