Adventure and exploration
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Is anybody having fun yet?
“We all accept too easily that life has to be hard, and we forget to make sure we have the most fun we can.” ~Amy Schumer Remember when you were a kid and having fun was a top priority? As we mature, we settle down and become responsible. We have to earn a living, take care of our basic needs, plan for the future, and periodically solve problems and put out a few fires. Somewhere along the way, the whole world starts looking darker and more complex, and we lose our joie de vivre. And we forget how to play. Or let me put it this way: The grown-up definition…
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Everything you love
“I am all the things I have ever loved.” ~Toni Morrison, American author Last year I coached a journaling workshop titled “List Yourself.” As the title suggests, we made lists of all kinds — lists of favorite films, lists of accomplishments, lists of pet peeves, lists of people who’ve inspired or helped us, bucket lists, and so on. The practice of list-making might seem simplistic at first, but it leads to profound self-awareness and discovery — and also provides many “prompts” for blocked writers. If you make a list of all the things you love, for instance, you’ll see a life-affirming self-portrait taking shape on the page — just as…
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How to feel more alive
“Try to learn to breathe deeply, really taste your food when you eat….Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive.” ~William Saroyan Many of us are experiencing life primarily through screens and devices. If we’re not scrolling our cell phones, we’re watching TV or staring at a laptop or a computer monitor (like I’m doing right now). Online, we can read articles, watch videos, and view photos from the other side of the planet. Thanks to social media, we can have friends across the country…
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Really, it’s OK to be wrong
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” ~Anonymous One-uppers, control freaks, critics, and perfectionists always top my list of pet peeves. Afraid to look foolish, these are the rigid folks who rarely color outside the proverbial lines. They like to point out the crooked seams on your brand-new outfit, for example, or correct your errors in public. Always right, they aim to win every argument. I bet you know a few of them too — and would agree they’re a lot less fun to be around. The fear of being wrong, or appearing wrong, is a buzz kill for just about everything. Today’s quote…
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Who’s in the driver’s seat?
“I don’t want to be a passenger in my own life.” ~Diane Ackerman Sometimes it’s nice to let someone else do the driving. Sometimes we just want to sit back, roll down the windows, and enjoy the ride. And there’s nothing wrong with that — unless we’re always dodging responsibility or letting someone else (or something else) control where we’re going. Do you often allow others to make your plans and decisions when you could be asserting your own choices? Do you structure your days around unhealthy or unproductive habits? Once in a while, it’s worth a reality check: Who or what is in the driver’s seat of your own…
