Take Back Your Life!

Advice often gets a bad rap. People advise you not listen to advice, which is, of course, advice.

Yet, words of wisdom from another person often make our journey on earth much easier. They may have already experienced something you are going through now. Or, they’ve lived longer and know what worked for them during the more trying times of life. While some advice may not be right for you, other advice may be. (more…)

As a child I saw the movie Pollyanna starring Haley Mills and never forgot it, especially the scenes where prisms created rainbows on the walls. As an adult, I used to frequent antique stores looking for a lamp just like the one I saw in the movie. I wanted pretty rainbows to dance  on my walls, too.

Recently, I rented the film in the children’s section of the library. I’ve watched it twice. Even better than I remembered because the moral of the story clearly seemed directed at adults. In the film, Pollyanna Whittier’s parents die, so she goes to live in a huge Victorian with her wealthy, spinster aunt Polly Harrington in the town of Harrington. Polly treats her in a cold manner, even giving her a small, dusty room way up in the attic. But Pollyanna’s grateful for the room because she’s never had her own room. (more…)

I read Amanda Hocking’s latest blog this morning. She titled it, “The Lost Art Of Blogging.”  She says that blogging has lost something for her. It wasn’t fun anymore. She thinks it might be because her blog had devolved into something less random and rambling and more cagey.

What I’ve noticed is the cadre of experts who’ve cropped up to tell you that you need to provide “useful” content and it needs to be in a certain format, etc. Guess one might call it the professionalization of blogging. I’m all for blogging from your heart and whoever needs to hear what your heart says, will find you. (more…)

Hello wild things,

Real writing, the kind that comes from deep inside, will reveal what you want out of life, what’s missing, what’s in the way. We’ve been so molded from the outside in to conform with the consumer mindset, that we sometimes forget our truer selves live inside and they want something different, something unique.

For me, I had to find a way to get that side of me outside so it could free the rest of me. (more…)

Hello folks,

I’ve long thought that a lack of creative thinking ability has stalled the worldwide economy.

A multitude of problems need solving, yet we continue to prop up dead and dying industries or copy existing ones. It doesn’t make much sense unless you see the root cause as an inability to move forward, an inability to create a meaningful economy, an inability to dream up something new. (more…)

There’s a lot of self-loathing in the world. Lots of folks who don’t love or even like themselves.

I used to be one of them.

It’s hard to say for sure, but I don’t believe I entered the world disliking myself. That self-horror emerged along the way, beginning most likely when I entered first grade and the judgments began. (more…)

I love horses and period dramas, so the Masterpiece Theatre production of South Riding caught my eye.

Immediately, I adored the lead heroine, Sarah Burton. She’s forward-thinking, bold, rebellious, and sassy. Early in Part 1, she goes for a job interview to be the headmistress of a girl’s school. Unlike most job candidates who’ve been groomed to figure out what the interviewers want and parrot that back, she directs the interview — speaking passionately about her unconventional views (for the time) on life and women. The board of directors almost doesn’t hire her because of her straight-forwardness, but thankfully it’s a mini-series and the story will flop without an “alive” heroine, so she’s offered the position. (more…)

It’s easy to judge someone else. It’s much harder to not judge them and try to walk ten miles in his/her shoes. Do I always do this? No. I’d be lying if I tried to pass myself off as this perfect human that never puts on a judge’s face. Do I try and work on it? Yes. It can be hard but I “usually” make an attempt to figure out what’s going on, to try and “seek to understand” as Steven Covey says in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. (more…)

I somehow managed to hold onto my imagination, despite the attempts of various schools and places of employment to squash it. My third grade teacher banished me into the corner one science class because a large group of young boys had gathered around my latest artwork. We were all laughing and having a good time admiring my colorful imagination on paper when she said, “Julie, stop laughing right now or you’re going into the corner.” (more…)

Valentino, my cat, has been after me to do a guest post on Take Back Your Life. He’s one of the most fearless creatures I know. Thought you might enjoy his life philosophy. Please welcome him.

Hello humans!

Finally, Giulietta lets me speak. Now I can stop meowing into her ear 24/7.

Here’s my approach to life: I want to have a good time. We cats live way shorter life spans than most humans do so I don’t have a lot of time to waste on things I don’t care about. (more…)