Month: August 2012

Where to Go from Now

/ inkspeare / 3 Comments

Where to go from now?  This is a question that many of us ask, as we tend to worry sick about the future – career, finances, relationships …  We make plans, lists, life maps … you name it, in the hopes of being too careful about how we live our lives and plan our future.  We dream of better days, success, and happy lives … and that is good – planning for the future is good; however, we forget about the Now.

It doesn’t matter if you consider yourself a worry wart or  not, we all do it – we lose sleep about the promotion, the query, the bills … however, we forget to live the life that we have been gifted on this day.  Sometimes, it takes an unfortunate event, or a series (in stubborn cases) to make us realize that the important moment is the one that we have been given by our next breath, and the gift of a brand new day.  NOW is what truly matters.  I was having this conversation with one of my sisters and we agreed on how futile it is to sweat the big and small stuff when it hasn’t even showed up.

One of my favorite quotes from the bible Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reads,

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to
embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

I like it because it reminds me of the Now and of the human condition and nature.  In my opinion, this verse “gets us.”  Sometimes, we don’t even understand our purpose under the sun; however, the Now is always there, and all we have to do is live it.

Next time the question “Where to go from now?” pops in your mind (or heart) answer it with a simple NOW.

The Mausoleum Writer

/ inkspeare

This post was inspired by a postcard that my husband received in yesterday’s mail.  It was a promotional card for buying your own mausoleum.  The card is truly cute and kind of happy for such death talk.  It is colorful and direct to the point, and I thought that the message was delivered in a smart sassy way and pushed the right buttons – family – significant other – guilt.  The words Always and Alone are written in a fun aqua font so talking about the creepy topic is not so creepy, and that leaving the ones that you Always loved Alone to take care of the arrangements, is taken care ahead of time.  This marketing card is going to get noticed for certain – look at me, I’m writing about it on this blog.  It stands out from other too serious and “party of life poopers” promotional/marketing ads for funerals and mausoleums.  The funny thing is that my husband and I have not even reached the age of 50 yet.  But this got me thinking.  Once you are over the hill, society starts thinking of your funeral, assisted living or nursing home care, life insurance, reversible mortgages … and so on, the promotional/marketing literature keeps on coming, because this is how you are seen, with just a few steps closer to one of those alternatives.

This got me thinking some more – do I view myself in the same light?  The answer to that question was a bit conflicting and this is why.  I, for certain, don’t feel closer to a mausoleum or a nursing home, on the contrary, I feel young, healthy, and with much yet to live and do.  On the other side, realizing that I passed forty and fifty is in the horizon, brings a sense of urgency to my projects and things that I want to accomplish before hitting the mausoleum or the nursing home.  I have read more than once, that starting a writing career in your forties, is starting a bit late, and for that matter, any other ventures that may require time ahead of you.  I have never agreed with that philosophy.  I think that each one of us goes on a journey, and the time is right when the time is right, and opportunities abound at each bent of road.  The important thing is to follow your call, live your dream, and love what you do, but do it – no matter what age you happen to be.

I resent being told what to expect at any age, and I don’t  like to be told what to do about it either.  I am far from a procrastinator; however, I believe that there is a time for everything under the sun, and the sun keeps shining until my last breath – and that is when I would become the Mausoleum Writer.

Here is a picture of the Happy Death Card.

 

The front of the card.

This is the back of it.  I hid the business name, but you can see the sense of urgency, the pretty and happy font, and tons of marketing psychology in between the lines.

 

We had a good chuckle.  Do you think that you are too old for a writing career?

 

 

 

2013 Reading Agenda

/ inkspeare
"Study drawing shows the allegorical figu...

“Study drawing shows the allegorical figure of Romance nude. She bends her head to read a book on her lap. Romance was one figure in a painting, The arts, in the north end lunette of the Southwest Gallery in the Library of Congress’ Jefferson Building.” Graphite drawing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Over the weekend, I started thinking about some of the books that I wish to include in my 2013 reading agenda.  There are tons of books that I wish to read, however, I included the ones that I have waited to read for some time or that at one point, have awakened my curiosity.  If time allows it, I will be adding a few more to the list, as I go.  Here are the ones that made it to the list.

January – Generosity by Richard Powers (This one was suggested to me)

February – The Lace Reader by Brumania Barry

March – A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire

April – The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King

May – Great Tales of Horror by H.P. Lovecraft

June – Secrets of the Freemasons by Michael Bradley

July – Aleph by Paolo Coelho

August – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

September – Confessions by St. Augustine

October – The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

November – The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

December – Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

As an extra on the list I added Twilight of the Gods by Adam Pffefer.

As you can see, this list has some old, some classics, some new, and as far as genres, it is all over the place.  I like to mix things up a bit.  There are tons of classics that I would love to read, and some that I want to read again, and there are many new authors whose works pick at my curiosity and make it to the beginning of the list. Titles capture my attention, reviews not so much, since everyone has their own guidelines for reviewing as well as taste in what speaks to them or not.  Usually, I don’t go by reviews when selecting a book.  One thing that does influence what I select is format.  For some reason, I do not enjoy reading an e-book format; I prefer to have the real tome in my hands.  It is just not the same experience, for me.  Anything else, I can read on the PC, as long as it is not too long, but books, I like to experience as a whole.

Do you enjoy one format more than the other?