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Overheard on . . . Bloomberg West

1/28/2014

“A seagull and a crow attacked two doves at the Vatican as they were released from a window by two children and the Pope.”

The symbolism of doves has a long history associated with fertility, feminism, love and peace. As far back as the iron age in Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean the dove can be found as a symbol for the mother goddess. There is even evidence that suggests ancient Israelites believed the Canaanite goddess, Asherah (symbolized as a dove) was consort to Yahweh. As described by Dorothy Willette writing for the Biblical Archeology Society: The Enduring Symbolism of Doves; From ancient icon to biblical mainstay – “… it is not so surprising, then, that the heirs of this Israelite religion incorporated the “feminine” symbol of the dove to represent the spirit of God (the word for “spirit,” ruach, is a feminine word in Hebrew).”

So the fact that a crow, which often symbolizes death or acts as an omen of something bad occurring, attacked a dove at the Vatican acts as an almost archetypal representation of the battle between good and evil, life and death, peace and war.

As with any symbol, our own psyche can add layers of meanings to that which might only be a normal aspect of nature (predators going after prey, the cycle of life). Still, for me at least, it connected on such a personal, deep level to events going on in my own life that it was impossible to ignore. Like the traffic ticket I received last fall, I wondered what this was trying to tell me about my life.

I have found truth and consolation in the quote from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” And I have discovered yet again that this year is meant to test my own intentionality. What sort of person do I want to be? How will I respond when facing feelings of hurt and anger?

My conclusion has been this- that there is one prescription for powerlessness, staying true to who I am no matter what comes at me. In this way, as a dove confronting a crow becomes the very best representation of peace and love, so my values, tested under extreme situations, show the world exactly who I am.

NEWS... NEWS... NEWS

> Betting Jessica and Untangling the Knot are now both available in PRINT - Find them at Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/e/B005YHFBQ2

> For the next few weeks I will be posting once a week only on Tuesdays. Please let me know what you think of this change. Thanks. Deanne

How do you cope with difficulties? I’d love to hear from you. And to prove it, leave a comment and I’ll enter you into my drawing where one lucky January commenter will win a copy of any one of Daniel Davidson's Travel Free Guides. Check back at the end of the month to see if you’re my winner. Please note –while I love and appreciate getting Facebook posts and Twitter replies, the comment must be made on my blog, using the blog form – this way all who see the blog post can engage in a shared conversation. Thanks.

(BTW - For those of you who don’t yet know of Daniel Davidson, he’s a travel writer with great advice on saving money while traveling. Check his website for more info: http://www.freetravelideas.com/)

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Overheard at . . . The End of the Oregon Trail Museum

1/21/2014

1 Comment

“Unlike plain string, a wick has a wire inside so that it burns straight.”

The guide went on to explain that in pioneer days the wire inside would have been made of lead. Obviously, that was banned when the lead poisoning became a known hazard.

The idea of hidden strength felt particularly appealing on a weak when my own has been tested. It made me think about the sorts of personality traits that create strength. Is it possible that, like lead, some of the things that help me get through rough situations might actually be toxic… or if not that extreme, then at least unhealthy?

As I’ve watched my daughter grow and encounter challenges I’ve learned what it means to think of myself as a holistic being. As such, not only the mind, but also the body and spirit are part of my coping mechanisms. If you think about it, our physical reactions to stress, sweating, loss of appetite (or an increased appetite), lack of sleep (or desire for sleep), are all physical responses to trying situations.

Likewise, an inability to focus and a sense of alarm (fight or flight) are ways our mind copes with stress. Finally, our spirit can shudder and retreat, or become defensive when faced with a difficult challenge.

Where within me do I find the core strength to resolve all of these different aspects of myself when all of my high alert instincts have been engaged?

As I look to my own core, I can see that the one word, Faith, has the strongest chance of breaking through the rest of my automatic responses. Starting with this as my core, I can find the strength to take my breaths and calm down my body. I can sleep more easily at night, and remind myself of all of the things I have to be grateful for. I can refocus my mind on what is important, and pay attention to that.

Faith that I will get through whatever, that the world is a good place, that there is so much more than my small world and its challenges, and that I am loved and cared about by many all help me to be a wick that stands straight, even in when tested by fire.

NEWS... NEWS... NEWS

> Betting Jessica and Untangling the Knot are now both available in PRINT - Find them at Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/e/B005YHFBQ2

> For the next few weeks I will be posting once a week only on Tuesdays. Please let me know what you think of this change. Thanks. Deanne

How do you cope with difficulties? I’d love to hear from you. And to prove it, leave a comment and I’ll enter you into my drawing where one lucky January commenter will win a copy of any one of Daniel Davidson's Travel Free Guides. Check back at the end of the month to see if you’re my winner. Please note –while I love and appreciate getting Facebook posts and Twitter replies, the comment must be made on my blog, using the blog form – this way all who see the blog post can engage in a shared conversation. Thanks.

(BTW - For those of you who don’t yet know of Daniel Davidson, he’s a travel writer with great advice on saving money while traveling. Check his website for more info: http://www.freetravelideas.com/)

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Overheard at . . . Starbucks

1/14/2014

2 Comments

“I gave up my cell phone.”

What? I couldn’t believe I’d heard correctly. Near me, someone was asking for a friend’s cell phone number and that was his reply. My mouth must have been hanging open, because he caught me staring and answered my unasked question. “I found myself paying more attention to it than to what was going on around me.”

Wow! I was in awe- the courage, the self-control, the… enlightenment bordering on Buddhist Arahant (the highest level of personal enlightenment achievable.) I was also intrigued. It led to a very interested and surprisingly down-to-earth discussion with this guy about the technological revolution.

Anytime someone throws NPR into a conversation you know I am hooked. So when this guy mentioned a show he’d heard describing the evolution of society through the Industrial Revolution into the technological one, I needed more. Searching NPR provided a number of sources on America’s great challenges and led to some finds such as Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think by Cukier, Kenneth and Mayer-Schonberger, Viktor, and Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Robinson, James A. and Acemoglu, Daron. But nothing pointed directly to the conversation we had about man’s evolution based on these two revolutions.

I suppose his reference is a bit like my overhears- a snippet of information which prompts deeper thought and consideration.

So while I can’t give you a link to reference, I can give you a bit more about our discussion. If I could sum it up in one sentence it would be- There is hope for artists. Here’s our train of thought…

The industrial revolution changed the way we work, lessening our need to focus on physical effort and instead direct work toward intellectual pursuits. The technological revolution is gradually lessening our mental efforts, allowing us to, what? And that is the question… what is left? If our bodies and minds are taken care of, this guy theorized that was is left is our emotions. Computers can’t emote (at least not yet). But we can…. So will our focus be on developing our emotional capacity? And if so, which area does this better than art?

Which brings us back to the idea of the cell phone and his giving it up. It is difficult to feel anything in a world where we are at least one step removed from what is happening around us. Rather than experience people we are with or react to the nature around us, it is now easy for us to hide behind the screen on our mobile phone or tablet. If what is demanded of us as artists, though, is a link to emotion, than we must break free of this boundary and step back into the world. We must focus on living moments with mindfulness and spontaneity so that we can translate meaning back to emotion.

And by translate, in my case, I mean write. And by write I mean type. Which I suppose means that I am not completely done with technology yet.

Cheers,
Deanne

NEWS... NEWS... NEWS

Betting Jessica and Untangling the Knot are now both available in PRINT - Find them at Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/e/B005YHFBQ2

Are you ready to give up your cell phone yet? Do you happen to know more about the NPR program mentioned? Leave a comment and I’ll enter you into a drawing where one lucky January commenter will win a copy of any one of Daniel Davidson's Travel Free Guides. Check back at the end of the month to see if you’re my winner. Please note –while I love and appreciate getting Facebook posts and Twitter replies, the comment must be made on my blog, using the blog form – this way all who see the blog post can engage in a shared conversation. Thanks.

(BTW - For those of you who don’t yet know of Daniel Davidson, he’s a travel writer with great advice on saving money while traveling. Check his website for more info: http://www.freetravelideas.com/)

NOTE: Thanks for all of the fun comments during the month of December. I am super happy to announce that is the winner of the $10 donation is Catherine Castle. A donation to my local Alzheimer's organization has been made in your name. Congratulations Catherine!

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Overheard at . . . Home

1/9/2014

0 Comments

“Uh, okay… Just a sec… Just, uh, wait… Huh? Right. One more minute…”

Although this is normally what we hear from our daughter, in this case it was me procrastinating. Specifically, I was reading the delicious book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and couldn’t quite put it down to get my daughter her dinner.

Only the very best books can do this to me. And even then, if there are delineated chapters I can usually find a breaking point. But this book has both the sort of writing that makes you want to see what happens next, and is written in the form of correspondence. Breaking the book into sections based on letters makes it nearly impossible for me to stop reading. Just one more short correspondence, I think. And then boom, I’ve read another ten pages and my daughter has returned, surprised that her macaroni and cheese from a box is taking this long (yes – sad to say that I do often make this for her).

Crafting a story that has this type of intense pull is not easy. Even a fantastic plot, if paired with less than deep characters and precise pacing, will allow my eyes to wander from the page. Then, like most readers, my attention is lost.

Some friends and I were discussing Fifty Shades of Grey yesterday (a fairly one sided conversation as only one of us, not me, had read it.) Still, though I have yet to find it in me to pick it up, I could at least engage with our discussion about the mechanics of the story. Specifically, the person who had read it said that the writing wasn’t even that good. And yet, she was drawn to keep reading and to finish the book, not just set it down.

In fact, I have already heard this about Fifty Shades. But while the writing might struggle, to have created characters compelling enough that the reader sticks with the story in spite of its flaws says a great deal, I think, about the author’s talent.

Don’t get me wrong… I still say the very best books are the ones that have it all. It matters not which genre each person prefers. Within every category are books that sparkle like moonlight on wavy water. Perhaps, if you are like me, you too will find such a book in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Now, sorry to keep it short, but I have a few more letters to read.

I’m still waiting to hear about your favorite or planned trips. Leave a comment and let me know what journeys have inspired you, and I’ll enter you into a drawing where one lucky January commenter will win a copy of any one of Daniel Davidson's Travel Free Guides. Check back at the end of the month to see if you’re my winner. Please note –while I love and appreciate getting Facebook posts and Twitter replies, the comment must be made on my blog, using the blog form – this way all who see the blog post can engage in a shared conversation. Thanks.

(BTW - For those of you who don’t yet know of Daniel Davidson, he’s a travel writer with great advice on saving money while traveling. Check his website for more info: http://www.freetravelideas.com/)

NOTE: Thanks for all of the fun comments during the month of December. I am super happy to announce that is the winner of the $10 donation to the non-political charity of their choice is Catherine Castle. Congratulations Catherine! Please leave a comment and let me know to which charity I can donate in your name.

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Overheard at . . . Starbucks

1/7/2014

1 Comment

“Me Proveró”

In Italian this means- I’ll try - something I would not have known had I not been facebook chatting with a friend of mine in Italy when my Starbucks neighbor began speaking on his phone. I’m not sure what else he said… I was more interested in chatting with my friend than in trying to decipher the phonetics of his Italian. But I do know that, unbeknownst to him, and not really knowing what they were talking about, I found myself sending nice thoughts to him and his caller.

It seems weird to me that we live in an age where the technicalities of communication are so simple. I still remember a time when my mother would have me write letters to my grandparents, or a Sunday phone call was a big deal. In the hall of my home there even stood an antique phone, where you had to wind the lever to reach the operator. It no longer worked. But it was a wonderful plaything, a spot to perch toys, and a frequent obstacle when exiting our rooms. (I frequently bumped my head on it.) To my nana though, it must have been like a phone with a cord is to me: a link to friends in the past.

But while the act communicating has become easier, the communication itself feels more difficult. Even discounting a world where speaking with someone in a foreign country (who speaks another language) is like shouting up the stairs for my daughter, using multitudes of vehicles for expressing myself can become burdensome. Phone, cell phone, email, Twitter, text , blogs, comments, Facebook (fan and personal pages), chats within just about any of these channels – the list goes on. And, what works for one person doesn’t for another. Does someone like to text with me or Facebook, or email or speak in person. I have to try to remember this, or inundate them via multiple channels.

And although all of these avenues make me feel connected in a way I never have before, they also are misleading. I feel close to my Italian friends, but am really not part of their life in any meaningful way. I think I know what is important to my local friends by checking their Facebook posts, and then find they had a major surgery or took a life-changing trip, from their Holiday card.

My comfort zone still lies in personal interactions. So, although my trip this summer is primarily to go to England… I suddenly find myself considering a side trip to Italy. I don’t know if I will be able to swing it, but as I told my friend there, “Me proveró.”

I’m still waiting to hear about your favorite or planned trips. Leave a comments and let me know what journeys have inspired you and I will enter you into a drawing to win a copy of any one of Daniel Davidson's Travel Free Guides to one lucky commenter during the month of January. Leave your comment and then check back at the end of the month to see if you won. Good Luck and Happy Journey.

P.S. In case you haven't found him yet, Daniel Davidson is a travel writer with great advice on saving money while traveling. Check him out at his website: http://www.freetravelideas.com/

1 Comment

Overheard at . . . Home

1/2/2014

1 Comment

“Now I’ll be able to use my English accent and people will understand me.”

To be fair, my daughter does have a unique ability to mimic accents and voices. This isn’t always a good thing as we’ve had a few awkward moments when she was younger and people may have thought she was making fun of them. Her favorite accent is a Northern English one. I believe she learnt it at an early age while watching a kids show on t.v.- but it never ceases to amaze me how spot on she is with it.

And, indeed, she will get to try it out in person this summer. True to my New Year’s Resolution, we started off 2014 by making the reservation for our trip to England this summer. I have a million ideas for our itinerary battling for attention in my head right now. But since the purpose of the trip is to do research for my next book, this sets the priority. Fortunately for both me and my daughter, the trip is based around a mother and daughter’s visits to competing tourist locations of Jane Austen and Harry Potter.

There are so many possible sites for each of these that even that will be difficult to cull. The filming of Harry Potter and the many Jane Austen stories has covered many English locales. But the point of the story will be the mother’s conflict between literary pride and commercial prejudice. Expect some romance thrown in there (for my character, not me:>) and it is a story I am really eager to write. It also is a great way to prioritize which of these many locations we visit.

I read somewhere that having a goal is a great way to focus a trip. At the same time the author wrote that while the goal might help create the itinerary, the real journey takes place in the experiences, planned or unplanned, along the way. So, while we will be excited to visit friends in England, and eager to finally go to some places my daughter has on her bucket list (like Highclere Castle, Stonehenge and The British museum for the Rosetta Stone,) the purpose of our trip is to experience our mother/daughter time, and allow it to inform the manuscript. We may even blog about it from each of our POVs... a record, so to speak, of this personal and emotional journey for each of us.

In the meantime, I’ll try to share our itinerary with you as it grows, and I’ll look forward to your suggestions. I like to hope it will be a Journey Inspired by Love and enjoyed by many.

Happy New Year! Here’s to your own Journeys Inspired by Love in 2014.
Deanne

Have you visited any must-see Harry Potter or Jane Austen sites? Do you have any big journeys (literal or metaphorical) planned for 2014? I love to hear from my blog readers! And to prove it I'll give a copy of any one of Daniel Davidson's Travel Free Guides to one lucky commenter during the month of January. Leave your comment and then check back at the end of the month to see if you won. Good Luck and Happy Journey.

P.S. In case you haven't found him yet, Daniel Davidson is a travel writer with great advice on saving money while traveling. Check him out at his website: http://www.freetravelideas.com/

1 Comment

Overheard on . . . Bloomberg West

Overheard at . . . The End of the Oregon Trail Museum

Overheard at . . . Starbucks

Overheard at . . . Home

Overheard at . . . Starbucks

Overheard at . . . Home

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Deanne Wilsted

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