Tag: writing

Prejudice is a mist, which… often dims the brightest and obscures the best of all the good and glorious objects that meet us on our way- Lord Shaftesbury

Bloganuary writing prompt
If you could un-invent something, what would it be?
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We are more than halfway through January, which means Bloganuary, too! 😱. Where does the time go? Well done, everyone, for getting this far! Thank you to all who have participated in my journey by reading, commenting and/or liking my posts. You are helping to make this an awesome experience.

Hmmm…back to the prompt. I have no idea what I would uninvent. If I were really forced to pin something down, it would be prejudices. I have just read a blog where racism was mentioned, and I would like to add ageism, judging people by their level of intelligence, or their facial features, or their body shape. There are so many other ways in which we judge our fellow man. It is so ingrained in us. I am definitely just as guilty.

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Imagine a world where we just accepted each other as fellow human beings and respected each other for our strengths rather than deliberately “creating weaknesses” to judge each other by. Here’s the thing: together, we all make this world work in some way or another. 

So yes, I would definitely uninvent prejudices. What would you uninvent?

Thanks for popping by! Be blessed!

“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.” — Paulo Coelho

Bloganuary writing prompt
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
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I have read this prompt over and over and I keep asking myself if people have negative examples of where they have felt love? Anyway…I feel loved every day and I only realised this while contemplating a response to this prompt. I don’t think i have ever felt unloved. I have felt unappreciated and perhaps like my presence is unwanted in certain spaces (as can happen), but I have never felt unloved.

Throughout my life, I have been the apple of my dad’s eye. Knowing this, I never had reason to question whether I was loved or not. Knowing that I am loved by someone and, more recently, understanding and accepting that I am loved unconditionally by God has ensured that I don’t need to seek love anywhere. For this, I am eternally grateful, as I know that not everyone has this experience in life. I do find that I have a need to be seen, appreciated and respected. 

There are quite a few ways that this can happen that works for me. An example would be when someone acknowledges something that I have said. It doesn’t matter whether they agree with me or not; what matters is that they hear me. I don’t know why, but that is very important to me. I guess if I looked at my life through the lens of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the bottom three rungs are taken care of (physiological, safety and security, love and belonging), and I tend to look to others to take care of some of my esteem needs, in particular, recognition and respect. 

I am actually blown away that this has been quite an insightful little exercise. I think I have discovered something important about myself! Whadda you know! 🤪 I must admit that until this moment, I hadn’t quite been able to internalise the quote from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Now, I can finally say, “I get it.” 😊

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What insights did you come up with when you contemplated this question?

Thanks for stopping by. Be blessed.

Less – an update

Bloganuary writing prompt
Where can you reduce clutter in your life?
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I entered this year with the declaration that my word for the year is “LESS”. You can read more here. It’s 16 days in, and I am thrilled to say that I have definitely made progress on the physical clutter front in particular. I’m at least halfway through.

Here are a few things I learnt since starting:

  • To be successful, it’s crucial to get rid of things fast; otherwise, they just end up becoming clutter in a different bag/packet in a different part of the house.
  • Once you commit to something, the Universe will do what it has to to meet you halfway. The things I decided to sell were sold very quickly online. I also gave some stuff away. 
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I have to admit it feels really good to let go of all the stuff that I no longer use. There is so much space that is taken up by “things” I will probably never use and papers I will never read again. I feel lighter, and I feel excited by the possibilities. My intention is to rearrange my space to be beautiful to my eye and to my soul. It is hard to be at peace when surrounded by a mish-mash of things that do not look beautiful. Rough edges do not soothe me.

Next up is my digital clutter. That’s going to take a while, especially my inbox. No matter how much I unsubscribe from, my inbox is always full. I just don’t understand it. Anyway, I will succeed in clearing it out this time.

Thanks for popping by. By blessed!