The Peaceful Restaurant- Gratitude Journal- Day 6

October 17, 2016 at 7:30 am (comfort, dance, Gratitude, home, Hope, Inspiring Books, Journaling, Mom, Peace, Pizza, reading, Restaurants)
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Gratitude Journal- Day 6- October 15, 2016.

peace

☆ Having too much of a headache, I was unable to try to make any dinner but I was hungry. I decided to go out to that restaurant nearby that I was at the other night- The Peaceful Restaurant. Yes, that is it’s actual name! And it turned out to live up to its name each time. A warm, soothing bowl of chicken soup noodles, a glass mug of earthy green tea, and quiet music in the background, like a lullaby had me on the road to recovery. Even the tension in my shoulders loosened with every sip of tea. And I felt as if everyone around me was relaxed and using the place as a resting spot as well. Now I know where to go for some R and R while filling my stomach.

☆ Glow– by Jessica Maria Tuccelli – This book definitely picked me. I had never heard of it and was not looking for it. It just whispered “Buy me”, and wow! I had no idea what I was in for. I am only a few pages in and it has got me crying, laughing, hurting, hoping and appreciating. And the descriptions and language are gripping. I could learn a lot from this kind of writing, about how to improve my own writing.

reading

☆ Boston Pizza- brings back good memories of eating out with my mom and brother when we were so young. I don’t remember what we talked about, but I remember always ordering potato skins and my mom liking pizza with ground beef, green peppers and mushrooms. That was our signature family pizza order always. 🙂

☆ Eating a mini vegee pizza today and having my own booth in the corner to dry off and contemplate life at. Or maybe I just was appreciating down time away from the constant buzz and bass of today.

☆ Dancing to that bass once I was reenergized from my Boston Pizza and Glow reading break.

☆ Sticking around, meeting new people, catching up with the ‘oldies’, and not feeling guilty about saying no, or at least knowing when to walk away and say thank you,… but no thank you.

☆ Dancing for my mom, and being aware of the actual moment when i realized that’s what I was doing, that that is what I just have to do. Dance YOU free. Dance for your peace. ♡♡♡

dancing-free

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Daring and Humor?- Leave it to Steve!

November 23, 2011 at 9:34 pm (characterization, courage, creativity, fiction, friends, funny, humor, inspiration, reading, Uncategorized, writing)

Over a month ago, I finished reading the novel The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. My friend Zahra S. recommended it to me.  If she had told me beforehand what it was about, in more detail, I might not have read it, because the experiences that the main character goes through are downright disturbing, cruel, heartwrenching and at some points, I wondered how she could still be alive, or at least sane enough to write a book!  Wall’s novel is a memoir that could have set me off in tears, or given me endless nightmares, or made me want to shake her parents and say, “What the heck are you doing to your daughter?” or at least put me in a state of depression for days on end, as most of these kinds of stories do.

Why not just put them down or choose something lighter, right? Or maybe you’re thinking it’s just a book, get over it!   Well, some of you might be able to relate to the fact that often, it is these particular stories, especially the ones that are true or feel true, that are the kind you just can’t put down, even if you wanted to.  The writing is so good, amazing at times, as is the case with Wall’s book (I highly recommend it- thanks Zahra!), and the authors have this way of pulling you in and not letting you let go, no matter how depressing or traumatic the experiences in the story. It is precisely because of these dark descriptions, and the way the author delves deep into them, that we often get lured in and can’t seem to get out until literally the bitter end.

I had made a promise to myself to put aside these kinds of books for awhile, until my heart was ready to take it again. But I didn’t end up putting down Wall’s book, even after I realized it was pretty heavy, because there was something in it that lightened it for me. It was something that alleviated the chaos and disturbance that often accompanies my reading this kind of story, something that prevented me from becoming completely shaken up and scarred by the images each chapter left in my head: this something was humor.

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Diaries… what do you think of them? (written by P.D. James)

June 27, 2011 at 5:52 am (authenticity, connection, creativity, diaries, fiction, inspiration, journals, literature, lover of words, reading, therapy, truth, writing)

“A DIARY, if intended for publication (and how many written by a novelist are not?), is the most egotistical form of writing.  The assumption is inevitably that what the writer thinks, does, sees, eats and drinks on a daily basis is as interesting to others as it is to himself or herself.  And what motive could possibly induce people to undertake the tedium of this daily task- for surely at times it must be tedious- not just for one year, which seems formidable enough, but sometimes for a lifetime? As a lover of diaries, I am glad that so many have found time and energy and still do.  How much of interest, excitement, information, history and fascinating participation in another’s life would be lost without the diaries of John Evelyn, Samuel Pepys, Virginia Woolf, Evelyn Waugh, Fanny Burney and Francis Kilvert. Even the diary of a fictional Victorian, Cecily Cardew in The Importance of Being Earnest, ‘simply a very young girl’s record of her own thoughts and impressions, and consequently meant for publication,’ would have its appeal….

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Writing takes guts.

March 30, 2011 at 5:17 am (authenticity, courage, creativity, emotion, fiction, inspiration, literature, reading, truth, writing)

“as Jessamyn West tells us, ‘Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely necessary.’

To be frank, I was afraid that you’d read too much into every woman’s story I recounted in this book and imagine that I was really writing about myself.  ‘Good Lord, are they going to think that’s me?’  I’d ask.  Finally, the page told me to stop stalling and get over it.  The truth is that some of the stories are mine, but most are other women’s.  They are women in the public eye and women who have lived their lives far from the camera’s gaze.  But it shouldn’t matter whose stories these are, because some might resonate with you so deeply they could be yours. They are.  They are all our stories.

We are all branches on the same tree.

I’ve told you before that authenticity pushes us past our comfort zone- it’s meant to.  Reading this book will do the same. ‘No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader,’ the poet Robert Frost confided.  ‘No laughter for the writer, no laughter for the reader.’  I laughed and cried as I wrote this book, just as women laugh and cry when we give birth.  And I sense that this will be your experience as well.  We are giving birth to our Authentic Selves.  That’s why I want to urge you to go slowly.  If you get to a passage that’s just too tough, save if for another day.”- Sarah Ban Breathnach in Something More.

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Lover of Words

July 2, 2010 at 3:32 am (cards, creativity, dreams, inspiration, literature, lover of words, muse, poetry, reading, Uncategorized, writing)
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One way I jump start my creativity and inspiration for my own writing ideas is to make sure I continue to read other writers’ works. This doesn’t mean that you have to finish a whole novel or even read pages and pages of work before you dive into your own writing again. In fact, it’s probably best to keep your inspirational reading short so that you can get back to your own work (This way, you also don’t use your reading as an excuse to put aside your own writing for too long).

And it is great if you can choose a piece that models the kind of writing you aspire to, or that reminds you why writing is important to you in the first place. Sometimes, we can get so wrapped up in the mechanics of something, or our own judgement of how well we are actually carrying out this activity, whether it be writing or anything else, that we forget the original purpose of it- why we chose it and loved it in the first place.

One piece of writing that I have looked to for many, many years is a poem from a card that my dear friend Anita gave me. Her and I met at Lancaster University in 1996 where we were both doing a study abroad program. We went back to our separate homes after that year was over, but meeting Anita had a huge impact on me as a person and as a writer. And over the years, we have been able to keep in touch and see each other a couple of times.

This card sits framed on my shelf in my room, and I thought I should post it on this blog now because recently, I sent it to Anita, sensing that she needed to hear its words as well. And, the card also seems to be speaking to me more and more lately. Maybe it will speak to you too.

You Are a Lover of Words
One Day You Will Write a Book

“People turn to you because
you give voice to dreams,
notice little things, and make
otherwise impossible imaginings
appear real.
You are a rare bird
who thinks the world is beautiful enough
to try to figure it out,
who has the courage
to dive into your wild mind
and go swimming there.
You are someone
who still believes in cloud watching,
people watching,
daydreaming,
tomorrow,
favorite colors,
silver clouds,
dandelions,
and sorrow.
Be sacred.
Be cool.
Be wild.
Go far.
Words do more than plant miracle seeds.
With you writing them,
they can change the world.”
– Written by Ashley Rice- Blue Mountain Arts

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