First Think, THEN Ink.

Some thoughts as we begin the New Year...

1. 2017 wasn't a bad year. Granted, things may have happened that you personally didn't like or want, or things happened to you personally that were hurtful or harmful. But, for at least some people, possibly the majority of people, things went okay or well or even better than they could have hoped. There are always winners, every year, no matter what.

2. Most societal and interpersonal issues are created by a "missed communication" element. Please! If you can only understand one thing this year, let it be this: the gap between a message being sent and how it is being heard can create a huge problem that can lead to hurt feelings, incorrect assumptions, reactions of anger or revenge, hypersensitivity, mental. physical or sexual abuse, even death in extreme cases. Look closely at situations where people are having a problem speaking and/or listening to each other. See if you can understand what all sides are stating and why they are reacting as they do. This will help you with both language skills and with empathy.

3. Are we fatalistic? As I just pointed out, the bulk of our problems stem from a communication gap between each other. Yet we, as humans, speak many different languages, almost as if we wanted to create such a gap! When people seem to intentionally mishear a message, they may be actively choosing to do that because it is to their own benefit Keep an eye out for examples of this.

4. Finally, always remember not to rely on someone else for your happiness. If you expect a person to come and turn your life wonderful, you are giving that same person permission to take it all away in a capricious moment. Retain your responsibility for your own self care. Don't leave that to anyone else, no matter how well meaning they are or how trustworthy you feel them to be. Life is unpredictable, so hold your own reins and travel at your own gallop or cantor or trot.

Good wishes for a great 2018!

That's what I'm calling this decade, at least so far.

Of course, nothing is really perfect, certainly not for ten consecutive years, but if the aim is there, and the attitude, we should be able to make it through this with a whole lot more positivity than we did the previous decade.

To that end, I'm going to be focusing on the elements of writing in this journal, so there will be some "writer" entries sprinkled in here, partially for me but also to share as I go. It's important to keep the focus where it belongs and I do intend to push a pen even more than ever before.

I intend to write more entries generally, as that actually helps me focus my writing in a different way. And apologies for this blip fm stuff that gets posted here. So far, nobody has complained, but I remember about how people were all atwitter over the tweet postings, and I stopped those. If this is getting annoying, I'll probably limit these blips to twitter only, so if you're one of my tweeple, you'll likely see them there anyhow.

The Power of Ten sounds good. It sounds right. After what we've survived, we are battle tested and ready to move ahead. I used to think that it was about being patient, waiting for the right moment. Now, I see that it isn't that way at all. Well, patience is still important. But now I think it's more about preparation and being bold enough to act on it. It's time to embrace the Power of Ten!

Hm. Maybe I'm a Tenpusher?