Friday, January 22, 2010

Gears have been turning in my head, but lately I have not shared any of it on this blog. In fact, I have been grossly negligent in putting out entries. I usually feel guity, but like most who try to keep resolutions, enertia is usually too strong to resist. So, finally halting enertia for the moment, I will do my best to update on my writing:

As of late, I have focused my attention on a novel. I have always tried writing ones in the past, but much like how keeping up with the blog tends to be daunting, I tend to fizzle out. I am motivated in the beginning phases of the project, but then dwindle in effort as time progresses. Inevitably, I have a rough outline, or fragments of a story, and that is all. This is why I generally focus on writing poetry, for I usually can keep my train of thought for this shorter medium. Also, I tend to think in smaller segments - an action, a description of a person/place/thing, etc. - and tend to lose focus when piecing segments together. Kind of the whole forest through the trees thing. Anyway, I have thrown my hat into the ring again, and I feel quite good about it this time. Hopefully, I will post some bits of it in the future.

Otherwise, I have continued to write new poems and rework others. I have felt catious about posting them because I have found, with the past posts, most of them had not been revised much. It was just more of a 'write and send it out' mentality. I am trying to be conscious of revising and sitting on works to read refreshed and with a new outlook in the attempts to spot weaknesses in the poems. Also, I realize that no one ever reads this blog and it doesn't matter whether I post or not. I can hold out because no one is demanding of my time :)

So, if I can't provide a poem for you today, I thought posting a video might suffice. This link is of a dog who is poetic in the layers of emotions it stirs within the viewer. Laughter, pity, sadness, possibly empathy (for those who sleepwalk), they all can be found within this poor soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2BgjH_CtIA

Saturday, January 2, 2010

An additional thought

I was reading over the post I had put up yesterday, and I thought I would add one comment. I was talking to a co-worker about how to change (bad) habits or going about making a change for the better. Through talking to her I realized that, after analyzing what made past goals successful, it is a matter of focusing you on the task at hand in order to reach the objective.

This may sound like a 'duh' statement, and in a way it is. Yet, when most people tend to create their goals for the new year coming, they clearly define the end result and leave out the rest of the process. As with all projects, we have to access what will make that goal a reality. Without a plan of attack, that goal becomes something intangible and too grandiose.

Instead, I like to focus on one 'task' as opposed to a goal. If reducing my impact on the environment is a overall goal, then I put my attention to a small contributor... a small step. One of the things I have done is to reduce the amount of bottle water I drink. It is said that it takes 2,000 times the energy to produce one bottle of water, then it would have been for the equivalent amount of tap water. So, until that task becomes routine where I don't have to focus on it, I am striving to always carry around water brought from my tap at home (which is best because it's filtered), or filling up a reusable bottle at a nearby drinking fountain.

As a side note: to those who see my small step and say that tap water is disgusting and not an option for you, I say the following. First, at home you can have a filter installed (either at the tap of one of those in the fridge types) to create a better quality water. Second, if being out you refuse to drink from fountains because of the terrible taste, find out why there is such a poor quality of water. We often take so little time to draw attention to things that are lacking because we think it takes too much work. My rebuttal is that you can just call and complain. Then, get your friends to call and complain and have them spread the word. One person at a time really can work... it's not just a cliche. Lastly, for those of you wanting to save money in these tough times, cutting out that $1 bottled water can easily add up quickly... so, do want to use just a small amount of effort to save a lot of money, or do you want to keep burning a hole in your pocket?

So, to wrap up, when you make your resolution, do so and then follow up by breaking the goal down into a small step. Let that small step be your focus only... put off thinking about the big picture. Once that small step is taken...go on to the next one. You will find that within a short period you have exceeded what your original goal was (provided it is a goal you can exceed).

Good luck and don't lose hope for this year!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Ringing in the New Year

After spending the night as many people - heavy drinking, watching the ball drop, a few kisses to all around, and wishing of a happy new year - I just wanted to put down a post to say to all: Happy New Year. It is always great to be able to have a new beginning and a new outlook on life. I feel the new year is always a chance to throw away everything that was bad in the past year, and start out making things as we want to have them.

So, for this new year, please take time to view the situations and see if these are the correct paths.... if not, what better time to make the change!

Cheers.