On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.
Here’s an entertaining and inspiring perspective on aging from one of my favorite authors: Isabel Allende.
At a recent workshop, one woman commented, “Everything you’ve suggested sounds great, but what if you’re not naturally creative. What happens then?” Several other participants nodded in agreement and looked to me for answers.
I didn’t want to get into a lengthy discussion about whether or not creativity was an innate trait. Instead, I suggested that it was never too late to explore creativity and launch second, third, and fourth acts in life. I then shared three strategies that have helped me on my writing journey.
Continue reading on the Nights of Passion blog.
On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.
A while back, a good friend sent me this video about a man who persevered despite his circumstances. An inspiration for all of us!
Born this day in 1897, author and aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. For this flight record, she received the United States Distinguished Flying Cross.
Ms. Earhart continued to set record after record demonstrating that women could aspire to the same heights as men. And even more amazing she was able to transform her hobby into a career going on to become an author, lecturer, poet, and airline industry vice-president.
A powerful role model, she continues to inspire girls and women of all ages.
My favorite quotations from Amelia Earhart:
Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?
Never interrupt someone doing something you said couldn’t be done.
Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off! But if you don’t have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.
There’s more to life than being a passenger.
Never do things others can do and will do if there are things others cannot do or will not do.
Preparation, I have often said, is rightly two-thirds of any venture.
The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do.
A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.
Decide whether or not the goal is worth the risks
Happy National Amelia Earhart Day!
On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.
This short Zen story reminds us about the importance of mindfulness:
Two men were arguing about a flag flapping in the wind.
“It’s the wind that is really moving,” stated the first one. “No, it is the flag that is moving,” contended the second.
A Zen master, who happened to be walking by, overheard the debate and interrupted them. “Neither the flag nor the wind is moving,” he said, “It is MIND that moves.”
On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.
A fan of Dame Helen Mirren, I enjoyed listening to these highlights from her Commencement Sheet at Tulane University on May 20, 2017 in New Orleans. As always, Dame Helen inspires and entertains with her timely advice.
Today, the Dalai Lama celebrates his 83rd birthday. The recipient of numerous awards, among them the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, he continues to inspire us with messages of non-violence and universal compassion.
Here are ten of my favorite quotes from His Holiness…
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.
Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.
We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.
In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.
Someone else’s action should not determine your response.
Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.
Anger or hatred is like a fisherman’s hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it.
I always say that people should not rush to change religions. There is real value in finding the spiritual resources you need in your home religion.
On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.
I love Zen stories…here’s another one of my favorites:
One day a young Buddhist on his journey home came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier.
Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey he saw a great teacher on the other side of the river. The young Buddhist yells over to the teacher, “Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river”?
The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back, “My son, you are on the other side.”
Source: Zen Stories
Longer days and shorter nights…Today marks the start of the summer solstice.
The term “solstice” is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). The sky at noon does not appear to change much during the solstice and its surrounding days. The rest of the year, the Earth’s tilt on its axis—roughly 23.5 degrees—causes the sun’s path in the sky to rise and fall from one day to the next.
Here are ten of my favorite “summer” quotations:
Summer’s lease hath all too short a date. ~ William Shakespeare
Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.
~ Jenny Han
And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine … it’s summertime! ~ Kenny Chesney
Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds. ~ Regina Brett
Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. ~ Sam Keen
Summertime is always the best of what might be. ~ Charles Bowden
I love how summer just wraps its arms around you like a warm blanket.
~ Kellie Elmore
There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. ~ Celia Thaxter
The summer night is like a perfection of thought. ~ Wallace Stevens
On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.
In the introduction to Daring Greatly, author Brené Brown shares her perspective on “The Man in the Arena,” the famous excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt’s “Citizenship in a Republic” speech. I find myself rereading the following segment whenever I’m facing a challenging situation.
“When we spend our lives waiting until we’re perfect or bulletproof before we walk into the arena, we ultimately sacrifice relationships and opportunities that may not be recoverable, we squander our precious time, and we turn our backs on our gifts, those unique contributions that only we can make.
Perfect and bulletproof are seductive, but they don’t exist in the human experience. We must walk into the arena, whatever it may be–a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation–with courage and the willingness to engage. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and hurling judgment and advice, we must dare to show up and let ourselves be seen. This is vulnerability. this is daring greatly.”
