Personally, I find books and music to be among the most sensational forms of external stimulus to help me relax. I usually don’t do anything without some kind of music playing if I can help it. There is always some kind of music playing in my classroom, in my headphones at night, when I write, when I read, etc… These things are immensely relaxing to me. Nothing, though, is quite as relaxing as having a nice conversation and a good hearty laugh with my wife. More often than not we are in tune and our inside jokes keep up grinning. Ultimately, I have a multitude of blessed relaxation techniques (don’t get me started on my video games or moderate addiction to being in nature….), and I couldn’t be more thankful.
dailyprompt
Giving up Words
As a writer, a lover of literature, an English teacher, and a general goofball there are a lot of potential answers to this question. Full disclosure, for those who may not know me in person, I do indeed curse. More than a little. But not quite a lot. If that makes sense. I’m a believer and I do live by faith (I shudder to say that I am religious, because I prefer to say I have a relationship with God) so there is always the conviction by those – particularly of the holier-than-thou crowd- who say you can’t possibly love God if those words come out of your mouth. Granted, the meaning behind words is only assigned by our personal and societal belief and assignment of them. But that’s a whole other subject. Anyway, I’ve done the attempts to give up cursing for lent, and I’ve stopped/cut down a lot as I got older, but there is one of those words in particular I desperately want to stop saying and strike from my vocabulary, but that’s another matter as well.
Today, the big word I think I would love to strike from my mind and my future is a simple one that we all use too much.
CAN’T
It’s a plague upon the world, if I’m being honest. It’s a crutch. One many of us use far too much, as well. I can’t do this, or I can’t do that. I can’t make it work. Some of us, my wife will tell you I’m particularly guilty of this at times in an attempt to disperse future disappointment in myself, actually use the word “can’t” before we even make an attempt. To say we can’t do something, though, is not only showing doubt about our own strengths and the intentions and faith of our creator (or the universe, or fate, or whatever your personal guiding principal is) but it is showing a lack of willingness to put forth the effort.
In a world where so many people have given up their strength and use any and every excuse possible to avoid not only failure but success as well “can’t” is one of the worst enablers possible. I want to do my best to stop saying “can’t,” at least not without making every effort possible first. It might not be the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s something I CAN definitely do.
Daily writing prompt
If you had to give up one word that you use regularly, what would it be?
Holding Grudges
It’s kind of human nature to dwell on things that bother us, events or people we feel betrayed or let us down in some way or another. Sometimes it can be hard not to return to those negative thoughts about how we “should” have been treated, but it’s really not healthy or helpful. Holding grudges can be fairly common. You’ll find it a lot in nature. Wasps can recognize faces and will attack someone who threatened them, dogs and cats will fear or lash out at someone who has hurt them in the past, even elephants and other larger animals on either side of the food chain have the ability to hold an almost instinctual grudge against someone who has brought pain or negativity into their lives, so why shouldn’t we? Chiefly, because it doesn’t do anyone but us any harm. Holding a grudge against someone doesn’t affect their life in the slightest. Someone who is going to treat you poorly enough for you to need to hold a grudge against them is probably not worth the saliva it would take to spit on their face, and they certainly aren’t out there worrying about whether or not you are upset at them. Take it from someone with plenty of reasons to hold grudges, from a deadbeat dad who ran out on me as a kid, to cheating exes, to horrible bosses who threw me under the bus to save their own skins, the list goes on and on. But so does life. And I promise, it is a lot better if you live with a positive outlook.
Far From Home
I am a huge lover of travel, of course, and I take every chance I can to get out and about. My wife and I love to go to new places, and we have seen some fairly far ports of call. I do think the farthest would either be San Juan or Cozumel. I can’t help but feel like Samwise Gamgee sometimes, though, realizing when a new destination will take the place of that “farthest from home” trophy. It’s a good feeling, though, to get out and experience new places, new cultures, new worlds. I can’t wait until our next long trip!
Daily writing prompt
Share a story about the furthest you’ve ever traveled from home.
Ideal Home
What does your ideal home look like?
Realistically, I have a lot of ideas about what my ideal hole would look like. Sometimes it’s a beach house. Sometimes it’s a mansion. Sometimes it’s a futuristic palace with a bowling alley, etc.. More often than not, though, it’s a gorgeous, simple cabin in the mountains. My cabin has all the comforts of home: a fireplace in the living area and master bedroom, as well as the library, a wrap around porch, a deep cellar with plenty of storage for canned goods. It sits right beside a beautiful and peaceful creek where I can sit and read or write. There is a vast overhead view clear of trees so I can stargaze all night. I could go on…. one day!!
Tears of Joy
What brings a tear of joy to your eye?
Honestly, there are a lot of things that can do this in my adulthood. Things from nature, art, music, and a good day with my wife. The list is fairly long. I think this is because I am quite blessed, really. It’s something i occasionally take for granted, but I’m working on it!
Why Blog?
I started blogging more than ten years ago, after learning about building my author platform online at a writing symposium. I never imagined, though, the release and joy I would find at being able to share my thoughts on writing, literature, music, the world, and life in general would bring. To me blogging is a platform, not only to try and bring attention to my writing (because if you haven’t read any of my fantasy, horror, or Appalachian fiction, there is no better time than the present) but also to try and help those who read it through information about my own experiences and a general sense of hopeful inspiration. In short, my blogging is a double purpose; to try and build a bigger audience for my books, and to try and give something positive back to the world. Because we can all use that, right?
Why do you blog?
Interviewing the World
This is an interesting prompt, really. As an author, a grad student, and a former reporter I have done more interviews than I can even count. It’s always an interesting experience, getting someone to open up enough to answer your questions – especially if they answer honestly. So, rather than draw from that previous well of information, I want to ask YOU, dear reader, some questions. Chiefly about writing and art in general. I’d love it if you would respond, either in comments or in a post of your own. Here goes!
What is your favorite form of art to enjoy?
When and if you read, do you have a preferred genre?
I have to ask, also, have you read any of my books?
If you have, do you have a favorite?
Who would you consider to be your favorite artist – and yes, you can have one for any and every medium!
Why is art important to your life?
Finally, what sort of art would you create if you could known for only one thing – but that one thing would put you on the list of the eternally beloved (think Bach, da Vinci, Shakespeare. etc…)?
Daily writing prompt
Interview someone — a friend, another blogger, your mother, the mailman — and write a post based on their responses.
Thursday Morning Thoughts
You know, this is a good question, and not one we usually answer with the full extent of honesty. As a form of greeting, it’s so easy to ask or be asked “how are you?” and get or give the standard “good, and you?” in today’s world. But how often are our feelings so simple? We are humans with complex thoughts, complex emotions, complex lives. Can that really be summed up with a simple “good?” Not at all. To be brutally honest, that’s one of the reasons students in school right now often face such a struggle with their own emotions. They have been trained, if not forthright, then at least through observation, that emotions and thoughts should be simple to categorize and explain away. So, when they start feeling actual emotions and realize how BIG they are, it freaks them out. They have no clue how to accept the fact that everyone else can simply be “good” all the time, while they feel like entire universes worth of emotion are swirling through their every waking thought.
At some point we have to ask ourselves as both a society and a species if this “how are you” routine is more helpful or harmful. Do any of us ever actually look at someone who asks that question and say “you know, I’m having a really bad day. I’m feeling a lot of things right now and I could stand to talk it out?” Almost never. The question really has become more rhetorical and continues to move in that direction the longer we ask it with such simplicity. More often than not people ask this as a simple greeting, not expecting anything other than that standard “good,” or better yet, the sarcastic “living the dream.” It has become a social call and response that merely acts to show us that we have noticed and acknowledged one another, so now let us go on about our day without any further or deeper interaction thanks. Altering society’s problems with accepting and teaching emotions and social emotional positivity is not something that can be fixed overnight, of course, but I think we could go a long way toward repairing those broken bridges if we take the time to actually ask each other how we are – and both expect and give real, honest answers. We can’t always just be “good.” Some days we might be sleepy, maybe we’re hungry, maybe we got behind a slow driver and we’re late for work and we need a minute to vent and complain. Maybe we got some really good news on the way to work and we want to take a minute to rejoice in it. Who knows. The point is, this is a very pregnant question. If any of us care to ask and answer it honestly, that is.
But anyway, I’m good today. How are you?
Improving the Everyday
There are a lot of things we can do to ensure that we have the best quality of life possible, of course. The real answer of what makes life better is a very individualized thing, but I find that making sure I take time for myself each day is exactly the thing. I make sure to read, write, play video games, watch something peaceful, and most importantly, spend time with my wife. Any or all of these things make my day better by an unfathomable amount. Mental health and self care matter, and taking the time to give yourself peace and happiness throughout the day is one of the best things you can do, hands down.
Daily writing prompt
What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?
