Change

A to Z Challenge: G

Ggrammar-folk

noun
Educated people.

GOLDEN SLUMBERS

“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”
―Alexander Theroux

Sleeping is nice, isn’t it Dear Reader?

Lying there all wrapped up in your warm comfy blankets, wrapped up in yourself and your own world, wrapped up in your dreams and thoughts as you drift in and out of slumber. The sounds of the world is filtered through your subconscious – distant and hazy, not mattering. Not relevantr. I love sleeping, don’t you?

But it is time to wake up.

Nothing can be accomplished when you are asleep; dreams will remain just that as long as you allow yourself to slumber. Only when we are awake and aware can we make things happen, take control, create change in the world. And trust me:

The world needs changing.

The time for complacency and contentment is at an end, at least for me. We all have different starting points, different qualifications, different opportunities – what we make of them is up to us.

And every one of us has the power to change the world.

 But we have to be awake to do it. The question is, will we remain asleep and let others shape the world for us or will we step up and change it ourselves?

So wake up, get out of bed, go outside.

Use your dreams and your skills and your abilities to change something for the better – for one person or for many, even if it is just in your local neighborhood.

Even if it is just for yourself.

One of These Things First

It’s been a while Dear Reader.

Time marches ever on and as always I get caught up in the day to day. This time around I have tried to be at least somewhat productive amidst it all, with mixed results.

Pain, preparation and procrastination are the main reasons for my absence.

Preparations for what, you may wonder? Well, several things actually; everything from life changes to the upcoming blogging challenge. My ’30 Days to a Clean and Organized House’ degenerated into ’28 Days Later’, my daily writing routine became a nightly ‘why-didn’t-I’ and my art projects are still safely contained in their tubes, crayons and pencil tips – unreleased and unrealized. All of it is waiting for me as deadlines and other tasks approach rapidly.

But first thing’s first!

Tomorrow sees the first day of April and the first of my A to Z blog posts.

I’ve tried to keep the format simple – a hand drawn letter and an obscure or archaic word for each day – with a loose theme of language and writing. In accordance with the challenge I will be posting Monday through Saturday, and instead of adding my regular posts to an already full schedule I aim to add to the above format and will try to stick to whatever the letter of the day is. My main focus will be fulfilling the second part of the challenge, though: visiting the other participating blogs.

So tune in tomorrow, Dear Reader – no April Fools here. Well…except myself, of course.

Reblog: The Number One Secret To Superhuman Willpower

It’s back to the Observer again for this week’s reblog, Dear Reader – this time from the fingertips of Benjamin Hardy.

With Lent on the door step, I thought an article about fasting would be approperiate. Now, while I can’t personally attest to the correctness of his claims in this article, intermittent short term fasting is something that has come naturally to me over the years. At first I did it without really thinking about it or realizing I did – though I’ve done it intentionally from time to time as well – and from my limited experience it seems to have beneficial effects. In any case, I found the article interesting and I plan to make a more conscious ritual out of it and see if I get any results.

So I encourage you to read the article, check it out for yourselves and maybe try it for a day and see if you experience any positive effects:

http://observer.com/2016/02/the-number-one-secret-to-superhuman-willpower/

Time Passes By

Time can be an elusive thing.

My life is in quite a bit of chaos at the moment, but for the most part it is the food kind of chaos.

That’s why I haven’t been posting much here.

I have been writing, though. As of this post I am just over 10,000 words into my new project and though I’ve encountered some resistance now it had been going well.

I should be working on my project rnow, but I thought I’d give you a quick update instead.

There’s still a lot to be done before I’ll have the chance to get back into a healthier routine, but at least I’m consciously working on it.

My creativity has to be on the back burner for a bit, but I won’t give up on it completely.

Despite everything else going on, my goal is to keep up a schedule of three posts a week, just to keep the habit and make it part of my new routine to be checking in.

I’m off to do some work now.

Starting Over Again

“Every single decision you make turns you a little bit into the person you are going to be tomorrow.”
—Chris Hadfield

 

A week of the new year has gone by and things are slowly moving forward.

I’m on my eighth day in the Word Mines and about 5,000 words into my new project. Scrivener is serving me well, though I have barely even begun to explore its features, and it has allowed me to both pants and plot my way through the first leg of the story. Writing in isolated scenes is a new experience for me – one I am growing quite fond of. Most of the writing so far has been done on my smart phone – also a first. Previously I have only written blog posts that way, but with the overview Scrivener gives me I always know what I need to write next, and my daily target of 350-700 words is a perfect length for writing on the bus or on a break. Once home I can easily copy-paste the text into the right place in the story, do some quick edits, look ahead at the next few scenes and see if I made my target. Then I may or may not write more as dictated by time, discipline and inclination.

So far so good.

Rearranging my living space has been more challenging, but that is finally starting to come together. Next week should see all the important changes finalized, then there will just be details and two or three unnecessary projects left. I’ve set up a corner of my living room for painting and made drawer-space there for my art materials. With a bit of luck and some compromise I should also be able to find space on my desk for writing related resources. If everything works out, by month’s end I should have a home environment more conductive to creative pursuits than it has been for a long time.

How’s your year shaping up, Dear Reader?

I hope you have had a good start, with not too many resolutions broken, and that you have all be sort of plan or goal or dream for the coming year. If not, well…the Chinese new year is coming up. You can have a second chance at your first week after that!

Take a moment, get things started and begin the year working toward your dreams!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, Dear Reader!

I’m not usually one for new year’s resolutions. Instead I tend to do my own version or resolutions and restarting at the start of my personal year – my birthday.

This year, however, is special.

December was unusually hectic for me (in truth, January won’t be much better, but I won’t let that stop me…I hope) and thus I have decided on taking a more traditional approach on this new year’s day.

Each month I will pick one ’30 days to/of/for…’-type book to follow snd complete. At least for the first six months. I have a selection lined up, but haven’t quite decided which book goes with which month yet. Except the first. Chuck Wendig’s ’30 Days in the Word Mines’ will kick-start my year (and, incidentally, my new writing project). Also, I will restart my exercise regime (yeah, yeah, I know, that’s what everyone says), but that’s not all:

The new year also sees a slight upgrade on this blog.

I have redesigned my logo a bit, subtly altered the font here, added social media links, and there will be more updates in the coming months. My plan was to roll out a bigger overhaul today, but, well…like I said it’s been a busy December. Things will just have to take a bit more time.

Here’s hoping 2016 will be good to you and those you care about!

Reblog: If You’re Too Busy For These 5 Things: Your Life Is More Off-Course Than You Think

My reblog this week comes from the Observer and is written by Benjamin Hardy.

It raises some valid and thoughtful opinions on the planning and time management of your life, and I will be re-reading this as preparation and inspiration for the ongoing re-adjustment of my life:

http://observer.com/2015/12/if-youre-too-busy-for-these-5-things-your-life-is-more-off-course-than-you-think/

 Read and ponder, Dear Reader!