Jan 1, 2016 |
Do y’all know me? Do you know you how I like my stability and security? You do? So it’s a surprise then, right, that change is my word for the year? Maybe it should be perspective but that only allows for a view shift. I think change is more dynamically inclusive of the unknown or irregular. And it gets the heart beating a little better.
Yeah. It surprises me too. I’m the one who likes to know things. I can go with the flow only so long as I know where the flow goes.
Life is either a daring adventure or it’s nothing. ~Helen Keller
Change is fluid. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, this or that. It can be subtle or strong. What I’m sweetly discovering is change doesn’t always mean replacement. It can mean addition, alteration, shift.
My Penny Jar
I’ve traded up my small glass penny jar for a larger plastic bottle that holds more ~ coins and bills. I haven’t stopped my saving. I’ve amped it up. That’s a change I can get on board with.
Embracing change can also mean not embracing change. I’m a creature of habit and schedule. I’ll grow my hair to almost shoulder length and then once or twice a year have it cut short and sassy. This week, I chose to change by not changing. I had my hair trimmed and colored, but not cut. I changed my habit of changing.
A Perspective Change
Last weekend I replaced the calendar pages in my day planner. I stood on the desk chair for this photo. Did my calendar change? Was there different tea in my NOLA mug? Did those thumb drives leap to life with pages ready for print? No. You already know that. But my perspective changed. Taking a step back from the task at hand allowed me to view the larger picture of my goals and tasks for the upcoming year.
Some change is necessary. If I stick my roots down too firmly in the familiar, I won’t bend but I might break with the storms. I am reminded to stop fighting and be still.
“Stop forcing a catastrophe where there’s not even a storm.”
I’m embracing change this year because I’m ready for the adventure it brings. I’m ready to move beyond my comfort zone. I’m not changing everything, but I’m refusing to remain stagnant.
As I write this, it’s New Year’s Eve and I’m watching The Poseidon Adventure with Mom. Now there’s an adventure movie. It’s our usual NYE fare, a tradition for many years. This year, I’m watching it differently. It’s the same movie, but my viewing has changed. It’s Al Gansky’s fault. He referenced it in the Spirituality in Fiction episode of the Firsts in Fiction podcast. It created another perspective shift for me.
The survivors of the Poseidon have to change their perspective, or they won’t survive. (I’d say “spoiler alert,” but I’m thinking you already know this.) The ship is turned upside down and they have to venture up which is down to find their way out. The world is in chaos, but they work together. Some make it, some don’t. But it’s the ones who stuck to their stability in the beginning, who clung to the familiar even in disarray, who never even had a chance. They believed the ordinary was still working, and they died before our protagonists’ adventure began.
The survivors realize that change was thrust upon them, and they choose to work through it, even creating some of their own. Dependencies, relationships, and strengths are born through the adventure of finding their salvation.
So maybe I’ll take two words this year. Change and Perspective. I can have one without the other, but together, it’s going to be quite an adventurous year.
There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind. C.S. Lewis
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
Jun 7, 2013 |
Five Things Friday at Frankly, My Dear…
It’s been quite the week at New Inklings Press and at Bedford Manor. Mostly, I’ve been looking forward to this post: Five Things Friday (formerly The Friday Five). This is your chance to share stories and ideas based on a common theme.
As you can guess by the ALL CAPS word in the title, this week’s theme is NEW. It’s a beautiful idea. New can mean exciting or sometimes scary. It can bring amazing adventures or sometimes just a new perspective on the same situation. This week, I invite you to share Five NEW Things in your life. Do you have a new friend or significant other? Are you good at upcycling furniture or crafts? Did you sit in a different chair in your same old house and suddenly see things differently? Has a new project found its way onto your schedule and into your heart? Tell your Five Things here, and be sure to share. Don’t forget to come back and see what others have to say. And tell your friends… everyone loves a party!
And now, the Mojo Five Things Friday: NEW.
1. I am, of course, exceptionally thrilled with my NEW Blog design. It makes me happy just to log in and look at it, and then I get to actually write. I think my posts are better just to keep up with the better-appealing Blog. It’s less cluttered with ads, more streamlined with buttons. And the layout is so much nicer. It’s definitely on the TOP of my NEW appreciation.
Field of Dreams
2. New Inklings Press. My company. Of course I love it, it’s my Business Baby. But I love the name. It’s an homage to the Inklings, a writers group that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were a part of. Since The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of The Rings are some of my most favorite reads, how could I not name my company after them? Also, I’m in love with my Logo. My good-friend-almost-a-brother Joe designed it for me. I based it off my favorite Uncle’s design for his own writing. [You can read about that here.] But I’m not good with design. Joe laughed at my nearly kindergarten-looking colored pencil attempt at explaining what I wanted. But he understood. And he created. And now I have Uncle Roger’s frog for my Logo.
From Frog to Logo
3. “New and Improved.” To me, that’s the same as saying “One Size Fits All”. Which is, essentially, a lie. Let’s face it: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Somethings are better left the way they are. Facebook, for instance, is always changing. Computer updates. How people take care of business. The “new and improved” automated voice services at Verizon only mean it now takes three times as long to actually talk to a person. Customer Service certainly was left out of the “New and Improved” equation for too many stores. Uhm. Sorry. Can you help me step down from my soapbox now? Thanks.
4. I have a New project. But it’s old. But it’s new. I started another Kickstarter Campaign to raise funds for another printing of both editions of The Unemployment Cookbook. At first, Kickstarter thought it was just a repeat of the Project from a few months ago and they weren’t sure it would work. Once I explained that this Project offers the Backer their choice of the First or Second Edition (or both), they approved it immediately. Click here to see the New Project and pre-order (or RE-order) your own copy!
Click here to see the NEW Kickstarter Project and pre-order (or RE-order) your Cookbooks!
5. My last “new” is perspective. I can’t explain it really; but there’s a change; nearly a Paradigm Shift inside. It feels as though my eyes are opening for the first time, or I’m looking through better glasses. There’s a knowledge inside me that I haven’t yet grasped, but I know it’s there, and it’s blooming. I have a deeper understanding of what’s important and what’s not; a new vision of goals and how to meet them. Along with this comes new actions: I’m able to take these baby steps and little by little combine them to make great strides. My Housing Project posts may be infrequent but that doesn’t mean we’re stagnating. Each day I write. Each month I’m getting closer to financial solvency. I’ve also realized it’s okay to fail now and then, with these and other goals. It’s okay to just be me… as long as I’m striving to be the Best Me I’m supposed to be.
And now it’s your turn. What Five NEW Things are on your mind? Have you blogged about them? If so, link up here. If not, just drop a comment or two… or five.
Come on over and we’ll chat on my Newly cleaned back patio. The coffee’s waiting…
My Housing Project: Il Bistro Patio
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
TGIF: A-P-P-R-E-C-I-A-T-I-V-E-L-Y
Q&A: What is this Cookbook Project and How Does it Work?
I Wore a Dress. And I Wore a Hat.
Oct 4, 2011 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
1. It’s okay if the Yankees don’t win now and then.
2. The Yankees are, by far, the greatest team in Baseball.
3. Breakfast at Tiffany’s is still a great movie.
4. There are “friends” who use you and manipulate you, friends who need you more than you need them, friends who know what you need, and Friends who take care of you.
5. I try to be a Friend to my friends; but I know I sometimes fail.
6. Income is not the same as a job; and work is not the same as a career.
7. God is bigger than the Boogie Man (Veggie Tales!), and He’s bigger than anything I can think of.
8. The world is incredibly old; there is no original idea left. What was once science fiction is history. What is the future was once someone’s dream. What is now is now. All I have that’s unique is perspective.
9. God will give me the desires of my heart… as long as I delight in Him (Psalm 37:4).
10. I like double-speak for creative writing. I hate it in politicians.
11. Life is not hopeless.
12. Everything is temporary.
13. The colder the weather, the snugglier the cat.
14. October changes people.
15. It’s easier to heal with good foods than bad medicine.
16. Dental work doesn’t always hurt.
17. Complacency is brain-atrophy ~ never a good thing.
18. Biographies can be fun.
19. Forgiveness is important. Guidance is important. Understanding and compassion are important. Love is most important.
20. Flashpoint is still the best show on TV, no matter what network it’s on.
21. Flashpoint peeps are still the best no matter how we connect.
22. Facebook and twitter secretly hate each other.
23. Hockey is not boring, but is sure is hard to follow!
24. Bunco is worth it. No matter what.
25. Christmas is one day. The Christmas spirit should be eternal. Commercialism should be killed.
26. My mom and dad did know more than me when I was a teen. I should have listened more.
27. Someday I’m going to be a famous writer… preferably while I’m young enough to enjoy spoiling my family and securing their futures.
28. God loves me. No matter what. No. Matter. What.
