Writing Exercise to exercise your mind :)

Jumping back to my September post on writing...sometimes I like being given specific writing exercises. While I enjoy the freedom of free writes and choosing our own topics, sometimes it's nice to be given rules to write by. It definitely helps the writer's block. Anyway, here's an example of a fun little writing exercise we did that gets you out of a writing rut. 

It's called "55 word story"...these were the instructions:

Write a 55-word story that contains a full narrative arc. Your first sentence should have ten words; your second sentence should have nine words; your third sentence should have eight words, and so on, until your final sentence, which should be one word. It's a challenge! You can use a character that you created in a previous writing exercise for this class, or you can create a new character. 
As you write, continually ask yourself "What if?" It's also helpful to think in terms of a small unit of time: the time it takes for water to boil, to walk to the store, to take a bus, and so forth. 

And this was what I came up with:

Mark paused, then nervously walked into the dim, smoky pub.

It had been years since he had gone sober.

But tonight he felt he needed to drink.

It was his birthday and nobody remembered. 

He sat down at the bar.

"Your ID?" asked the bartender.

He contemplated his poison.

"Happy birthday, man.

Whatcha want?"

"Coffee."

 

 

Unplugging for Mindfulness

There was a really good New York Times series on America's addiction to technology and how it's making us ADD and absentminded. I can totally relate now, but I think back to high school, how we all survived (nay, thrived!) without smart phones, mp3 players, GPS, etc etc. Although I think all this new technology is great, I do agree that we could all benefit from becoming more in tune with nature, the world around us, and our bodies, and less in tune with our ipods. So this month, on the topic of mindfulness, I decided to try to cut back on my technology time. I realized that I often text while talking, watch TV while eating, listen to my ipod while walking...not only are these multitasking activities distracting, but can be dangerous (and rude). 

My attempts to cut out the multitasking and focus on mindfulness were dampened a bit by my vision impairment (had to wear old glasses because of an eye infection), so it was hard to be more visually observant/aware, but I did try to focus on my other senses. When I walked, I paid more attention to the sounds and smells and my own breathing, and my morning walk to school felt more like invigorating exercise than a stressful rushed commute. During class in the computer lab, I resisted the temptation to check my email and facebook while the teacher was talking, and I definitely took better notes, and remembered what the heck they were about! During lunch, I turned off my phone and paid attention to the conversation with my dining companions, and savored my sandwich instead of wolfing it down. My stomach was a lot happier about that. And when I got home, I usually zone out and eat either in front of the computer or TV, but I made a point to wait until I finished eating to turn on the TV. I was able to enjoy my food, and enjoy my TiVoed shows much more when I separated them. 

I understand that for many people, multi-tasking and tech-attachment is a must, but once in a while, mindfully slowing down, unplugging from gadgets and separating activities can be quite an eye (and ear, mouth, etc) opening experience! 

Don't sweat the small stuff, really!

Totally caught myself yesterday in stressing about the smallest thing!

I made plans to go out with a friend from work to watch the WVU game. We decided on meeting there around 7. Then I was reminded by another friend, via text message, that we were playing tennis that afternoon in a town about 20 minutes away from me. I decided to be able to do both things, knowing that I could always go a little later than 7 to meet friends for the game.

Well, even in knowing all this, I still felt stressed out in leaving my apartment to drive to Oak Hill for tennis! I found myself feeling harried at the gas pump, rushed on the road, holding my breath in wondering if I'd get to meet Anita early enough for us to play some and for me to get back to Beckley in decent time to head out. It wasn't good for my chi! Once I caught myself doing this, I had to chuckle. But still--this is something I've realized I'll do when it comes to making things on time. It wasn't good--I remember how I felt changing at my apartment, at the pump, and on the road. I was putting unnecessary stress on myself.

Luckily, by the time I got to the tennis courts, I'd calmed down. I'd like to challenge myself the next time I notice myself doing this. I'd like to step back sooner and realize, hey! Everything will be okay! Football games last forever (and it's not like I really even watch them anyway; I'm more there for the company) and feeling stressed out about something that's happening for the next 20 minutes (i.e., driving) isn't going to help any situation that isn't going to occur for the next few hours. RELAX! I will take a deep breath and ask myself, "Hey, why are you feeling stressed right now?"

Funny the things we get stressed about (and then funny sometimes too to compare these things to things we don't feel any stress about) and the observations we make about what is occurring in our mind and happening to our body, our breath, our throat, and mindset from the onset of stress. Hmm.

I'd also like to do something purposeful for increasing my mindfulness for these last 16 days of the month. For a period of time I was highly interested in energy medicine; I have a couple of textbooks on it. There is a recommended daily exercise that purports to balance everything in your body. I never got myself started on doing it consistently, but I'd like to. Reports to come!

Mindfulness check

So, I started out the month by jotting each evening what I considered "mindful" moments from that day.

Then I went to Atlanta this past weekend for a wedding and that quickly ended.

Whew! I forget sometimes how much weddings wear you out! It was incredibly fun and it was so touching and exciting for me to watch one of my best friends marry her best love, but oh my! It seemed like we had something going on at every hour of the day. I'm still recovering.

Anyway, back to mindfulness. I want to check in to this blog more with my mindful moments for a place I can come back to later for a review.

So, I spoke to my mother on the phone last night. And normally there's some sort of, "Aimee, you should do this." Or, "Aimee, why don't you do that?" And in response, I usually resort to the "Okay, Mom! I'll figure it out! Stop!!" in exasperation and helplessness.

But for whatever reason it was--I'm trying to reflect back on all the things that were going on through my mind at the time--I didn't feel the need to react like that last night. My mom was still shooting out those phrases for a couple of things she had opinions of concerning me. Maybe it was because I was so tired. Or maybe this mindfulness practice is kicking in better than I thought it would after all. Anyway, I let her go. I didn't react back like I normally have. Instead, I replied simple "Okay"s while quietly reminding myself, "You are an adult and what she's talking about isn't a significant decision to make anyway. She's just giving you her opinion, once again. If you don't want to go home this weekend until Sunday morning, then don't." (That's all it was over--when she thought I should come home for the weekend. . .while already assuming that I was planning on it!!)

I felt a peace set in after I hung up the phone with her. And that feeling made me think, "Hey! This whole thinking-before-reacting-to-your-mother (for some reason, it's a different situation when you're talking with your mother than with anyone else. . .at least, that's how I've felt--perhaps this can change now?!. . .in good ways, that is. . .a daughter's relationship with her mother will always be unique) thing turns out to work pretty well after all!"

Now I just gotta remember this the next time I speak with her. . .and in any other situation where it would be best to first hold my tongue.

(Oh, and hey! I just finished writing this without proofreading it and making any changes!! Well, except for if I saw a mistake in the line before, I did go back and change it. . .).

Pursuing Happiness...with writing?

Hello Happiness Project blog! Please excuse the late post. I know it's October now, but I did start writing this post in September, so my topic is still "Pursue your Passion."

Aimee, your post on rekindling your keyboard love was inspiring. 

Unfortunately, my passion for piano far exceeds my (lack of) musical talent, so I did not pursue it.  However, the passion that I pursued for the Happiness Project challenge also involves a keyboard...the one on my laptop.

This month I have committed to writing (er, typing) daily.  I have always seen writing as one of the most powerful forms of expression. Whatever you are feeling, you will feel better if you just write it out. If you're tend to overthink things or be overly emotional like I am, writing can be a huge relief/release. Writing, in some ways, is better therapy than exercise, shopping, even therapy. Growing up, I used to write a lot. Poetry, stories, and a journal that I kept up with almost every day. Given how thrilling and therapeutic I thought writing was, I could never imagine that I'd stop writing outside of school. I was wrong. 

Thanks, college.

There is a theory that even when you study or major in something you love, school makes you fall out of love with it. News and journalistic writing is something I'm passionate about, but it also makes work out of writing. Lately I had been catching up on my non-news reading, and it got me thinking, wishing, wanting. I would read something amazing and think, I want to do that. Or on rare occasions even, "I could do that!"

This semester, however, I decided to pursue my passion for creative writing that had been totally beaten into submission by news scripts and research papers. 

It was scary at first. I struggled with writing about people who don't exist and things that never happened. I felt like I had forgotten how to write fiction, write freely, write for fun. Not only did I worry it wasn't going to be "good," I also was too caught up in the news style of writing: no grammatical errors, making this "concise and conversational", active voice, etc. Once I learned to let go of those rules, I was able to do freewrites, journal entries, poetry, and other writing exercises. Another good thing about taking this creative writing class is that we are exposed to different writing styles and types of literature, so we get a good dose of reading, as well as inspiration to write. 

It's very liberating to not have to analyze or agonize over every word or phrase or piece of punctuation. News writing is very structured and specific, which is fine for its purpose, but the point of creative writing is to have fun, express yourself, use your imagination, etc. And if it's not perfect, that's fine. Call it a first draft. 

As you can tell, this blog entry tends towards a freewrite, and is about as polished as a first draft. And I'm ok with that! Even it's technically non-fiction, blogging definitely counts towards pursuing a passion for writing too. 

P.S. to September

I just realized that my post didn't go into HOW this passion has affected my well-being or increased my overall level of happiness. Hmm. I will reflect on this and put it in a new post. . .soon!

September: Pursue Your Passion, i.e., Play that Piano!

Hey girls!

I'm so excited that we are doing this. I'd been wanting to start writing again for awhile, and this is a great opportunity to get back into it. I can't wait to read about your own adventures, ideas, and thoughts. What a great way to stay in touch, too.


It's sad, but true: In the 10 months I've lived here, I've probably only tinkled out some tunes on my keyboard not too many more than 10. And it's right there. It's right there, right now, looking at me! It's happier with me now that I've reunited myself with it, but for the longest time I just let it collect dust. . .I would actually have to run a damp paper towel over the keys before some of the times I acually played it this year.

This all ends now! I came back from Alaska last week and stared right back at my piano and felt the itch for my fingers to dance (well, right now, it is more of a stroll). I'd enjoyed music by this wondeful all-lady (yeah, girl power!) string quartet (apparently they are on youtube. . I couldn't find them--sadly! I did, however, record pretty much all of their songs on my phone one night--but found some other lady quartet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpFe-bY2_3k) on our cruise ship almost every night. I'd gotten a cheat sheet of chords at the Experience Mustic Project Museum in Seattle (Seattle is pretty awesome, by the way. . .it's been added to my list of potential cities to move to) last weekend. I'd reacquainted myself wtih a little Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Carlos Santana, to name a few, at the museum too. I listened to their stories and their music. I was reminded of how music can instantly take you so far, whether you are listening to it or creating it. For instance, every time I hear "Mr. Jones" by the Counting Crows ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oqAU5VxFWs), my mind immediately flashes back to the time Aaron and I went out to see Finding Nemo--our first movie together, hanging out as brother and sister, without thinking, "Eww, she's/he's my sister/brother, we can't hang out." We'd just gotten back into our mom's old Volvo and as the song came on, we both started belting it out. All I need is to hear "sha la la la la" and instantly, I'm back in that Volvo with the low-lit, high-volume image of Aaron singing in my periphery.

So, I wanted to create new memories with new music while also using music from growing up to reconnect with past memories. I tried playing one of my favorite old Chopin pieces recently and remembered the times I'd sit in the piano studios in the basement of Edgecliff Hall at Xavier, sometimes right after a class or other times when I just wanted to have time to myself. And at the same time that my mind remembers these instances, as I play, I'm seeing this old piece in a new light. I'm more patient with refiguring out the notes. I'm more interested in knowing why Chopin might have composed it the way he did. Both are things I didn't care too much for the first time around.

I've recently begun learning the piano piece from the movie Amelie. It's beautiful ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyo4tNwNIvQ) and such a great mental break after a day of work. One thing I observed about myself though when I first began to learn it: Why do I feel the need to rush? It's suppose to be (for the most part) a slow song. And, it's more efficient to actually take the time to figure out the pattern in chords, rather than just try to sight read each individual note every time. So, why rush?

Now, I pretend like my fingers are playing the song in a tub of molasses. I not only learn it better, but I'm enjoying the piece more.