Play - How We Recover Ourselves

I have discovered that I have to have a playmate in life – or in actuality, several. I have a co-worker that knows how to put joy into the day and occasionally act like a twelve-year-old, thank goodness. I have family members, especially my daughter, Vanessa, who can also enjoy silliness. I truly don’t know how I’d survive without them.
I believe that play is essential to everyone, and those that are better at it are more balanced and mentally healthier. Needless to say, they are also happier people.

So, I had an opportunity to watch adults at play this weekend at our company picnic. It was so much fun to see people who I normally think of as very staid loosing up a bit and even acting like kids at time. One of the best surprises was the gentlemen, whose wife kind of poo-poo’d yo-yos for adults, who turned out to a yo-yo aficiando and the winner of the yo-yo competition. It was great to watch the grownups compete against the kids for the competitor with the most originality and style. Oh, the gyrations!

The next work day all of us were a bit lighter. We had bonded and – most importantly – played together. Letting down our guards for a few hours had made it easier to trust each other in our work environment as well.

So, here’s the lesson learned. Play = fun = laughter = REFRESHED AND REVIVED

Everything Comes Full Circle

So, I’ve finished my novel, which was originally called “Full Circle,” and it's now called “Red Mojo Mama.” The title change and small shift in how I viewed my heroine, have given me a push in the right direction. The full manuscript is out to one agent and another asked for three chapters and a synopsis. Pray for me please!

My original title, however, had a meaning that I’ve found to be so true over the years. I believe in karma, in “what goes around comes around” and the cyclical nature of life. I’ve also come to believe that what you start out to accomplish and abandon along the way, can come back to you with more strength than ever.

I began writing when I was eleven years old. My first writing was a poem, entitled “Evergreen.” I still have the original, written on notebook paper in pencil. That same year, a few months later, I wrote a poem called “The Mark of Our Time”, which I sold to a magazine in the early 90’s. Isn’t that amazing?

While I experienced some horrific things as a child and young adult, those incidents built me into the person I am today, and offer so many touches to the stories and articles I’ve written. They’ve also gifted me with perception, understanding and kindness, I hope. So, where there was bad there is now good.

So, I guess this is an homage to my original title – boring as it was – because the truth is everything always comes full circle.

By the way, I've started two other blogs:

http://inthewritinggroove.blogspot.com/
http://aliberalstateofmind.blogspot.com/