Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Anti Depressant Medication

Posted in Musings, Uncategorized, tagged , on September 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I have never been one to take drugs. Hate what they do to me. I am not, however, against its appropriate use for others who need it. I have worked with women for years and seen the long and short term effects of abuse and mental health problems on thier lives. Clearly the safest and speediest choice is MD moderated medication. I am too chicken. Maybe I just didn’t need it but I could have been wrong.
I tried to drown my sorrows by drinking lots of water. It helped. I wasn’t thirsty anymore but I was still sad. I tried to write myself out of depression. That helped but then I became antisocial. Writing takes a lot of time away from human interaction. What to do?
I did my research to find people who were happy. What did they do?  The most pleasure seemed to manifest when people were eating and not just eating regular food. The most blissful personae seemed to be those who were devouring chocolate.  That had also been off my agenda.  I couldn’t let  go of the vision of devouring a delightful piece of chocolate.  There must be just the right chocolate for me.
In my research, I finally  found a product which fit the bill. I needed something round, to give the appearance of taking a pill….(psychological uplift).   I wanted something dark….(more cocoa – intense response).   I needed a  little treat at the centre….().  I thank the kind person who introduced me to the best resource.  My supplier even had an address close to home.
Ever tried those Lindt balls? Lovely. I will now take one or two, depending on the level of distress per day. To avoid taking an overdose, i asked my husband to dispense them daily.
Ahhhhhh! Definitely the better option for me.

Read Full Post »

Signs and Omens

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on September 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I do seem to spend more time writing than reading. I think I even spend more time buying books than actually sitting down to read, something which is troublesome but mostly due to work restrictions. Even if I only scan a book quickly, what is important is the message. I scanned a book about signs and omens. It would have been one of those that would have been lovely to read. I get its message. Really, just pay attention to things which happen in a day. There is always something to be gleaned from it, or something which will have importance.
Today, on one of my shortened forays into the big city, I did my usual round of hairdresser, dentist, shopping and just idly noting all the changes in my old neighbourhood. Towards the end of the day, when I dropped of my hubby for a long overdue haircut and I went to the Occult shop to browse for the 15 minutes it would take to trim his hair. By the end of the day, four things which hold some significance melded together in a message I need to assess.
In a newspaper my husband picked up earlier there was a story about the great Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila, my olympic hero. It was the anniversary of his olympic win. Imagine 50 years celebrated on September 10. How lovely to see this honour for him. Kip Keino would be my other hero. Their courage and stories were so inspirational to me as a young girl.
The Occult shop had an interesting book called Hekate Soteiro. It was expensive. I was told by the sales girl that it was Sarah Iles Johnston’s PhD paper. I had to buy it. Hecate is my current hero. Although not new, I noticed for the first time, the Crow’s Magick tarot deck. My book, The Will to be True/In the Shadow of the Blackbird depends heavily on the myths of the Blackbird, raven or crow in part two. An image of the crow sits on it cover. Finally, I have wanted to be a JP for a long time. I applied before and was not successful but they are looking for candidates again and I will try again.
Four signs/omens – things generally important or special to me. Where this is going I don’t know. Lately, I feel change, a need to retire from nursing and move into something else. Maybe all these signs are omens pushing me towards the realization that this is the time to make change.

Read Full Post »

Bloggin’ vs writin’

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on July 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Now that my book(s) is finally in my hands in a sizeable quantity, I am wondering why I don’t spend all my time pushing to get it out to market. Every day the publisher sends out loads and loads of opportunities to sell at show, parties, conferences which all sound good but cost money. Spend to sell sounds kind of weird to me. The first month I had this story up online it had a thousand hits, and 300 readers. I was quite staggered, not by the numbers but by the places in the world where people logged on to read. Even now, the stories I write for Beauty and the Beast, an ongoing series of stories taking the old TV show in to the present time, has quite a nice following. I am definitely interested in the numbers, there’s no money involved, but what I love is seeing the different places in the world where people read it. I would love to connect with those folk in Egypt or Finland who have taken the time to read a few chapters, love the stories and come back to read another book.
My 20 yerar odyssey to write The Will to be True has its own value and will be a legacy for my grandkids etc but on a daily basis, my world travel list is just as exciting. I hope the effort that goes into writing those stories will continue to be appreciated just as much as much as the effort which culminated in the book.

Read Full Post »

Weddings

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on July 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

This year 2010 is the slowest yet for weddings. Every year, I have officiated at more than 10-15, a small number to be sure but they fill the summer weekends. This year I will have but one. It saddens me to think that our young people can’t find it in their heart to make a commitment to marriage and to stick with it. Marriage builds character. It is the ultimate exercise in compromise..not our principles but our onesidedness. Learning to be with another in harmony is difficult…letting go of our inner turmoil and not letting it poison our lives is the biggest challenge. it strikes me as interesting that there are those individuals who are struggling for the right to say to their partner, we are married, in our eyes and those of the law. We could learn lessons from them.
I will enjoy my one and only wedding this summer and continue to write stories which have that elusive happy ending, even if the road along the way is bumpy.

Read Full Post »

Absent Soul / Alma Ausente (via the stain of poetry)

Posted in Uncategorized on July 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I love this beautiful and lyrical translation of Alma Ausente which was brought to life for me by Ana Belen.

Absent Soul / Alma Ausente This article excerpt by way of Jim from the New Statesman: “Seventy years ago, in the middle of a late summer night, Spain’s greatest 20th-century poet, Federico García Lorca, was bundled into a hollow in a wooded ravine north of Granada and shot dead. Lorca, 38, was a challenge to everything Franco’s clerical fascism stood for. He was gay. He hailed Spain’s infant democracy. His sympathies were with the left. The poet could have fled Granada eas … Read More

via the stain of poetry

Read Full Post »

Fulfilling life’s goals

Posted in Uncategorized on June 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

All the stories I write are a compilation of the numerous events I have heard in a lifetime of interaction with people. As a nurse in maternal and newborn care, a Minister in a spiritual organization dedicated to a path of openness, and a health and wellness counselor, I have worked with people from all over the world. I thank them for sharing their stories with me. I am deeply grateful to them for trusting me with their confidences and I hope their struggles and triumphs are heard in the words.

I have been writing stories since I was a child, and reading others with equal interest. Story telling is a part of my cultural heritage. I have seen that sharing personal anecdotes is a way of helping people to easily connect with and understand complex human issues. I have never accepted the status quo. As a wife, mother and grandmother, it is important to me to access information through many venues because I accept that we are all different and our styles of learning and understanding are as multifaceted as the issues. I have lived in different countries long enough to be aware of how culture is ingrained in us and helps to form our character. Culture is at the heart of our souls. Currently, I live in Canada with my husband Harold. We have two sons David, Paul and four grandsons. My sister, Gertrude King, and I operate a women’s health and wellness service in a small community. I continue to work as a nurse helping new mothers negotiate the ups and downs of early motherhood. My ministry work consists of officiating at weddings, funerals and baptisms or baby naming ceremonies. Each role offers a unique way for me to touch people and to learn from them. I feel blessed to have found my eternal muse, an energy which has given me the steadfastness to complete what I start, something I have not done consistently.

I am moved, to write from the heart, by the music I listen to every day. This story, in particular was inspired by songs written by Jane Sibbery and ably performed by k.d. lang. ‘The Valley’ and ‘Love is Everything’ and of course, Please Help Me I’m Falling, made popular by Hank Locklin. The lyrics of Please Help Me I’m Falling challenged me to find a reason for someone to be in a situation like that. My favourite author, Daphne duMaurier wrote a similar type of love story called Frenchman’s Creek.

As I move through my autumn years, it is imperative to me that lifelong goals be fulfilled with as much energy as I put into my early career. Maturity allows me the wisdom to be more open and understanding, seeing the value in facing life’s challenges with courage, not always accepting that the status quo is best.

Read Full Post »

A sanctuary in which to write

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on June 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

 

05 Into The Mystic

This is my sanctuary, a spot where I can relax and watch the river flow outside and gather the energy I need to write.  The winter covers the ground and all is quiet.  With a fire burning brightly and music humming from the stereo, it is easy to engage the senses and value the beauty of nature.

Read Full Post »

Welcome

Posted in Uncategorized on May 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I am always moved to write stories based on musical verses and tunes which play on in my heart after the song is completed. Each song we listen to has a story embedded in its verses or questions which beg to be answered. What would make it difficult to find ‘the will to be true’? The Hank Loughlin tune ‘Please Help Me I’m Falling’ left me with this burning question for so many years. It took me twenty years to hear another song sung by k.d. lang and penned by Jane Sibbery, whose title provided a very simple answer: Love is Everything. Why did it take so long to reach a very obvious conclusion? Who knows? Maybe it was just like the act of falling in love itself. When the time is right, and two people realize they belong together, love is everything and drives us to a certain destiny.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts