Category Archives: Images

July 21, 2016 · 3:42 AM

Musings A to Z Challenge: S

Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.

Starting

They say that you should start the way you mean to continue; in other words, if your daily goals fail to reflect your life’s vision, your life’s vision will never come to fruition. The great thing about it is that it’s never too late to start! Don’t wait for a New Year’s resolution; start now – whether it’s getting in shape, stopping smoking, eating healthier, completing a manuscript, or finding a job that you like… the sooner you start, the sooner your dream will become reality! If you don’t have the tools, get them; study; prepare to succeed, and you will!

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Tagged as A-Z Challenge, Arthur Ashe, Goals, Quote, Starting, Vision

July 20, 2016 · 3:41 AM

Musings A to Z Challenge: R

Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.

Risk

Risk-taking is part of growing, learning and maturing. Without risks, we would never learn anything new, or develop our skill bases, or grow into new areas of expertise – after all, an expert is just someone who’s practised, studied and learned enough about a particular topic to earn the title. Mistakes are intrinsic to the learning process, and that’s especially difficult for perfectionists to accept. People who are afraid of making mistakes will be more reluctant to risk trying anything incalculable, and therefore in the end, will learn less and succeed less than those willing to step out into uncharted waters.

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Tagged as A-Z Challenge, Albert Einstein, Quote, Risks

July 19, 2016 · 4:21 AM

Musings A to Z Challenge: Q

Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.

Quotes

I collect quotes the way some people collect stamps; any time I come across a good one, I add it to my collection. I wish I had photographic memory so that I could pull them out at the drop of a hat, but perhaps such a gift would rather be a curse than a blessing in this age of information-overload. The exact quote in the right moment can sum up an hour’s lecture into one pithy point; they say brevity is the spice of life, so if you have something to say, make every word count!

Quote 1

Quote 3

Quote 2

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Tagged as A-Z Challenge, George Bernard Shaw, Make Every Word Count, Quotes, Steven Wright, Zig Ziglar

July 18, 2016 · 12:32 PM

Musings A to Z Challenge: P

Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.

Patterns

Fibonacci sequences, thumbprints, leaves… every living thing displays the Designer’s patterns and, once upon a time, recognising patterns and movements was crucial to our survival. Magic Eye images were popular years ago, and proved that our brains can be taught to see beyond the obvious dimensions… those things which automatically catch our eye, whether in a visual or a literary medium. When I focus on a particular word, for instance, I will begin to see a pattern of usage; if I’m trying to minimize use of a word in a particular text, the ability to recognise the patterns is essential.

Patterns

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Tagged as A-Z Challenge, Fibonacci Sequence, Patterns, Quote, Taryn Simon

July 17, 2016 · 5:42 PM

Musings A to Z Challenge: O

Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.

Opportunities

Every day, we’re surrounded by chances to get it right, get it wrong, change our path, make amends, make new friends, discover something new, take risks, or make up for missed opportunities of the past. Hesitation and doubt are the biggest deterrents to opportunity; sometimes questioning is a healthy process, but it can also be so overdone that we never move forward, never take a chance to grab opportunity by the horns. So when you come to a crossroads, a place of decision or opportunity to take a calculated risk, don’t take the path well-trodden; break out into something new!

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Tagged as A-Z Challenge, opportunities, Quote, Sheryl Sandberg

July 15, 2016 · 5:50 AM

Musings A to Z Challenge: N

Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.

Novel

Don Quixote, first published in 1605, is widely considered the first novel; but the novel as a genre seems to have risen to popular culture in the 18^th century. Since then, millions of novels have been written because, through the perspectives, lives and times of characters, readers can escape their own realities for a short time, can learn something about themselves, and can perhaps even learn how to deal with their own challenges or difficulties in new ways. We love to identify with stories, root for good to triumph over evil, and see the hero or heroine fall in love.

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Tagged as A-Z Challenge, Don Quixote, Mary McCarthy, Novels, Quote

July 14, 2016 · 10:42 AM

Musings A to Z Challenge: M

Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.

Motion

As the quote implies, motion is movement, but it’s not necessarily productive or progressive; a hamster in a wheel may be moving, but it takes action to get out of the rut and do something new or different. We speak of going through the motions, which has the feeling of a hamster wheel sometimes, doesn’t it? While motion is value-neutral, it’s required for progress, success, advancement, and reaching goals; it must be accompanied by action toward our goals, or they will remain nothing more than castles in the air. So go for it: Move, act and reach your goal!

Motion

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Tagged as A-Z Challenge, Action, Benjamin Franklin, Motion, Quote

July 13, 2016 · 9:36 AM

Musings A to Z Challenge: L

Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.

Lackadaisical

Lackadaisical is such a whimsical word compared to what it actually means: “Unenthusiastic, uninterested, and lethargic”. I love the 18^th century definition: “sentimentally woebegone”; it came from a 1748 interjection, “lackadaisy”, which meant alas/alack. It seems to me the type of word that the fairy godmother in the 1955 Cinderella tale (The Glass Slipper, with Leslie Carron) would like to say just for the sound of it: Window sill… Cinderella… meadowlark… lackadaisical. Or a word that should be included in lists such as Mary Poppins’ favourite word, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (which is reminiscent of long German words, though English has them too).

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Tagged as A-Z Challenge, Cinderella, Doug Larson, Etymology, Film, Lackadaisical, Leslie Carron, Link, Longest German Words, Mary Poppins, Quote, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, The Glass Slipper

July 12, 2016 · 9:34 AM

Musings A to Z Challenge: K

Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.

Kaleidoscope

I love kaleidoscopes and their constantly changing patterns, made just by turning a simple tube; the creative energy of endless possibilities is what draws me, and the same can be said of words. Combined differently each time, they have endless possible patterns: It was a dark and stormy night; it was the best of times; it is a truth universally acknowledged; the sun shone, having no alternative, on nothing new; once upon a time. Each opening pulls us into a completely different world. A single premise may birth a thousand tales, each one inspiring a thousand more… so keep writing!

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Tagged as A-Z Challenge, Jean Houston, Kaleidoscope, Quote, Variety, writing

July 11, 2016 · 11:44 AM

Musings A to Z Challenge: J

Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.

Judgement

Political correctness has made some people afraid to judge rightly, so judgement may carry a negative connotation; for that reason, I prefer the word discernment, though in many ways they are synonymous. Both enable me to see through the smoke screens of situations or people and get to the core; they both help me to choose between right and wrong, and decide which way to go on grey issues. Judgement, like discernment, is a muscle that becomes stronger by exercising it and weaker if it falls out of use; the more we utilize them, the easier they become to wield.