If I throw a rock into a pond, the water has to react. It can’t NOT react. COVID threw a rock into us. It was a BIG rock. We responded. We couldn’t NOT react. And we reacted appropriately to the force and mass. Now, like water, we can return to calm. Out of that, productivity flows.
Protecting our privacy is good, they say. Still the need for it makes me sad. Nameless, if you will.
Owning a cat reduces your risk of heart attack or stroke, but don’t try to outrun them.
When we run a race, do we start at the finish line? I LOVE the movie, Groundhog Day. In fact it might be my favourite of all time, but the day? What a ridiculous idea. We can’t skip over winter to get to spring. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER NO MATTER WHAT! This is Canada, for goodness sake. Nature has to run the race. We can’t start at finish line. That’s the theme of the movie. Settle in. Take steps over and over. You’ll get there.
I’m more comforted to feel that the Great Power is not separate and apart from me, and that it lies within us all. I find that to be a more tenable position in hard times, because then there’s no questioning or pointing fingers at a force outside of ourselves.
Interesting question about who is helping me to grow. Have to give that a bit of thought. Complete strangers to me, except for meeting on WP, help. My daughter helps. Other than that, not too many other influences at the moment. My own self reflection helps :-0
I would say that self-reflection is essential. Writing is part of that. For me it’s family, friends, church, work, volunteer work.
Writing definitely fits in there. Happy you have such a good support group 🙂
What a fantastic blog post, including the gnarly tree roots photo. 😀
One of my favorite college presidents told the faculty years ago: “You are not making enough mistakes; mistakes help you grow!” I hated to see him go; his replacement had a different mindset, very destructive.
One of my biggest motivations has been “My friend can do it,” a line I see on the chart. That mindset has helped me pursue a graduate degree and later, beginning blogging.
To answer your question: My writing group is helping me grow!
Oh yes, I have a couple of writing groups too. Wonderfully motivating and supportive. I have been reading a little bit of your book every morning. It’s my current “inspirational morning reading” book. You are wonderful writer, so I’m really glad that your friends inspired you to blog and write.
I love the chart with the negative and growth wording comparison. I think my favorite is the one where “I give up” can instead thought of as “I’ll try a different strategy.”
It reminds me of the quote about the insanity of expecting different results when doing the same thing over and over again. Sometimes it’s necessary to forge a different path.