Memories of Snow

NaNoWriMo Day 11: Thoughts and Prompt Responses (WC:2230)

Istiqlál (Independence), 9 Qudrat (Power), 173 BE - Friday, November 11, 2016 AD about 12:00 PM Pacific Standard Time

NaNoWriMo Day 11 Morning Thoughts

It's November 11, NaNoWriMo Day 11. I had hoped my word count would equal 22,000 by today, but it only equals 17,785 which means I'm 4,215 words short of what I wanted. I'm not unhappy about falling short of the word count because for 8 out of the past 10 days I've exceeded both the minimum and maximum word count goal. If I can continue exceeding the goal on or both of those word count goals I will accomplish the 50,000 words before November 30. I'm doing good despite the fact that I didn't write one day and fell between 667 and 1,000 short of the goal the next day.

I'm also happy about the fact that I've managed to come up with both spiritual and non-spiritual personal writing for most of those 9 days I was able to write. I think I would be farther along if the only writing I did was for NaNoWriMo; however, I still have to make blog entries in my writing.com blog. I suspect I would have been farther along with the word count if I had compose some of the responses to the blog prompts in these entries. In addition to writing blog entries and a poem, I had to do some reviews on writing.com. I don't like to get out of the habit of doing reviews because it will be harder to get back into the review groove.

Gratitude

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." Buddha Use this quote as inspiration and write something about gratitude.1

Gratitude is a spiritual attribute. Gratitude is being grateful for what you have even if it just enough to keep body and soul together. Gratitude is being grateful for what you don't have or what didn't happen to you and your family. Gratitude is a part of abundance because when you're grateful for what you have you're ready to receive more.

What Happened?

"What happened all those years ago? I remember standing on the bridge of all things and in my hands the salvation of the universe. Just as I attempted to save us I heard a ------ It's your blog, tell us what happens next.2

"What happened all those years ago? I remember standing on the bridge of all things and in my hands the salvation of the universe. Just as I attempted to save us I heard a ..." I heard a what? A clap of thunder followed by a blinding flash of light. That sounds like a good start to a story with a beginning sentence about "the salvation of the universe". What is the salvation of the universe? What is the universe referred to in this scenario? Does it refer to the entire cosmos or just my particular section?

If that scenario refers to the salvation of my specific section of the universe then I believe this would be a good teaching story. I believe Baha'u'llah is the salvation of the entire planet Earth. He, the Glory of God, came to unite the planet in one Universal Faith that recognized the prophets, manifestations, or revealers of past religions. I know the world needs to know about Baha'u'llah and the way he relates to the past revealers of the religions of humanity.

Baha'u'llah is the latest in a long line (I suppose that nine can be considered a long line) of Holy Men came to reveal the attributes of God and His will to humanity. I refer to these men as Manifestations of God because the reveal the attributes of God to humanity and brought a religion to help us through the stages of our spiritual evolution.

I think the scenario at the beginning of this entry could be used as a teaching opportunity. The voice of the piece is written in first person. The speaker tells someone she is talking to about Baha'u'llah after she tells what happened on the bridge. This scenario could also be used in a fantasy story where the speaker is sent into another dimension, but I'm not sure I like the idea of sending the main character into another dimension when this is such a good beginning to a story about telling about Baha'u'llah and how he fulfills the promise of every religion.

Memories and the Present

Memories are nice little possessions as long as you don't ignore the present when you go out to play. Nora Roberts How do you feel about this? Write anything you want about this.3

We can't ignore the present
By living in the memories of yesterday,
But we can use yesterday's memories
To enhance the present.

My memories, both good and bad, can be used to help me understand my tests and difficulties today. I know I can't hold onto the unpleasant memories so tightly that they cause me more tests today, but I can use them to understand why I react the way I do. I can use them to understand why I am so afraid when I have nothing obvious to fear. I don't need to fear anyway because the only entity in the universe a person should fear is God. The fear of God is different from normal (is that the word I want) fear of physical injury or death.

I can't hold onto my memories so tightly that I don't live today fully. I can use my memories to help me write stories and poems. I can write about the abuse I suffered at the hands of Jerry in stories so that other women will know they aren't the only ones to suffer in that way. I can write about the joy and safety I felt with Grandma and Grandpa Newland. I can write about the resentment and alienation I felt as a child and teenager who didn't have both parents in their lives.

I can write about how it felt to be considered coming from the "other side of the tracks" because my mother's parents lived in the Smelter Heights in Blackwell, Oklahoma. I can write about walking to my grandparents' house from my grade school on a Friday afternoon. I can write about walking from my Mama's house on West College to the Junior High School (Middle School) on the east side of town. I can write about my memories of Blackwell, Oklahoma.

I can write about my memories of visiting Grandma Darbe on her little farm outside of wherever in Kansas she lived. I can write about going to Grandma Darbe's church and listening to the perishers speak in tongues. I can write about both the good and the bad memories of my childhood. I can write about the different pets I had as a child. I can write out Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations in Blackwell, Oklahoma. As long as I'm writing about my memories, I'm not living in the past I'm only remembering the past.

A Way of Life

Writing isn't a hobby. It is a way of life. Do you agree?4

Letter by letter,
Word by word,
Sentence by sentence,
Paragraph by paragraph
I write the story of my faith,
Of my life,
Of my fears,
Of my joys...
I write therefore I am!

This is my way of handling defeat. This is my way of handling fear. This is my way of handling triumph. I am therefore I write. Word by word I inscribe my reality. Word by word I inscribe my duality. Word by word I proclaim my existence upon this small spect of dust we call Earth.

I write therefore I am. I am therefore I write. I compose poetry. I write stories. I write blog entries. I write novels. I write essays. I write articles. I write prose. I write and write and write. Sometimes I sleep and when I get up I write my dreams. Sometimes I meditate and when I finish I write my thoughts. Sometimes I pray and when I'm done I write my gratitude or describe the Glory of God through the descriptions of my emotions.

Three Linked Scenes

Write three linked scenes using the following settings: the driver seat of a taxi, NYC and the Plaza Hotel. It's your blog create a poem, a story or a rant with this scenario.5

Scene 1

She sits in the driver's seat of a taxi staring at the red light in front of her. She wonders when the light will turn green or when someone will flag down her cab. She's been driving all day for one end of New York to another talking and laughing with customers. Some of them want to know where she's from while others want to talk about their joys or difficulties. A few of the male customers as her if she dates customers while other male customers ask how much she charges for private services. She gives each them a generic answer or no. She's never said yes to a customer's request for off duty work.

Scene 2

She pulls up in front of the Plaza Hotel next to Central Park and Fifth Avenue. She turns off the engine and watches people walk into and out of this international Manhattan hotel. She knows she isn't going to have to wait for more than five minutes for someone to get into the backseat and give her a destination. Soon an elderly woman gets into the cab and hands her a business card with the address of a location on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. The woman say very little as they drive through Manhattan toward the bridge.

Scene 3

She love driving through Manhattan. She love driving across the Brooklyn Bridges. She loves New York. As she drives she glances into her side mirror at regular intervals to check the traffic on that side and behind her beautiful cab. After glancing into the drivers side mirror, she glances into the rearview mirror. The fourth time she glances into that mirror she silver Mercedes behind her is actually following her cab. She smiles considering all the reasons it would be following her. She contemplates calling into her cab station about the car, but decides against that. She knows that the following car could mean danger, but she confident about her ability to defend herself and her passenger. After all she holds a black belt in Karate and has a Saturday Night Special (which she knows is against the rules) hidden between her ample breast.

About 3:00 PM Pacific Standard Time

NaNoWriMo Day 11 Afternoon Thoughts

I just finished the coffee I brewed this morning. It's taken me all day to finish one carafe of coffee. There was a time when I could drink two or three carafes a day before sunset. Now I can only manage to finish one carafe before the sun sets behind the western mountains. I guess some people would call that progress, but I'm not sure. I know that I enjoy the coffee more then I did when I was drinking one carafe after another, so perhaps that is progress.

I got up to get the roll of toilet paper sitting by the recliner. Before I could get it, the house phone ring so I answered it. After hanging up on whoever it was calling, I went to the bathroom. When I came back I sat back down at the computer instead of getting the roll of toilet paper. I need the roll by the computer because I've started coughing again. I don't know why I want to or rather have to cough in the afternoon. It could be that we keep the door open all day and the outside pollutants settle into my lungs. I'm sure there's probably another reason, but I can't think of it right now. I do know that it sometimes helps to relieve the cough if I take a sip of water.

It's been a good writing day. I used all the Blogging Circle of Friends and Blog City prompts that I had saved in my writing.com e-mailbox. I'm glad I don't have to worry about those anymore. Not that I worried about the anyway. Now I have to looked for some new prompts. I could check the introduction to this book to see which prompts I haven't used from planning this journal, blog, or whatever it is I'm using for my NaNo 2016 writing effort.

I'm getting a bit tired and a little sleepy. I think I'll post this, do my word count, and then post my total word count for the day. I need to get my smartphone because I need to add today's word count total to this month's NaNoWriMo word count. Once that's accomplished then I can take a short break and watch a little television.

Footnotes
1  The Blogging Circle of Friends prompt for Thursday, November 10, 2016
2  The Blogging Circle of Friends prompt for Friday, November 4, 2016.
3  The Blog City prompt for Wednesday, November 9, 2016
4  The Blog City prompt for Thursday, November 10, 2016.
5  The Blogging Circle of Friends prompt for Tuesday, November 8, 2016.