IsThisThingOn?

For those who bah humbug the commercialism of the season, THIS VIDEO is how I view gift giving.  A thoughtful way to CONNECT -- beautiful for the giver, and the receiver. You have been thinking of them, specifically, and out of your love and care for them, you search for - or make -the thing they might like, need or delight in. And you give it. It does not have to cost anything.  You hope for a smile, a laugh, that it's useful or good for them. Sometimes it brings a tear  too. Because there is a wonderful, powerful creation of meaning and feeling between two people from the gesture. Receive with grace. Give with grace. Allow it to be about the OPPORTUNITY for LOVE.  This is a time of year where there is much joy to be had simply by letting the kid in you enjoy the freaking lights, and bows and the candy, even if it's just in the CVS aisle. As we close a year together, reflect back for lessons and memories, and if it's been very very hard, take comfort that ther

A must read, a fine checklist. Pass it around at the office :) 1. Be patient. No matter what. 2. Don’t badmouth: Assign responsibility, not blame. Say nothing of another you wouldn’t say to him or her. 3. Never assume the motives of others are, to them, less noble than yours are to you. 4. Expand your sense of the possible. 5. Don’t trouble yourself with matters you truly cannot change. 6. Expect no more of anyone than you can deliver yourself. 7. Tolerate ambiguity. 8. Laugh at yourself frequently. 9. Concern yourself with what is right rather than who is right. 10. Never forget that, no matter how certain, you might be wrong. 11. Give up blood sports. 12. Remember that your life belongs to others as well. Don’t risk it frivolously. 13. Never lie to anyone for any reason. 14. Learn the needs of those around you and respect them. 15. Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that. 16. Reduce your use of the first personal pronoun. 17. Praise at least as

To anyone who is struggling still with WHAT to write, or feeling lost, a suggestion: Invest your writing time today (best if you can when fresh) to write about what you're writing about - or the struggle. Like, a journal entry - just your thoughts. Get it all out -- if it's bad stuff, expunge your fears, your boredom with the topic etc.. get it out of you and try to end the entry coming full circle encouraging yourself. Photo by Rochelle Joseph If you don't know what you're writing, then journal/blog about places, things, people that have fascinated you and see if even a short story or something is in there. Look through Google images, Wikipedia, to find something that captured your imagination, and sparks an idea. Think of your top 3 fave books/movies - what was it about them that engaged you? If so, writing something like that (genre, character, location) can engage you for 30 days... Having a hard time going from work to writing? Find MUSIC that you can play

November is National Novel Writing month. Did you know that? I want to encourage people who are thinking of doing NANO to do it. It's described as " a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing.  On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30... for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel." (more on the NANO website) And I will add - or writing anything, and meeting others who are doing the same.  I've been contacted by a few writing friends who are hesitant so I want anyone else out there to know: THERE IS ZERO DOWN SIDE This is a luxury - a GIFT you give to yourself - a whole month where you just make time to write - you will benefit greatly from nothing but support for 30 days. No one holds you accountable, there are no task masters, no shame of dropping out, & no need to reach 50,000 words. It is about having a rare, FREE opportunity to get encourage

I heard the ocean crashing when I stepped outside today and saw how sunny it was, and how blue the sky. We're expecting torrential rain tomorrow, clouds for the next 7 days, hitting a high of only 55 on Friday, and very heavy waves through Saturday. By then it will be days into October.  I work for myself and have a home and a yard that I keep pretty much on my own, so there are always 10 things I could do in any given moment to move life forward (though sometimes it feels more like struggling just to maintain). My to do lists are long (like yours). And though I have been mentally moving into fall, I sent the first draft of a writing assignment, then decided, though I was actually pumped to purge basement boxes (rare), that it would likely be my last day to go to the beach in a bathing suit. So I made the executive decision to prioritize --and got out there! Rather than just walk across the street, I did it right - grabbed a chair and a stocked beach bag, donned a straw hat, s

Smiling through melancholy this morning as I look at THE LINK for the sale of Uncle Danny and Aunt Rosie's home. When I was about 9 or so, we went to Los Angeles on a "last family trip" before my sister  Joannah  was heading off to college. There's lots I've forgotten in life, but this was entirely memorable. The priest on Uncle Danny's movie lot, Father Pat, took us on the set of several TV shows to watch them film. Through him we got complete entree to the hottest shows, which I didn't realize at the time, including Star Trek (the They Stole Spock's Brain ep) and the closed set of a new one called MOD SQUAD (a big secret they were sure was going to be a hit). WHAT KITCH! HIt DisneyLand for the first time (took about a decade to stop hearing the theme song from It's a Small Small World in my head every day - not in a good way), did the 13 Mile Drive through Monterey and Carmel (where I first discovered Monterey Jack cheese and lay in the ba