Category: Writing
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Beautiful Balance…
I recently tagged along with friends to visit a local textile art exhibit. My first reaction was to refuse the invite, given that it conflicted with a day set aside for writing, all cozy and comfy in my closet. But, as much as I protect my “jammie day,” the pull toward art is greater. For…
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Watch Your Language…
This is one of my favorite ELAN Principles because the words we choose directly affect our perception and thoughts. We may have no power over the actions of others, but we have control over our words. We choose our internal language. It takes practice, but we can adopt a more positive dialect. In the tiny,…
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Adopt a Policy…
Maybe there is a catchier way to say it, but adopt a policy means to make a decision once about an issue that comes up repeatedly. Then stick to it. When we had a landline, I decided to always respond to the urgings of telemarketers with “I have a policy to never participate in phone…
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Stir the Current Current…
Have you been observing your world? Really paying attention rather than floating down the river of life allowing the current to carry you wherever? What contemporary wave is driving your reality? The current of the world changes constantly. Trends. Fashions. Conventional Wisdom. Opinions. Likes and Dislikes. It is tempting to lay back in the boat…
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Observe Your World…
Observe Your World is one of my favorite ELAN Principles. It is closely related to staying present, being here, in this moment. And it corresponds to watching for and naming moments of beauty and abundance: a green sprout poking through concrete, fresh flowers in an unexpected place or stopping to turn your face upwards toward…
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Dancing Like Elaine…
I love to dance. Am I good at it? Does it matter? Recently I met friends at a local dive for live music and beer. Walking into the dark bar brought waves of nostalgia from school days in New Orleans, back when eighteen was the legal drinking age and still we used fake IDs. Ah,…
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Double Grief…
In 2008 we lived in a nearly idyllic bayside community in Galveston, catching fish and crab in our literal back yard while soaking up salty sea spray and sun rays. Until Ike, a Category 4 hurricane, plowed right over our shores and into our homes. Ike turned island living into years of construction and boarded…
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Jammie Pants…
I recently enjoyed a jammie day; no places to go, no people to see, no chores to do. Sure, jammie pants have become everyday wear since March 2020, but a free day with no required log-in or check-in is a rare, beautiful gift. Too many such days strung together would make a dull person, indeed…
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Running Downhill…
Is week two of the new year too early to feel a loss of momentum from that wide-open-to-every-possibility optimism we held last Monday? When we told the world we would go ahead and make our own day by honoring that which matters to our creative selves? Even though I’ve made great strides in preparing novel…
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Go Ahead, Make Your Day…
Happy First Monday of 2023. What do you hope to accomplish today, this week, this year? Perhaps some lofty goal set in the fresh perspective of a new year already seems overwhelming. This is the time to honor that goal, lofty or not. Tend to it. Nurture it. Break it down to daily divots of…
Patty Mayeux Blog 