Life in progress

Tag Archives: life


by 16 Comments

X is for eXecute

I’m already cheating once, by not using an actual “X” word and I refuse to cheat again by not using the second-last word on the left hand page that I turned to in my thesaurus as I stated I would at the beginning of this challenge. However. Both the second-last and the last words are the same – there are so many different synonyms for “execute” to mean decapitate, electrocute, and generally put to death, and “execute” meaning to carry out, implement, and generally put into effect, that they separated them. Guess which one is second to last? Yes, I get to talk about beheadings today. This is bound to get gruesome… Go me!

You have to wonder how much they must pay executioners. Can you imagine doing that for a living? I suppose there are some people out there who would enjoy the idea of putting people to death, but I wouldn’t imagine they actually hire those sorts of people. Anyone who relishes the idea of murder enough to actually carry out the act is probably on the other side of the bars anyway. So then who gets to do it? An individual who believes so faithfully in the justice system that he (or she–I’m going with “he” for the remainder of this post) can justify the task in his own conscience? Someone who’s being paid a fortune?

Still, I’m trying to picture the sleep patterns of a person who has enough money to buy anything he wants because of this high-paying “dream job” only the one thing he can’t buy out of is the image running through his mind as he lays his head upon the pillow each night.

How much would you demand to do the job? They couldn’t pay me enough.


by 34 Comments

Balance

I’ve spent much of today attempting to find some sort of balance. In times of stress and knowing that I have an overwhelming amount of work ahead, I fall back heavily on Taoist philosophy. There is a certain logic in it, much like Newton’s theory that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In Taoist belief there is no such thing as absolute – even though balance may fall to one side or the other, neither fully black (or yin) nor fully white (or yang) exist. This is of course a very simplified explanation. One would have to study the Tao Te Ching to come close to understanding it all, and even then…

But this isn’t meant to be a philosophy lesson. It’s about having too much of one thing and not enough of another. In my case it’s too much thought–or forethought–and not enough action. The solution is to do things. Today, while I await the start of my week and all the tasks that I can’t complete or even start until the time is right, I needed to keep myself busy and I did, to an extent.

Next week, when I’m busy as all hell, I’ll be looking for ways to sit and gather my thoughts so that I can organize my time so that I can get as much done in the small space I have as possible. In between, I hope to be able to blog. That is my reward. I go crazy when I’m not able to create. I feel useless; unproductive. Even if I’m getting lots done.

Balance is something I strive for all the time. Most of the time I’m unbalanced anyway. Please wish me luck for the next week.


by 34 Comments

Cheating

I’m here to admit a transgression. A future one, which makes things worse. Up until now I’ve been choosing my A-Z Challenge words according to the page I open my thesaurus to, and that will work fine on Monday for the letter “W.” But “X,” “Y,” and “Z” are going to be more difficult. You see, there is only a page and a half for “Y,” a half a page for “Z,” and an unbelievable single word for the letter “X.” That word is xenophobic. Which in and of itself is a fine word. An interesting word. BUT, my philosophy for this A-Z Challenge has been all about the surprise. Knowing what the word is going to be ahead of time will ruin that completely.

So this is what I propose to do: For the last two letters of the alphabet I’m going to close my eyes and point. With any luck my finger will actually land on the page and not in my mashed potatoes. For the letter “X” I’m going to choose a word that starts with “EX.” There are six pages to choose from so I’ll still be in a position to improvise.

That’s my decision and I’m stickin’ to it.

Here’s some ducks to distract you from my hasty exit.

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA*runs away*


by 17 Comments

V is for Verity – and SoCS

I’ve heard the word “verity” before but it’s not one I was familiar with. But what a wonderful word it is! According to my thesaurus it’s a noun, synonymous with actuality, authenticity, truth, and truthfulness, among a few others.  Here’s the link to the dictionary definition: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verity

Verity, as it turns out, is a huge factor in my life. I strive to live as authentically as I can. I’m not one who has ever seen the point in telling untruths – they serve no one from what I can see. Another of the synonyms is “validity.” How can one verify the validity of an untruth? Okay sure, the occasional white lie so as not to hurt someone is an exception, but things like telling people that I’ve done something in the past that I actually haven’t done; sure I’ve been bungee jumping! I’ve even jumped out of a plane! No. Just no. I have had enough adventures and experiences without making any up. (Just to clarify, I have never, nor will I ever jump off anything high enough to warrant safety equipment. Eighteen inches is plenty, thanks. And even then, I’m afraid of straining an ankle.)

Not that I’m judging people who do create their own adventures in their minds. I’m sure they have their reasons; I understand the desire to impress someone I’m meeting for the first time. I suppose for me part of it is the fear of being caught out in a lie. That’s an awful feeling, isn’t it? I remember, vaguely, the first and only time I lied to someone to impress them. I was a child at the time, maybe around eight years of age. I felt guilty immediately and vowed never to do it again.

There are many ways to live with verity apart from being truthful to others. Being true to one’s own nature is another. I found that having a friend–a manipulative, narcissistic friend–who once upon a time convinced me to do things and act in ways that were against my true nature was one of the darkest times in my life. I began to not trust myself–my own feelings and my authentic actions–and I did things that simply weren’t me. Thank goodness I’m away from such an influence now.

In the story that is our lives, verity is a great thing to have and to hold on to, not just for ourselves but for the people around us and especially our children. How do you strive for verity in your life?

This post is loosely related to the SoCS prompt, found here: https://lindaghill.com/2015/04/24/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-2515/ Click on the link and join in today!

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions


by 27 Comments

U is for Unceasing

Unceasing. It’s the word I’m stuck with today… Thinking about things that are unceasing.

For me there is a negative connotation to this word – unrelenting, constant, persistent, incessant… then again, to have these qualities may drive us to get what we want in life. Or drive us mad trying.

Even being unceasingly positive can be a negative thing – there must be a balance to everything, even if it’s weighed heavily to one side. Because eventually, it all falls back in the other direction, doesn’t it? How would we have hope in our darkest times otherwise? The phrase – when you’re at rock bottom there’s only one way to go: up – comes to mind and it’s true. Unless you go splat of course.

Wow, that’s depressing.

How about some good news? The unceasing pain in my shoulder is gone. It turns out the tendonitis that caused the frozen shoulder was a blessing in disguise. Having my shoulder frozen meant that I couldn’t aggravate my tendons because I couldn’t move. SO, now that the tendonitis is gone and with it, the excruciating pain, I can move my shoulder more and the more I move it the more unfrozen it gets. Yay!! I’m still going to need physio – I’ve got a long way to go before my arm will move normally and my muscle tone has gone to pot, but it’s a start! I can honestly say I’ll be working relentlessly to get myself back to health. Unceasingly even.

 


by 17 Comments

SoCS – The Piece

It starts with a speck, a mere morsel, an element of thought in the vast space that is the universe of the mind. It’s a whiff, a spore at first – hardly a niggle like the frustratingly fading emotion that was a dream that’s just out of reach. A word on the tip of the tongue that can’t be read, even if it’s stuck out agonizingly far enough to see with eyes crossed, brows twisted to the point that even the scalp strains to pluck it off.

But then it begins to grow. Like a jigsaw puzzle made of sky on which the clouds roll in, the wind giving direction. Hues of gray and white and silver – yes! Is that a silver lining?

Bigger and bigger it fills the spaces until all else is blotted out… bits and pieces get lost in the shuffle of what is this and what is that. Hearing strains inward instead of out and nothing nothing nothing else begins to matter but that which started as a speck and has now grown, fills life and limb and thought and sky in the most amazing double rainbow!

It is the magnum opus!

It is a novel!

 

This post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Go here https://lindaghill.com/2015/04/17/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-1815/ to find out more and join in today!

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions

Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions


by 35 Comments

P is for Pack

As in packin’ it in. I’ve decided, pretty much, that I’m not going to. So this is what’s up with my blog:

I’ve spent the better part of this week contemplating the idea of going private for a month. At first I thought it would be the ideal solution to staying away, but then I started thinking about SoCS, and One-Liner Wednesday, and the fact that I don’t want to take a break from either. I think I’ve come up with a compromise.

I’ll post twice a week for the month of May. Once will be One-Liner Wednesday, which is pretty easy for me as far as the amount of work that goes into it. The second time will be the SoCS prompt. I won’t participate but I will spend the week reading other people’s entries. That way I’m not trying to cram in all the hours, happy as those hours are when I’m stress free (haha), that it takes to reply to comments and post. I will try to get caught up on my comments from older posts however.  Anything that I absolutely must write during the time I’m “away” I’ll save as a draft and publish in June.

Anyway, I’ll give it a whirl for the first week of May at least – that’s the best I can promise – and as long as I don’t find myself being drawn back in, I’ll continue that way until June.

I was just thinking about how this post really didn’t have much to do with the word “pack” until I looked at the synonyms in my thesaurus. As a verb, “pack” can be used to mean burden and overload. As much as I don’t want to say my blog has become a burden, the importance of the other things I need to do off-screen have pushed this place lower on my list of things-to-do than ever before. And it’s causing an overload in the stress department. I hope I can finish out April…

Thanks to all for putting up with my waffling for the past little while. I’ll try to make my posts more upbeat for the remainder of the month – it is after all in my nature to be optimistic.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Saturday!

 


by 12 Comments

O is for Once

Once upon a time there was a girl who spent most of her time alone. She lived with her parents; their best friends–a childless couple–lived next door. On weekends there were parties. Parties with all adults. The girl would go to the parties until an acceptable time which was bedtime and then she would go upstairs and read in her room, or colour, or play with her dolls. Occasionally one of the adults would come and say hello, but for the most part she spent her time making up stories in her head. In her imagination she had a life with many friends of her own. They would have parties most weekends and they would laugh and have serious discussions.

The girl didn’t mind being alone because even when she was with people, she would usually observe, listen, and let her imagination wander. She was a little jealous of her friends–her real friends–who had siblings, but she couldn’t really picture what it would be like never to be alone.

As she grew up she found that she liked people well enough. In high school she had a wonderful group of friends with whom she used to party. They’d sometimes skip school and drive to Niagara Falls just for fun.

But what comes around…

Now the girl is older and has a family of her own. She still has one of her old high school friends who she sees every day. She sits in her room and reads and imagines worlds in which people have parties with lots of friends, but now she has a computer on which she records her imaginings full of colourful adventures and happy endings. Stories that begin with “Once upon a time.”

 


by 18 Comments

EM is for Merciful

Merciful is how I strive to live my life. When I consider the synonyms: Compassionate, forgiving, generous, kind and sympathetic among others, it just makes sense to me to try to be these things.

I’m not a Christian of any particular kind. I’m not even sure I believe in God, though I’m not adverse to the idea that there is more than we can see in the universe that is plain to our mortal senses. I don’t believe in the concept of karma as it relates to an eye for an eye. I believe in existence. I believe that it’s something we all have, whether we’re of this race or that, whether we’re human, animal, insect or herb. We are all equal in the fact that we live – we, all of us, affect one another in at least some small way. I also believe that we have choices in this life in how we exist. The sick can be happy – the healthy miserable. We can make the best of what we have to deal with, no matter what it is. Or we can dwell on that which is not ideal.

But what can we do for each other? If we all strove to ease one another’s existence, how wonderful would the world be? Yes, there would still be challenges; existence cannot be free of pain. Sometimes a smile, a helping hand, or a compassionate ear for someone who needs to talk things out can make all the difference.

I don’t need a God to tell me these things. I don’t need a proscribed belief system at all. I just need to be and to recognize that so does everyone else. Equally.


by 57 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – End of Story

The end of a fairy tale is like a cup of hot chocolate on a snowy day, but a cliffhanger is like

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Anyone who would like to try it out, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Make it either funny or inspirational.

Have fun!