Gratitude breaks the spell of Writers Block |
Staring at a blank page is like staring into a snowfield. The snow, untouched by civilization and unmarked by living creatures, blinds you for a few minutes, it glistens reflecting subtle shades of pure white and rainbows at odd angles. If you stare at the snow too long, you get lost in the interplay of light and shadow. As the day wears on, you become awestruck at the beauty of the snow's perfection. You marvel at the way an oak tree cast its ebony shadow across the pure white snow. You watch the tree's shadow change, grow and shrink, as Earth turns and the sun moves from morning to evening. If you stand out in the snow too long without moving, you risk snow bite or freezing. If you are fortunate, a red fox will walk across your line of sight. The fox will leave his footprints written in the snowfield. As you watch the fox move, the spell holding you in one spot staring at the snow is broken. You are free to go inside out of the cold and out of danger. I must say, writing 500 words a day isn't difficult, unless I'm attempting to write on a single subject. On Monday, October 28, 2013, I began posting my weekly goals at "Weekly Goals" ![]() "O SON OF BEING! Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds." Bah'u'll'h The Hidden Words of Bah'u'll'h, Part I.'From the Arabic, #31, page 11 'Heinlein's Rules for Writers Rule One: You Must Write Rule Two: Finish What Your Start Rule Three: You Must Refrain From Rewriting, Except to Editorial Order Rule Four: You Must Put Your Story on the Market Rule Five: You Must Keep it on the Market until it has Sold' Robert A. Heinlein It is enjoined upon every one of you to engage in some form of occupation, such as crafts, trades and the like. We have graciously exalted your engagement in such work to the rank of worship unto God, the True One. Ponder ye in your hearts the grace and the blessings of God and render thanks unto Him at eventide and at dawn. Waste not your time in idleness and sloth. Occupy yourselves with that which profiteth yourselves and others. Thus hath it been decreed in this Tablet from whose horizon the day-star of wisdom and utterance shineth resplendent. Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Pages 21-29: gr 32 I changed the way I did entries in this book several times. Beginning on March 21, 2018 the entries will cover the topics of spiritual, inspirational, and religions. However, the genres it will be under are Women's, Inspirational, and Spiritual with a tag of Religious. |
Istijlál (Majesty), 13 Jamál (Beauty) 175 B.E. - Thursday, May 10, 2018 "Reflect, O people, on the grace and blessings of your Lord, and yield Him thanks at eventide and dawn." Baha’u’llah1 The title of "Spiritual Newsletter (May 9, 2018)" How Have I Been Blessed? What am I thankful for? 1. This morning I wrote the poem "Thankful Thursday: Gratitude for Life" ![]() ![]() 2. Internet access and the ability to pay for it. This morning this is especially important because of the clash between Israel, Syria, and Iran. I checked the location of the Golan Heights in relation to the location of the Baha'i Holy Place in Israel (they are located in the area around Mount Carmel, Haifa, and Akko). That gave me some relief; however, I'm still worried about my Baha'i brothers and sister in Syria and Iran. 3. The Baha'i prayer app on my smartphone, this lets me stop whatever I'm doing and say a prayer for the protection of my family in faith across the planet. Every morning and evening, I express by gratitude to God. Usually it just pausing a moment to whisper a prayer of thanks or to intone the Most Great Name. In the morning, I chant the Most Great Name, and this starts my day off right. If I oversleep, which I sometimes do, I wait until I'm alone in the house because I don't want any distractions when I intone God's name. How Have I Been Blessed? What am I thankful for? 4. The Baha'i sacred scripture which inspire both my blog entries and my poetry. This morning I wrote two poem about gratitude. One I have already mentioned, and the other I wrote and posted in "Snow Scribbles" ![]() ![]() 5. Fish tacos! Today I had fish tacos for lunch, they were delicious. I love eating tacos, especially types I've never had before. I memory serves me right, this is the first time I've had fish tacos. I'm planning on having them again. 6. Coffee, which is something I put on my gratitude list every week. I usually take my coffee black, except when I want chocolate. At those time I put hot chocolate mix in my coffee. Do I keep a gratitude journal? I don't keep a daily gratitude journal any more, because when I did I usually listed the same ten things over and over. After experimenting with this type of journal, I decided on a Thankful Thursday Gratitude list. Making a gratitude list once a week gives me a chance to review the last six or seven days to see what stood out. I usually list ten items; however, today is a little different because I've already written two gratitude poems plus this entry. How Have I Been Blessed? What am I thankful for? 7. A working air conditioner and the ability to pay the power bill. This week we're expecting the first triple digit day in Las Vegas (we could have already had it). Air conditioning is important, but the issue is always paying the power bills. 8. The conversation about God, I had with the gentleman I ask to move off of my front stoop this morning. I know I'm going to get some type of story or poem out of that, after it percolates in my subconscious for a while. 9. Living in Las Vegas. This is one of the most intriguing, interesting, and (sometimes) weird cities in the United States. I meet the most interesting, unusual, funny, and (sometimes) frightening people around. Footnotes |