Screened Comments! :)

/ meme

Stolen from Aimzy (verytruly)

1. Tell me something obvious about yourself.
2. Tell me something about yourself that I don’t know.
3. What is your biggest fear?
4. Do you normally take the safe route or the shortcut?
5. What is the one thing you want the most that you can’t buy with money?
6. What is your most treasured possession?
7. What is the one thing you hate most about yourself that you do the most often?
8. Tell me something about you sexually that I don’t know.
9. Tell me something about you sexually that everybody knows.
10. What is your favorite lie to tell?
11. Name something you have done once that you can’t wait to do again.
12. Are you the jealous type?
13. What is the one person, place or thing that you can never say no to?
14. What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?
15. If you could do something crazy right now, what would it be?
16. When was the last time you cried?
17. When was the last time you felt so good that nothing else mattered?
18. Do you feel comfortable in public with no shirt on?
19. Name something embarrassing you did while drunk.
20. If you post this in your journal, do you want me to answer it?

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DailyOM: January 4, 2006

/ spirituality

Universal Feelings
Everything Is Relative

Every day we hear stories of personal suffering and loss that far exceed our own. When we compare our situations to those of people living in war-torn countries or those who have lost their homes and livelihoods to natural disasters, it is tempting to minimize our own experiences of suffering. We may feel that we don’t have a right to be upset about the breakup of a relationship, for example, because at least we have food to eat and a roof over our heads.

While awareness of the pain of others in the world can be a valuable way to keep our own struggles in perspective, it is not a legitimate reason to disregard our own pain. Disparaging your feelings as being less important than other people’s emotions leads to denial and repression. Over time, an unwillingness to experience your own feelings leads to numbness. It is as if our internal systems become clogged with our unexpressed emotions. This in no way helps other people who are suffering in the world. In fact, it may do just the opposite because when we devalue our own sorrow, we become impervious to the sorrow in others.

Fully experiencing our own hurt is the gateway to compassion toward other human beings. Feelings of loss, abandonment, loneliness, and fear are universal, and, in that sense, all feelings are created equal. Regardless of what leads us to feel the way we do, our comprehension of what it means to be human is deepened by our own experiences. Our personal lives provide us with the material we need to become fully conscious. If we reject our emotions because we think our experiences are not dramatic or important enough, we are missing out on our own humanity. We honor and value the human condition when we fully inhabit our bodies so we can experience and feel life fully. Accepting our emotions and allowing ourselves to feel them connects us to all human beings. Then, when we hear the stories of other people’s suffering, our hearts can resonate with understanding and compassion-for all of us.

(emphasis mine)

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Protected: Pruning

/ protected

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Reflections and All That Stuff

/ reflection, writing

So…

I had a fun New Year’s Weekend. Lots of updates here, at my other journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/lilrongal/294169.html

Looking Back at 2005:
– I met Lauren laurenbarnholdt and Mandy mandywriter and loads of other writing people.
– I joined SCBWI.
– I started sending query letters.
– I took an online writing course called YA Chicklit 101
– I got to talk to a really great agent.
– I got the chance to work hard on my writing and improve it.
– I read two amazing books: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen and Pop Princess by Rachel Cohn.
– I became a HUGE Sarah Dessen fan.

Looking Forward to in 2006:
– I want to finish writing at least one novel.
– I want to read and read.
– I want to write, and write.
– I want to do what I can to advance my writing career. Okay, okay… make one come into fruition. ;)

And my butt hurts. So ’til next time… :)

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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