Tag: dailyprompt

I don’t think I had any big dreams way back then. Thinking about what I wanted to be was nowhere to be seen. I was given the freedom to be whatever I wanted to be when I was five.

Playing with my make-believe friends in the woods behind my home was something I relished. I didn’t know then what dangers could lurk out there in those dark woods, all I saw was the tremendous possibilities hidden in those dark corners and fantasy was in the making. Strange that back then I was fearless. When did fear step in? I don’t really know but it did at some point in time and decided to stay for a while.

Five was an age that was filled with magic. I talked to the ducks, the chickens, my pet rabbits, the trees, the flowers, and everything else in between! My days were filled with wonder and my best friends were the gnomes and little people living under every mushroom! The wild orchids growing way up high fascinated me and so did the rainbow-colored fish swimming in the streams.

I was a fairy or at least I thought I was. My head was filled with wondrous things and most days, I was humming in the woods and waiting for some new make-believe world to open up and to invite me in. I guess I got my first interest in nature at that time even though I didn’t know it then. It would be a lifelong love affair.

Coming back to your question, I had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. Perhaps, a fairy with glittering stardust around me and a wand in my hand granting wishes like there was no tomorrow! At that point in time, it was what I wanted to be.

I think it is that you have everything within you to overcome what life throws your way. We have this insane power within that goes untapped most times because our first line of defense when adversity strikes is to howl at the moon and cry, “Why me?” Sure it gets the frustration out at the time or it is a way of letting out steam but in the long run, it is nothing compared to going within to bring that undefeatable power to the forefront, the one that can slay dragons if you let it.

There is tremendous power and strength within and I have tapped into this potential only to find that it is limitless. It is not easy I agree because human nature is weak and we are complainers more than anything else but if we can just understand that there is an untapped potential within and it can be used to overcome whatever it is that seems impossible at first but if given time and a single-minded focus, it is doable. I’ve fallen flat on my face many times over but these days, I don’t stay there. I go within to find the answers and the strength to move on. Standing still in one place is not an option, not for long anyway but moving on is. It may sound like mumbo jumbo to some but you were built to survive anything that life throws your way and you are equipped to do just that.

Daily writing prompt

What’s something most people don’t understand?

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It doesn’t matter these days as I am taking time out to get a book published and another one is in the works. However, as a former Fashion Editor for a fashion magazine, I didn’t do the mundane task of putting the articles together. There were others who were computer savvy or rather tech savvy who did the job of getting the articles ready for publication. I just did the writing part but the rest was left to a team which was a good thing because I am a technology klutz or rather I hate anything new that creeps in while I am not looking and disrupts my day to day existence!

I’m sure technology has added to and made things easier in the publication world and the world of writing but I still dig in my heels when I see something new that needs me to brush up on computer technology. Just this morning, I wanted to log into WordPress and I got a white screen. Nothing more! I later found out it was called the Death Screen! I had to Google putting my frustration aside and it gave some tips on how to rectify that problem. One was to clear the Cache. What the hell was that?!! Anyway, I found out and cleared the Cache whatever that is and got it to work. Not a klutz after all but I hate new technology and I also understand that it is needed in today’s fast paced world of ours.

Daily writing prompt

How has technology changed your job?

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This is a hard one for me because more often than not, I tend to beat around the bush instead of saying a plain, loud, no-nonsense NO! This mentality tends to interfere with my goals because it takes longer and a roundabout way to get there.

I think that being “nice” means bending over backwards to accommodate people or things that don’t serve me. It takes a long time to say no and to mean it. I am learning and getting stronger as I go along. However, this has its downside as well. I’m known as being complicated but it is a title that I am learning to wear proudly.

It takes focus to achieve your goals and if you let things that don’t matter, people who distract you, and softness to sway you, it gets that much harder to achieve. I am developing a hardcore mentality which doesn’t always serve me well but it is leading me on the right path and that matters. It is still a learning process.

I’ve always had the ability to paint pictures with words. I don’t know if you would call it a talent but it is something that I have noticed and others have noticed it too.

I can’t sing, I basically croak! My mom and sister were really good singers and I always envied that ability. Next to them, I was a sore thumb that stood out for more reasons than one. However, I realized that I had another skill and that was painting pictures with words. This skill comes in handy when I’m writing and I want people reading my stories and articles to picture or to experience what I’m saying or to keep me company along the way.

I am grateful and thankful for this gift and I do put it to good use especially when I go walking in nature. I capture what I see in my mind and later I add words to it. Somehow, it works and when I do go back and read what I’ve written, one question comes to mind. “How did you do that?”

A gift? Maybe. Whatever it is, it is nice to have since it helps me on my writing journey.

Daily writing prompt

What’s a secret skill or ability you have or wish you had?

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Cool in the shade and not so hot in sunshine. It is exactly the kind of weather we are having now and I love it. I am not a fan of hot weather, sweating it out is not my kind of thing and when it gets hot in Europe, it gets unbearable because some “people” love sweating versus turning on the air-conditioner.

Most homes don’t have this essential element to cool it down in the heat of summer. “Comfort cooling” as they would like to call it does not justify the expense of installing, operating and maintaining A/C. Plus, there are not enough hot days each summer to justify that kind of expense.

When it does get hot, unbearably hot, people have fans. I’ve invested in two Dyson fans that help to keep the place cool. However, the living room remains nice and comfortable in summer because it has stone floors and that is a nice feature of this house.

Coming back to my favorite type of weather, I would say a mix between cool and warm. Spring and fall offer this kind of weather and I love these two seasons for the comfort it gives in walking and being able to enjoy the surroundings without worrying about the damage too much sun is going to cause. Plus, I have a sun allergy, not something serious, but if I stay out too long and directly under the hot sun, my skin lets me know and not in a nice way!

Daily writing prompt

What is your favorite type of weather?

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I try every day to keep stress at bay because it is the one thing that turns my world upside down and shoots the cortisol levels to unimaginable levels! It has been said that “cortisol levels are directly tied to stress, with cortisol often called the body’s main stress hormone. Long-term elevated cortisol is associated with health issues, including anxiety, depression, and metabolic problems.”

My focus is on doing more things to bring the stress levels under control. Of course, having three cats here wanting and demanding attention all the time is not doing any good and if anything, I have to work extra hard to keep the symptoms of stress manageable and to send them out of my system and somewhere else!

I would like a day of total calm and peace. I wish I could spend the day sitting in the garden listening to the bees buzzing nearby and watching the birds as they welcome spring with glee. The trilling is getting louder and a nice sound as far as I am concerned. Add a nice cup of coffee to that and it makes for a perfect and almost stress-free day.

I wish I could do more of that every day. However, wishing and doing are two different things!

Daily writing prompt

What do you wish you could do more every day?

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My answer to this question would be NONE whatsoever! I am not a fan of tattoos although I have known and know people who love this mode of expression.

To each his or her own I say. That said, I don’t have any on any part of my anatomy and will never have any. It is just my preference. I had a girlfriend, a redhead, who had tattoos running down both her arms and I found it to be distracting. Conversations with her were stunted because my eyes kept going to those tattoos and even though they were fascinating I was too busy deciphering what those tattoos were trying to say instead of concentrating on what we were talking about! It was just a little too much. I knew someone else who had tattooed the name of his wife on one arm that was when they were in love but when it ended, he had to tattoo something else to cover that name!

You get the picture. I am not a fan of tattoos and never will be. Nothing against people who have them but it is just not my thing and I’ll leave it at that.

Daily writing prompt

What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

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Some may say complicated, but I will go with determined. I have learned that it takes determination and a focused mindset to make it through what life throws your way.

It’s easy to throw up your hands and to give up. It is easier still to dig in your heels and refuse to budge. However, it takes determination to put one foot in front of the other and to move on leaving the past behind you.

Having made it through several bad situations, a bad divorce, two murders (where I lost people very close to me), and loss through death, I have come to understand that you have to be determined to make it. If that part is not there, the rest falls apart.

I learned it the hard way. There were moments when I was weak and putting blame on everything else was easy to do. This got me nowhere. It was only after much soul-searching and putting a plan of action together that I slowly started moving forward. I am still on my journey of discovery, still some ways to go, but each new day brings forth the determination to keep moving and to see what is at the end of this long journey.

It is still hard but when I feel the rays of sunshine touch my face as it is doing now, I know that there is hope and in time all things will be made clear. I HOPE!