|
About This Author
My name is Joy, and I love to write.
Why poetry, here? Because poetry uplifts its writer, and if she is lucky enough, her readers, too. Around us, so many objects abound to write about. Once a poet starts with a smallest, most trivial object, he shall discover that his pen will spill out what is most delicate or most majestic hidden inside him. Since the classics sometimes dealt with lofty subjects with a lofty language, a person with poetry in his soul may incline to emulate that. That is understandable. Poetry does that to a person: it enlarges the soul and gives it wings. Yet, to really soar, a poet needs to take off from the ground.
 
|
Everyday Canvas
"Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself."
CHARLIE CHAPLIN
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
David Whyte
This is my supplementary blog in which I will post entries written for prompts.
December 31, 2016 at 11:03am December 31, 2016 at 11:03am
| |
Prompt: Happy New Year's Eve! Happy New Years!
What is your favorite memory of this night? Do you stay up to watch the ball drop? Get together with friends or family? Go to bed like any other night? Do you have a secret fantasy you are waiting to happen on this night?
=============
My first favorite memory of a New Year’s Eve is the time I spent celebrating with my cousins while I was in my teens. My second favorite memory of a New Year’s celebration is a New Year’s Eve Ball my husband and I attended when we were newlyweds.
Do I stay up to see the ball drop? That is the 64 thousand-dollar question. We have done that every new year’s eve when we didn’t go somewhere.
With the onset of the terrorism era, I am not so sure I have been enjoying to watch the ball drop. Probably the TV will be on, but I am planning on starting to read a new book, instead. If something happens, I don’t want to watch it in realtime. I still haven’t gotten over watching 9/11 as it happened, and I don’t need another PTSD event in my psyche.
For tonight, no getting together with friends and family is in our plans as people have their own problems or business to attend to, and the only fantasy I have is for nothing nasty to happen to anyone on the face of this crazy earth.
I wish, therefore, a wonderful 2017 to everyone with health, happiness, and success. I guess wishing for world peace might be asking for too much, but what the heck… I definitely wish for world peace, too!
|
December 30, 2016 at 7:16pm December 30, 2016 at 7:16pm
| |
Prompt: Weave a short story or a poem that takes place inside a bookstore. What kind of encounter between characters seems most tonally or atmospherically natural for a bookstore?
=============
It first started as a thin drizzle. Then thunder came afterward and the sky opened into a downpour. I rushed into the first store to my right, happily glimpsing its maroon and black sign. A sudden spray of wind accompanied me inside.
I stopped short at the entrance and looked around. Wow! A bookstore! This had to be the kind of place I might have dreamed even before I was born. I am only guessing this because when I think of my beginning or rather pre-beginning, nothing takes shape in my mind, except a jumble of words and letters, which is possibly my imagination.
Still, when I dream of an ideal place, I always think of volumes and volumes of books from floor to ceiling, in aisles and aisles inside a building on a large acre or two. This store was such a place but on a smaller scale, yet it spoke to my soul.
Moreover, there, on the midsection, stood a few tables and chairs with a counter offering bagels, donuts, and coffee. I figured I’d ask for coffee first before checking out the books, but the girl at the counter said, “The coffee machine is broken.”
The coffee looked piping hot with steam was rising from it inside the carafe. I pointed to it. “It seems you have coffee, though.”
“First get a book. Then, the machine will be fixed,” she said, looking at me with her slanted green eyes like that of a lizard.
So she wants me to read. How wonderful! Though shabby and small, this bookstore had to be touched by a lofty purpose. It had to be because it had no other cash register, except for the one on the coffee counter, and its customers were sitting on the floor, reading. The only other person in the coffee area was an old man sipping coffee while reading Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence.
What a haven! It was just the place I could live in forever and ever.
“Your book should be on the right side, third row, on the second shelf,” the girl said.
“How do you know which book I am going to…”
She cut me immediately. “It’s the book you haven’t written, yet.”
I looked at her dumbfounded. “Go ahead! Find it. Coffee is free if you can,” she said. "Donuts and bagels, too."
The book I haven’t written yet! My foot!
Suddenly I felt as if I were going to jump out of my skin. “Nev…Never Mind!” I stuttered, stepping backward. A choking fright of an enormous proportion had me in its clutches. I had to get out of there. Something sinister and horrendous lurked about this place.
Then I searched for the door, a way out, but there was no door, no getting out of here. I rushed back and forth among the aisles and aisles of books, but there was no exit in sight. Finally, I crouched down on the worn linoleum floor and sobbed, only to raise my head when someone's shadow fell on me. The old man reading Edith Wharton’s book was bending over me, shaking his head disapprovingly.
“Yours is a case common to all writers,” he said, fixing his gaze on my face. “It is called the book jitters." He paused, casting a glance around the book-filled walls. Then he added, "Find your book. Find yourself. That will be your way out. Your only way out!”
Did I have any other choice?
Do I?
|
December 29, 2016 at 12:46pm December 29, 2016 at 12:46pm
| |
Prompt: What books are on your Reading List for 2017?
=============
This question pains me because I’ll need another lifetime to read all I want to read. My Kindles have over 3000 books and the number is still growing.
What passes in front of those books, however, is this: I received three signed books from author friends. The least I should do should be to read and write reviews for them. Those three top any reading list that I can make.
Next will definitely be Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. I have it and cannot wait to read it. Then, I have several audio books I am dying to get to. Those I listen while doing other things around the house.
Not to mention I want to reread Dostoevsky, who mesmerized me during my teens. There are also several non-fiction books lined up, waiting for their turn.
Reading for me is a life jacket and oxygen. It has always been so since I learned how to read on my own at three and a half years of age. I haven’t done anything else as early and with such passion in my life, including writing. Writing rates only second to reading. Everything else comes after those two and later, much later. 
|
December 28, 2016 at 6:32pm December 28, 2016 at 6:32pm
| |
The sea is a cruel mistress. So is life. Write about your views on this.
===================
I believe the origin of this saying belongs to Joseph Conrad who sailed to the Belgian Congo and wrote about it. I loved reading The Heart of Darkness way back when and I believe I wrote a review of it in WdC, a long time ago. The adjective in the original quote wasn’t “cruel” though, but “harsh.”
As for me, I love the ocean and the beach. At one time in my life, I used to swim in the ocean, being young and fearless then. Now that old age hit, I won’t even wade in the water even if it is up to my knees. Where I live, sharks have been known to bite people in four-feet depths. So I am taking no chances.
Then, about life, it is quite the opposite. Yes, it can be cruel, but its cruelty has never made me stop living…so far. I kind of wade in it very carefully or sometimes sink in it on purpose, just for laughs. After all, we’re all fated to die from the minute we take our first breath.
Plus, I have no bucket list. I never had. I go with the moment because of experience, the experience of carefully made plans getting twisted into something else at the end. Not that I am complaining. Those something elses have been quite good to me when all was said and done.
One can fear the sharks in the ocean or sinking or bad weather wrecking the boat. Although life can do the same things, it’s all we have. We can stop swimming in the ocean, but with life, we just can’t stop and we mustn’t fear it, either. Life doesn’t honor fear; instead, it has a soft spot for hope.
|
December 19, 2016 at 8:25pm December 19, 2016 at 8:25pm
| |
Prompt: Have you ever been bullied as a young person? Why can't we forget our childhood bullies? What do you think about bullying?
==================
I guess I was bullied at times but not to the degree that it left any lasting scars on me. On the plus side, I learned how to avoid bullies if and when I could.
We can’t forget our childhood bullies because of the kids who might have pointed at us and snickered, confirming our worst imaginings about ourselves and reinforcing our low self-esteem. Then there could be the embarrassment and feelings of shame heightened by a sense of helplessness and aloneness as well.
Most kids fear telling their parents about the bullying because being bullied can be difficult, at best. Then, there is that useless parental advice, ”Ignore them!” or “Hit them back,” which never works in the first place.
Bullying is the worst form of torture for it may lead to anxiety, depression, and physical problems for life. When kids lose their safe zone and even their homes are tough places, childhood turns into an awful experience. Children, as the result of bullying, may even question their own judgments, especially when people they may have deemed as friends go along with the bullies and don’t hesitate to start rumors. This may make the bullied children feel confused about judging their peers and relating to them.
It may just be that at one time or another any one child could have been bullied by friends, classmates, neighbors, and even by a few adults. Some people can get over the bullying and lead fairly happy lives; yet, others may clearly recall the pain of it years later.
Wounding people knowingly and with little or no reason also hurts the bullies by turning them into little terrorists. Thus, I think, bullying in any place or time should be stopped by the parents, teachers, school staff, and the owners and moderators of internet sites. Childhood should be a happy or at least a productive time in a person's life. To ruin it or let others ruin it is unconscionable.
|
December 12, 2016 at 6:23pm December 12, 2016 at 6:23pm
| |
Prompt: “The big questions are always the ones you can’t even ask.”
Davina Blake—Past Encounters: A World War II novel
What do you think are the big questions? How many can you come up with?
-------------------
The big questions, I think, are the difficult ones, to which we have no easy answers.
My big questions:
What am I doing here or at any place, at any time?
Why was I born to my parents? I look like them but I am nothing like them.
When something rotten happens to me, is it a punishment or a misconstrued reward?
Why does my mind trick me?
Why is the nature so violent? Why do we have to eat other live things to survive?
Why do the strong rule over the weak, in any species?
How does the rest of the universe or universes work?
Where do the energy parts of people go after this life? (I know what the religions say, but I want a straight and factual answer.
Why are we attracted to some people and not to others?
Why do I feel embarrassed when someone says nice things or flatters me?
Are all coincidences, always or sometimes, coincidences, synchronicities, illusions, or what?
Why don’t we have world peace when, after all, we’re all in this together?
|
December 9, 2016 at 7:03pm December 9, 2016 at 7:03pm
| |
Prompt: I was watching the weather channel this evening and they began discussing legends that occur in certain areas. One is Interstate 4 approach to the St. Johns River Bridge in Seminole County Florida, another in Devil's Gate Dam in Pasadena, California
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/tv/tv-guy/os-i4-dead-zone-scary-leg...
https://www.timeout.com/Los-Angeles/blog/exploring-devils-gate-a-portal-to-hell-...
Are their strange occurrences or legends where you live? Please, tell us about them. Do you think they are real or an overactive imagination?
==================
They say stuff happens, but I haven’t seen anything. I can think of two such things concerning the town we live in. One, which is hearsay for me, is after what happened in a state park called, Oak Hammond Park. It is to the far west of our town. Hubby and I live much closer to the east and the ocean. It is rumored that a tree in that park along the nature trail could not be cut as chainsaw and axes failed, no matter how much the city workers tried. People report that hooded devil worshippers dance around that tree and the screams of girls are heard. Those girls were two nineteen-year-olds who were assaulted and hanged on that tree sometime during the nineteen seventies. Also, people insist that the ghosts of the girls haunt the restrooms in that park.
The other, which is also hearsay, is the broom closet near a stage in the theater at Indian River Community College. They say that this guy’s ghost, tall and blue (!), stays around and about the broom closet. At times, he dances, waves, or just stares at folks.
On the other hand, in my much earlier life, when hubby worked in Kings Park State Hospital, we lived for a few years on the hospital grounds, both in the apartments and then in a separate house. Now, the deserted KP hospital is said to be one of the most haunted places in the US. Google it and you’ll see. While we lived there, I noticed nothing. Actually, I had rather enjoyed my life there.
Then a few years ago, we stayed for two weeks in a really haunted house, a bed-and-breakfast, in Monticello, FL. It is called the John Denham house and is owned by a very nice lady named Pat, who is also a minister and runs séances. For the life of me, I can’t pull out her last name.
The house a century ago was a bordello. One day, my husband went to another town for the day and the lady gave the day off to the workers as we were the only guests at that time. Then she went shopping for an hour or two. I was alone in the house for more than an hour. I heard or saw nothing, maybe because I was busy reviewing in WdC on my laptop. When Pat came back, she asked me how I managed. I told her, for a haunted house, it had been awfully quiet and I had noticed or heard nothing, not only that day but in others, too. She said, “My girls are polite. They know not to disturb anyone working.”
If anything, my present house is much creepier and noisier than any other place I’ve been to. And we bought it from its first owners, which means nobody died in it. Go figure!
I am not sure if these occurrences are real or not. First, it is impossible to prove a negative point of view. Second, I just don't know if these things can happen. It is possible that they can.
Prompt: Make a list of 12 things you love about Christmas.
1. People seem to act nicer in public places and on the road.
2. I like to see happy people who, for once, think of what to give instead of what to get.
3. In my usually very warm area, the weather cools down by the northern cold waves sneaking down south and it is breathable outside.
4. I like pumpkin pie and fruitcake.
5. I like to watch NYC in its Christmas décor, if not in person but on TV.
6. I bring out my Christmassy stuff.
7. I like to hear from long-unseen friends through Christmas cards.
8. I like Christmas decorations that are tasteful and not overdone.
9. Making lists for cooking, decorations, etc. as I am a list-maker.
10. I like it that everyone cleans up not only their house but their acts, too.
11. Parties can be fun.
12. I like to see little kids totally awed, stunned, or scared sitting on Santa’s lap in the mall.
|
December 7, 2016 at 7:59pm December 7, 2016 at 7:59pm
| |
Prompt: "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." Thornton Wilder Do you agree? What are your thoughts on this?
======
I think, this is a quote from Our Town, which we produced on stage when I was in high school. The quote is about gratitude and appreciating what one holds, good or not so good.
This may sound fine in a play, but I have felt alive, as probably has everyone, in other moments, too. The part I don’t agree with is “only in those moments.” There can be many other moments in our lives when we feel alive other than those moments when we feel thankful.
Coming back to the idea of gratitude, being mindful of what we have helps us pay closer attention to what’s lovely and meaningful in our daily lives, even if they may seem mundane. The sound of nature, a baby’s smile, two different species of animals frolicking together, the smell of the coffee in the morning, a friend’s kind words, which I got a few today  . one’s partner’s hug are all beautiful things that give us satisfaction and a brighter outlook that last a long time.
Gratitude is also associated with empathy. When we are grateful, we understand and appreciate others better. We appreciate them even when they are cross or errant because who doesn’t believe in the sun even on a day when it doesn’t shine?
|
December 6, 2016 at 7:01pm December 6, 2016 at 7:01pm
| |
Prompt: “A library of books is the fairest garden in the world, and to walk there is an ecstasy.”
From 1001 Nights
Do you love the libraries? Which services your local library provides do you like the most? Which services would you like to have in your local library that isn’t available now?
===========
I love the libraries, no matter how large or limited. I could live in one if I could. Our library was built about 22 years ago, so the building is fairly new. The inside of it is large on one sprawling story but attaches to another building in the same place that is used for meetings. A part of the second building is seasonally or yearly rented to the county government. The rented part now hosts the master gardener’s section. Some years we even voted there for local or federal elections. The other parts are for librarians' use and for storage.
The wing to the side of the library is the children’s library. In the section for us so-called adults, there are chairs and tables and comfy seating clusters with tufted armchairs and a sofa. One wall here has aisles of books for Non-fiction, the other for fiction. They still use the Dewey Decimal system, but both sections of books on the two walls are also divided according to the subject, such as New Books, Sci-fi, Local, Murder-Mystery, Western etc. with the Fiction wall and the Non-fiction is like any other library.
Foreign language, Poetry, Reference, and Magazines and Newspapers are in the middle closer to the seating arrangements. Also in the middle, next to the Non-fiction wall, are the CDs, DVDs, and Audiobooks in five aisles. I am a sucker for audiobooks because I can listen to books while doing other things in the house, but the new manager is making that section smaller and smaller. I worry that she’ll ease it out.
On the third wall are the used books donated for sale. Also, carriers are provided there if anyone wishes to buy several books at the same time. I have bought some very good books from that wall for pennies, but with shelves of unread books and more than 3000 waiting for me in my Kindles, I now avoid that wall like the plague. I promised myself I won’t buy another book until I have read all the physical books in my possession.
Also on the sides of the building are the conference/study rooms as small as closets separated from the main floor by tempered glass. I can see the people in those places but can’t hear them.
The librarians’ desks are at the entrance to the building as well as the self-checkout counter. In front of the counters are the several computers for anyone’s use, and all the other amenities are well-kept and functioning.
Our library has a Webpage from which I can download some books but the choices are very limited and I can only read them on the computer, which isn’t my favorite thing to do.
What I wish our library had would be probably a snack bar but as a different out-building. Also, I wish the librarians would stick to the old-fashioned “quiet” idea. Sometimes, they let the people talk loudly and make noise. Even they themselves talk to each other in high voices.
Then, once in a while, they let larger groups have a noisy conference around the large table in the YA section’s seating area, which isn’t separated by anything from the main floor. Nobody has ever complained because those groups pay the library for hosting them, but their presence doesn’t do much for the library’s popularity. At least a couple of times, hubby and I left the library much earlier.
Up to about 10-15 years ago, our library used to be much better because the manager was a wonderful lady and librarian to the core. She ran the place perfectly. After she passed away, we had probably three different managers, but none could live up to her high standards.
Another problem with our library is that it is next to the middle school. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that if it helped the kids to prepare their assignments, but the situation is a bit different. The parents who come for the kids wait in the library, talking and making racket inside the reading area, as well as the kids who come in and wait to be picked up.
Still, with all its shortcomings, I love our library. To me, it is the best place in town, even before the beaches and parks.
|
December 5, 2016 at 2:20pm December 5, 2016 at 2:20pm
| |
Prompt: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Lao-tzu
What is your take on this saying? How much importance do you attach to the beginnings and completions of anything?
==========
Opportunities for us sometimes arise on their own and sometimes we search for them ourselves. After we grasp that opportunity, that we start or take that single step shows the hope in us for the future. Afterward, each step becomes important because it adds to the preceding ones. This turns each step, each new day, into something to look forward to with excitement and anticipation.
In the smorgasbord of life, the best and the most worthwhile opportunities are the ones we create for ourselves since consciously or subconsciously we are aware of our own needs and we are solely responsible for our own mental, emotional, and spiritual maturation. What we venture to do can be anything or everything, but the most important endeavor is personal growth and development, which doesn’t necessarily mean reaching a state of perfection, as one lifetime is never enough for that, but it means learning and enjoying every step in the journey.
Some journeys may take forever because there is no end to personal growth. Others, like learning a craft, may have a goal or a completion. The idea is not to hesitate in taking that first step but forge ahead with optimism and continue taking steps until our steps turn into miles. This may be some difficult work, but to handle and carry its enormous load, we must begin and continue step by step to gain a sense of satisfaction and to enjoy the lasting values of our efforts. This way, each time we meet a new challenge with hope, we can turn that journey into a creative and magnificent adventure.
As for me, I am a work in progress the same as all the smaller things I do. Having a goal or a completion, in the beginning, may encourage some people to continue on, but to me, nothing really is complete or perfect. So after I start with something, I keep taking steps forever.
|
December 4, 2016 at 12:29pm December 4, 2016 at 12:29pm
| |
Prompt: Write about geography. Pick a random place on a map and write about it. If you haven't been there, imagine what it would be like.
==============
As this is going to be a fantasy voyage, let’s just say that I took a fantasy flight to the North Pole, where the earth’s axis has its top point. I always wondered what would happen if someone treated it like the red telephone in the US president’s Oval Office. Would the earth wobble for the whole thing to become a jumble?
My landing here, however, didn’t cause such a catastrophe. Instead, the brightest light both from the sky and the snow made my eyes blur, despite the sunglasses I was wearing. And the cold? Don’t even talk about it! Under layers and layers fur I was shivering, and I was the one who insisted not to wear animal skins. Luckily, no one listened to me and they piled fur after fur on top of me.
Suddenly, a well-founded worry hit me. What if leaving this place would be riskier than coming here? After all, about a century ago, the discoverer of the Arctic Robert Peary had more trouble going back, but then, Santa is stationed here, too. I comforted myself with the thought that if something would happen to me, Santa would save me. Then, my guide told me that Santa's Place was in Lapland and not here. Darn!
Yet, there was and is a lot more to the North Pole than snow, ice, and Santa. I was told there would be Eskimos and igloos here, although where we landed, I didn’t spot either of them. The reason was because we had landed on the uninhabited magnetic North Pole. The guide passed me a compass which its needle did unbelievable dances when I held it horizontally. It pointed to me, at the end. Go figure! So I figured this was probably due to the metallic stuff on me like fasteners that held the furs together.
The guide also told me about the intrigue and controversy surrounding the region among five or six countries, including USA via Alaska, Russia, and others, trying to lay claim to it for its potential oil and gas reserves and strategic position.
Dreading the international fumbles and faux pas, I felt lucky that I arrived at the Arctic during the six-months of broad daylight time because I would die of fear in the next six months of total darkness. I am not a fan of not only the said countries' scuffles but also the dark of the night, as you might have guessed.
Walking on the snow wasn’t easy; neither was breathing, since the place is 9000 miles over the sea level, but then, lo and behold, my guide pointed to a distant image, a dog-sled. Heck, I wouldn’t let my favorite animals pull me all over this place that was desolate, frigid, and so silent with intrigue. I told the guide that I wanted out. I wanted civilization. I wanted a big city like New York or a small town where I lived. Besides, the cold and the difficulty of breathing were killing me.
I had come, I had seen, I had conquered -well, not quite- the spot that the magnets pointed to. So I was brought back home to sit at the computer and write about it.
Come to think of it, if it weren’t for the cold and the lack of chocolate, the North Pole would make a wonderful reading nook. So quiet and isolated where everyday life let you alone.
|
December 3, 2016 at 4:56pm December 3, 2016 at 4:56pm
| |
"I don't always believe in second chances. People usually show you their true nature the first time around. It's not wise to give them a second opportunity to disappoint you." Ashleigh Catibog-Abraham
Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
--------------
I not only believe in second chances, but I also believe in fourth, fifth, and sixth chances because the main reason is, people can and do change—in most cases. For my own safety, however, I shy away from giving a second chance to a violent person. In that case, I watch her or him from a distance very carefully.
In other non-violent situations, I can be much more relaxed. Giving extra chances to people has its benefits. Let me chew the fat on this for a while.
• With a second chance, I might find out that, with my initial view of that person, I might have made a mistake. Now, wouldn’t that be a nice surprise to find out the truth?
• I might have been in a bad mood or might have done something to hurt that person’s feelings knowingly or unknowingly, thus drawing a wrong conclusion. My bad!
• That person can be from a different background as to another country or religion and his/her behavior can be the result of that background. Giving them other chances may mean expanding my horizons and getting over my social biases I am not aware I own.
• Not only with his or her background but also I might have misjudged someone based on that person’s other characteristics of age, outward appearance (clothing, hair, etc.), gender, race, or social class. In this case, I have to ask myself if anything on the outside of that person has influenced my initial opinion.
• Then, I have to really ask myself what the feeling was behind my negative opinion of that person. Was it a false hope, a misplaced jealousy, falling victim to someone else’s gossip, or high expectations? Was that person knowingly or unknowingly stepping inside my personal space or territory?
In short, think my belief in second chances has its roots in the understanding that I know I’m not and never will be perfect, unfortunately!
|
December 2, 2016 at 8:25pm December 2, 2016 at 8:25pm
| |
Prompt: Write an ode to your favorite fruit.
=====
Ode to a Watermelon
When it begins to grow on a healthy vine
I know everything about it will be benign
small size, hybrid, red flesh inside
so I smack my lips with gourmet’s pride.
Lo and behold, its globe is now in slices
forget about all other candies and ices
I’ve succumbed to its spell and lost my mind
then stabbed wide-eyed its dark green rind,
But my love is not contraband like money or ammunition
thus, its juice on my face doesn’t deserve admonition.
Next, I search with care and find one black seed, shiny
now I have to wait after planting without turning whiny.
|
December 1, 2016 at 11:41am December 1, 2016 at 11:41am
| |
Prompt: Gathering all the ingredients for a design is a favorite part of the creative process. What are your thoughts on this?
======
It depends on what you are doing and if you are gathering the ingredients ahead of the work or during the process.
If you are painting a watercolor picture, for example, in addition to the paints, brushes, paper, and all else material, you have to have every step and the final idea of the picture in your head before you begin. (That’s why I wasn’t very good at it.) If you are painting in oils, however, you can create and try different things as you go along, which made me love the build-up process with oils. The same applies to knowing what you are writing beforehand with an outline and all the necessary research versus pantsing or freeflow, which I love to do as well. Talking for me, I like a good coincidence or a happy find, anytime.
This idea applies even to cooking. In cooking shows, we see all the ingredients on the counter in small neat containers. Obviously, that cook must have ten people helping her or him. In my case, not only because I lack counter space but also because I don’t like to make extra work for me, I take the ingredients in ones and twos and put them back in their places as I go along.
I don’t know how this idea works with every specific craft, but I believe each craft must have its basic rules. Sometimes, the necessary ingredients are complicated and varied and you have to have all of them in front of you before you begin. At other times, all the necessary materials for creativity are only a couple of things, such as your fingers, intellect, and the keyboard or a pencil and a note-book. 
Above all, the most basic ingredients are our imagination and perception. This means if we can spot the possibilities with our eyes and use a bit of imagination on the subject, we are on our way.
|
© Copyright 2024 Joy (UN: joycag at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Joy has granted InkSpot.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
|
Comment 
