To Meme or Not To Meme

Tags

bumper stickers, daily prompts, inspiration, life, meme, memes, musings, quotes, social media, state of mind

The world is a meme-filled place.

Years ago when working on speeches or articles, I would reference the site www.quoteland.com for inspiration . Now, all I have to do is open my social media accounts. There I find endless posts on being better, getting better, ignoring the haters, spreading the love, learning I have no limits, focusing on myself, focusing on others, and on and on.

Memes have become the bumper stickers of the 2010s.

Daily quotes, inspiration, one-liners and 140-characters all direct me to change my state of mind, my habits, my global footprint, my interactions with other, my way of living, my everything. Some days it’s too much and my cup runneth over.

What’s Your Inspiration? Sometimes you just have to stop listening to others and just do for yourself. This is my favorite:

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Naughty or Nice?

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choices, Decisions, life, life choices, Luke Skywalker, naughty, Needs Development, Nice, Please, Santa Clause, thank you

It’s that time of year. We prepare for Santa’s arrival by asking ourselves what will be the verdict – Naughty or Nice? I think of it as life’s annual performance review. Which box will be checked: Excellent, Satisfactory, or Needs Development?

Many of us want to be in the Nice category, although I know some who proudly excel at the Naughty. Undoubtedly it’s a challenge to stay on the Nice side. Just like Luke Skywalker’s journey to avoid following in his father’s footsteps, it’s a struggle. (With all the Star Wars hype, I couldn’t resist the analogy. Not sorry.)

Identifying with Nice is similar to declaring New Year’s resolutions, which pop up and fade out rather quickly. Few people maintain those resolutions. Why? Well, going on a diet or a visiting a gym day-in and day-out for months on end is not easy. Being Nice is the same way. It’s a consistent and dedicated effort. Sometimes it’s difficult, and other times it’s just downright impossible.

And we’ll fail. Many times. I do. Impatient gestures at the driver in front of me who is texting after the light turned green. A snarky retort to the cashier when I ask for help and she assumes I magically know “Alice” and where I’m supposed to find her. Or taking something out on those closest to me because they’re here and I can.

The good news is that I know people who really do excel at being Nice, who admit their shortcomings and downfalls, and who may stumble but always get up and keep going. Their admittance of being human inspires me to try again each day. I say please and thank you even when I don’t have to. I smile at someone who may look sullen or down. And I am appreciative I have the chance each day to choose if I am Naughty or Nice.

Maybe I’ll always check the Needs Development box under Nice, but that’s okay. It means I’m working toward the right choice.

Falling In Your Brain

Tags

balance, creative, Drawing Hands, intuitive, left brain, life, M.C. Escher, masterpiece, musings, office art, organized, Right brain, visual art

A print of the M.C. Escher work “Drawing Hands” hangs on my office wall, directly across from my desk. Considered a masterpiece of visual art, the image displays a right hand sketching the cuff on a left hand. The left hand in the image is simultaneously sketching the cuff on the right hand.

In this piece, Escher merges concepts of art and math, and it’s often called a singular work of timeless genius.

It’s always a joy for me to watch someone, who has never seen the print before, walk into my office and study it intently. I cannot recall anyone who has stepped away from it without communicating reverence for its ingenuity. For those already familiar with Escher’s work, they express appreciation for the multiple planes on which he constructs his images.

JUST RIGHT OF CENTER

I look at Drawing Hands every day I’m in my office. It’s a reminder to use both sides of my brain.

Now, I don’t know which one is the best, but when I take those “Which Side of Your Brain do You Use” tests, I’m usually just right of center. In fact, in taking all three of the tests I link to below, I scored either 54 or 55 as right-brained for each. So, I’m consistently somewhere around a 55/45 split.

I’ve found this balanced outlook and approach to life (or some may say I’m slightly off-center), as helpful for working in marketing and communications. While I can be analytical, organized and focused, I’m still able to be creative, intuitive and impulsive.

LEFT BRAIN/RIGHT BRAIN

Wondering if you’re right- or left-brained? Take the test yourself.

Let me know where you fall in your brain!

Psych Tests http://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/3178

Sommer + Sommer http://braintest.sommer-sommer.com/en/

Intelliscript http://www.intelliscript.net/test_area/questionnaire/questionnaire.cgi

 

 

 

I Have 24 Hours Left to Live

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24 hours, beach, Charlotte's Web, college, cupcakes, harry connick jr., ice cream, journal, Last day on earth, life, life choices, music, musings, reality, Scrabble, somersault, students, writing, writing course

What would you do if you only had 24 hours remaining on this earth?

Yesterday, I posed this question to my writing students and asked them to write on it for six minutes. The catch was they had to focus their responses around their chosen topic for the semester. One student called out, “If I had 24 hours left, I wouldn’t waste it on my Topic!” Cue laughter.

This semester, my students’ writings focus on one Topic of their choosing. The Topic has to do with their “reality.” Reality is a broad concept, so we assessed and discussed what it is and what might be the reality in each individual life. After thoughtful and critical analysis, some chose topics relating to their college majors (nursing, medicine, engineering), other chose themes around religion or science, several chose sports, a few chose relationships (healthy, abuse, love) and one even picked a tangible item (a diesel truck).

I begin each of my writing classes with a free writing component, intended to give students more insight on their Topic of reality. What color represents your Topic? If your Topic were an animal, what would it be? How different is your Topic today than 25 years ago? While they responded to yesterday’s question, it gave me time to reflect on what I might do with one final day.

Since I don’t have a Topic, I had freedom to wander in my thoughts. I stayed away from the more depressing options (saying goodbyes, final hugs and all that). These were my first 10 initial ideas for my final 24 hours:

1. Reread Charlotte’s Web.
2. Dance to my favorite song list.
3. Send a tweet to Harry Connick, Jr., letting him know we could have been great together.
4. Eat ice cream and several cupcakes.
5. Turn a somersault on the grass in the backyard.
6. Drive to the beach and put my toes in the sand and water.
7. Ceremoniously burn all my “skinny” clothes I was never going to fit again into anyway.
8. Drink a really good bottle of Italian red wine.
9. Play a game of Scrabble (on the board, not my phone).
10. Add a final entry to my journal.

What would you do if you had 24 hours left to live?

A Little White Strip of Paper

Tags

childhood, computer, Coronomatic, correction tape, creative writing, dream, entertain, feeder roll, life, life calling, musing, passion, platen, Smith Corona, toy, typewriter, work, writer, writing

What is Yoyr Your Life’s Calling?

Similar to my Smith Corona

Three decades ago, I received my first electric typewriter. It was a beautiful, used blue Smith Corona Coronomatic typewriter, permanently secured in a sturdy, hard-sided brown carrying case with a thick black handle. My parents purchased it for my birthday present. They knew I wanted to become a writer and helped set me on my path.

That Smith Corona was stationed on my desk for years, the rock in the middle of a sea of books, stacks of paper and countless writing utensils. The thick, white power cord extended to the nearest outlet. Each night as I closed the cover to help keep out the dust, I was careful not to crimp the cord in the lid of the case.

There has never been another gift I loved or used as much. As I created and constructed stories, characters and new worlds, I spent more time with that machine than any other toy I owned. There was nothing like turning on the baby-blue Smith Corona and hearing the comforting whirr of the motor as it patiently hummed. Or the click of the feed roller as it accepted a blank sheet of paper onto the platen. It was always ready whenever I wanted to bring someone to life.

As I was organizing my desk in my office this week, I came across a small strip of white paper. When I picked it up, fine white dust appeared on the surface of my desk and fingertips. My breath caught for a moment. Somehow, this fragile, little simple correction strip, which I had used to correct typos and other errors so many years ago, had survived multiple moves, cities and states. One lone piece of correction paper.

In an instant, I was transported back to my childhood, seated at my desk under the sloping eave in my bedroom. For hours at a time, it was the safest place on earth where I created new worlds and people. I remember always being happy when I wrote. It was my words and my stories. All I wanted to do was entertain people.

I can’t remember exactly when I disposed of the typewriter and its case, but it was probably around the time I purchased my first computer and printer. Some people are good about holding on to mementos but, as technology advanced, I let the old go to make room for the new. This little strip of white correction paper that suddenly appeared though, will stay put in my desk, a reminder of the passion I feel for my craft.

I would like to know: what do you have that reminds you of your life’s calling?