Thoughtful Thursday

I still don't have a clear direction for Thoughtful Thursday posts, so for today I thought I would detail the various sources that I use on a daily basis to help me dig deeper and ask those questions that help give my life direction.

Dumping Ground:  I have used the website, 750 words, going on nearly three years now.  The inspiration for the website came from Julia Cameron's best-seller, The Artist's Way, where she advocates writing three full pages first thing each morning:  stream of consciousness writing that allows you to empty the mind of worries, stress, confusions, etc....in order to make room for creative pursuits.  While she advocates long-hand, typing on a computer in this secure format is more conducive to my lifestyle.  I'm not sure that I have made much room for creativity to take hold (yet) - but I have found that this daily activity helps me to prioritize tasks and put life in proper perspective.

Spiritual Focus:  As I mentioned last week, I am currently working my way through Rick Warren's daily devotional, Decade of Destiny for the second year.  I really enjoy his practical easy-to-understand messages that often cause me to think more clearly about my life's goals.  Today he reviews his famous Acronym of SHAPE - and how knowing your shape will help you define your calling in life.  For those of you who may not have heard of this, SHAPE stands for:

• S = Spiritual Gifts
• H = Heart 
• A = Abilities
• P = Personality
• E = Experiences

Writing Focus:  I currently use two daily tools to help me think about the writing life - although I have not yet translated those thoughts to an actual writing lifestyle (I have faith that will come later).  The first is the book, A Year of Writing Dangerously, where the author has daily messages to motivate would-be authors to face their fears and just write.  Each message is then accompanied by a quote from a published author.  

Yesterday's prompt was entitled:  Getting Permission - and the author states:  If you feel you need permission to write about yourself, or whatever you feel you need to write about, I give you permission.  

She then uses the quote by William Zinsser to summarize the thought:

If you write for yourself, you will reach all the people you want to write for.

The other tool I use is Patti Digh's Daily Rock.  As some of you may recall, Patti Digh is the author of Life is a Verb, which inspired me to develop a series of writing prompts two summers ago.  She helps me to focus on the moment - to stop putting off til tomorrow because who knows how much time they have left (her father died only 37 days after learning he had cancer).  

One of her prompts this week included:  Let Your Life Be a Poem

Photography Focus:  Writing comes naturally for me - not that I do it well, but it comes easily.  Photography does not.  I have NO natural ability.  I must constantly think about the rules of composition; I must stop and analyze the light before I attempt to set the ISO - Aperture - Shutter Speed controls.  I have yet to learn how the camera sees the world and become quite frustrated when my picture is not what I saw with the naked eye.  And yet... I still love the possibilities that photography offers to help me relate to the world in which I live.  And I am determined to learn the craft.  After all....don't I teach students that writing can be learned - they just have to be willing to put in the effort?  I want to follow my own advice.

Of course improvement comes from practice - and daily practice is best.  However, I struggle finding variety in the world around me. That is where Capture Your 365 photo prompts help.  Katrina does not necessarily suggest WHAT to photograph, but rather WHAT EMOTION to capture.  And this, to me, is the essence of photography. 

Today's prompt is Real Life - which she also offers Everyday - Ordinary - Daily as possible synonyms. It is a rainy day in Kansas, so I think I will be forced to find a suitable subject indoors.  I was thinking perhaps a photo of emptying the dishwasher .... but I'm not sure.  What would you photograph to capture "real life" ?

Decade of Destiny

Blog posts for this day of the week can be categorized as Thoughtful Thursday posts.  The idea is that whatever is on my mind for the week (and I am sure there are some weeks where nothing will be written...) I will post here.

I have re-started Rick Warren's one-year devotional, Decade of Destiny, and I find that the questions he poses in these first two messages coincide perfectly with this particular stage in my life.

Rick uses Genesis 24 as his scripture reference - the story of Abraham and Sarah and the birth of their son Isaac.  At this time in my life I find this story inspirational, as Abraham was 100 years old when his son was born.  He had dreamed of a family his entire life, but God's timing took a bit longer than Abraham had anticipated.  I am only half Abraham's age - so I am confident that God must still have some significant accomplishments for me as well.  This brings a smile to my face and gives me hope for my own future.

Rick first states that in order for us to move forward, we must develop focus.  And to help us develop that focus gives two questions to ponder:

1. Where am I now?  Where am I spiritually, financially, emotionally, relationally, physically, and occupationally?
2. In all those areas identified, what would I like to change?

Believe me, these questions are easier to read than they are to address.  What I have discovered since last year's answers to the same questions is that I have indeed grown and matured and started a path toward change.  I have a long ways to go, but it is nice to know that I have indeed progressed.  And it is nice to know that I have an idea of where I hope to be next year - and the year after that.

The second list of questions are a bit more specific because Rick states that the more specific the goal, the more power it has in your life.  This concept was reinforced for me this week when a segment on the local news focused on New Year's Resolutions.  The "expert" stated that vague goals such as, I want to lose weight, do not have the success rate as much as specific goals such as, I want to lose ten pounds in three months.

So Rick provides four questions to help us quantify our goals in life:

1. What do I want to be?
2. What do I want to do?
3. What do I want to have?
4. Why do I want it?

While the first three questions are not easy, it is the final question - the WHY - that can stump us.  And yet if we do not know the why - if we do not understand our motivation behind these goals, then they become nothing more than wishful dreams that never come true.

Interestingly enough, Rick closes this particular exercise by asking us not to question HOW.  And for the pragmatic folks out there like myself, that is difficult.  But his reasoning is sound.  We may not know "how" yet --- but if we focus on what we don't know, we will give up before we even start.  Rick maintains that if we know the what - and we know the why - and we know that these are in line with God's will for our life ---- then we can trust that God will reveal the how in due time.