Tag: dailyprompt

As a little girl I was fascinated with a world I didn’t understand. Story books would bring them to life and I walked right into a world that was fascinating, hard to comprehend, and one that got my creative juices running on a maximum high! Yes, even as a young girl.

The forest behind my house was a perfect playground for a girl who viewed everything with different eyes. I saw little people under mushrooms where there was none, I saw beauty in the deep, dark, rows of trees, and I saw fairies flying around everywhere I looked. Of course, I pretended to be one as well!

It was an obsession I couldn’t shake off. The ducks became my friends as I jumped in the dirty water puddles with them and “quacked” happily. I was one with nature and I have remained one with nature through the years. Only now, it is on a more sedate level. I walk, I take in the beauty that nature has to offer BUT once in a while, I think I see them! It is all in my imagination and I have plenty of that going around. It helps to keep my world a wonderful place to be in.

No more jumping in water puddles, not that I don’t want to but because I am a grown-up now and I do the “adult” stuff. BORING! I can still do the other thing in my mind and that is where I go to when I want to escape into a realm where magic is possible and a wondrous world awaits.

Daily writing prompt

What’s a thing you were completely obsessed with as a kid?

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I would say it was how the Chinese looked at death and how they celebrated someone’s passing. I was in Singapore at the time and I found the burial rituals of the Chinese people fascinating and at the same time bizarre.

My two friends from Kansas were visiting at the time and one day they took off on their own to do some sightseeing. They came back all excited because they had taken part in a colorful parade of some sort. According to them, there was a long procession and they joined in taking pictures as they went along. There were two men on stilts with brightly colored faces and at the front of the procession a car all dressed up as well. Turned out it was a funeral procession!

The other custom according to a Chinese friend is the belief that the dead do come back to visit after seven days. Hair-raising? Absolutely. Anyway, she told me about her father who had passed away and on the 7th day they prepared all his favorite dishes, set the table, laid new sheets on his bed and made sure all was ready for his spirit to visit. Later in the evening she described how there was a floral scent that permeated the whole house and even though the food looked like it was untouched, the bed looked like it had been slept in!

One other thing I recall is the wake. It is usually accompanied by a band, loud music, alcohol consumption, and laughter. If the person was wealthy, it would last for seven days. Something to do with the number 7? I don’t know but this custom was bizarre to say the least. Along with the merry-making, lots of paper money, paper houses, paper servants would be burned so that the departed soul would have plenty in the afterlife.

There are plenty more customs but the ones I’ve mentioned definitely do take the cake as far as “interesting local customs” are concerned. At least in my book.

Daily writing prompt

What’s the most interesting local custom you’ve encountered?

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Concerts are a thing of the past. I can’t stand loud music, glaring lights, and the surge of crowds as they press against you to get a better view of the stage. Those days are water under the bridge. However, a long time ago I was at a concert and I recall that I was in the front row and my blond beauty of a friend had a total crush on the guy but I can’t remember his name! I only know that she was screaming so loudly that I felt my ears go numb! Plus, I had a headache the day after.

My son is into rock concerts and going to live performances is all the rage. He loves the head-banging variety. I can’t understand why he would want to be there amidst the huge crowd bopping along but I guess “music” is different to every generation. The concerts he goes to are usually loud and since I am a “recluse” now, noise is not to my liking. I love the peace and quiet so I am glad that those days of tagging along to see whoever we had a crush on are over with.

I wouldn’t mind going to a stand-up comedy show. It’s something I am into now. When I need some cheering up, I turn to the funny variety to bump my mood up. It usually works.

Nothing fascinating to talk about but that’s the way it is when your world revolves around nature, meditation and the like. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Daily writing prompt

What is the best concert you have been to?

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This is an old village with cobblestone streets in the old part and the new part where I live has paved roads. There is really not much to do here. The people lead very quiet lives and since it is an aging population, they take pride in their gardens and keeping everything neat and tidy.

The place is steeped in history and sometimes you see plaques depicting certain scenes and events from way back then. The church is very old. I was told it was built a century ago and there are a few tombstones along the pathway leading to the church. The wooden pews show much wear and tear and when the sunlight shines through, dust envelopes the place. It is still a charming little church and lives have come and gone there, some leaving their mark behind.

There is a bakery, a dentist, a doctor, a school, and a convenience store. Add to that a beer garden, two restaurants, one Italian and the other German and you have everything this village has to offer. The village is self-contained for the most part. When snow rolls around and the roads are unpassable, all those things I mentioned before come into play and we are grateful! However, snow doesn’t show up here that often and when it does, it doesn’t stay for long.

The best thing you can do around here is to go walking. We are surrounded by nature and it is gorgeous. Open fields, manicured gardens, wooded pathways are all surrounded by mountains and forests. There are streams meandering through the woods and it feels magical in spring and summer. You can see rabbits, deer, cranes, herons, and hawks if you have your eyes peeled for them. I’ve heard we have wild boar, foxes, and wild dogs too but I have never seen them.

If walking is your thing, then there is plenty to do here. It is virtually crime-free and walking alone in the open fields is something I relish without having to worry about what could be hiding in the bushes or the woods! I do look around and pay attention to my surroundings because as they say, “NEVER SAY NEVER!”

Most are law-abiding citizens and it is a friendly place. If you’re looking to relax, and to find peace, it’s a great place to be. If you’re a writer, it’s a perfect place to come up with ideas and to let your imagination run wild like mine does!

Daily writing prompt

Which is the best thing to do in your city?

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I would love to have that super power! Life would be turned upside down, inside out and left standing on its head! As a young girl, I pretended to be this fairy with a crown of roses and baby’s breath on her head and with a magic wand in my hand!

I used to walk around in the forest granting wishes to make-believe beings. It was done with a big smile on my face and a zap of the wand. I still wish and hope that one day the magic wand miraculously appears and I would be granted the super power of granting wishes to anyone who needed it.

What a wonderful world that would be! I know “life” wouldn’t think so because it would be too easy and it doesn’t always like things easy. It is about learning, falling down, picking yourself up, moving on, and so on and so forth. Getting your wishes granted by a fairy who has her head in the clouds is NOT what it is about.

However, if I could, I would love to have the super power of granting wishes. Life would be made so much easier for a lot of people and WE would be walking around with a permanent smile plastered on our faces!

I can wish but getting it done is a whole different thing altogether.

Daily writing prompt

What super power do you wish you had and why?

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This is a hard one because I have an inquisitive mind and I want to know several things so to keep it to one mystery that I haven’t been able to solve is hard because I have hundreds of questions! It will open Pandora’s Box for sure!

Anyway, there is one thing I have always wondered about. It is about “LOVE.” More specifically, why do people walk into your life only to leave? Is there a bigger mystery to this phenomenon? Do they walk in to teach you a lesson or have you veered away from the path you were supposed to be on? A friend told me recently, “The path has been laid out. It has all been decided for you. The problem is when you veer off course than the one you are supposed to be on, it just takes longer to get to where you need to go.” I thought this was an interesting way of looking at it. What if there is some truth to this concept?

Sometimes I wish I had a crystal ball to get answers to the questions I am seeking. Maybe, just maybe, I’m better off not knowing!

Daily writing prompt

What’s a mystery from your own life that you’ve never solved?

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There are the greats like Martin Luther King. He taught us “to love others and not hate because love always wins in the end.”

Buddha emphasized the Middle Way. The message was to avoid indulgence extreme asceticism and he advocated for moral conduct, wisdom, and skillful actions. There is a lot one can learn from the Buddha’s way of life.

Lastly but not least, Confucius. He advocated for peace and respect for others. He came up with the Golden Rule: “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.” He believed that all people deserved respect.

I love what these “greats” had to say and how their messages of love, tolerance and the moral way still resonates with us and within me.

Daily writing prompt

List the people you admire and look to for advice…

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If you want to change things for the better, vote! In short, your vote is your voice so let it be heard loud and clear. It is the only way to make a difference. By voting, you have a say in how certain issues are decided. Some important issues are gun safety and gun rights, crime prevention and law enforcement and Medicare and Social Security benefits just to name a few. Your vote counts in how these issues are decided.

So, yes voting is important. It may seem like a small thing but your voice matters so show up and let it be heard. Know that you have a say in the matter.

Direction is needed to show where you are headed. If you have a purpose it is easier to navigate life’s twists and turns because you have a goal and that further motivates your journey, whatever that is for you.

In my case, I am on a journey to find love. Therefore, I am working on what it takes to get me there. I have this narrow-minded focus which helps to align and move me forward towards that specific goal. This also helps to provide a roadmap for my journey although it is not always clear and often it means falling off by the wayside many times over but I get back on and that is important because standing still is not going to do it. Keep moving, keep learning and keep on heading towards the direction you want to go. If you want a certain outcome, you have to do the work. This purpose also helps me to stop drifting aimlessly because I have a goal in mind. Look at where you are now and where you want to go. This helps to give a purpose or direction to work towards to. Success is all up to you and I know that embracing the unknown is scary but it is needed in this case.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy (or gal) who’ll decide where to go.” Dr. Seuss

Good luck on your journey.

Daily writing prompt

What gives you direction in life?

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