I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there ‘s a pair of us — don’t tell!
They ‘d banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
Month: March 2019
Today’s Reflection ~ Authenticity
We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be. ~ May Sarton
Grieving Held On; Slowly, I Became More Resilient
I Was Slowly Becoming More Resilient
Each morning I woke to face my adversary, grieving. Grieving waited for me with a smile seeking to knock me down again and again. Each day I rose determined to fight back. Slowly, I was becoming stronger, more resilient. I didn’t notice it at first; it was at the ten week mark of grieving where I thought I got a glimpse of dawn that lasted long enough to give me hope. Here is an excerpt from my journal in Dancing Alone: Learning to Love Again:
“I am at the ten-week mark of grieving. I think I see progress in small ways. In other ways, the emptiness is as strong as it was on day one. Living one day at a time, doing the best I can, and trying to stay in the moment is a herculean task.
Perhaps grief will never leave me. I wonder when people look at me and see me smiling if they think I’ve bounced all the way back and no longer see me grieving. I put on a happy face. I smile. I engage in conversations. I try not to speak about my grieving. If asked, I share my story again and again. It is the price I pay for the gift of loving Babe. Would I trade my life and wish it differently if I knew my life with Babe would end this way? I wouldn’t think about it for a second. My life with Babe was, and continues to be, a love story.
Babe, through her life, taught me to love. She was as close to God in her life as anyone I’ve ever known. Why would I trade that?”
Ordering information for the paperback or ebook version of Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again may be found at https://optimisticbeacon.com/dancing-alone/
Excerpt From: Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again by Ray Calabrese. This material is protected by copyright
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Susan Orlean 3rd of 4 Tips
You have to appreciate the spiritual component of having an opportunity to do something as wondrous as writing. . . . But you should also be filled with awe and gratitude about this amazing way to be in the world. ~ Susan Orlean
Keep Going ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Is the goal distant, and troubled the road,
And the way long?
And heavy your load?
Then gird up your courage, and say ‘I am strong,’
And keep going.
Is the work weary, and endless the grind
And petty the pay?
Then brace up your mind
And say ‘Something better is coming my way,’
And keep doing.
Is the drink bitter life pours in your cup—
Is the taste gall?
Then smile and look up
And say ‘God is with me whatever befall,’
And keep trusting.
Is the heart heavy with hope long deferred,
And with prayers that seem vain?
Keep saying the word—
And that which you strive for you yet shall attain.
Keep praying.
Today’s Reflection ~ Happiness
The rays of happiness, like those of light, are colorless when unbroken. ~ Longfellow
I Made 4 Promises To Myself In The Depths of Grieving
I Made 4 Promises To Myself In The Depths of Grieving
M cautioned me grieving could cover me with a fog so dense I’d not be able to find my way through. She suggested I make four promises to myself and renew the promises each day. Making the promises and renewing them each day were small steps, but I’ve always kept my word. This time, the challenge was to keep the promises I made to myself. Here is an excerpt from Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again:
“My first promise is if I fall down, I will not stay down and feel sorry for myself. I will get up and get going.
My second promise is to find meaning in Babe’s death and use it to help create a sense of purpose in my life.”
“My third promise is to love and forgive myself. I’ve learned the most important person in the grieving process is me. I am the person life asked to continue living. If I don’t, everything else will disappear. Before I can love anyone or anything else, I must learn to love myself.”
“My fourth promise is to see, love, and serve my Lord in all my brothers and sisters and in all His creations. I’ve changed. I’m different. My world has changed and so has what I want to do with my life.”
Ordering information for the paperback or ebook version of Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again may be found at https://optimisticbeacon.com/dancing-alone/
Excerpt From: Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again by Ray Calabrese. This material is protected by copyright.
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Susan Orlean 2nd of 4 Tips
You should read as much as possible. That’s the best way to learn how to write. ~ Susan Orlean
Never Mind ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Whatever your work and whatever its worth,
No matter how strong or clever,
Some one will sneer if you pause to hear,
And scoff at your best endeavor.
For the target art has a broad expanse,
And wherever you chance to hit it,
Though close be your aim to the bull’s-eye fame,
There are those who will never admit it.
Though the house applauds while the artist plays,
And a smiling world adores him,
Somebody is there with an ennuied air
To say that the acting bores him.
For the tower of art has a lofty spire,
With many a stair and landing,
And those who climb seem small oft-time
To one at the bottom standing.
So work along in your chosen niche
With a steady purpose to nerve you;
Let nothing men say who pass your way
Relax your courage or swerve you.
The idle will flock by the Temple of Art
For just the pleasure of gazing;
But climb to the top and do not stop,
Though they may not all be praising.
Today’s Reflection ~ Longevity
A light heart lives long. ~ Shakespeare
