Source: Facebook First off, this is NOT what I'd planned to write about today, but it does segue into what I was thinking re. INSTANT GRATIFICATION. More & more, we "efficient components of the consumer economy" (to quote Chomsky:) want quick fixes for everything, including intellectual fixes as to why society feels like it's failing us. Now, I'll be the first to admit: I can get my groove in high gear basking in the intellectual grapplings with quotes & ideas just as much as the next guy. However, let's be honest, there ain't no quote that can provide the answer to all of our existential woes. No matter how magnificent words may be, if they don't move us to change ourselves or our lives, they remain just that, words on a page. (I can hardly believe I just wrote that: I mean, I WRITE & EDIT FOR A LIVING, for cripes sakes:) Sure, most writers are trying, in some way, to change the way a reader will think or perceive certain people, certain situations. All I'm saying, is that one quote taken outside the context of a much larger world view is just that: A SOUND BYTE! It also explains this 'mad as a hatter' brouhaha insisting that authors come out swinging, throbbing or conjugating (and I don't mean verbs!) on the very first page, hopefully the very first line of their books. As irony will have it: I attended a gathering last week where most people agreed that their favourite books were ones that took them longer to get into...it surprised me because one of my favourite books, LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA, only had me completely enraptured by the 4th or 5th chapter) To recap, this is what instant gratification looks like: Image: runningwithpurpose32.blogspot.com And so, today I'm advocating for DELAYED GRATIFICATION Think about it! Think about something in your life that made you feel enormous pride & happiness. Was it something achieved in an instant? (I'm thinking not...) But, I digress. About the quote:
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7:00 a.m. No more excuses. Must revise synopsis for the contest. Now THINK. 7:30 a.m. Still thinking. 8:00 a.m. Telephone rings. 9:00 a.m. Caffeine definitely kicking in. 9:30 a.m. Now stop that. Calm down. 10:00 a.m. Doorbell! 10:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. RESIST! It's not even noon yet... 11:40 a.m. Patience is wearing thin Read the synopsis conclusion Source: Jon Tattrie NO! Not the author. I refer here to the subject: General Edward Cornwallis (I like to call him C-Man). Mark your calendars: April 9th at 7:30 pm, author Jon Tattrie will launch his new book Cornwallis: The Violent Birth of Halifax The launch will take place at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. More information. I know, I know, I've said it before: "Some days, I'm too opinionated & scrappy for my own good, which is why I SHALL NOT rant about dull-eyed, bovine, quasi-sentient demi-apes". Well, to the batcave 'my own good'. Be gone, buzzkill! I've got an opinion & today, I'm feeling scrappy. (painting walls in a treehouse with cathedral ceilings: not helping) As an Acadian with aboriginal blood, C-Man (aka Cornwallis) holds great interest to me. Let's be clear that it wasn't C-Man, but Lawrence who gave the orders to rid the province of my 'pesky' ancestors. As for C-man, he had no crackerjack plan to remove my ancestors; he fully expected that they'd bend to his will. They did not. Read conclusion (& get links to more information) 1. If you swallowed the Cupid Capitalism Arrow, lock, stock & Birkenstock....the solution for you is: Chocolate, Chocolate & more Chocolate!! (Eat this preferably before and after you check your bank balance) PS If you didn't get chocolate, this is a good day to buy some - it's on sale! Recommended Reading: Fairy Tales! Or, if you've given up reading fairy tales due to your grown-up condition read this fascinating article about fairy tales: Les Contes des Fées: The Literary Fairy Tales of France by Terri Windling (warning: you may revert to your childlike self & want to read fairy tales after reading it...) 2. If you fall in that middle-of-the-road crowd, happen to be in a couple, and the whole thing makes you feel a little nauseous, but you succumbed in the end and dealt with it by drinking way too much....the solution for you is: A long bath with a glass of wine (if you're sick of the colour red, a white WHINE is refreshing in a hot, steamy bath). Recommended Reading: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (you can read an excerpt by scrolling down the B & N link) For more recommendations check out Guernica Editors' Picks 3. Declare International Miserable & Alone Day. In case you didn't get all that bitterness expunged yesterday...go for a long walk, preferably in rain, or better yet, slush. Today there won't be too many lovers strolling around in matching red sweaters that you'll be compelled to give fake smiles to, all the while: CLAWS ITCHING... Mopey International Miserable & Alone Day!! Recommended Reading: The Loathsome Couple by Edward Gorey, guaranteed to complete your celebration... Source: Retreat by Random House The simple answer to whether you should write about friends & lovers is this: If you want to keep them in your life, I'm thinking NO. Besides, if you're serious about keeping them around/getting them back, you'll likely end up with flat characters whose traits are all positive. Personally, I haven't met any perfect people yet. But, what about those friends & lovers who are no longer in your life? Source: SendScraps.com Click on image to link to their website Segue: “There was a time when our desire for each other would have landed us in an asylum or prison, had it not been sanctioned by mutual assent.” ~Krauser Sounds like a lover's declaration, but I can honestly say that I've felt this passion for both friends & lovers (even books:) The quote reminds me of times in my life when my emotions felt like they were river-rafting: a strong, flowing current of life. They live on in my memory, thus, however imperfectly. Yet here we are. Some relationships haven't withstood the test of time and some great loves are now relegated to 'we'll always love each other, but we'll never be in love with each other'. Does understanding WHY make it any more BEARable? Source: gogopedro.com Not for me. But writing about the emotions does. Whenever those river-rafting moments corporealize like they do on occasion, I feel...sad...sometimes devastated...like I've lost someone I never quite had, all over again. My advice: Go ahead & write 'what you know, with authenticity - it's not about recreating those people on the page (unless you're writing a memoir). Of course, the quirks you observe in those around you are bound to morph & burrow into fictional characters. Many of my friends & family have asked, "Is so-and-so based on so-and-so?" Which is fine - let them have their fun! Personally, I make exceptions with dead people, not unlike the character of Isabelle from my first novel: "Maybe I'll make a rule. From now on, I'll only frame dead people's paintings. It's a good rule. And it seems just as reasonable as many of the rules our society lives by." Read conclusion Love this painting I came across on Facebook! I imagine: * that those birds chirping & singing from the roots are my parents, my ancestors. * that from them, from the earth, my vibrant roots sing, with smiles in their voices and hidden wings that make me feel free, even when society tries to stomp on my dreams. Brought to mind an old Cummings poem. It's as if the words are heart-wide-open capturing my emotions: [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] BY E. E. CUMMINGS i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate (for you are my fate,my sweet) i want no world (for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) What I take from this: Society's lures--consumerism, greed, and especially prestige—are powerful magnets that can warp our beliefs about what we truly enjoy. They may cause us to work not on what we love, but on what we wish we loved. My wish if that more of us will begin to listen to our hearts. Society may want us to lose touch with our magical (s)elves, but we can choose to open up, lighten up and let go of our egos. Society's lures may thrive when we build up our egos, but its a steep price to pay: The decline of community & culture & creativity & most of all, our passionate hearts. Have a great weekend all, May you listen & follow your passions, TartanFrog, aka Dina |
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December 2015
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