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Friday Flashback…”OR” Welcome old friends and new!

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A Flashback…a simple ‘cowslip,’ reminds me of my happy childhood!

 

I know how precious my time is and I’m pretty sure you feel the same!  Although I love learning a little bit more about you everytime I read one of your posts, it is a challenge to read today’s posts let alone get around to checking out older posts.

I thought a link back to a little piece of me before we came to know each other might help us get to know each other a little better!

So how about a little bit of time travel again this Friday and maybe if you find it enjoyable you’ll travel back in time with me again next friday!

For today’s post I’ve chosen a short poem about choices, simply titled Or

What choices have you had to make recently?

Are you a ‘can’ or a ‘can’t?’

Please feel free to make another choice…add a link to your favourite post in the comment section, it will help me get to know you a little better!

Much love,

Marie xx

 

 

 

“Selfie,” a snapshot of awareness and of choice…

Could a “Selfie” help us develop the power of awareness and of choice…?

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Recently I was sitting waiting outside a Health Centre where people can access GP and Welfare support.

A young mother came out of the building with a baby girl of about 18 months on her hip and she also had a young boy of about 6.  I heard them talking and was amazed to hear the little boy say “life is tough”…so mature I thought and philosophical for someone so young!

Whether his words brought home the reality of the situation to her or maybe for some other reason she started shouting and giving out to her little boy to get into their car.

As she strapped her younger child into the car-seat, she continued to verbally abuse her little boy and I was horrified to see her raise her arm at him as she leaned across the car towards him, invading his personal space, physically threatening him. I felt sick to my core.  I thought she was going to physically strike him.

I wanted to jump out of my car but… I paused.  I took a “Selfie.”  Not a physical “Selfie”  but a psychological “Selfie.”  I recalled from my counselling studies the golden rule of “Do no harm”  and I made a conscious choice reminding myself that this lady was too emotional to view my interference as anything other than that.

My “Selfie” reminded me of the knock-on effect my interference could have for her children if I fired her up even more.  I felt sad for that little boy, sad for his day being ruined and sad for a future ruined, always wondering what he did wrong, always trying to please. I felt sad for that baby girl emotionally upset but not even able to voice that upset.

But my “Selfie” also helped me choose not to judge that young mother.  I was not privy to her own upbringing or her present environment and the impact of both on her. I didn’t know the events that led her to this emotional state or way of behaving.  I could only hope that the GP or the Welfare Officer were looking after her to the best of their professional capacity and helping her overcome any issues that were driving her behaviour.

I wanted to reach out, to help her break the cycle.  If she could pause, mid-upset to just take a “Selfie” I believed, it could be the key to awareness and choice.  It could help prevent her two children travelling this same weary, frightening, soul-destroying road.

I wanted her to become aware of the innate power of choice which she has.  She may not have the power to solve her problems, at least not in this present moment, but she has the power to choose her attitude, her reaction, her behaviour.  I wanted to give her the power of a “Selfie” a snapshot of awareness and of choice.

Much love,

Marie xx

Encouragement when Blogging…”Writing on the air”!

Do you struggle sometimes looking for inspiration for your blog?  I know I certainly do, particularly when I’m tired.

You may have heard fibromyalgia being called the ‘holiday illness,’ a very cruel characteristic of fibro/chronic fatigue that, when you ease down from any continuous activity, you then realise you have over-done it. In my case it’s when I’m let go/laid off from my paid contracted Adult Education/Adult Literacy employment.  My body crumbles into an exhausted and sometimes lonely mess; if I let it…

When I’m totally drained, having used every tool available to me to manage my fibro/fatigue, such as positivity, pacing and prioritising, I find writing or indeed achieving anything, including socialising is next to impossible but I choose to believe that there is always light in the darkness if you look for it!

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Don’t focus your attention on the darkness, look instead for the light!

 

So I take encouragement from the words of Pat Schneider in her excellent book ‘Writing Alone and with others.’

She reminds me that…

P.13 “…we will create powerful writing out of the stuff of memory…”

And she tells me…

P.15 ‘…every time you came home from a hard day at school or work and said to someone in your family, “You know what happened to me today?”  and told the story – the writer in you was practising using suspense, character, dialogue, metaphor, simile, plot, denouement. All your life, you have been writing on the air, and that has built craft and confidence and voice.  It is all there, ready and waiting for you.’

So, I say don’t struggle with tiredness, loneliness or with writing…just reach out in person or via social media, keep sharing your day, keep on “writing on the air.”

So, what do you think? Please join in the discussion below and share what encourages you! Thanks for visiting, your company is another source of encouragement for me!

Much love,

Marie xx

 

Keep trying… Disconnect…reconnect Sunday.

I find it hard to believe that it’s been three months since I published this post,

Disconnect…reconnect Sunday

In that post I tried to set myself a goal of taking time away from technology on Sundays.  I have to admit that it hasn’t been easy!  I’ve had some successful Sundays and some not so successful ones!  But that’s ok because in my world, it’s about the sustained effort, not the outcome.  I keep trying and that’s the main thing!

I’m popping my phone aside again today and I’m going to make rhubarb and apple tart for my extended family.

Then I’m off to The Clancy Festival, read a little about it here https://clancybrothersfestival.com/

I’m going to connect face to face, in real-time, with like-minded writers and artists in

Art with Voices, check it out here,
https://clancybrothersfestivalarttrail.wordpress.com/installations/art-with-voices/

Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in…

Ps…the tarts are made (vegan & non-vegan).

Much love,

Marie xx

Sing your ‘Song’!

via Daily Prompt: Song

I’m always amazed by the talent and creativity of song writers.  They have the ability to lift our spirits and transport us to the most amazing and far away places without leaving the confines of our kitchen or car.  Their lyrics tell inspiring stories that teach us a wide variety of lessons.

Bloggers also have the power to lift others with their words.  When we write from our hearts we can say something that speaks to others.  It can resonate with what somebody is experiencing at that very moment.  When we take a few moments to comment on someone’s blog, to compliment a wonderful post or share words of encouragement we can have a positive impact on somebody else’s life. I believe we can provide the motivation somebody needed just at that very moment. Maybe it can be the song their heart needed to hear!

I know one thing for sure, your comments and feedback often makes my heart sing… such as,

“That’s an amazing story! Inspiring!”

…thank you Proftombot

@ https://broadspectrum.life

Or

“You know what I think Marie? I am glad you are in the club, because not only can you share what you love, but you embody love and kindness, which might pass to one person. Hugs my friend.”

…thank you Donna @ https://windkisses.com

Or

Marie, I love how you write “My illness does not define me as a person.” So powerful. And empowering! The way you share your challenges, gives me perspective about my own. You are teaching us all. And for that, I will always be grateful. (This is who you are! A teacher. A writer. A muse.) Andrea xo

…thank you Dr.Andrea Dinardo, Thriving Under Pressure

@ https://drandreadinardo.com

Or

I’ve also found that blogging has boosted my confidence in my writing ability, and connected me to other terrific writers! Thanks for this post, I think it spoke to many of us!

..thank you Ann Coleman

@ muddlingthroughmymiddleage.com

And to all of you who take time to read, like and share encouraging comments…thank you!

And above all continue to sing your song among the blogging community and beyond!

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Much love,

Marie xx

Daily Prompt: Be a Luminary!

via Daily Prompt: Luminescent

Be a luminary to all those around you!

Your words are unique, they are luminescent!

 

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Nobody else can light up their meaning in the exact way that you can!

Much love,

Marie xx

 

 

‘The best gifts we have to give…’

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A life changing book.

 

I now know what I did not know back then, back in the summer of 2016, when I first tentatively decided to put my thoughts and words out there by creating a blog; I now know that I was looking for something more in my life, I was searching for a sense of purpose, I was unfulfilled and lonely.

Starting my blog, Create Space, has made a difference to my life.  Being part of our online community, reading other blogs and sharing some of my writing whether from the daily prompt or other random ideas has helped me to find my voice; a voice that I now know was silenced because of the bullying endured by both our children.  Blogging has helped rebuild my confidence while also building my writing practice.  It has helped me realise, thanks to all the bloggers I’ve connected with in the comments section, that all of us have so much to offer each other!

Over the next few posts I would like to share quotes and writing tips from one of the most influential and informative books on writing that I have read, that book is…

 ‘Writing Alone and with others.’

Pat Schneider says,

‘We are all connected to one another and to the mystery at the heart of the universe through our strange and marvelous ability to create words.  When we write, we create, and when we offer our creation to one another, we close the wounds of loneliness and may participate in healing the broken world.  Our words, our truth, our imagining, our dreaming, may be the best gifts we have to give.’

If you are looking for something more in your life, searching for a sense of purpose, feeling unfulfilled and lonely then reach out, blog, share the best gifts you have to give and connect with others!

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Pg. Xvii, Pat Schneider said…’If I were this book’s reader, I would write in the margins, underline what I liked, and argue with the author where I disagree. I’d mark favourite exercises with a star, so I could find them again…’ Well I guess I did exactly as Pat suggested to my well read book!

Much love,

Marie xx

 

 

 

 

 

Life gets messy…

via Daily Prompt: Messy

Life gets messy when you don’t say what you mean and mean what you say!

Learn to say ‘No’ when you want to say ‘No’

Learn to say ‘Yes’ with a generous heart!

Much love,

Marie xx

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Ps. When the snow got messy and trapped us in for three days… I had no difficulty saying ‘Yes’ to Emma’s tasty creations!

An Emotional Camera…

Our garden looks so serene covered in a thick blanket of snow; more snow than we have had in years! But it makes me wonder about all that is hidden beneath that blanket; all the life we cannot see!

I’d love to invent an emotional camera that could take a picture and show me how you feel rather than how you look.

I could look beyond the serene face you are presenting to the world and see what you have hidden beneath your blanket.  That way I could really understand how things are for you today!

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Much love,

Marie xx

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