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A Poem about our backyard

6/29/2013

I don't think I've written a poem in 15 years, but this morning I penned something (poem?) that I'm thinking of workshopping at writers' group this week.
Any feedback welcome!

Source: http://www.awakeninthenow.com

Reflections

The rise & fall of the wind swells like the ocean

Trees dance in the wet morning

A pulsing symphony of movement

Sway, swing, surge,

Quiver, throb.

Can you see each tree?

One majestic, another splayed;

One simple, another lush

Some stiff & cramped;

Others more delicate, but flexible.

I can’t

I can’t see them apart.

I can only see them connected.

Centuries of feeding off one another’s rhythm

They continue their dance.

All except--

Wait, I spot a tree apart.

It’s not dancing with the others

It’s the one with no life left.

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Rule # 8: My Manifesto on Increasing Joy & Creativity

6/12/2013

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Grow a Vagina!!

Source: imgur.com

What does growing a vagina have to do with joy & creativity, you might ask...

Well, here' s a snapshot of the uncreative things many of us have done due to our weakness in the face of social pressure:

1. Picked up a cigarette for the first time because we wanted to look cool;

2. Gone on unhealthy fad diets striving to attain the impossible image that media reflects at us (here's a good article to read on self-image if this is you now);

3. _________ Insert one of your own here.

We can even go to the saddest places like the amount of teenage suicides amongst the LGBT community due to 'not fitting in'.

So what makes social pressure so powerful?

Mostly, it's our need to be liked, cherished, and understood which is a wonderful social trait.

However, when we start living our lives in order to gain society's approval rather than living according to our deepest instinctual values, that's a recipe for chronic dissatisfaction. (IMHO)

Or, absence of joy.

What's scarier is when that voice of our values begins to drown completely in other people’s opinions and advice.

Here's the good news:

Source: hesitanthousewife.net

To withstand other people’s influence and make the right decisions in life, we need to build a strong foundation. We need to know what brings us joy & satisfaction as opposed to what we can do to pacify other chronically dissatisfied people who are apt to judge our every action.

When we meet people & make friends, instead of asking superficial status questions like "What do you do for a living?", perhaps we should focus on questions that really matter, like:

What do you believe in? What are your values?

The earlier we all get this clarity & know exactly where we all stand the better.

Sometimes in order to improve our life we have to do something unexpected or even irrational that we know other people may not support.

(incidentally at the root of many creative breakthroughs)

No matter how strange your ideas or actions may seem to some people, there will always be someone who understands and shares your point of view.

In creative pursuits, for example, I have my writers' group to turn to & I know I can always count on them to encourage and support me.

But what about our families?

I think the best way to avoid judgement from the people that you love is to show them that you respect and value their values (while making it clear that you have your own).

I try to be the person that they will turn to when they need support & acceptance. My personal experience is that this simple act is reciprocated.

Dealing with social pressure isn't easy, but living according to someone else’s expectations is a lost game - even if we did succeed at pleasing others it would be at the cost of our own happiness and well-being.

So go ahead & grow a vagina!

As Dr. Seuss wisely advises, those who love us would never want us to conform at the expense of our happiness. Those that would want that don't really love us.

Here's to BEING WHO WE ARE!
And to allow joy & creativity to suffuse our being!

Dina
(aka TartanFrog)

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Rule # 7 Manifesto on Increasing Joy & Creativity

6/8/2013

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I warned you all at the start of my journey (drafting this manifesto) that I was both inspired by, and would likely copy from Bruce Mau's Manifesto.

Rule # 7 is one of them. It's also probably my favourite of Bruce's list.

Some of you may think this is more about creativity than joy, but since creativity brings about joy....

Source: vimeo.com

7: __________________. Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven’t had yet, and for the ideas of others.

Bruce Mau, you're oh so right about the critical importance of freeing up some mind space.

The best we have to offer rarely ever comes when we've filled every nook and cranny of our mind-space and every waking nano-second of every day.

Creativity more likely comes crashing in when we disconnect from tasks and reconnect to some sort of ubiquitous space, be it mind space or something even more shoreless.

Today's a great day for the _______ blank.
With post-tropical storm Andrea upon us in serio, my mind space has nothing better to do than open up...

Well, that's not entirely true. My mind space could concentrate on housecleaning, but that would go against another of my core beliefs:

To One & All:
Here's to a fabulous weekend,
Wishing you mindspace, creativity & joy!

Dina

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Rule # 6 Manifesto for Increasing Joy & Creativity

6/6/2013

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Can you guess what rule this is??

Source: http://www.thefrenchtangerine.com

THE ROAD TRIP!!!!

Oh yeah, nothing pumps my joy & creativity like the prospect of a road trip - the open road . . . freedom. . .
ahhhhh

If the road trip includes beaches, camping, flip flops, undiscovered corners & great friends: all the better!

Source: stresscasey.blogspot.com

I love the collage above of one of the many road trips I've taken. (coastal mainland Nova Scotia)

A longer road trip on our honeymoon. From Venice, Italy to Cassis, France (with side trips in Provence)

Two of our favourite stops along the way:

Bobbio, italy and the brasserie on the med where the bordeaux, the homemade frites and the huge marmite of mussels brought us back again.

And then, there's plotting a road trip....

Here's to joy & creativity Friends,

Dina
(aka TartanFrog)

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Welcome to my Blog!

My name is Dina
(aka TartanFrog)
I'm a writer & educator.

More about me

More about the book I just finished

Why blog? Why write?
My dream: To see all children grow up with dignity, self-esteem and a passion for their dreams.

I've met many children and adults whose dreams and innocence were stolen.

I write for them; I write as one of them.

I try to blog weekly.
Blog topics:
Writing & publishing-related tips for my writerly friends; social justice issues that touch children, adults, trees or threaten our world of future wholesome communities; my experiences navigating the process of living & writing.

Spoiler Alert:
Some days, these may be rants:)

Why TartanFrog?
TartanFrog--a celebratory tip of the hat to the interweaving of my French Acadian roots with the Celtic culture of Cape Breton.

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