Skip to main content

End of Year Crunch and Thoughts for 2016

I'll admit it - I didn't get around to doing a daily reflection on the Dhammapada as I had intended. Work and family life took priority, however I was able to step back and reflect a bit here at the end of the year. One very popular quote attributed to the Buddha is this:
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
Our perceptions shape the reality we live and breath in. If we perceive danger where there is none - then we perceive there is danger. If we cultivate anxiety and fear, then the fruits of those feelings are what we shall reap. That is not to say there are no threats or dangers outside the mind, but as Alan Watts pointed out - the mind is really our radar - scanning for threats. It wants to find threats to keep us safe - but often it tricks us and we should remember: we are more than our radars.

For those that may read this, I wish you blessings and peace in the New Year - and may 2016 be a year of greater understanding and compassion in the world.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Human Resources: Featured Sci-Fi on Wattpad

Some exciting news since I've last posted anything. My novel, Human Resources , has been a fe atured science fiction story on Wattpad! It's hard to believe it's been over 10 years since I wrote the story, and almost 11 since I self-published it - starting with iUniverse in October 2015. It's also hard to believe, given my career choices, that I've not done a whole lot to market the book outside of social media and word of mouth but I think I'll save that energy for my next burst of creativity. Anyway, please check out the book at the link above and let me know your thoughts either here or in the comments on Wattpad!

Human Resources: Coming to Your E-Reader!

Over the next 11 weeks I will be releasing my novel, Human Resources , on Wattpad. I wrote Human Resources in between graduating with my BA, enrolling in graduate school and getting my first post-college job. It's meant to be a funny, absurdly cynical look at the future world of business and evolving technology and draws from my influences of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and George Orwell. Set your reminders and check back for fresh content on or around the schedule below! March 31, 2014 April 07, 2014 April 14, 2014 April 21, 2014 April 28, 2014 May 05, 2014 May 12, 2014 May 19, 2014 May 26, 2014 June 02, 2014 Happy reading and let me know what you think!

Reflections on Writing

Why do I write? I have come back to this question many times and at different points in my life. As a young child I wrote because I enjoyed stories and, for whatever reason, not everything that was read or told to me was satisfactory. I also wrote because my Dad was a great storyteller and would tell me how much he loved writing. That nugget would later guide the purpose behind my writing for many years. As a teen I wrote because I needed an outlet. My Dad was constantly sick, having suffered a series of heart attacks and eventually going on peritoneal dialysis to deal with his declining body. I lost him when he was 64 and I was 18. Poetry and short fiction became a means of expressing my sadness, anger, despair and increasing cynicism. As a young adult I wrote to express the aforementioned feelings combined with an increasing sense of loneliness and lack of direction.  After I graduated college with my BA in Business, I sat down to write my debut novel, Human Resourc...