Tag: Life

Is There Such a Thing as Life Without Music?

What would your life be like without music?

Life without music would be insufferably boring. And, I think, it would be impossible to live life without it.

Not because we would drop dead from lack of music or lose all motivation and will, but because humans must make music. We feel rhythm and melody in everything. Nature sings: birds, wind, waves, thunder and lightning. Small wonder that man found ways to make musical sounds of his own.

For me, personally, music is a means of relaxation and inspiration. Relaxation from stress and worries, and inspiration for my imagination and writing. I have no particular taste in music; all genres are fair game. I just enjoy music as a means of processing ideas and, perhaps, of hyping myself up for a project.

Music also helps keep me sane when I’m mired in boredom or doing repetitive chores. Music is very important in my life, and I would be lesser for its absence. I think most people would.

And it’s impossible to avoid it. Music runs through my head during the day with or without headphones. It’s always there, drawn from an archive of songs and melodies. We are musical beings. People need music. I certainly do.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

What I Feel Isn’t Always What I Need

Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

I wish I had learned much earlier in life that how I feel about something doesn’t change the need to do it. I wish that I had learned, a long time ago, that I shouldn’t only write when I feel inspired, that I only need to exercise when I feel good, and, in short, I should only do anything when I am “up to it.” Work still needs to be done regardless of my feelings on the matter, and even hobbies and joys can feel awfully dull sometimes.

I wish I better understood ten or twenty years ago that emotions shouldn’t dictate my actions, either to motivate me or restrain me. Emotion is separate from will. The will to do something is a conscious effort. Acting on passion is impulsive, and the burst of energy it gives is fleeting. The will to complete a task requires patience and quiet diligence.

Perhaps this seems obvious to you, and I’m just pointing out a fact that is clear as day. But I didn’t fully understand this when I was younger. I do now, and it has helped me better understand both myself and how life works.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

TV and Nostalgia

What TV shows did you watch as a kid?

Nostalgia gets a bad rap for being a blindfold that prevents us from perceiving hard truths about our childhoods. That can be true, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. I have very fond memories of my childhood that nostalgia helps keep alive, and that includes the TV shows I watched. Particularly the animated ones.

I spent many evenings with my dad watching some of our favorite cartoons: Justice League, X-Men Evolution, Samurai Jack, Teen Titans. And also one Transformers show that I can’t remember the name of (and wasn’t really all that good, but it was in the same time block, so we watched it anyway).

It was very cozy, watching TV with my dad. Television is great entertainment, but it’s somehow more meaningful when enjoyed with others. I recall those days with no small amount of wistfulness. Simpler times, for him and for me.

It’s strange how as children we take things for granted that we yearn to have back now. Saturday morning cartoons were just part of the routine. They weren’t a golden age of our lives, a precious memory to hold near and dear to our hearts. They were just … there. Fun, sure, but not precious. Not yet, anyway.

And if that’s the case, nostalgia possesses at least one positive quality: It preserves our best memories.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

One Smile at a Time

Did you give someone a smile today? A small hello, a gentle smirk?

Did you bid someone “Good morning” and “How do you do?” Did you let a stranger know that you noticed them and cared?

It is a precious thing in today’s age. A little hello can lead to big changes. A drop of kindness can spread through the heart. A word has power, even if that word is “Hi.”

Give someone a smile. A real smile, a polite smile, a warm smile, a pleasant smile. And back up that smile with a word. A scant few seconds of your life given over to another. Nothing lost, but maybe something gained.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

As I Grow Older, These Grow in Value

What do you think gets better with age?

Aging is not a curse nor a tragedy. It is a fact of life, and like all things in life, brings both good and bad. Indeed, age brings many good things with it. Many things grow in joy and fulfillment as we grow older. Here are just a few:

  1. Friendship. As I grow older, I value my friends all the more. A fresh, new friendship is like an apple that hasn’t quite ripened. It may be a little sweet and hold promise, but it hasn’t yet reached full maturity. A friend who has been at your side for years is more precious than a brother or sister, and you can have full confidence they will stick with you through thick and thin, as they have for so many years already.
  2. Health. As we get older, our health can get a little rickety. I am grateful that I can get out of bed unassisted, that I can walk from one side of town to the other, and that I can take a breath without pain. Does that sound a little morbid? But I value every moment of good health, and strive to make the most of it. A child takes his good health for granted. With age comes an awareness of mortality, and with it, a deeply held joy in a robust life.
  3. Memories. The longer we live, the more memories we are given. Memories can be like old friends – or prodding critics – and reflecting on them helps us discover how full our lives truly are. Even if we think we lived a dull, uneventful life, looking back on our memories reminds us that nobody is uninteresting or boring. We all have memories that span the gamut from comedy to triumph to tragedy to drama to wonder. We all live, and we all remember.
  4. Time. Ah, time. The great equalizer. It bows to no one’s will or demands, no one’s wishful thinking or logical arguments. Time is an unceasing gear, turning with heedless inevitability. In other words, you can’t get more of it. I value time now more than I did as a ten-year-old, because I have less of it. Time is a nonrenewable resource. Make the most of it! I treasure moments that can never come again, for their fleeting nature makes them precious.

What about you? What do you think gets better as you age? What do you value more as you get older?

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

The Memories of Childhood

I remember the smell of freshly baked peanut butter cookies in the kitchen wafting like a warm summer breeze. I remember how they crumbled in my hand as I ate them, little bits of delicious debris, and how there were always enough to last a week or more. I plucked them out of the Tupperware container one by one, day by day, a child’s guilty pleasure.

I remember the sound of my father mowing the lawn, a sawing roar yet somehow comforting. I remember the pungent odor of freshly cut grass coming through my open window, and I remember him manhandling the lawnmower up the steep hill in our backyard.

I remember walking through the forest park, the pine needles blanketing the ground like slivers of gold. I remember the tall trees that shaded me, and the baseball diamond at the park’s edge, where my parents and I used to buy hot dogs before returning home.

I remember the day after I had my wisdom teeth removed. My mind was a drowsy blur from anesthetics. I remember how my numb jaw felt like a lump of dead meat that didn’t hurt even when I pinched hard. I held a bag of frozen peas against it when the feeling and the pain started coming back.

I remember when I first became a writer. My parents owned a word processor, and I used it to write stories about my action figures. I printed them out and hung them on my wall, so proud of my work. I started my first novel, and never got past the fifth page. I remember getting my first computer, a great, gray blocky thing, and using it to write new stories. A child’s fancies that watered a ripe imagination.

I remember much, much more. More than could ever be committed to blog or paper. My childhood is over. The memories endure.

***

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

When I Retire …

How do you want to retire?

It’s never too early to plan for retirement, is it? Well, it’s never a bad idea to think ahead, at least.

How do I want to retire? Alive would be a good start. Wait, that’s kind of morbid. Let me start over ….

When I retire, I want to be healthy, active and with the ability to continue sallying forth to enjoy life. I really look forward to being able to travel more. And to do that, I need to be in good shape physically and psychologically. I also need to have money, of course, but that’s what saving up for retirement is all about.

But I don’t just want to engage in fun activities. I want to have fun with other people. What’s the point of retiring if you’re going to be alone, anyway? Friends and family get old with you, right? So why not enjoy a life without workdays together?

Retirement is something that I do look forward to, and I want to be ready for it. I want to be the sort of person who can get the most out of a life where weekends are a strange, distant, obsolete concept.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Literature Adds to Reality …

Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.

C . S. Lewis

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I sometimes post cool quotes by writers.

Bachelors Need to Clean, Too

What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?

Consistently cleaning my home every week.

The stereotype about bachelors is that they’re messy fellows living in pigsties. Cleanliness is supposedly a foreign concept to the unmarried male. Well, I don’t live in a sty, nor do I have a pile of unwashed clothes taking up half my bedroom, nor do I have strange species of mold growing in my refrigerator. I’m … adequately tidy. But I could stand to clean just a bit more often.

Go figure. Some of us grow up being taught to perform our daily chores diligently every week, then we become adults, move out, and regress into Neanderthals. Maybe independence isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s certainly no excuse for lack of self-discipline.

Regardless, performing my cleaning chores on a regular basis is a small but significant improvement I can make in my everyday life.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Exposed: More Risks of Being a Writer

In my last post, I talked a bit about the material risks of pursuing a writing career: the money and time involved. Now, I’d like to talk about more abstract risks.

Courage

To write is to put pieces of yourself into all your work. An author writes from the soul, baring his thoughts, beliefs, joys, and hopes to a world that may very well look on it all with indifference or contempt. That is a huge risk, especially if your work is meant to sway hearts and minds. You are, for all intents and purposes, metaphorically standing naked before the world. Making your work public is an act of courage.

Disappointment

How have you responded to tepid reception to your book or short story? How long have you labored to complete it, only for it to not live up to your expectations? It happens. It has happened to the greatest authors of the ages. To write for yourself and then tuck away the results can bring some pleasure, but if you make it available to the world, you may find that the world doesn’t see it with the same fondness. It doesn’t mean that you lack talent or diligence, it is simply the way that life turns sometimes.

Time (again)

Well, well, aren’t I a cheat? Putting up “Time” two posts in a row? But I’m talking about it in a different context here. I’ve already dwelt on how writing means putting in the time. But writers are also fighting against time. Every artist does, I suppose. We have so many ideas. Loads and loads, enough to last more than a lifetime. But we only have a lifetime, so we must face the truth that we won’t be able to complete every project that we want to before the end. So, which projects will you focus on? What are your most precious ideas that must be given form and shape? Choose wisely.

Again, apologies if my latest post was a little grim for your liking. To be an author is a great thing, but it carried its own struggles. Worthwhile things always do. I greatly enjoy writing and publishing, even as I acknowledge that it carries immense frustration sometimes. Even so, for those of us who write, we push forward. Don’t stop, even if it seems as if the risks outweigh the rewards. Keep writing.

***

Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“