I have a still, joyful stream running through me tonight. I’m doing some things differently, and it has been a challenge. However, I love to see what I can do, or better said, see how I can overcome the limitations I sometimes place on myself.
I’ve learned that before I blame others for what I cannot do, I should try to do it. If I fail, I need to examine why I couldn’t do it, or I will never advance the way I want.
That means I can only do the things I have been gifted to do. I can’t do everything. I know I have limits. For example, I know I can’t be a medical doctor because I don’t have that gift. There are so many other things that I can’t do, and I am okay with that. I’m not in the world to copy someone else. I’m here to discover the original Pat I was born to be.
So my day was a day of learning new things that I won’t discuss here. They are my secrets. But it was a day of reaching out to others and intensively listening. If there is anything I enjoy better than writing, it is listening. I can sit and listen and observe for hours.
My list for this week includes the following:
Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
A letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
We have just entered Day 21 of the Blogging Challenge. Each day from now on will bring us close to the finishing line.
Today, I will start my Sabbath Day at 6 p.m. I have learned that I needed to rearrange my Sabbath by competing in the Challenge. I get more out of it now, and that makes me happy. I wouldn’t have recognized that there was a better way if I hadn’t participated in the Blogging Challenge.
I am checking out all of my routines. Sometimes they can be killers of new possibilities that are better ways of doing things.
I have decided to keep my agenda planning calendar. I thought about changing to something else. But I saw that what I already have fulfills two essential functions: I write my lists in my agenda app; the days and appointments I have booked go straight to my calendar.
Finally, I will close the office at 6 p.m. and sit back to a movie and a glass (maybe two glasses) of dry Italian red wine.
Congratulations to all who are participating in the Challenge. We’ve made it to Day 21. YEAH! We Are Champions! at least, in this Blogging Challenge.
My List for the starting week:
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
I discovered some time ago that people who change history are not fearless. They are fearful, but they go ahead and move in the direction of their dreams anyway.
They give me the courage to walk the truths I have discovered and do it afraid.
That is why I admire artists like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Henri Matisse. Or writers like Charles Dickens, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Georgette Heyers, Phillis Wheatley, Sarah E, Farro, and Lorraine Hansberry, who made her mark by becoming the first African American to have a play performed on broadway.
Many of these artists have made an imprint on my life; some sit around my invisible mentor’s table. Some received very little recognition, and some died impoverished.
I am still determining where I will end up, but I will keep moving forward until time as we know it is no more.
So, that’s my takeaway for today. If you have a dream deep down inside you, a desire that you think will benefit others and yourself, and you fear what others will think, let it bother you if you want, but don’t stop being what you were destined to be. You’ll only see change once you learn to do it, afraid.
My list for the week
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Living your life fully doesn’t mean being busy. There are many busy people, but if you look at their faces, they are miserable. Their eyes aren’t glowing. Happiness has eluded them. If you get the chance, look into their eyes, that is, if they will let you.
Busyness disrupts the soul and the spirituality of any person. It breaks the contact with the heart, and we disconnect from our core selves. That’s my belief.
So as I started out with the A DAY IN MY LIFE…SUBTITLE: SNIPPETS OF ME CHALLENGE, I wanted to measure my soulful spirituality to see if I was just being busy to be busy or if I was still on my journey, seeking to evolve into all that I am supposed to be on my journey.
I’m not going to tell you what I have found out, but I will say that I like who I am and who I am becoming.
Being and Becoming are separate processes that continually grow until you are dead. When you have totally become, you are no longer here.
Life is a journey that leads you to be fully alive (I’ve used the word ‘alive’ here to better define ‘Being’); fully becoming and what holds these two concepts together is LOVE. You can’t choose to be or to become as a single element without the other. If you’re all about being, your egocentricity stands out, and you walk over people. Living only a becoming life makes you otherworldly; your head is in the clouds, and you’re ignoring people.
Only through living a fully alive, fully becoming life do we find our significance and are thereby prepared in our hearts to reach out to others.
Jan Masuhr on Guitar, Pat Garcia, Soloist
Reach out and touch Somebody’s hand Make this world a better place, if you can.
Take a little time out your busy day To give encouragement To someone who’s lost the way Or would I be talking to a stone If I asked you To share a problem that’s not your own
We can change things if we start giving Why don’t you Reach out and touch Somebody’s hand Make this world a better place If you can.
If you see an old friend on the street And he’s down Remember, his shoes could fit your feet Try a little kindness, and you’ll see It’s something that comes Very naturally.
We can change things if we start giving Why don’t you Reach out and touch Somebody’s hand Make this world a better place If you can.
*Lyrics are taken from Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson; Initially sung by Diana Ross.
Now, the way I’ve said this might not be grammatically correct, but it’s my belief, and it springs from my heart.
My List is getting smaller.
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blogs (I caught up on visiting all the blogs, Yeah, Yeah, YEAH!)
Send one of my stories to the person who will do the critique I won for winning the WEP.
RWF Board Meeting via Zoom (Completed. There’s a story behind my being on the board. I’ll tell it before the Challenge is over.)
This morning, I woke up to rain mixed with snow. However, it stopped. As I came off my first break, I looked out the window in my office; the sun was peeking through, and tiny snowflakes were coming down from the sky. I hope it doesn’t stay.
I have been catching up on my comments. I don’t like being behind, but my accounting for the writing group I belong to had to be done. I have about three or four more blogs to comment on, so if you have yet to see a comment from me, you will. I have been taking each person and commenting on their outstanding blog posts before I move on to comment on another writer’s blog.
After my zoom board meeting, I will do my best to finish the others.
So far, I have enjoyed reading all of the posts. Whenever I go to a new blog, I am reminded of how different we are.
Thanks to all of you who have visited my blog posts so far. I appreciate it greatly.
In closing, my Knitting Group at the Post Office was joyful. My ladies were very comical yesterday. I’ve not laughed so hard in a long time.
My list for this week is below.
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blog comments,
Send one of my stories to the person who will do the critique I won for winning the WEP.
I finished my yearly treasury reports for 2022 and am relieved and happy today. Our board meeting is tomorrow via Zoom. I usually have them complete and sent out by the first week of the month, but adjusting to the Challenge has caused me to slow down and readjust to the pressure, and some of my typical responsibilities are behind.
I’m not a person who has nothing to do. I have already made people I want to work with this year aware of my new plans for 2023. I take my time and succeed most of the time.
For example, in this year’s second half, I plan to go back on stage and do five or seven concerts with my band. For a woman like me, five or seven gigs are a lot.
We will start rehearsals sometime in June and then take the autumn months to be on the road on the weekends. I look forward to it. When I sing, I connect with my audience; these are the times that I am pleased that I am fluent in German.
My audiences are a mix of all cultures, and because they live here, they speak German. If I want to connect with them, I must communicate in their language. That’s one of the things I learned from the German Professor who was so strict with me. I have seen too many Americans fail to connect in Europe because they refused to learn the language of the country where they live.
I am blessed to be able to travel to Italy, France, and the french speaking parts of Belgium and communicate, even though my French and Italian could be better.
I will take a break in a few minutes and will close now.
I have an hour of knitting today with my little old ladies. One of them has already texted me on WhatsApp and asked if I would come. I quickly arranged my calendar for today, so I could be with them for an hour. I so look forward to being there.
The open items from my list for this week to include new items are below.
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blog comments,
Knitting Group at the Post Office
Send one of my stories to the person who will do the critique I won for winning the WEP.
DAY 16, JANUARY 17, 2023, Housecleaning and Writing
As a writer, I measure my writing time like sand flowing through an hourglass. The phrase, like sand flowing through an hourglass, comes from the soap opera Days Of Our Lives, which premiered on television on November 8, 1965. I watched that show religiously until…, but that’s another story.
Let’s get back to housecleaning. I used to feel guilty because my house was not spic and span, with everything in order and windows so clean that you could see into your neighbor’s living room.
Then, a few years ago, I took an intensive writing class similar to this Challenge. The instructor came into our online course the day before it started and left a suggestion report that she said was essential that we read before we got started. In that three-page report, she advised us that if we were planning on sticking with her class until the ending date, we would have to decide if we would be actual writers or live in a spic and span house and not give all our attention to writing. She went on and then told us how she managed housecleaning and writing. Her central premise was that you’re not superwoman, and you’re not supposed to be that, so figure out your budget and find someone you trust to help you keep your house clean once a week or once every two weeks. It’s up to you.
I would have never thought about hiring someone to keep my house clean because my pride demanded that I do everything. I quickly realized that I had a problem with pride, which stemmed from my overrated view of myself. Once I dealt with that hideous woman hiding behind the superwoman cloak and got help, guilt concerning my house became a thing of the past.
Since then, I’ve had someone who comes in twice a month and cleans. The only exception was during COVID. I’m now looking at an agency that can fulfill my need for help twice a month since the trustworthy lady I had, stopped working. If that agency meets my conditions, I’ll be smiling.
My list to complete this week:
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blog comments,
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA.
Drove to Aschaffenburg to pick up my prescription. (completed this morning)
Took my dirty clothes to my washroom to be washed. (completed this morning)
I let myself slip slowly into Mondays. I didn’t think I could do that by participating in this Challenge. This morning, I discovered that I’m adjusting. Falling into the week by starting slow on Mondays is still there for me and I’m smiling.
I prefer to avoid being hectic or rushing, especially on Mondays. So, I’ve meditated, had breakfast, read the preface and first chapter of a new book, and taken a forty minutes nap before I came to my office. I admit that I avoid people who start their week with hectic and a million demands they must do immediately.
I’ve learned that avoiding such people prevents me from having headaches and stomach ulcers. Was I always this way? Definitely not! It took searching within myself as I read books that gave me the strength to change. That’s why I like good non-fiction books. They cause you to do a soul check on yourself.
My list for this week will grow. There are items that I still need to add. So, I’m starting with what I have.
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blog comments,
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA.
My day has been full of joy. I like my Sabbath Sunday because it gives me time to retrospect on who I am becoming. That has nothing to do with vanity but a desire to be authentic with me. If I refuse to face my vulnerabilities, I become a falsity and would tumble at first sight of a storm. Like the man who built his house on sand, when the rain came, his house collapsed, so is it by anyone who refuses to face their true selves.
Thus, I started my Sunday off with my church family, and afterward, I had coffee in our cafe and sat and listened to the people around me. I also made it a point to greet new people attending our church for the first time.
Today was special. One of my besties had a birthday last week, and I took her out to dinner after we left the church. We are both extremely busy women. She is a city councilwoman/tax consultant, and I am a writer. To say that we enjoyed our time together is an understatement. We took the time to be authentic with each other. Here are two pictures of us at the restaurant The East.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blog comments,
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA.
I wouldn’t say I like cold weather. Neither does the liquid sunshine that regularly falls here in my part of the country please me, and let me not wake up in the winter and see beautiful dandruff covering my windows.
Dandruff, the snowflakes relaxing on window, vex me, especially. That was until I learned how to Alpine Ski in Austria. If someone had told me that I would have fallen in love with the sport after the first week of a ski trip, I would have said, “you’re crazy.”
I looked to see if I still had my photo with me in my yellow ski suit. Unfortunately, I don’t. My office flooded twice in one year a few years ago, and some of my pictures did not outlive the flood.
I stopped skiing after my husband, and some of our friends went skiing on a very high mountain, and Hans, my husband, returned with six broken ribs. They had wanted me to come with them and give the mountain a try. But I said no because I knew my skills were not advanced enough to go down those slopes. Like I said before in one of my posts, I’ve learned to choose my battles regardless of what kind of battles they may be.
People get insulted and speak words that will hurt you when you do that, but I stick to what I’ve said. Thus, I’m thankful I always have takeaways from my past mistakes.
After his accident, Hans didn’t want to ski anymore. I found that out the following year when planning our ski trip.
Still, I’m not too fond of snow, but I have a heart for those in Europe who look forward to skiing.
It has been a long morning for me. After my routine, I have already completed two new items I have put on my list.
Therefore, my list for today is as follows:
I am revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Updated Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel on my Mac. (Completed)
Schedule a Zoom meeting for later. (Completed)
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA.
