Photo from Pixabay.
Wrapped Up, (c) 2021 by Pamela Schloesser Canepa
Some journeys are covered outwardly
in confusion, bedlam, or shock
They are things we wouldn’t invite,
but we had to accept and take the journey
to get to peace on the other side.
Wrap it up anyway you want,
it’s how we deal with real life…
The story of my year, 2021.
**Written in response to the Ragtag Daily Prompt, https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2021/12/23/ragtag-daily-prompt-thursday-wrapped/
Maybe you have a bland color you don’t like,
But you find a way to incorporate others…
The blue that calms you, the blue that
electrifies you
The green that makes you feel embraced
like a long-time trusted friend
The brown that feels like
suddenly falling in the mud
The yellow like the sun that lifts you up
and helps you dust off and move again.
The bright orange of learning new things
and of laughter with a friend.
Such is the contrast of life, along the way
Enjoying all that we are, adapting
to the mysteries of each day.
**Posted in response to the daily prompt challenge at https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2021/09/11/rdp-saturday-kaleidoscope/
(c) 2020
When life suddenly
Becomes a field of thorns
Sticks to your barefooted soul
And pricks your composure,
Look for the wildflower.
Nourish it, feed it, focus on it,
And thank it for the experience.
Nurture the growing wildflowers in your life and in your heart. Don’t focus on the thorns; let them serve their purpose. Weekend Coffee Share, 11/22/20
Tired but still kicking. Looking for the positives wbile removing the thorns, to bring forth gratitude.This is all I can give today. I hope it inspires you. Have a great week and a happy Thanksgiving my friends!
(c) Pamela Schloesser Canepa, 2020
In the midst of the wind
And tumultuous waves
A voice called out to me.
“You did not cause the storm,
But the storm is within you
You are not run by what you fear
And you are not controlled by fear
If you can just embrace it…
Be the wind that erodes the sands of boredom
Be the downpour that washes away all doubt
Be the fire that burns down the tents of shame
Do not be blown over by the storm,
Let the storm surge through you, and remake you,
Stronger, wiser, resilient as an oak.”
With that, she walked away, long stick guiding her movements, gray hair befalling her shoulders, a smile crinkling at her eyes.
Just as I realized who she was, she was gone…
“And the forest will echo with laughter.” -Led Zeppelin lyric
The Forest, (c) 2020 by Pamela Schloesser Canepa
The forest is deep and far and wide
lush with ideas and thoughts
coming at us all at once…
layers and layers of thoughts
The changing path, the creatures on the way
the weather falling down on us
or sunshine guiding our way.
Layers and layers to peel away and discover
or some that we bury and keep covered,
like leaves on a forest floor.
The innocent child goes forth to explore…
The tainted, jaded adult hangs back
Says, “No, we probably shouldn’t.”
Clings to coffee and her wallet,
Poised, tense, ready to self-protect.
Which one wins?
Can one just leave the forest untouched?
For it grows inside of the mind,
imagination soars, or holds you behind.
Which one will you choose?
*The above photo is a Pixabay photo.
2006. Ballroom dance practice.
2009, before I retired these shoes.
Dance of Life by Pamela Schloesser Canepa, (c) 2019
Yes, laugh, I said. It means that we’re alive.
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Alli . The weather looks beautiful, but I’ve been moving slow this morning. I also have had some coursework, and I am almost done.
Last night, I went with my mom and my son to a Mexican restaurant with a really hip, cool vibe. It was packed, so we sat at the bar. After a while, a guy comes over, and I recognized him as one of my cousins. We are all glad to see him and chatted for a good, long while. He travels a lot. It was really nice though, to feel connected to family beyond our small unit. He tells interesting stories, but my family is awesome story fodder. 🙂
I am going through growing older and having new health issues pop up, having to go through tests. Throw a prayer my way, please. I may or may not need it, but it is greatly appreciated. Enough of that. No need to worry. It makes me wonder, if I were a bird or a spirit looking down on my life, what would I think?
Which makes me think of my writing life and experience. I posted this on Facebook this morning: The space that a story inhabits is important. I have been drawn in by spaces and places, as in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and the movie, Bladerunner 2 as well as in The OA, my new Netflix obsession.
Visualizing yourself in a place or places adds a level to any story. On the left is a crude map I drew of a few city blocks in Undercurrents in Time during my drafting. These blocks also appeared in Detours in Time, but the street names changed due to events and time shifts in that first book. (Of course, all this followed by an invitation to read my books and a link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711ZW6XF in Kindle, K.U., or print.) Shameless self-promo done, but it is Independent Bookstore day! They carry everything. One independent bookstore in Jacksonville called the Book Nook carries my books, but I’ll work on expanding that.
I am sorry coffee was brief today, but I do recommend that you watch The OA if you like mystical sci–fi or anything uber weird. It is delicously weird, but full of hope. Imagine if, in the worst of moments or crises, you could leave your body because your spirit was free. The thougth is quite addictive. See? I am off to a massage now. Must relieve a lot of stress caused by worry, no doubt, and the constant drive to be better. Well, maybe that and getting older.
Have a great day, my friends!
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.
I am in the zone lately, reading and writing like a maniac, learning marketing ideas as an indie author, and escaping into fiction reading just as often.
I wanted to write about something Zen for Z, but let’s be honest, I have no true idea about Zen. My home life is a little chaotic. Work is terribly busy, so I just escape into a book. It’s nothing new; I’ve done it all my life. I had my phases where I’d binge watch certain things on Netflix, but I can’t seem to make myself a passive recipient of others’ ideas right now. I don’t think reading someone’s book is passive at all.
“Zone out” means you become inattentive or unbothered, and I have to use that in my life right now. There have been many changes in my home, and I have to accept them. Know what helps? Getting in my zone. Every now and then I have to reconnect with those around me, though.
I look forward to telling you more about what’s happening in my zone in the next few weeks.
*For the month of April, I’ve participated in the April A to Z Blogger’s Challenge! Can you believe it’s just about over? I’ve done it! Each day this month, I have written something based on the next letter in the alphabet. It’s been challenging and fun while giving me a chance to pause for reflection as well.
Want to know more about the A-Z blog challenge? Visit http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com
My House of Cards (c) 2017, Pamela Schloesser Canepa
The House of Cards had thrived on hope
And goodness, love, and light
The hope was that it was enough
to keep us safe and sound.
The House of Cards became cover
for turned heads and bitter words,
For selfishness and wrath.
But of all things considered,
at least we had a house.
The House of Cards can never beat
a beast that grows within.
For a House of Cards is still just cards,
almost paper thin.
I rid the house of one
offending sort,
and some of us remained.
There is a slightly haunted feel,
I wish it would depart.
But anywhere that I should go
a part of it would follow.
The House of Cards surrounds me now,
within a malevolent wind
I sometimes feel it will blow down
and I’ll have nothing left.
But this House of Cards is what I have
and I have made it mine.
I have sheltered others here,
even if for a short time.
And when it is all said and done,
I hope that mine will be
the House of Cards that withstood all
and always sheltered me.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.
Welcome to my Weekend Coffee share, hosted by parttimemonsterblog.com. If we were having coffee, on this foggy morning of January 21st, we’d sit outdoors, as the Florida sun is just starting to peak through. Not to mention, it is a pleasant 70 degrees! This has been quite a week, heck, it has already been quite a month. There have been way too many challenges and obstacles to overcome. But I’m doing it. I am not a quitter, and I don’t say that lightly.
Still, my goals have been affected by setbacks. My goals are not as clear anymore, either, due to many dramatic events in my family life lately. I have a full-length manuscript that someone is editing for me, after which I’ll need to make some changes I’d already planned on. Then, I have two other spin-off ideas, yet, I don’t have the focus to really dive into them right now, as I’m also taking a required online course for work that involves a lot of reading and responding. It’s just 3 months! *sigh* At least I have started typing up or writing the general ideas so they won’t be lost forever. (This used to happen to me before I seriously committed myself to being a writer).
Heh, that sounds cool. I have committed myself to being a writer! Hey, guys, I’m a writer! It was only a dream two years ago! I had ideas floating around that were lost to the aether because I never wrote them down. Fortunately, I changed that habit. I can be glad for that, but still, I am frustrated lately by the intense details that have dropped into my life since my son had an accident that put him in the hospital for three days. Now, there is so much paperwork and follow-up. He is better, though his employment situation changed recently, and that’s another concern. We will get through this.
If my paragraphs seem to be all over the place, I apologize. That is my life lately. I deal with what I must, then I inject the writing wherever I can. I did do some writing this week, however. Although I haven’t worked on any of my manuscripts or novel in progress, I entered my response to a flash fiction photo prompt. You can find it at https://pamelascanepa.wordpress.com/2017/01/17/travel-my-way-fridayfictioneers/ Please give it a read and I’d love it if you have a comment! I just love flash fiction, though I hated it at first. But I realized that open-ended stories have their own merit, and I learned to love that beast. Not to mention, I completed it before work on Tuesday as I let my hair dry. What an excellent way to start the day! I have also written poetry lately, in dealing with my overwhelming emotions and the overwhelming events of life. I think it was this week I wrote my “Tenuous Grasp” prayer/poem, see http://bit.ly/2kciqvT. Aha, yes, it was this week, 1/17/17. Sometimes I write because I love writing, other times, I do it to survive emotionally. I mean that.
I wish I had more to share on my status as a writer. This week also consisted of busy activities at work, learning (and then teaching) a way my students can submit their writing to me online for grading, and, yes, hospital visits. A hospital is the last place I ever want to be. However, since insurance requires certain forms being filled out for my son’s accident, and I’d hate spending an hour on the phone to find out where to fax or mail them, my son and I went up there. Twice. First, on MLK day since I was off. He is not driving now, so I had to go, too. Well, the necessary department was closed that day. Or, that is, what we thought was the necessary department.
So, I arranged to take Wednesday morning off and we went again. After speaking to about 5 people, starting with E.R. on the first floor, where he had been first treated, we were sent to many different departments to include: Medical Records, (basement), Case Management (1st floor, I think; it got confusing), then, Trauma Admin (8th floor) where a cute young Doogie Houser/Will Smith intern helped us find the right office. Finally, someone took our form and said it would be ready in 7-10 days. All that, in addition to getting lost down a long, dark, hall with blank gray walls. I could imagine being lost there, never to return. Maybe I’ve seen that in a movie. Did I mention I hate hospitals? The long hidden corridors, the smells…I’ll stop there. At least there was an end to our endless loop.
At any rate, I slept in today, as I so needed it. I get arm pain and muscle aches, so I’ll modify diet this week and see how it helps. Next Dr. visit is in 1-2 months. No need to hurry there. I am so glad it’s Saturday. I am hoping to work on my writing projects next week. Enjoy your weekend, my friends! *The Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Part Time Monster . You can join this week’s Coffee Share on her blog or by clicking on the “Linkup Linky“. In fact, I encourage you to click on the “linky” to see what’s been going on in the lives of other bloggers and even join us if you haven’t before. (I’ll make the links hot later)
pamelascanepa 