Write with TLC

A few days ago I decided to break a negative mood by designing a little experiment to remind myself to be positive. For twelve hours, I stopped once every hour (yes, I set a timer) to focus my thoughts on something positive, either a thought or an action. I decided to post these thoughts to Facebook without telling anyone why I was posting them.I posted my first positive thought/action at approximately 12:19PM and posted my last positive thought/action at approximately 11:30PM. The posts: Positive Thought/Action Hour 1: I feel good that I stood up for something I believe this morning. Positive Thought/Action Hour 2: I feel great that I finished writing my blog post about Writers on the Move and that I left positive comments on two other authors blogs today! Positive Thought/Action Hour 3: When the power went out, I made good use of the time by altering my plans instead of lamenting what I couldn't do without power. :-) Positive Thought/Action Hour 4: I can be strong and c...

Around a year ago I joined a Facebook group created by Christina Katz called Writers on the Move with some trepidation because I'm not much of one for workout groups. I blogged about my feelings about workout groups in August 2011 in the post, Writer on the Move May Change My Opinion of Workout Groups , shortly after joining Writers on the Move. This group is great! I've met many people through the group who have become my friends. Supportive people pursuing a healthier lifestyle populate the group. The group is called Writers on the Move, but the emphasis is on the Move part not the Writers part. We rarely discuss writing though once in a while someone will acknowledge they've let their writing schedule affect their exercise schedule and/or eating habits or, though more rarely, vice versa. Often, members will remind themselves they need to get back on track in the same post. Then the group rallies to give words of encouragement and inspiration. Everyone seems to enjoy ...

Johanna Garth wrote "People who move their bodies as though gravity is just a rule and they've decided not to follow it." in her blog post, SYTYCD , and prompted me to think about rules and the benefits of choosing to not follow the rules. Lately, I've been struggling with the idea of the rules, spoken and unspoken, we're supposed to follow. People expect us to act certain ways at certain times in our lives. When we don't, they tend to judge us, often without meaning to, but judge us nonetheless. That thing that happened should make you cry. Why? That should make you laugh. Why? You have to do this because that's what people do in your situation. Why?   Maybe, just maybe, there's a better way, at least for me. Your circumstances mean you have to feel x, y, or z. Why? And, when I don't feel or do what people think my situation warrants, they question my judgment and perhaps even my mental well-being. But, I'm realizing the people who just ...

A couple of months ago I decided to clean out my office closet. I had avoided it for far too long. I had even avoided putting this chore on my task list. If it wasn't on my task list, it didn't officially become one of my unfinished tasks. I couldn't procrastinate cleaning out the office closet any longer. I don't have a problem getting rid of things I don't need or use.  I d on't keep things just to keep them, but I tend to keep things that have some sort of meaning to me.  I regularly get rid of other things I come across that I have no use for. What I don't do as often as I should is set aside time to actually go through cabinets and closets to discover unused items. If I happen to see them, I'll take care of them. Otherwise, items are likely to hang around until they're in my way. I mean, really, who has the time? I have way too many projects going on to dedicate time to sorting through stuff, doesn't everyone? Mostly I file things away t...

Recently, Diana Abu Jaber , author, asked " Is there someone you haven't forgiven? Are you going to?" in her Facebook status. I started to answer this question in the comments section a couple of times, but my answer was just way too long. It seems like the answer should be short. Either yes or no and if the first was no, either yes or no for the second, but instead these two simple questions really made me think. Forgiveness is a tricky thing. Often we think we've forgiven only to realize we haven't. Sometimes we forgive someone but allow them to continue to mistreat us. Other times we think we haven't forgiven someone when in reality we have let the transgression go while refusing to allow the transgressor to hurt us again. Over the years I have come to realize that forgiving doesn't need to mean forgetting. Forgiveness is always more about the forgiver than the forgivee. I learned that I could remember a hurt or a lesson learned from a betrayal. I...