existence

Show Up to Life

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Instant Recall

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Many times we think that life is hard enough, specially when things are not going our way.  In an “instant society,” we expect fast results and want things to take shape right away.  In writing, it is the opposite, patience is a virtue, and the slow mode of speed seems to have two lower sub-modes.  Many talented writers give up early, when they don’t see fast results proportional to the hard work they put in.  It is discouraging; however, when you love what you do, you never know what hanging around just a little longer will bring.

Life is like that too, no matter what you happen to do, or be, if you want to beat the “instant expectations” and hang in there, just show up.  Show up to life – show up to write every day, show up to be a parent, to be a doctor, a teacher, you … just show up to life and things will start taking shape.

Giving Through Creation

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Have you ever read something and felt alive, inspired?  Have you listen to music that has captured your soul, and touch every fiber of your heart?  Read a poem or looked at a painting that transported you to unexplained heights?  All these are examples of creations.  We are human, but also spiritual, and the need to create is embedded in us; it is our spiritual nature.  We give to others thru our creativity, we create to inspire, to please, to entertain, to love …

My spiritual path has been one of investigation and of finding the divine thru a non traditional approach.  In order to find true spirituality, I had to put aside everything that I have learned about it, and start fresh, with the intention of finding my true spiritual path.  It has not been easy, it still is not; I keep learning every day.

We all have a purpose, it is up to us to find it.  However, there is creativity on each one of us.  Divinely inspired I have learned that creation is like water, it gives life; it is the fountain of the spirit – the myrrh of the soul, the soul’s path to spiritual closeness.  It is contentment and happiness for our souls, and we can find it by being happy where we are, by listening, and be perceptive to our spiritual awareness.  When we feel happy where we are and we make happiness an internal issue, separate from outside circumstances, we are receptive to the divine and we fuel the creative forces within our soul.  This is how we give to others and we bless our surroundings with our soul’s creations.  By giving back we thank the Great Creator.

And how would a Creator see its creation?  How do we feel when we create something that we are so proud of?  In the eyes of God all his children are good, in the eyes of the man, the children are limited by the limits they establish themselves.  To God, there are no limits, and his children are precious – more precious than the treasures of the Universe.  When we give back through creation, we are acting thru the same love that made us.

Doing Things Lovingly

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Life has its ups and downs.  Many times we run through life at fast speeds in our effort to get things done.  After all, it is a society of doers, of achievers, and doing the opposite would attract some frowns and judging, right?  Doing is good, but sometimes, our doing becomes robotic, lifeless, dutiful, and boring.  We don’t enjoy the things we once did because they have turned into stale routine.  We go through life as “zombie doers” without realizing that the magic has left our hands, and our hearts wish for excitement in our endeavors.  However, maybe the magic is still there, and what happens is that we have stopped doing things lovingly.

Doing things with love and passion is in every one of us.  It is up to us to enjoy each moment and dedicate attention to the task at hand – no matter how menial it seems to be.  Washing dishes by hand can be transforming when you start feeling the soapy water, the fruity floral scent of the dishwashing liquid, and hear the squeaky sound of a clean dish.  Somehow, this menial task becomes alive, engaging all your senses.

This is what doing things lovingly means – to enjoy the task at the moment, or to pay full attention to it, to be mindful for the duration of it, and to be thankful that you can do.

One Day at a Time

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We all want to do our best – at home, at work, as friends, as mothers, as wives, as husbands … the desire is in our hearts.  However, many times we accused ourselves of falling short – of falling short to perfection.  We measure ourselves against ideals of perfection or super human-successful and charming role models that we create in our minds.  When we think we are falling short we become discouraged and sad, sometimes angry, at ourselves and the entire world.  What we don’t realize is that all we need to do is – to do our best one day at a time.

If we live by that motto, it would be hard to fall short of anything, we would be happier with ourselves, and with the world.  Knowing that we did your best today, yesterday, and will do your best tomorrow, takes off the pressure that we put on ourselves.

Every person is unique and everyone’s best will be different and unique to that person as well.  So don’t measure yourself to the “supermom’s best” or the ideal; instead, measure yourself to your own best. 

Mediocrity is the opposite to doing your best – it stops half way, and stalls.  Be your best _________ (fill the blank) one day at a time.

Writer’s Wisdom 83

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To Write or Not to Write – That is the Question.

When doing some freelance writing, especially if you are ghostwriting for someone, you will be presented with many topics or assignments.  Sometimes, those topics will be in clash with your values.  You are presented with the dilemma of writing the article or not.  What do you do?  After all, if you are ghostwriting, your name does not go in it.  However, your are still the writer of that piece, and you know it.  Where will that piece of writing end up?  So the dilemma deepens.

On one side you have an assignment that will pay the bills, on the other side, it will kill you on the inside to write it.  So what do you do?  There is no straight answer to this question.  You do what you do, and you deal with your feelings.  This is a personal matter and my motto is to live life, and everything I do, well enough so I can go to sleep peacefully at night – at peace with the world and with myself.

To write or not to write – That is the question.  And the answer is yours.

Have we become a better race?

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Are we doomed to destruction or have we become a better race?  What do movie genres have to do with it?  Read on.

When we think of science fiction, we think of the future and all kinds of things that can become possible.  The sci-fi world fascinates us, as it stretches our imagination as far as the times go.  The present time determines the type of science fiction that we experience.  Today’s sci-fi is more challenging that it was 20-40 years ago.  Old school fiction has become today’s reality.  If you ask a teenager to view an episode of old school Star-Trek, he/she might not be as impressed as many teens were many years ago.  This is because a lot of these gadgets resemble many that we currently use.  So what is there to fascinate him/her?

Our minds have learned to evolve as our future becomes more technological, and our responses to a particular movie genre, have too.  I doubt if a person taken from the 1930-50’s would be able to handle viewing today’s horror movies.  Will this person be prepared to handle the quick scene movements, the explicit bloody scenes, strong language and all that stuff we love to be scare by, these days?  I don’t think that mentally, emotionally, and physically this person was ready.  He/she could possibly end up at the emergency room with a series of physical symptoms, close to a heart attack, and possibly, emotionally marked forever.  In a sense, technology in the movies has made us strong, maybe even detached.  Does that mean that we are less sensitive to violence?  Maybe, or maybe not.  We just don’t scare that easy anymore.  But we still seem to condemn violence in our society.

Today, some old movies seem too slow in scene movement.  We have become used to handle fast speed in action, sci-fi and horror movies.  Our lives move at high speed as our technology does, too.  We have become like cyborgs, in that sense.  We process huge amounts of information (our brains have acclimated) and handle visual stimulation faster.  Just think of what a game of Atari looks like today – slow motion.  The dexterity that today’s teens demonstrate while playing video games and playing with techno equipment is impressive.  There’s no doubt that we have evolve as a species.  Some might argue that our values have not, but if you go back to study the atrocities of centuries ago, then the argument remains open.

Many believe that the human race is doomed to destruction as a result of its own chaos.  I see a race that has evolved from barbaric to sensitive, diplomatic, and strong.  Every era has its challenges, and leaves its mark on our evolution.  So for better or for worst, we remain, stronger than ever.

 

 

TIME

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Time exists in the direct perception of our reality; in that sense, we create time. If we are creating time, it shouldn’t be so hard for us to assume that we can create our own realities.  The manifestation of our reality in time is our creation by perception.  This opens up a whole world of possibilities in front of us.  Suddenly, the concept of destiny dissolves, and is replaced by the concept of freedom, or free will to create our own realities – to free will them, to summon them into existence.  Or as Shakespeare once said it:  “To be or not to be, that is the question.”