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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.
 
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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.
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September 30, 2015 at 12:41pm September 30, 2015 at 12:41pm
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Prompt: "Light tomorrow with today." Elizabeth Barrett Browning What do you think this means?
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The poet wants to point to the fact that what happens today has an effect on tomorrow; therefore, she is telling her readers that their words and actions in the present will have a serious effect on what happens in the future. This is especially true with learning and personal growth, because from what one invests in himself, he can reap the fruits later. This also has to do with a person’s finding out what his gift is, so he can mold himself into the more productive person that he’ll become in the future.
So far so good; however, even if I understand what Elizabeth Barrett Browning means and accept the fact that our todays may affect our tomorrows, I have to make an exception for the unexpected dios ex machina type of events that may take place in our future. For example, just think of what is happening to the people of Syria, today. Did those poor folks cause what is taking place now by their earlier actions? Then think back to pre-World War II Germany. To say that the German Jews caused what happened to them by their previous actions would be outrageous, wouldn’t it?
Significant decisions of the present, however, such as a careful career selection or change, taking care of financial matters, and repairing what is starting to fall down do make for a better tomorrow. Still, no one knows what the future brings. People can do everything in their power to make their future perfect, and things still might not work well for them. In short, nothing is perfect on this planet, and everything in life cannot be simplified with and reduced to a short dictum. |
September 29, 2015 at 9:15pm September 29, 2015 at 9:15pm
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Prompt: Why are works of historical fiction so popular with today’s readers? What appeals to you the most about these types of books, if anything at all?
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I think historical fiction is popular because one leg of it lies in reality. Even if the rest of its body may be iffy, the readers feel they are on at least partially stable ground.
During my earlier school days, I only liked the biographies and the historical parts in them. Those of us who have years on them will recall those biographies that were sold as orangey-brown hardcovers. I didn’t much care for the wars and the intrigues between nations, then. I did, however, like Mark Twain, and a little later, World War II stories.
Now that I am much older and I find that history is repeating itself, during the last few years, I am discovering historical fiction anew and beginning to really enjoy it. I find both entertainment and learning in these books, especially when their writers have done a good deal of research and they do not impose the present-day understandings and biases on their plots and characters. This imposing of present-day biases shows me a writer who either hasn’t done enough research or a writer who doesn’t understand the make-up of human beings in relation to their time.
Historical fiction means interpretation of the past and also interaction with it. I find it to be an eye-opener to find the equivalents of my own interests, joys, and sorrows in the past. Although the setting, as to time and place, may be different, what I read is still fiction, offering imagination sparked by historical events and people. When the characterization is strong and close to the truth of its time, any story is mesmerizing, even if it may still be subjective.
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September 28, 2015 at 12:29pm September 28, 2015 at 12:29pm
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Prompt: Overthinking--Do you think that overthinking creates problems? Has it ever created problems for you, your family and friends, or for the characters in your stories?
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Yes, I believe overthinking can create problems as seriously as madcap impulsivity. Overthinking can lead a person to a paralysis of action and procrastination, and may make him miss some important opportunities. Overthinking is not the same as thorough-thinking. Thorough-thinking is helpful, while overthinking is not. Over-speculation, the twin of overthinking, also can make a person take faulty steps or decisions.
When I was very young, I used to overthink and over-speculate, something learned from a parent, which didn’t serve her well and which led me to make a mistake. She used to think and speculate everything from every angle repeatedly, brood over things, and drive everyone around her crazy.
The mistake I made was a good one in that it taught me to think things thoroughly but not overthink anything to the degree of sickening my thoughts and emotions. It took some doing on my part to train myself to act properly in this area. After that mistake, when it is time to decide upon any important action, I write things down, with pros and cons, and then, I read everything once more and decide. I also make sure that I don’t take too much time. This works very well for me. There are, however, instances when one has to act on the spot. For this type of action, any hesitation can be deadly.
As to my characters, if I create a character who is anxious and cannot act properly, I sometimes make them overthink inside their minds. I make them brood over things and take action on their wrong assumptions. My more heroic characters, on the other hand, can judge a situation correctly and in good time and don’t hesitate to act. I find the use of overthinking in character creation quite helpful.
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September 26, 2015 at 5:11pm September 26, 2015 at 5:11pm
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Julia Cameron says, "We have hidden associations with the term" Writer". Do you agree or disagree?
Try this exercise she recommends to clear the debris that keeps us from the page.
Writers are...
Writers are...
Writers are...
Writers are...
Writers are...
Now, Convert the negative associations to positive.
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I like Julia Cameron a lot. Starting with the Artist’s Way, I read several of her books. To me, she makes sense in a psycho-spiritual way. The psycho part could be what the old-fashioned publishers would think, but anything psycho suits me. In addition, most of what she says fits me to a tee.
As to the term writer, some people do have hidden associations with the term writer, and I was subjected to some of those hidden stuff in my life, such as, “A girl of your caliber, shouldn’t you be pursuing a real profession,” or “Do something real (or worthwhile or money and time worthy; just put in any adjective in there.)”
As if opposing to such ideas, true writers do not have hidden negative associations about being a writer. If they are hiding anything, or rather, their positive feeling for the art of it, it is probably for self-defense.
I respect writing and all writers who use their art or craft in the most humanly way possible. Some of us may be suffering from those hidden associations, having been repeatedly brain-washed by the unknowing public. Others may feel slightly self-conscious to call themselves a writer, fearing unwelcome remarks. I have a little bit of the latter in me, but I never looked down on the writers’ being writers or the art of writing. If anything, writing is the most valuable thing in the world, no matter where the actual accomplishment of it lies. As to being kept off the page, nothing keeps me off the page except real life demands, which I meet with minimum compliance. 
Here is the exercise:
Writers are everywhere nowadays, and nothing could make me happier. Oh, okay, one thing could add to my happiness if the self-publishing writers would take their time to edit better and the beginning writers would take their time to learn the basics of grammar and punctuation.
Writers are better readers than most anyone. If they didn’t like to read, they wouldn’t want to write. Sometimes, I think I like reading much better than writing.
Writers are in different colors with their habits, likes, and dislikes. That is why there is so much variety in the books available today. Although most writers seek solitude at least some of the time, others enjoy being in the thick of life. Think Ernest Hemingway, for example. He did both.
Writers are writing everywhere and anywhere. When they don’t have the implements of their craft--pen, pencil, paper, computers or other electronics to write with—they write inside their heads and hope they don’t forget what they tried to etch into their brains.
Writers are word-crazy and art-crazy. When we can’t find the words we need, we make them up. We also like to break the so-called tried-and-true writing rules once in a while for originality’s sake. In a nutshell, we have the knack of finding pleasure in the joy or the pain of our craft, always.
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September 25, 2015 at 6:09pm September 25, 2015 at 6:09pm
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“Our ability to adapt is amazing. Our ability to change isn't quite as spectacular.” ~Lisa Lutz How do you feel about her assessment? Do you agree or disagree? Do you have examples to share?
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I don’t know if every single person’s adaptability is as amazing as the quote says. I rather think this changes from human to human.
I know some people who aren’t very good in adapting to new situations; if they were, why would they keep complaining non-stop to anyone they meet in real life or in cyberspace about their present situations? On the other hand, each one of us must have some talent in adaptation or else we would all be nursing and wearing diapers throughout life.
Anyone who has studied any psychology is probably familiar with Jean Piaget’s theory of adaptation, which is the leading component in a child’s ability to learn. Be it a child or adult, adaptation is taking information from the outside world and converting it to one’s own way of being and behaving, and also mentally accepting the new situation and accommodating and reworking his conduct and performance to fit the new information.
Obviously, we all change some, according to circumstance and time and place. When someone sees me years later and says, “You haven’t changed a bit,” I usually feel startled, because I know I always change. Surely, they say that as a compliment, but in its essence, such an utterance is not a compliment at all.
If nothing else changes, the fashion of clothing changes. Don’t we all try to adapt to the new norm, at least to a degree? Among us women, who are still wearing those far-out large tops padded with elephantine shoulder pads? Or among men, who are still wearing Broadway silk hats, suspenders, and Chesterfield coats?
We are always adapting, true. A new baby arrives, and we adapt to his needs. We lose someone dear, and we adapt to his absence. When we move, we adapt to a new house, and sometimes, to a new city, state, or even country.
My husband and I moved from New York to Florida, and we had to adapt to a new climate, new surroundings, and even to new plants and animals. It wasn’t that difficult, but I really wouldn’t want to do it again, possibly because we older people, due to the needs of our worn-out bodies and challenging health, don’t like change all that much. Yet, if we had to, we would probably adapt to a new move or a new place, passably enough.
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September 24, 2015 at 9:59am September 24, 2015 at 9:59am
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Prompt: Name five things that make your house a home.
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1. My husband
2. Family and friends who drop by
3. Brain and entertainment material: My Books, note-books, pens, E-readers, music players, and other electronics, etc.
4. Things for my creature comforts: My bed, kitchen and food
5. Anything else under our roof; plus, my home is the place where I feel free to talk and think, however illogically at times.
 And a few notes from the home front:
 Who says banks are hard-core cruel? I think they are on the warpath to correct that notion.
Yay for Bank of America that is partnering with our local food bank!
On the other hand, September is Hunger Action Month and any institution that gets their name mentioned is trying to whitewash what’s under. Still, something’s better than nothing.
I only wish such efforts could be year-round. 
 This morning, someone rang the doorbell around seven. We weren’t even dressed, yet. It was some religious solicitation.
They made me decide to vote for the first candidate who promises to outlaw door-to-door religious propaganda on the federal level.
Instead, I might just decide to turn into an atheist, and put a note declaring it on the front door; however, this might backfire, too, as it would draw all the nuts to my door, trying to "improve" me. |
September 23, 2015 at 5:10pm September 23, 2015 at 5:10pm
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Prompt: When was the last time you wrote something by hand?
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This morning, and will do so probably a few more times in the afternoon. I write something by hand every day. I do like to write on the keyboard better, but decades of familiarity with writing by hand is a habit I wouldn’t want to break. Also, looking at the screen constantly does a number on my eyes.
It is said that writing by hand or taking notes is better for learning. Still, it doesn’t make all that much difference when I am writing creatively--or I think it is what I am doing.
Some of the authors, who came into the computer age from the first or second half of the twentieth century, have the fixation of writing by hand first, possibly out of having become used to it. To them, this must feel like they are casting a spell or something. If it were the slowness of handwriting to encourage one’s thought processes, one can also write slowly on the computer. The one thing that slows me down while typing on the keyboard is the MS Word’s Mr.Fix-it. So I turn off the auto-correct and I am fine. Actually I like the computer better because I won’t have to re-type anything for editing.
As to getting distracted while on the computer, shouldn’t one have the self-control not to be, if one is serious about what he or she writes? If the subject or the art of the writing is important to the writers, no e-mail checking, no computer games, and no social websites should hinder their work.
This prompt is rather timely for me because I was just looking into getting a smart pen, but as much as I have read on the smart-pen companies’ sites and what Amazon shows, I haven’t decided on one. I want something that writes on any paper or in any note-book, yet retains the info and is easy to attach to the computer like a camera, without me messing with an App. Maybe what I can use is not invented yet. Unless I find something like what I want, I’ll wait, as this is not the most important thing in the world, because I am quite happy with the status quo.
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September 22, 2015 at 2:53pm September 22, 2015 at 2:53pm
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Prompt “When one does not complain … one pays for outward calm with an almost unbearable inner struggle.” Charlotte Brontë
Do you agree with Charlotte Brontë? In what ways do you think venting works?
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Not exactly. I don’t agree with dear Charlotte in this respect, at least not 100%. She is correct, however, in the sense that feelings can involve the physical body’s reaction. From this point of view, Sigmund Freud would be the one to agree with her as he thought that the expressed emotion benefited mental health by releasing pent up ‘psychic energy’ or else, this energy would end up in neurotic symptoms.
For me, the advantage in venting is a mixed bag. I personally do not vent much because, to me, complaining makes the problem seem bigger, but talking to one person who is a close friend may prove to be a catharsis. I do vent in writing, in a private place, if I have the time and if writing the problem down by separating it into its elements would help me arrive at a solution.
I know when I get crazy angry, if I shut up instead of venting, the anger goes away quickly. Flaring up has never helped me; instead, it led to behavior I didn’t like to see in myself. Venting is not a good anger management solution, I think.
In cases of worry and sadness, on the other hand, talking to someone close or writing it down does help relieve some of the burden. Talking about a problem with a cool head or examining it in some way, without whining, helps to identify the feelings and to re-channel them toward more productive actions.
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September 21, 2015 at 5:48pm September 21, 2015 at 5:48pm
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Prompt: The most important thing in your life.
Has it changed over time or has it stayed the same? If you so wish, tell us what it is.
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I hope hellfire and damnation won’t rain down on me for changing “the most important thing for me,” at the drop of a hat. At this very moment, I can say the most important thing is to keep the peace and quiet I have in my life, the status quo so to speak, and to never stop growing as a person.
If it were about a month ago when I overturned the coffee pot on my left hand and burned it, the most important thing then was to have the burn-pain go away and have the hand healed. Now that it’s accomplished, I don’t think about it all that much.
When the dinner I am cooking is late, then the most important thing for me becomes to get dinner on the table as quickly and as edibly as possible. When I am writing anything, finishing what’s spilling out of my fingers on the keyboard in a halfway decent fashion becomes the most important thing in the world, too. Yeah, you may say, “Those are mundane things,” and you would be right, but momentarily, mundane things do become the most important thing in the world.
Yet, my idée fixe for world peace, health and welfare of friends and family, keeping myself and my brain intact, and keeping my personal peace while contributing to life the best way I know how always keeps buzzing in the back of my mind together with the most important thing of that specific moment. What is also important is that I am not the person who runs toward what scares her, but if what I fear shows up in front of me, I usually grab it by the horns. I never want to lose this side of me or other useful sides of me. That too is a most important thing.
In short, I always remodel my thinking and shapeshift, when it comes to certain ideas behind statements like this, although this one was my very own prompt.
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September 20, 2015 at 6:24pm September 20, 2015 at 6:24pm
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Do you ever watch how-to videos on YouTube? Tell us about a lesson you learned from watching a video.
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I rarely watch how-to videos on YouTube, but I watch cooking videos on other sites more. I don’t think the people who talk about cooking on YouTube are cooks to start with, and also, I watched a couple of such videos where the person cooking had no idea what she was doing. The more serious cooking sites have much better videos that far surpass what YouTube has.
On YouTube, I like to watch the videos where people talk about writing or history; although, as to writing, I don’t think I learned anything new even from the established authors, but it is nice to listen to them for figuring out their characters and their style of writing. Also, a few of the classics are there in YouTube videos, but I don't watch them. I download the video, turn it into audio with an app, and listen to it from my tiny MP3 players that fit into a shirt pocket while I do housework.
I can’t recall any single lesson that I have learned from watching a video on YouTube, but there is one video that gave me an idea of a cleaning solution that is perfectly organic, which I still use same solution for cleaning anything, but I don’t recall where I watched it. It wasn’t YouTube, though.
Also, there are some videos whose overall facts make me recall and review similar facts that I had learned way back when, for example Latin roots.
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September 17, 2015 at 6:29pm September 17, 2015 at 6:29pm
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Prompt: A book is only the heart's portrait-every page a pulse. What are your feelings on this?
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I think it depends on the book. Some books in existence do not qualify to be my heart’s portrait. Frankly, even I don’t know what my heart’s portrait is. My cardiologist has a better picture, but that’s only the physical one. The other, more important part, is a mystery, even to me. If it weren’t a mystery, why would I go around surprising myself?
As to, every page a pulse condition, the only book I can think of, in which each page had an effect on me, is still my childhood favorite, The Little Prince by Saint Exupery. I guess, the shorter this book was, the more condensed had been its message, thus the pulse.
Anyhow, this quote of Emily Dickinson’s is about the Bible, written in a letter. If there is one thing I am not going to volunteer my opinions on--in a place open to the entire world--is any kind of religious discussion.
However, for those nosy people like me, here’s the text of the entire letter:
letters from dickinson to elizabeth holland
To Mrs. J.G. Holland
after Christmas 1882
Sweet Sister,
The lovely recollection - the thought of those that cannot "taste" - of one tho whose faint Bed all Boons were brought before revealed, made the sweet Package mighty - It came so long it knows the way and almost comes itself, like Nature's faithful Blossoms whom no one summons but themselves, Magics of Constancy -
The Fiction of "Santa Claus" always reminds me of the reply to my early question of "Who made the Bible" - "Holy Men moved by the Holy Ghost," and though I have now ceased my investigations, the Solution is insufficient -
Santa Claus, though illustrates - Revelation
But a Book is only the Heart's Portrait - every Page a Pulse -
Thank you for the protecting words - The petit Shepherd would find us but a startled flock, not an unloving one -
Remember me to your Possessions, in whom I have a tender claim, and take sweet care of the small Life, fervor has made great - deathless as Emerson's "Squirrel" -
Vinnie gives her love and will write, if a Lady goes away who is calling here - Maggie prized your remembrance - Austin seldom calls - I am glad you were glad to see him - He visits rarely as Gabriel -
Lovingly,
Emily -
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September 17, 2015 at 6:14pm September 17, 2015 at 6:14pm
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Prompt: Music is the art of thinking with sounds. Do you agree?
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I don’t know whether I agree or not, because I feel music; I don’t think it. Music, however, does effect the brain, as it has been shown in some studies, such as the claim of the Mozart Effect increasing intelligence. This I am not too sure of, since I listen to Mozart a lot because I like its sprightliness, and my intelligence…oh, well…let’s not go there.
In addition, to accurately say what music is would be talking over my head. So far that I know of, no one has been able to perfectly define music. Yet, we all know what music is.
The factors that combine to form music are natural in origin, from the tempo and the sounds of nature such as the rain falling or the sound of waves, or they may even be coming from inside us, inside the sounds and rhythms of our physical bodies, while our brains may be analyzing all this data. The brain could have a say in it, but I feel happy, or sad, or moody, depending on what I am listening to, and those to me are feelings.
To wrap it up, my music perception comes through moods and feelings, not because my brain makes me think logically, in terms of cause and effect.
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September 15, 2015 at 1:06pm September 15, 2015 at 1:06pm
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Prompt:
Book covers: What kind of books do you NOT want to buy or read, judging from their covers?
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I know the book covers have to do with the publishers’ tricks, most of the time, but then, any dependable publisher would let the writer have his or her say in the matter. When book covers give the wrong impression, whose fault is it? When people buy a book, isn’t the book cover the first thing they see?
Especially in today’s publishing world, when e-books and self-published works are the rage, isn't the cover the first thing to let us judge what is in the book?
Maybe the cover is indicative of what’s inside or maybe not, but there are some covers that truly turn me off, and at times, not only the covers but the titles as well.
How do I bypass thee, book covers? Let me count the ways:
• Any cover that suggests the book is the offspring of 50 Shades of Grey, especially those with the word Billionaire in the title. Honestly, I don’t want to read anything about billionaires, unless the billionaire is the writer and he or she has something interesting to say.
• Any cover with half-naked men and women on the cover, suggesting that the story has to do with porn. I am not interested in constantly viewing the muscular structure of males and neither do I care for the fake sexy poses of females; moreover, I don’t read porn, but I will gladly read explicit sex if there is a serious story there.
• I don’t buy or read a book with a cover showing violence, such as a knife with blood dripping and a victim on the floor. Yet, I will gladly read any murder-mystery book with violence inside. I only don’t want to see it in the cover. If I would be interested in seeing a murder scene constantly while holding such a book in my hand, I would watch TV instead. There’s a lot of that on most any channel.
• As to horror, the same goes as for the covers of sex and violence. If there’s a story there, fine. If the horror is depicted in a cover, showing skulls, zombies or the like--for titillation, to attract attention or whatever--I am not touching that book. I might read the story, if there is a story inside somewhere but I will not hold such a book in my hand.
On the other hand, a book with a simple cover even with no picture on it could trigger my interest if I have read a few positive reviews of it and if an excerpt is provided that I can skim through. Although I appreciate any good artist’s input in a book cover, I don’t like gross and crass pictures in front of my eyes, anywhere, when I know many ways of creating a sensible and attractive book cover exists.
I understand many people will just go for the covers I dislike and this will help the sales, but why would accomplished, self-respecting writers depend on the titillating covers to sell their books? I happen to think, they would rather not.
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September 14, 2015 at 5:54pm September 14, 2015 at 5:54pm
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Prompt: Neuroscientists have identified a ten-section "empathy circuit" in our brains which, if damaged, can curtail our ability to understand what others are feeling. As only psychopaths have zero empathy, which means empathy circuit in their brain is missing; do you believe science may come up some day to fix the brain circuits of those people and cure them? Or does this seem like a wishful thinking?
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Where empathy circuit in the brain is concerned, it is highly possible that it will be fixed or even replaced with a partial brain prosthesis, and I bet science has already begun working on it.
As to empathy circuit, here’s a link for those who’d like to read up on it:
http://quantum-mind.co.uk/empathy-circuit/
On the other hand, supposing such a brain circuit is fixed by a scientist or a brain surgeon in the physical sense, wouldn’t that person also need training? I think some part of empathy is also a learned one. It would be like giving someone who has never used a computer, a latest model, perfectly working laptop. That person would still need some direction or at least a few tips on using the machine.
Today, even before all brain circuits are made to function and such an advancement is made, people with perfectly working brains sometimes act like self-absorbed jerks. It is as if they are in this world only for themselves. According to statistics, in some big cities, the epidemic of narcissism is at an all-time high. There are instances of someone being bullied or beaten on a busy street while passersby just walk around the commotion. Do all those people have dulled or broken empathy circuits? I guess not. I believe this is due to their deepened egoism and the lack of the feeling of community spirit and civic responsibility.
Yes, the brain machine can be fixed, but in addition to that, we need to fix other things, too, like having people spend more time in becoming engaged in social and community activities to enhance their empathic senses.
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September 12, 2015 at 6:52pm September 12, 2015 at 6:52pm
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Prompt: What do you think is the difference between a writing prompt and a polling question?
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Polls are an easy way to learn more about the audience and their experience levels or if they recall an important information presented earlier. Polling questions are simple and direct with the least amount of words in them. They avoid nuances; they offer reasonably ranked answers to choose from, and they ask one question at a time.
On the other hand, writing prompts have only one aim: to make writers write creatively, or at least, to get them start writing. A writing prompt is anything—a word, a picture, a phrase, or a quote—that helps kick start creative writing. Still, in general, writing prompts can be wordier and more detailed than polling questions. Their aim is not word economy but to give the writers different hints on any subject, so the writer can find inspiration at least in one part of the prompt.
Now, an eager writer can write even from a single word prompt, but not all writers can be inspired from any one single word all the time. For example, off the top of my head, I can think of several ways to approach writing at least a paragraph or two on the word, oxygen, but can I do the same with molybdenum? I don’t think so, unless I do some research on it and use it as a metaphor in some way. The same goes for simple questions that may also pass as polling questions. Some writers would take those questions and write several paragraphs using the idea in them, but others will end up answering a yes or no or I agree or I don’t agree. I don't think answering questions like this is writing creatively.
I have several books of prompts, and all of those prompts, unless directed at school-age children, are at least a few sentences in length designed as keys to writers’ minds. Some are even half-a-page long. Their aim is to make the writer write, not just answer a question in the shortest sentence possible.
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September 11, 2015 at 1:40pm September 11, 2015 at 1:40pm
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Prompt: “A grower of turnips or a shaper of clay, a Commot farmer or a king--every man is a hero if he strives more for others than for himself alone.” Lloyd Alexander, The High King
Whether you agree or not with the above quote, which character traits make a hero of any person in your opinion?
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I definitely agree with the prompt for the “strives for others (more) than himself alone” part, and there are many ways for someone to be considered a hero. An example to heroism--as today is the fourteenth anniversary of that tragedy--is the large group of firefighters who entered the burning towers on 9/11/2001 to help get the people out, possibly knowing that the buildings could collapse. No only those who went in but those who cleaned up the rubble after the tragedy are also heroes.
As such, I don’t think being a hero is limited to firefighters or any one profession, as much as I applaud all firefighters and people who voluntarily go into dangerous vocations. According to Joseph Campbell, the hero “has a thousand faces”; therefore, to narrow the heroism down to specific traits or occupations would be minimizing what heroism is.
My idea of what makes a hero is:
 A hero can be one person or a network of people, who turn a personal virtue into action.
This action can be fighting on behalf of others in need or for defending a moral cause or the integrity of a group or idea.
The action is done voluntarily without any expectation of material gain, and not because the action is the only one left for survival.
The heroic action involves a risk to the hero’s life, physical comfort or social stature.
A hero can be a person who can rise to the occasion immediately when faced with a life-changing event, be it in helping or saving others or getting them out of a bad situation. He stands up for what’s right and just.
A hero may not be someone with superhuman strength outside, but in the inside, he or she carries the power of empathy and does act on it.
Being a victim is not being a hero, but if a victim fights against victimization and against the evil that turned him into a victim, then he or she becomes a hero.
Here’s a poem in memory of 9/11 by Billy Collins.
The Names
Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each one had a name –
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say syllables as I turn a corner –
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O’Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening – weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds –
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a
tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the
heart.
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September 10, 2015 at 12:52pm September 10, 2015 at 12:52pm
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Prompt: The person sitting next to you on the plane is very talkative. Do you try to switch seats or make this person your new best friend?
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I guess that would depend on my mood at the time. Most of the time, nowadays, people just say hi and play with their electronic gadgets. I prefer to read in the planes, so I am not the one to start any conversation.
If the person sitting next to me starts the conversation, that’s another story. My history would show that I yakked together with him or her, once upon a time when I traveled a lot, and mostly alone, even in long distance flights to the West Coast or to Europe. Those days were different times, too, and we were all more trusting. The talkative one would be usually a woman, but also, a couple a men were very talkative, too. I have been, in general, protective of my privacy, and even if the other person asked questions as to who, what, where, when of my life story, I answered in a minimal way or just waved it off and steered the conversation to generalities, like the weather or the cities we’re traveling to, etc. So there was no danger of me getting a new best friend. Just a temporary traveling companion.
Having said so, I have to add that I met the most interesting people on the planes, too. Most of those were not interested in my life story, but in relating theirs. As they were fodder for the writer or eye-openers, I welcomed them. For a person who traveled on a plane several times a season, I haven’t been on one since last year and before that in 2008. The older I got, the more stay-at-home I turned out to be, which is good, too, and much less tiring.
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September 9, 2015 at 3:12pm September 9, 2015 at 3:12pm
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Prompt: I think of Scarbough Fair as a Medieval Fair, not just a song. What do you think a Medieval Fair was like?
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I don’t like imagining stuff about the past, if there is some historical data available, and in this case, a lot of historical data exists.
Historically, a medieval fair was a market with buyers and sellers. The church organized most of those, making the medieval fairs something to attend to because of their religious connotations. Some of those fairs were held to honor certain saints, and due to that belief, contests and archery tournaments were held and singers, musicians, and acrobats entertained the merchants and shoppers. -–As an aside, I think if people really wanted to honor a saint, they should have begun by fixing their innards and refraining from fights and wars.  --
As to the place itself, Scarborough is a seacoast town in England founded by Vikings, made famous by Simon and Garfunkel, and later turned into a resort town. It has a castle and all the makings of an English medieval town, subjected to conflicts, sieges, invasions, and civil wars. I am guessing that Simon and Garfunkel probably meant the Seafest held there every year as the Scarborough Fair, unless they were talking of another town possibly in USA, named after the English town, since most any place in USA is named after some other place in the old continent.
Considering what was involved, the real Scarborough fair would have little to do with a medieval fair, since Scarborough Fair song has connotations to sixties’ movements, beliefs, and emotions, whereas a medieval fair’s main goal had to be favoring the church’s welfare, be it holding together the flock or taking a lion’s share from the earnings of the merchants.
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September 8, 2015 at 2:05pm September 8, 2015 at 2:05pm
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Prompt: “One of the key happiness principles is savoring. That’s a fancy term for really taking a second to appreciate those happy moments in your life.” In an e-mail sent by Eric Barker of the blog Barking up the Wrong Tree
In how many ways do you savor your life?
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Most of the advice for living fruitfully comes in the area of coping with life’s negative incidents and their traces left behind inside us. I think, however, in addition to that advice, focusing on the good things can not only enhance our enjoyment of life but can also minimize its negatives.
Right now, I am savoring WdC community’s “We Got This”, the way we usually come together and stand firmly behind those of us who are hurting. This shows, even in an unnerving situation, holding hands with each other means feeling the life inside us.
Among other things I usually do to savor life is the glueing of wonderful scenes like photos or paintings inside my mind. When some view moves me, I concentrate on it and tell my mind to remember it when I need it. These scenes are for referral during the times when I feel lonely or need an emotional lift.
A few examples to my mental pictures that have stayed with me:
 My aunt intently watching a Mexican soap opera sitting in front of the TV, her back turned to the world with her lovely blonde hair cascading over her back. I recall that the main character’s name was Rosa, although I never watched that novela with her.
The vision of the whole clan-my family-gathered around a large table dining, and us children jostling each other around a separate table. I can see everyone in my mind’s eye, the food, the way people chewed it, the way it was served.
The sounds of our giggles at our wetness, the feel of my clothes sticking on me and rain dripping from my hair into my face and inside my eyes, when a group of us deliberately walked under the rain with no protection
My uncle taking my pictures while we are at the beach. I can see clearly, in my minds eye, his camera, the way he adjusted the shutter and turned the lens around and took a step back just before clicking.
The delightful way the leaves on the trees suddenly started moving when my cousins and I were visiting our great grandfather’s grave.
The smell of my grandmother's pastries
The feel of my husband’s hand in mine, a few days before our wedding, while we were walking in a park at night with only a few lights magnifying the dark ghostlike shapes of trees and benches.
My son waddling about as a toddler with chocolate stains all over his face.
The way the sand sank under my foot while I was watching a wave wash on the beach and then retreat leaving its foam behind.
The sight of our dog Joe jumping on the pile of leaves, I had just raked for bagging later.
The sight of the full moon through lacy clouds.
The sight of several different sunsets from the backyard. All those brilliant colors.
The sight of palm trees…all different kinds of them. How the queen palms on the two sides of roads flaunt their beauty like models on a runway.
I have many special moments like the above examples that I have observed and etched in my brain in their entirety with positive feelings, much like taking in a work of art.
In addition, getting absorbed in what I am doing is another way of savoring life. Where being absorbed is concerned, this type of savoring happens while I concentrate in a task or a moment, losing my sense of time and place. These moments are not for keeps but for immersing myself in them while living them.
Then, the best kind of savoring comes when I think to myself what a gift life is and how lucky I am to be given that gift, noticing, enjoying, and participating in every aspect of it. This type of savoring, then, leads to further inspirational thought that encompasses all creation and its Creator.
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September 7, 2015 at 4:57pm September 7, 2015 at 4:57pm
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Prompt: As a step forward from science fiction, quantum theory and general relativity physics have been successfully exploring the concept of teleportation in our time. If teleportation were to become possible, what kind of things would your imagination carry and to where?
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Since teleportation is also called teletransportation, I would teletransport to the future when cures to the diseases are securely established and the warring gene in men is eradicated. Then I would carry back some of those cures and sweet talk a couple of scientists to teletransport with me to our present day, to eradicate disease and do away for good with the warring gene. Chances are, I would find other advancements in a few more areas, too, and would try to bring those to our present time, as well.
Would I have fear to do this? I don’t think so, but even if I would be afraid, I would still go ahead with this trek, because I think wisdom should always overcome fear. There is such a thing as a leap of faith, too, to throw oneself and one’s heart across the millenniums and trust the people of the future to catch me and help me. Flying through the void with no certainty of landing isn’t an easy attempt to look forward to, but I think my flight would be stealthy but with the best interests of my species at heart. Besides, I feel there has to be a lot more for humankind than what we are experiencing today.
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