Spiritual: October 26, 2005 Issue [#679]
<< October 19, 2005Spiritual Archives | More From This Day | Print This IssueNovember 2, 2005 >>

Newsletter Header
Spiritual


 This week:
  Edited by: Love is a Mommy (no foolin) Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.
Martha Washington (1732 - 1802)

A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.
Patricia Neal

Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.
William James (1842 - 1910)

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.
William James (1842 - 1910)

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
C. S. Lewis

Welcome to my very first Spiritual Newsletter! I am Love is a Mommy (no foolin) Author Icon and I’m excited to join the ranks!


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

Hi and welcome to the Spiritual Newsletter! My name is Love is a Mommy (no foolin) Author Icon, and I’m the newest addition to the team. When I saw the notice that this spot was open, I instantly wanted it. It’s always been a dream of mine to use my love of writing to minister to people, to ease their pains, to encourage them to grow. However, I also instantly questioned if I was the right person for the job. I’ve been going through a valley these past few months, and I haven’t been the best witness for a spiritual life. I guess my dreams overcame my fears, because here I am!

I’m fairly open with my life, since I’ve learned that being a closed book is not the way to go. I’ve made that mistake and I’m not about to make it again. As a short introduction, I’m the wife of archgargoyle and we’ve been married for 6 years. Not all of them have been happy and we’ve had our share of adversity. About six months into our marriage, we decided that children wouldn’t be that shabby of an idea and stopped actively preventing pregnancy. A year went by and nothing had happened. Another year soon turned into four and all the doctors we consulted wanted to start fertility medication immediately. I wasn’t ready to give in to a chemical that increased the chance of multiple births by 25% and Duck wasn’t too keen on undergoing evaluation himself.

Eventually, the focus of the marriage turned to money and we soon separated for six months. We met a couple that helped us get our focus back and we entered counseling with our new church and soon conceived a baby. That was June 2004. Three days later, I woke up to an unimaginable pain and not only was the actual loss of the baby hard – the doctors in the ER never believed I was ever pregnant. My personal doctor assured me that the only causes of pain that severe were miscarriage and ovarian cysts, and I certainly didn’t have the latter.

Now, another year has passed and turned into just about 18 months. For the past several months, I had felt that God had given up on me and my faith plummeted. I tried begging, screaming, pleading, making deals and nothing worked. Finally, last month I gave up on being a mom for a while. I was too emotionally involved to the point I thought of nothing else. Honestly, my attitude sucked – and my writing shows that. If you look up the entries to contests I wrote, the journal entries, anything I said to anyone you would never guess that I am normally a very positive, happy person despite my situation.

About the same time I decided my emotional life wasn’t worth sacrificing to a prayer that wasn’t being immediately fulfilled, I started hearing people talk about attitude. All around me, I’d hear or read or see all kinds of things on how attitude is so important. I began to look at my portfolio and the things I had written and realized how true it was. Do I regret any of the things I wrote? No. They are real feelings, real emotions, and real honest truth. I will not feel guilty nor will I delete things that I wrote out of grief or anger. Why is that? Sometimes, only the simple act of writing those things down was enough to get me through the day. Sometimes, there was no other healthy way to express my emotions. Negative thoughts are just as honest as the upbeat ones.

But how did my attitude affect others? How did it affect my friends? How did it affect my relationships? I’m sure that some people came into my port and could empathize with the poetry I wrote. I’m also sure that most of my friends got tired of listening to me whine. I’m absolutely positive that every relationship in my life suffered because of my attitude. It was also hurting me physically. For the first time in my life I began to keep a bottle of Tums with me at all times to fight the ulcer that was forming. I started taking nightly doses of sleeping medications just to get my body to relax enough to sleep. I drank loads of caffeine the next day to fight the grogginess the sleeping medications caused. I was a mess and when I stopped to take an honest look at myself, it wasn’t my circumstances that were doing it to me.

In the past year alone: Duck and I have paid off 4 credit cards to have a total of 1 left. (The grand total paid off to date is 13.) I received a promotion at work. We were able to attend Convention 2005 and had a blast. We have had numerous friends visit us. We adopted a new puppy who is adorable and a great addition to our zoo. We have received so many blessings that we are having a hard time listing them. Our friends and families have been enormously supportive even as I have stupid phases where I forget that good things happen.

My attitude not only caused many of my problems but it made the existing problems that much worse! It was like being stuck in a downward spiral where my circumstances worsened my attitude and my attitude worsened my circumstances. If you have ever been caught in a riptide – you know just how hard it is to break free. I know just how much it hurt me, but I can only imagine how much it hurt the people around me. I was an angry, vindictive person for a while and I can think of one relationship that it completely destroyed, and while I don’t regret honesty I do regret that it hurt something that may never be salvaged.

So, today, what does your attitude say about you? Can you come up with one good thing for every bad thing in your life? Can you think about the positive things before the negative? Is your attitude enriching your life or destroying it? What words describe you and your attitude towards life, yourself, other people, your job, your school, your writing?

And even more importantly to your life as an author – what does your writing say about your attitude? Are you normally a happy person that only shows the negative in your writing? Is your work a release valve for you? Or are you a person dying on the inside but only showing the happy to those around you? What persona are you showing people when you post your work? Is it honest? Does it show growth?

I hope this causes not only thought, but maybe inspiration as well. I’ve listed some great pieces I found on attitude – no matter what the attitude may be. Please take a look and review the below items. The authors have put their hearts into these pieces and I feel each one is honest and true.

Also, please comment! I’m a newbie so I need some feedback. *Smile*

Have a great week and see you in November!


Editor's Picks

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1001444 by Not Available.



 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#986254 by Not Available.



 Breaking Free Open in new Window. (ASR)
Changing my attitude which was stagnant and taking subsequent action in the present.
#944609 by Boowriter Author IconMail Icon



 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#982624 by Not Available.



 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#937201 by Not Available.



 Thanksgiving Tradition Open in new Window. (E)
A personal essay about celebrating Thanksgiving in a non-traditional way.
#914135 by truebeliever Author IconMail Icon



 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#799068 by Not Available.



 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#644208 by Not Available.


 
Submit an item for consideration in this newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form

Word from Writing.Com

Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
         https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form

Don't forget to support our sponsor!

ASIN: B07N36MHWD
Amazon's Price: $ 7.99


Ask & Answer


*Bullet* *Bullet* *Bullet* Don't Be Shy! Write Into This Newsletter! *Bullet* *Bullet* *Bullet*

This form allows you to submit an item on Writing.Com and feedback, comments or questions to the Writing.Com Newsletter Editors. In some cases, due to the volume of submissions we receive, please understand that all feedback and submissions may not be responded to or listed in a newsletter. Thank you, in advance, for any feedback you can provide!
Writing.Com Item ID To Highlight (Optional):

Send a comment or question to the editor!
Limited to 2,500 characters.
Word from our sponsor
ASIN: B004PICKDS
Amazon's Price: Price N/A

Removal Instructions

To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.


<< October 19, 2005Spiritual Archives | More From This Day | Print This IssueNovember 2, 2005 >>

This printed copy is for your personal use only. Reproduction of this work in any other form is not allowed and does violate its copyright.