inspiration

Because Sometimes, Change is Good

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Where did the year go? For me, it was truly a whirlwind that swept me in many directions, expected and unexpected, some good, some not so good; however here I am, thankful for it all, and looking forward to next year experiences, whatever they might be. It is life; it means I am alive and open to God’s plan for my life. This is my last post for the year, and I was not sure of what to write to end the year. I did not want it to be another holiday post, so here I am, winging it. Just think of it as a conversation from the heart.

Sometimes, we let ourselves be influenced by others, whether that be media, friends, family, acquaintances, influencers, groups, religion, politics … You name it. Everyone has anything to say about how we should live and plan our existence, but when we think about it, nobody really has the answers. Life is given to us to experience and fulfill it, one day, moment, second at a time. When you think about it, it is beautiful. We were presented with this gift that we did not ask for, and we have the freedom to live it. Whatever things are thrown in the package, it is all ours to make something of it. We are all one big conglomerate in the human race; we all want to live a happy and peaceful, joyful life. We are more similar than not. Hate is a disease, it is sickness. Love is a cure. We decide. We might be influenced, negatively or positively, but we decide. We decide how to act, react, and what to let into our life, what we give our attention to, and how we live day by day. In the end, we only have this day, and sometimes, not even a full one; our seconds are in the hand of our Creator, but so are our blessings. Does it really matter if someone else has more than you? or if you did not meet your goals this year? Does it? When I think about it, and in the big scheme of the journey, it truly does not. I don’t know how long my journey is, no one does, so why not choose love over sickness, inner peace over discontent, gladness over bitterness, and hope, especially hope. The journey is meaningless without hope, and faith.

I hope that you embrace the holiday season and next year with hope, faith, and at peace with yourself, the rest will come when it needs to come. When God made you, he knew who he made, but also, your journey. Your journey is not meant to be stationary; it is meant to be full of change, and change brings growth, knowledge, and understanding, and with understanding comes kindness, and with kindness, love. In that sense, change is good.

I wish you and yours a joyous holiday season and may next year be filled with the kind of blessings that only come from above, the best kind, in my opinion. Merry Christmas! God bless you all.

Love and Light,

Inkspeare

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NKJ)

Till’ the Cows Come Home

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Contrast is revelation.

We can pray till’ the cows come home, but …

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (NIV)

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

Jesus taught us to love.

He blessed the children. He fed the hungry. He healed the sick. He spoke peace not war. He forgave his enemies. He forgave sins. He loved all, including the outcasts. He liberated the oppressed. He gave his life for all, the greatest act of love. What is not of Love, is not of God.

Contrast is revelation.

Will Writers Write?

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Will writers even bother to write if competing with a large number of AI generated stories? That is a question that only time will answer. There have been incidents where many AI generated books have made it to best seller lists. Scammers also may use AI to generate reworded versions of actual books. They can think of anything to make a quick buck out of the sweat of real authors by using AI to alter their work. Although Amazon has made a few efforts to alleviate the problem, it continues, and as of now AI generated content must be disclosed when submitted, something that helps but does not solve much.

Artificial Intelligence is becoming better and soon it will be just a matter of time when we could hardly be able to tell the difference between written works by real authors and a piece of junk from Robotina. People who care more about making a quick buck than about the craft are able to generate a story, from cover to content, and illustrations in a matter of minutes, especially children’s books. AI saturated market is the worst nightmare for true writers who love their craft and who bleed through the pages of a novel until it is finished.

How will readers find your work when they have to navigate a system which is so saturated by fakes? Will they even care or will they voraciously consume AI generated content as long as it is good enough to fill an entertaining need or any other specific need? If we have people dating AI generated people, what prevents readers to make a switch to AI generated books? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain, authors are now competing with a new form of “art,” one that has eliminated the middleman aka real author and goes straight to making a product for profit in no time at all. Will authors become discouraged? Will real writing even matter anymore? Will AI mimic our blood and sweat in the pages? Will writers write? Only time will tell.

Faster and faster, we are being replaced by our own creation, maybe to the point of becoming obsolete by our own hand. The creator ceases to exist, absorbed by its own creation. Maybe time is all we have left, or do we? Will AI alter our perception of time, eventually? Will we be able to tell?

Dragon’s Den

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Photo by M.A.D.

Dragon’s Den, a Halloween poem.

***

Poking, at the dragon’s den

the Golden Man is playing games.

Nor fire, nor flames

but bells and whistles

from the dragon’s mouth escape.

Reign of Terror

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Moon and branches (Photo by M.A.D.)

Here’s a little seasonal Halloween poem, Reign of Terror.

Reign of Terror,

the sick becomes sicker

the hungry hungrier.

Twenty million reasons

away into the night fly

while the land into the dawn cries.

Happy October!

The Sum of Your Life

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An adorable visitor (Photo by M.A.D.)

Ever met someone who has gone through many vicissitudes in life? Somehow, knowing some of the details allows one to understand better the character of that person. I have met people who have been through many sad experiences in life and somehow, they seem to have a good and grounded personality. I am dumbfounded by the ones who have had a pretty good life since childhood and still manage to complain about how unfair life is and how it should be better. The first group of people is usually more grateful, and the later seems to be somewhat unhappy and in perpetual discontentment. It puzzles me. Does the sum of one’s life determine character? I think it determines the level of growth and maturity.

As a writer, I treasure the moments when I get to know someone a bit better in the details of a conversation, even if it is a brief conversation with a stranger. I know that I will never experience many situations in life that other people might have but knowing and interacting with people will make for better character building in writing. I always thought that psychologists could be good developers of characters if not writers because they have access to a range of human emotions and behavior.

Knowing the details or a bit more of the sum of someone’s life allows me to be less judgmental of others and more sympathetic. Think about the sum of your life up until now, how has it influenced the development of your character/personality? If you are “here-now” and are able to go back in time to answer this question honestly, consider yourself blessed.

Happy Autumn!

Survival Mode

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The topic of survival is one that I have included in my novels. It is interesting to see how survival can bring out the best or worst in people. It separates heroes from the not so good characters. So is in real life, although I believe that there is redemption for everyone. When a person is in survival mode, it forces the individual to act one way or the other; it brings about the truth of that person. In other words, you cannot fake it when you are in survival mode. It forces you to be what you already are. It shows a person’s true colors.

I will venture to say that in today’s USA, many people are in survival mode, probably more people than we realize. Younger generations are having a tough time keeping up with a very high and unrealistic cost of living and many people are working two plus jobs and hardly making it. Young couples simply cannot afford giving birth because hospital care is simply unaffordable. Food prices, daycare costs, and rent or home prices are truly out of reach for most of the younger generation. It is simple very different from what it was for other generations. In simple words, this generation is being hit from all angles. Most politicians fail to see the struggle, or they are simply not in touch with reality out there. People are struggling to keep a roof over their head and put food on the table, even the most frugal people. Most of Americans are in survival mode. Many people are truly doing all they can, working all they can, and cutting costs as much as they can, and they are still not making it. The disparage and disproportion between wages, education, and labor is ridiculous. The middle class is slowly disappearing in this country. It is easy to put a blindfold and label a generation of being lazy without considering all factors and influences at play.

I have always been an observer by nature. How many times have I witnessed someone at the supermarket leave just a few groceries because the card did not take? How many times have I heard a mother tell her child, “Sorry honey, we don’t have enough for “this” today;” “this” being a food item, not a toy? How many times have I witnessed someone staring blank at the insane prices in the meat isle at the supermarket, a hopeless stare followed by bypassing the product section, or even putting groceries back? I can tell you more examples, from couples quietly arguing about food, to older people with less than five items in the food cart, oh, so much more. Food is a basic need, and people can’t even eat in what we call the richest country in the world. Many people are in denial, but that is just a coping mechanism when you are or are about to be in survival mode.

If you have ever been in survival mode and have come through, you know well that there is a lesson to be learned from all of it, and most likely, you recognize that lesson. Most likely, you come out with a sense of gratefulness, stronger, and wiser. Most likely, you have learned about yourself, your true self, and the things that are not to be taken for granted anymore. Most likely, there is a sense of renewal and hope, of clarity and inner peace, and a healthy dose of pride after surviving the event. Having experienced survival mode at one time in my life, I can say that faith is an important component to make it through, that is, faith in yourself, and faith in a higher power. Don’t forget to count your blessings because they are many, in any circumstance.

It is About Focus and Faith

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While researching, I came across the following quote, which inspired this blogpost.

“Dictatorships are one-way streets. Democracy boasts two-way traffic.” Alberto Moravia

While reading the above quote, these poetic lines came to mind.

A People’s Will

Soaring above, keen eye, unsteady flight

Eagle must rest on steady land.

Time to choose,

One way street or two-way traffic.

Alberto Moravia was an Italian writer, whom I am not familiar with or have read any of his works; however, this quote stuck with me. It inspired the following.

Many times, people become discouraged by the current political environment. It might affect people in many different ways, whether mentally, emotionally, physically, and even spiritually. There are many things we cannot control directly; however, we can always control how we react to certain issues, events, and our environment. When we focus on what we can control in our daily lives, our focus change, and so does our response and attitude. What I write here, I have applied myself.

Here are examples of controllables. These controllables apply to many of the issues that we might be experiencing under less than pleasant conditions.

I can control,

A healthy diet and exercise

All my decisions

How I decide to start my day and end it

My thoughts

My spending

My relationship with God

My reaction to the people I interact with, or whom I choose to include in my circle

How I choose to view each challenge/problem

How I manage all my resources

How I choose to live my life

My degree of gratitude each day

What I give my time and effort to

The battles I choose to fight or not

How I view my space, my home, my possessions, with gratitude or not

How I value my life

The priorities and values I set daily

How I manage my time and money

My dreams

My expectations of myself, others, and life

The guilt I put on myself and others

What I let into my mind and space

The physical things I surround myself with

How I treat myself (level of respect, love and understanding) as well as others.

These are only a few controllables, but in my opinion and experience, the most important ones, and the ones that will help center our focus when times are not what we expect or desire.

On Creativity and Stereotypes

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Must every criminal or drug lord last name be Diaz on TV shows? I am truly tired of it. Writers please, if you are creating a Hispanic/Latino character, there are more last names other than that one, I assure you. Show a little more creativity, please? Examples of these shows are Law and Order, The Closer, Major Crimes …

Why is this so bad? We learn in many ways, but one of these is by repetition and association. When we hear something over and over, we make a mental association, negative or positive, whether we realize it or not. Stereotypes have existed for as long as we have, I guess. Society has accepted many of these and therefore, help perpetuate these stereotypes. As writers, we owe to ourselves to put out our best work and not perpetuate many of these stereotypes. Sometimes, that will mean going against the grain or mainstream, but most of the time, it is taking the care and time to educate ourselves as much as we can on a topic, subject, culture … We can only do our best, and laziness falls short of it.

Yes, my last name is Diaz, and I assure you that I am not a criminal, I don’t use or deal drugs, and I won’t harm you in any way. So fellow writers, let our creativity shine, and let us break the chains that held our pen captive for so long.