Tag: self-improvement
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On the Art of Sensitivity
Butterfly Lounge, paper collage, 2023 The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To them… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god,…
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On Creative Energy
Wild and Free, paper collage, 2022 Creativity is energy being put to work in a constructive fashion. Frank X. Barron I am not certain when I began thinking of creativity in terms of energy, or life force. Though, to be sure, I have long associated my own creativity with the inner experience of having too…
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Where Humanity Lives
Northern Mockingbird Yesterday, I got inspired to write a post about the importance of challenging ourselves. Of continually trying new things, of seeking out new and exciting ways to test our abilities, and of having the courage to follow our passions, interests, curiosities. As I was organizing my thoughts on the subject, a small voice…
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On Overwhelm
Contemplation, paper collage, 2022 I get overwhelmed easily and often. More easily and more often, perhaps, than I would like to admit. I get overwhelmed by strong emotions. I get overwhelmed from feeling my to-do list is too long. I get overwhelmed by too much stimulation (e.g., loud noises, bright lights, too much social media,…
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Everything I Am, I Was Once Afraid Of
Times Are Changing, paper collage, 2021 Everything I am, I was once afraid of or vehemently disliked or found to be boring, uninspiring, or otherwise not worthy of my own time and attention. It’s true. When I was a child, I was terrified of water. And I mean terrified. Screaming, wailing, panic-stricken terrified. So, my…
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On Capturing Moments
Northern Cardinal (male) Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it. Ray Bradbury I generally prefer the term, “birdwatching” to “birding” when it comes to describing my bird-observing activities (and…
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Part of the Silence
Mourning Dove In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence. Robert Lynd I was recently told that my birdwatching hobby is “quaint”. Whether this particular comment was intended to be complimentary or not (I think not), I chose to take it that way. I have, it seems, reached…
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Autumn Leaves
This post is formatted to reflect an original journal entry. 10/19/2018 Immersing myself in ideas about humanistic education. Rogers, a tremendous resource on holistic learning in A Way of Being (On Becoming a Person, too). Maslow wrote a great deal about his own experiments in humanistic education in his journals. Makes me sad that it…
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Second Hand News
This post is formatted to reflect an original journal entry (and is titled affectionately, and I hope, appropriately, after the Fleetwood Mac song bearing the same name, to which I was listening at the time of publication). 10/9/18 On a train. Coming down from the mountains and remarkably unenthused about the return home. Reflecting on…
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Nocturne
This post is formatted to reflect an original journal entry. 10/1/18 It’s finally starting to feel like fall. An airy afternoon run. Autumn leaves and a pleasant breeze. Getting deep into Carl Rogers’s On Becoming a Person. Fascinating. So much talk of feelings. Harmony of feelings. Integration, flow, and differentiation of feelings. I imagine it…
The Used Life 