Mon, September 6, 2010 at 6:28 PM | 2 Comments I hope all my American and Canadian friends had a wonderful holiday weekend. Mine was full of laughs, sun, music, good people and one large, lovable dog. I had time to chat with friends, catch up with family and take care of myself a bit, too. And the house got the deep cleaning it was desperately needing.
It was a very good weekend.
Wed, September 1, 2010 at 3:58 PM | 4 Comments ... that is the question.
I've had a few people ask me if I'm going to participate in this November's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) Challenge and up until a few days ago, I was confident I would. Now, I'm not so sure. For those unfamiliar with the challenge, participants are required to write a minimum 50,000-word novel within the thirty days of November. If they do so, and it is validated with the official NaNoWriMo word counter, they are considered a winner and a few prizes and accolades are distributed.
I participated and successfully completed the challenge last year, writing a 52101-word novel within the first 14 days of the month. It was not great fun but it was rewarding in that I accomplished the goal and was able to write The End on something of that magnitude.
The story wasn't particularly enjoyable to me, it was something that had been rattling around in my head for years, so I didn't feel quite so much like I was writing but rather, taking dictation from my brain. It wasn't new, it wasn't exciting and it certainly wasn't something for which I had to struggle. Hence, the 14 day completion time.
This year, if I were to do it again, I would need to start now and begin blocking the plot, interviewing my characters and building the fictional world the story is set in. The process intrigues me but the time commitment doesn't. I have so many personal obligations, classes and trips scheduled between now and the end of the year, I don't know that I want to commit to something that overwhelming right now.
Fiction writing is still important to me but I'm not sure this challenge is, at least not this year. I'm really enjoying my personal life right now and spending that many hours of the few non-working hours I have in a fictional world just doesn't have the appeal it did last year. I'm still mulling it over but I think my decision is quickly being made for me.
Maybe next year?
Sun, August 22, 2010 at 7:04 AM | 2 Comments I was reading back through my Twitter stream this morning and this tweet caught my eye:
"Thinking of instituting #complainfreemondays on Twitter: only positive stuff on twitter for a whole day each week. Who'll be with me?"
It was written by Karen Walrond, or @Chookooloonks as she's known on Twitter. I have never met Karen in person but I have followed her writing and photography for quite a while. Whenever I want to find beauty, I know I can turn to Karen's work and drown in it. She has a spirit and an attitude and a will that inspire me. She is one of those people for whom the phrase "as beautiful on the inside as the outside" was written. She is Beauty.
Another of her tweets:
"Awesome. We start Monday. Take what is stereotypically the worst day of the week, and make it positive.#complainfreemondays"
She is attempting a movement on Twitter to stop the negativity and complaining that is rampant, if only for one day a week. She isn't the first to notice the dark cloud that hangs over many people but she is the first with enough clout to hopefully make a change. One step in the right direction is one step farther than we are today. I'm supporting her.
Her explanation of the hashtag:
"...#complainfreemondays: a twitter gratitude practice - only tweet good things that happen to you all day."
I continued to read the tweets between Karen and some of her followers and had to shake my head at some. One person said no, they wouldn't participate because Twitter equaled therapy to them. Since when does therapy mean complaining and spreading negativity? Shouldn't therapy help you see what's good and right and completely within your control? Another person said, fine, she would do it but she was going to make up for it on Tuesdays, meaning, I guess, that she would complain even more then.
Why do people feel compelled to hold on to misery?
To be clear, I am not saying sadness and depression and achey days are not part of life. If you've been reading here any time at all, you know I have battled my own demons in that area. However, even in the darkest days I tried to reach for the light. I tried to remember that life is nothing if not ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys, and I was doing my best to hold on until things started improving again. Nobody is saying you have no right to be sad or depressed. But complaining about things that aren't that important in the grand scheme? Can't we let that go for just one day a week?
I understand the point about Twitter being a place to vent. We all need someone to talk to and on Twitter there is always someone willing to listen. I don't think any of us begrudge someone reaching out and letting off steam and asking for support. We all need that. It's the holding on to the negativity that I don't understand. Venting is supposed to be just that: letting out and letting go of the bad stuff. We all have problems with letting go, don't we?
Some of the people on Twitter (and Facebook and blogs and in everyday life) only see the negative and if it isn't bad enough, they compound it. The line at the coffee shop is too long and the entire morning is ruined. They chip a nail and they write off the day as a loss. The dog vomits on the carpet and they want to go back to bed for a week. When did we lose our grip?
When did the inconsequential become insurmountable?
From @mommylebron:
"I'm in! I'm slowly learning my perspective influences my experiences. #complainfreemondays"
@mommylebron got the message. She understands how our outlook affects our outcome.
I don't know if the #ComplainFreeMondays idea will take off or not. I don't know if one day out of seven is enough to make a difference. I just have to hope it will. I'm going to do my part. I try not to be too negative on Twitter (though I have had my moments, no doubt) but I'm going to make an effort to be even more optimistic. (I've already received some snide comments when I tweet positive quotes or messages but I would rather be shunned for being too upbeat than loved for being miserable.)
So, if you're on Twitter or in the blogging community, have you noticed the negativity? How does it impact your mood?
If you're not in the online community, have you noticed increased negativity from your friends or family? Can you see where refraining from complaining for one day might help improve relationships?
Most importantly, are you with us for #ComplainFreeMondays?
Sat, August 21, 2010 at 10:16 AM | 4 Comments 
I awoke one bitterly cold morning in January with these words forefront in my mind: I am brave in 2010. I wrote them down so I could stare at the words and let their meaning sink in. The phrase struck me as wonderfully purposeful but at the same time, very unlike me. Before, I would most likely have written, “I will try to be braver in 2010” or “I will do my best to be brave.” Not so that day. This was to be the year I stopped trying and started doing… no, started being.
It’s amazing what opportunities, large and small, presented themselves once I had the intent to be brave. Some have been amazingly fun, others quite painful, but all have given me the opportunity to stretch and grow and find untapped strength within myself. I wouldn't have changed anything.
Nothing I have accomplished so far may seem like brave things to you. Some of you have always felt at ease exploring the unknown and being vulnerable but these were brave steps toward the person I aspire to be. I want to experience and feel and love more than I ever have before. To do that, I knew I had to broaden my horizons and expand my comfort zone. And I have.
So why was I able to wake up in January and decide to be brave? Because, at the same time, I gave myself permission to fail. I committed to giving myself everything I needed to make these new ventures successful, like working with a life coach, requesting critiques of my fiction writing and opening my heart to new people, but I also promised myself that if something wasn't as enjoyable as I thought it would be, I was free to walk away. That was new for me. I've always been one who either had to see something through to the (often bitter) end and be successful or I just wouldn't even try.
I have learned that the trying is the success, regardless of the outcome. Nothing is a waste of time if you learn from it, even if all you learn is that you really don’t like it or you don't find value in it. I am going to continue to be brave and accept the opportunities that come my way. It is changing my life in profound and magical ways.