Category: BLOGGING CHALLENGE

DAY 28, JANUARY 29, 2023

Good Morning,

I am ready for this Challenge to end. It has demanded more of my time than I expected. My characters are asking me if I ever will return. Especially Na-Doo, the main female character in my upcoming short story that is not yet released, keeps accusing me of forgetting her. When I told her I didn’t realize the burden the Challenge would have on her story, she advised me to think before I leap the next time, and she tapped her toes on the floor. 

She is patiently waiting for the last story that will go out on Tuesday. To keep her happy, I applaud her patience every day and thank her for being so kind to me. 

I am laughing. If you think that my characters are my muse, then you’re wrong. My characters are facets of me and would feel insulted if I thought of them as muses.

It’s Sunday, and my Sabbath starts at 6 pm. Typically, at this time of the morning, I am in church. However, I changed my Sabbath’s beginning and end so that I could continue participating in the Challenge and have 24 hours of rest, which I wholeheartedly admit I need. 

Since I was up late last night attending a writing seminar on Using Character Emotion to Wow Reader by Becca Puglisi on Zoom, I’m dragging today. But I still have a few more things I want to accomplish before I call it quits at 5:45 pm. 

My list of open items includes the following:

1. Cooking an Erbsen Eintopf. (One of my favorites Eintopfs made by the Bundeswehr. You may find the link here. https://www.kochbar.de/rezept/501362/Erbseneintopf-nach-Bundeswehrart.html
2. 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. 
3. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
4. Finishing the last revision of my first novel. 

Have a blessed Sunday.

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

DAY 27, JANUARY 28, 2023, HOW DO YOU SAY GOODBYE?

This morning, after my contemplation, I read Nonnie Jules’ blog posting for Day 26. After reading her poem, I went to the blog posting of Shirley Harris-Slaughter and read her Day 26 posting.

Shirley’s article is entitled How Do You Say Goodbye?
Her question, along with Nonnie’s poem, threw me into contemplativeness again.

John Donne and his Meditation 17 rose within me. Especially the line that says, “any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind and therefore never send to know for whom the bell toll; it tolls for thee.”

We are all a part of humanity, whether we accept that or not. No one can guarantee they will make it through the day or wake up the next morning. Yet, we treat life as something we dictate, which is sad.

How do I say goodbye is the question that Shirley asked.

I don’t have an answer to that question. Living on another continent, far away from my family and extended family, I do everything within my power to love them in the now with phone calls, text messages, video calls, and visits when I am in the USA.

I tell and show them that I love them every chance I get. Who knows if I will have the opportunity to say or show that tomorrow?

I want to know that whenever one of them leaves this world, if they go before me, and step into eternity, I will have given them the most precious gift I possess, which is to love.

Knowing I have loved them doesn’t take away the sadness or the pain, but it comforts me.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”*
(New International Version 2011, Zondevan, The Gospel According To John John 15:9-13)

(NONNIE JULES’ POSTING is linked to this posting, and Shirley’s article is linked. You are welcome to read both postings. The links will take you directly to their blog articles.)

My list of open items includes the following:

1. 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. 
2. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
3. Finishing the last revision of my first novel. 

Have a lovely Saturday. 

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

DAY 26, JANUARY 27, 2023

Good Morning,

Before my morning block of time could end(usually, it ends at 11:30 a.m.), but since I am optimizing my schedule, I changed it to 11:00 a.m. I got in my beetle and was on the road by 10 a.m. I am smiling because I went to one of my favorite bakeries in our village. They are all my favorites, but each bakery has delicious tarts different from the others. 

As I lay in bed looking out of my bedroom window, which is a sky window, I thought having pretzels and pastry for breakfast would be a scrumptious idea. It only took me about fifteen minutes. The pastries smelled so good. I would be big as a house if I went there every day, so I have a hard limit of twice a week to visit them. 

Baking is still a work of art here. Fresh bread tastes heavenly. The cakes and pastries are not sweet and are excellently made. You can’t compare buying a cake from a real baker to a store-bought cake from Kroger. There is a difference, or maybe I have just fallen in love with the European Style of life. So, my breakfast was yummy, and I am still smiling. 

Since I’ve been in my office, I’ve taken care of an invoice and conducted a telephone call with the people installing new communication cables in our village that will increase internet speed. 

At one p.m. my time, I have a Zoom meeting. People on the East Coast conduct the forum, so I am very thankful for their consideration of me so that they get up early for our meetings.

After my forum, I will work on my excerpt for my developmental coach and then bring wood in from where it is sheltered into the house for the fireplace. 

It is Friday, and I will enjoy a hot cup of gluhwein while I read a book or look at a movie that fascinates me and engages my mind.  

My list of open items includes the following:

1. 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. 
2. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
3. Finishing the last revision of my first novel. 

I wish all of you a lovely Friday. 

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

DAY 25, JANUARY 26, 2023 CAUGHT ON THE BLINDSIDE

Any writer that writes to improve the human condition and bring people into relationships that respect the otherness of others will get caught on their blindside. It happens not just once but many times, and you will always be surprised or in a state of shock because it throws you outside of your perimeters. Confronted with a new situation, you must redefine your boundaries, change or not redefine them, and stunt your growth. Choosing the latter can make you sick or even become deadly.

So it was on the morning of February 24, 2022. I went downstairs with a heavy heart. After almost seventy-seven years of peace, there was war in Europe. 

Disastrous news kept coming. People were fleeing. Children dying, Women and young females raped, and older people mishandled.  

Caught on my blindside, I didn’t know that such barbarian behavior existed, especially in Western Culture, but it does. And I had to learn how to deal with it emotionally. 

I now knew what it felt like to wake up while an airplane flew over your house and to be thankful that your home was still standing and no one was running to a bomb shelter.

I could point out other situations, but today that is not my purpose. I want to remind us that we should never take advantage of the ability to write. As writers, we are the eyes of the world regardless of whether we write poetry, fiction, or non-fiction. We are the world’s conscience, and what we say or don’t say will affect the coming generations. 

So here’s my open agenda. I will write that letter as soon as I put up my post. Therefore, I have taken it off the list. 

1. 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. 
2. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
3. Finishing the last revision of my first novel. 

Have a lovely Thursday.

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

DAY 24, JANUARY 25, 2023

Good Morning,

Today, I am working on finishing the revision of my first novel. I am very thankful I have a publisher who is patient with me. I am a hybrid author and am grateful to have found people from both spectrums of the independent/traditional publishing world who care about me. They listen to what I say, and at the same time, I listen to what they are saying. It is a two-sided coin. 

It is not always easy getting me to see the tiny fragments that make up a story that might need to be clarified or come too soon for the reader. But I move further when they leave me alone to see it myself. I am smiling right now because usually, when they get to the point of living with my decision, my eyes open, and I see what they mean. This is why my editors are crucial for my writing, and I take writing classes, attend writing conferences, and meet up with other writers wherever possible. 

I have said once or twice during this Challenge that no man is an island. I believe that wholeheartedly. This phrase comes from one of my favorite readings by John Donne. Most people think it is a poem, but it is a Meditation, contemplative words (here I go again with contemplation) that Donne wrote at an appropriate time in his life that fits exceptionally well in our lifetime.

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”* (taken from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions Together with Death’s Duel by John Donne and is recorded as he originally wrote it)

I ended yesterday before my fireplace with a tasty cup of Sanddorn Tea. I wanted to show you how beautifully my fireplace burned as I daydreamed before it. 

My list for this week includes the following:

1. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
4. Finishing the last revision of my first novel. 

Have a lovely Wednesday.

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

DAY 23, JANUARY 24, 2023

Tuesdays are sometimes the most challenging days for me to get through. I express my thanks for waking up, and I clean myself up. By the time I get downstairs, I am looking forward to going into my office. But internally, I am contemplating. The things I cannot see have absorbed me, and I would like to sit and let my inner world have its way. 

Depending on what is on my plate, I usually take the time to sit still and let the images form and the bits and pieces of word sentences have their way. I use contemplation not only to understand my purpose and place in this world but also to understand others.  

Thus, I am slowly moving into my day because I have been contemplating. There are things to do. I have a Zoom meeting in an hour and a half and many other things that I need to plug into so that my February is more relaxed than my January. 

My list for this week includes the following:

1. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
4. Attend my writing classes and do my homework,

Have a lovely Tuesday.

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

Day 22, January 23, 2023

Good Evening,

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:

1. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
4. Attend my writing classes and do my homework,

Have a lovely Monday.

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

DAY 21, JANUARY 22, 2023, Wrap-Up for the Week

Good Morning,

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:

1. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. Answering emails and text messages,
4. Attend my writing classes and do my homework.

Have a lovely Sunday.

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

DAY 2O, JANUARY 21, 2023, DO IT AFRAID

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  

1. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
4. Attend my writing classes and do my homework,

Have a lovely Saturday.

Shalom aleichem

Pat Garcia

DAY 19, JANUARY 20, 2023

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.

1. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
4. Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
5. Catch up on blogs (I caught up on visiting all the blogs, Yeah, Yeah, YEAH!)
6. Send one of my stories to the person who will do the critique I won for winning the WEP. 
7. 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.)

Have a lovely day.

Shalom aleichem

Pat Garcia