Thoughts, Opinions and Philosophical Discussions
Thoughts, editorial opinions and philosophical discussions about why we write memoirs, who should write them, their purpose(s), themes and raisons d'être.
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Part Five — The Seven Universal Emotions — Disgust
Disgust is another of the universal emotions displayed and recognized across all cultures, though the stimulus which triggers disgust often varies from one culture to the next. Even those who are blind or deaf will display and understand this emotion. Disgust originally involved the senses of sight or taste in response to something revolting. The emotional expression of disgust likely has a biological origin, enabling us to show others that something is unsafe and to be avoided. Disgust is the most physical of all the basic emotions, accompanied by a sensation of nausea and a reaction of retching or choking. As we evolved into a more social species,…
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New Year’s Resolution 2023
So, what’s the difference between a passion project and a regular project? It’s kinda self-explanatory, isn’t it? “Passion” is the driving force behind a passion project. It’s something you do for love. If you’ve been part of my community for any length of time, you’ll know there’s been a sad lack of communication from me for a while and it’s because of a passion project that’s been on my mind for a very long time. My blog, my newsletters and my series on the Seven Universal Human Emotions have been much neglected of late. For the past several weeks, I’ve been involved in creating an…
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Karma and Character Development
Karma’s a bitch!” We hear that all the time. Somebody does something good, they get good karma. Something bad happens to someone, it’s because they have bad karma. It’s justice, retribution and balancing the scales of right and wrong. Right? Wrong! Karma is commonly understood to mean our actions, words or deeds and their outcomes. But I believe that this interpretation is specious. Karma’s more profound than that. Believers in spirituality come a little closer. For them, karma refers to the spiritual circle of cause and effect, often called the “Principle of Karma”, wherein intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that…
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Showing Off
Entrepreneurs (and if we want to be published, we writers are all entrepreneurs aren’t we?) are often told, “Face your fear, get over yourself, just do it.” But it sometimes helps to look at the fear and figure out exactly what it is that we’re afraid of. Recently, I was challenged to post some of my own memoir pieces, short stories, here on my blog — in particular, a story about my short-lived career as a shoplifter at age 6. Immediately, I felt reluctant. I didn’t want to, not because I thought it wasn’t any good, but because I didn’t want to show off. Which is a…
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Perfectionism and Writer’s Block — It’s All About the Baby Steps, Baby!
This week, I’ve been trying to come up with a riveting blog post idea and I’ve spent nearly two hours dithering, avoiding the problem. Rather than picking one of the hundreds of topics I’ve collected for times like this, I logged onto Joseph Michaels’ UnChained Writers, my favourite online chat group for writers, where I knew I would find others who’d understand and commiserate when I whined and complained about how stuck I was feeling. “Why do we do that to ourselves?” I said, and gave myself a little pep talk…“Okay, goofball! Just pick one and run with it. Something will come out of it, even if it’s not…
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Lying to Yourself — Self-Integrity 101
“This above all: to thine own self be true,And it must follow, as the night the day,Thou canst not then be false to any man.” — William Shakespeare, “Hamlet” Self-integrity What does it mean? Is it the meaning of the Shakespeare quote above, or does it mean something more, something deeper? Perhaps it’s our conscience, speaking to us in the “still, small voice” about right and wrong. Perhaps it’s our core values telling us about our most profound self-identity. Or perhaps it’s a limiting belief, attempting to keep us safe in trying times or confusing circumstances. Or maybe it’s a lot simpler than any of those. Maybe…
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“Kindness is Never Wasted” — Anonymous
At this time of year, most people’s focus is on Valentine’s Day, and while romantic love is a valid point of interest, there’s another point I think makes a lot more sense for us to celebrate. February 17th is “Random Acts of Kindness Day”, and to my mind, is a much more relevant and valuable quality of being, as well as a better focus for our behaviour. In fact, why limit it to one day a year? Why not build a habit of doing one kind thing for others every day? Think about it…when we engage in an act of kindness, either as giver or receiver, we experience…
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There but for the grace of God
In the past, we’ve discussed the concept of emotional layering, and I’ve been exploring the realm of layered emotions in depth for the past few days. Last week, my mentor, Joseph Michael, The Scrivener Coach, asked me to help with the live accountability sessions on his membership site, Unchained Writer. These online accountability meetings are live writing sessions where writers show up and write together on their various projects. It’s a way to share our writing journey each day within a tight-knit, friendly community, one that understands the perils and tribulations of being a writer. Little did I know when I agreed, what lay in store. It started…
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What Comfort Zone Can I Step Out Of Today?
On a Jim Fortin podcast this week, I heard the phrase, “What comfort zone can I leave today?” This really resonated with me. To leave a comfort zone means we need to change, and that’s not an easy thing to do. We like our status quo. It’s comfortable. We understand it. It’s not challenging or painful or hard. We love our routines. I’m reminded of the hermit crab. This little guy carries around the empty shell of another creature as his home and his protection, but whenever he grows too big for his current shell, he must find another, larger one and take a leap of faith that he’ll be…
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Just Who Do You Think You Are?
One rainy day many years ago, while I was still in college, I was stomping along the street, resentful and annoyed, on the way to buy some milk since nobody at the house had even considered what happens when you use up the last few drops. Somehow, it always ended up being I who ran these little errands, and I was sick and tired of it. Suddenly, out of the blue, I heard a voice in my head say, “I am me.” Wait, I thought and stopped walking. What does that even mean — I am me? I know that. Who else could I be? The words held vague overtones of self-awareness, integrity,…