Because there is too much talking to do, sunshine to seek, wine to drink, and laughs to be had for me to be sitting in front of the computer the next couple of days.

See you on the flip side.

The girls, ca. 1998

October 2010, Atlanta

Prompt: Your Personal Message by Eric Handler

To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is burning deep inside of you? If you could spread your personal message RIGHT NOW to 1 million people, what would you say?

(Author: Eric Handler)

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What burns deep inside of me? Frustration with people’s inability to accept those who are different from what they know and believe. It’s not an original message, but: PLAY NICE.

Prompt: Afraid to Do by Mary Jaksch

The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson says: “Always do what you are afraid to do.” What is ‘too scary’ to write about? Try doing it now.

(Author: Mary Jaksch)

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My deepest, darkest, most honest feelings are too scary to write about. Don’t get me wrong, everything I write here is authentic, but I never pull back the curtain all the way. Honestly, I don’t think anyone wants to read that. More power to those souls who bare all and take the world along with them–it’s just not for me. Hardly anyone reads what I’m writing here, but it would be “out there.” Even as a kid, I didn’t buy into the diary thing. What was my guarantee that my secrets would really be safe?

Here’s a scary tidbit, albeit unoriginal:

I both crave and fear a serious relationship. Shocker! My default setting is single, and the older I get, the more ingrained that becomes. I’m used to doing things on my own and for myself, without a partner, and sometimes I’m afraid I won’t know how to make room in my life for Mr. Where-The-Hell-Is-He.

(See how I ended the “scary sharing” part with humor?)

Prompt: Five Years by Corbett Barr

There will be an agreement in whatever variety of actions, so they be each honest and natural in their hour. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What would you say to the person you were five years ago? What will you say to the person you’ll be in five years?

(Author: Corbett Barr)

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Dude. All these life-examination prompts, combined with my impending birthday (Friday, eek!), are putting me in a very ponderous mood. It’s also making my head hurt.

To five-years-ago me:

“You’re almost done, and this thing you’ve set in motion will take you to a new place with new challenges and people and experiences, and you’re going to love it. But while you’re doing all this life-mapping, would it kill you to think about scrounging up a date once in a while? Because I have news: it’s not going to magically right itself in another state. I’m just saying.”

To five-years-from-now me:

“Lady, you are 39 and looking FABULOUS. xoxo”

“Remember five years ago when you were feeling a little twitchy about turning 34? Oh, honey.”

“Also, remember how frickin’ hilarious Bridesmaids was? You should watch that again.”

Friday is the end-of-year celebratory lunch for the students participating in Power Lunch, and mentors are allowed to give them a gift of a book. Collin loves Pokemon. LOVES. He mentioned seeing Pokemon chapter books at another school’s library, but his doesn’t have any. Perfect! A quick trip to Amazon and ta-da:

I had no idea there were so many Pokemon characters, so I hope I got the right thing. Regardless, if it means he reads over the summer, my job is done.

But then I was feeling an urge to do something creative, so I dug out my stash of cardstock and craft paper and made him this bookmark:

front

back

Cute, right? I was pretty happy with how it came out. When I was a kid, I loved getting bookmarks. I actually amassed a sizable collection of them by the time I was in high school. I wonder where those are…

While I was cutting and pasting on the dining room table, my roommate said, “It looks like 5th grade over there.” Har har. Once she saw what I was doing, she said, “Ooh, I need a bookmark.” And so I kept cutting and pasting:

Now my fingers are sticky.

Prompt: Dare to be bold by Matt Cheuvront

Our arts, our occupations, our marriages, our religion, we have not chosen, but society has chosen for us. We are parlour soldiers. We shun the rugged battle of fate, where strength is born. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Next to Resistance, rational thought is the artist or entrepreneurs worst enemy. Bad things happen when we employ rational thought, because rational thought comes from the ego. Instead, we want to work from the Self, that is, from instinct and intuition, from the unconscious.

A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. Its only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” - Steven Pressfield, Do the Work

The idea of “being realistic” holds all of us back. From starting a business or quitting a job to dating someone who may not be our type or moving to a new place – getting “real” often means putting your dreams on hold.

Today, let’s take a step away from rational thought and dare to be bold. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to accomplish but have been afraid to pursue? Write it down. Also write down the obstacles in your way of reaching your goal. Finally, write down a tangible plan to overcome each obstacle.

The only thing left is to, you know, actually go make it happen. What are you waiting for?

(Author: Matt Cheuvront)

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In order to spare you from a sarcastic rant about being bold and accomplishing life dreams simply by writing them down, I am going to post separately about what I did tonight instead of responding to this prompt.

Maybe I’ll come back to this question, but not tonight.

Sorry, Ralph.

Prompt: Come Alive by Jonathan Mead

Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you had one week left to live, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? In what areas of your life are you preparing to live? Take them off your To Do list and add them to a To Stop list. Resolve to only do what makes you come alive.

Bonus: How can your goals improve the present and not keep you in a perpetual “always something better” spiral?

(Author: Jonathan Mead)

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If I had a week left to live, I would make sure all the people I love know how much they mean to me and how they’ve changed my life for the better. I would stop waiting until I was 100% sure of my ability to succeed before tackling a new skill or activity, and just do it. I would turn my face to the sun, close my eyes, and let my heart swell with overwhelming gratitude for the life I’ve been lucky enough to have.

In what areas of my life am I preparing to live? This is echoing internal conversations I’ve been having with myself, about what it is that I ultimately want out of life — how and where do I want to “end up?” So much of life is preparation, that it’s difficult to tell when you’ve reached the destination. From age 5 to 22 we are in school or training of some sort, preparing for an eventual career. Then maybe we go to grad school, travel, do an internship or apprenticeship, move back home to save money, work a day job so we can pursue more creative but less lucrative outlets in our free time, or, if we’re lucky, we fall into an industry that suits us and we begin building the foundations of a long, happy career. Regardless, it’s all done in the guise of working toward something — a more advanced degree, a promotion, commercial success.

I moved to Boston four years ago to work in publishing, which was a result of me checking some big things off the To Do list. But now I’m feeling restless, wondering if I want to stay in this industry, in this city, for the long haul. I do feel as though I’m “preparing to live” in some ways, waiting for an external force to move my life forward, into the next phase… but I know that I am responsible for making my life happen. I don’t have the answers right now, but I’m working on them.

Prompt: Travel by Chris Guillebeau

If we live truly, we shall see truly. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?

(Author: Chris Guillebeau)

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I’ve traveled a lot in the U.S. and Western Europe, and have a mile-long list of places I want to go. In October I will be traveling to England for the first time, staying with friends in London. As a self-proclaimed Anglophile, I’m very excited about this. However, if I can get to Hampshire while I’m there, and see Jane Austen’s home in Steventon (where she wrote some of her most famous novels), I will be positively over. the. moon.

You see, I fell in love with Jane Austen at the age of 15 and have ardently loved her since. Pride & Prejudice is perhaps my all-time favorite book, and I have long yearned to see the place where she lived and wrote. Her life of only 41 years was different from her contemporaries, in her desire for independence and personal success. A very interesting lady, indeed.

Prompt: Post-It Question by Jenny Blake

That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. Where is the master who could have taught Shakespeare? Where is the master who could have instructed Franklin, or Washington, or Bacon, or Newton? . . . Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare. Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Identify one of your biggest challenges at the moment (ie I don’t feel passionate about my work) and turn it into a question (ie How can I do work I’m passionate about?) Write it on a post-it and put it up on your bathroom mirror or the back of your front door. After 48-hours, journal what answers came up for you and be sure to evaluate them.

Bonus: tweet or blog a photo of your post-it.

(Author: Jenny Blake)

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