Fun stuff
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Sticky songs
“We become what we repeatedly do.” ~Stephen R. Covey Cher won’t stop singing “Dark Lady” inside my head. The pop tune — which was released in 1974 but happened to be playing on my car radio last week — now repeats itself on an endless loop in my mind while I’m drying my hair in the bathroom each morning. Then it starts all over again, later, while I’m chopping veggies in the kitchen. And it’s not like I’m a huge fan of Cher. What is it with sticky songs? According to my online research, sticky songs (otherwise known as “earworms”) have a scientific label: Involuntary Musical Imagery, or INMI. “According…
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Strength and temptation
“Strength is the capacity to break a Hershey bar into four pieces with your bare hands — and then eat just one of the pieces.” ~Judith Viorst, author In any endeavor, success depends on discipline — otherwise defined as inner strength, as today’s quote suggests. If you want to build muscle, you must stick with your daily exercise plan. If you want to get published, you have to keep writing and submitting your work. If you want to kick a bad habit, you must be diligent about changing your routine. Personal discipline is hard. Temptation is everywhere. Oh, how easy it is to give up or get lazy — to…
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Circus talk
“The monkey on your back may be gone, but the circus is still in town.” ~~Vanita Oelschlager I’ve always been drawn to the colorful imagery and folklore of the circus. When I was a kid, I’d often hear adults joke about running off to “join the circus” when real life wasn’t working out as planned. But over the years I’ve come to think of life itself as a three-ring circus — especially when I’m feeling overwhelmed by too much activity or drama. But as today’s quote reminds me, even when I’ve resolved one issue (or pulled one monkey off my back), it doesn’t mean everything else will be perfect from…
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Do you believe in magic?
“Surrender to the way things want to happen next, even though this often involves a vast and terrifying loss of control. Trust the magic that was born into your soul.” ~Martha Beck, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World There’s a lot of research explaining why some people don’t enjoy horror films or ghost stories — or anything else in which things appear to be manipulated by unseen forces. If you fit this psychological profile, you’re probably the sort of person who likes to remain “in control” most of the time. Chances are, you’re also the person who’s trying to figure out exactly how the magician is performing his…
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Getting silly
“Do a loony-goony dance ‘Cross the kitchen floor, Put something silly in the world That ain’t been there before.” ~ Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic I adore folks who don’t take themselves too seriously. My father was the King of Silliness, and I inherited his appreciation for all things absurd — including whoppee cushions. When nothing else in the world seems to make sense, which happens often lately, getting silly is my only recourse. Uncontrollable laughter is the very best medicine. This might explain why I think the ginormous yellow dinosaur at Kampville Mobile Home Park in Bear Lake is worth getting out of the car to photograph. We pass this silly thing…
