Tag Archives: Blogging

It’s Good To Be Quiet

For many years I did not realize that many of my traits were related to my temperament. That I am an introvert, empathic and highly sensitive. I knew that small talk and large social gatherings exhausted me. I knew that I relished time alone and needed time to recover after a busy day of activities especially if those activities involved interacting with people. I think other people had a hard time understanding this behavior. Once I understood it was part of my temperament, and that it was ok to be this way, it made it easier for me to accept myself.

Susan Cain wrote this book, “Quiet,” about introverts and of course I read it. Now Susan Cain is starting up a Quiet Revolution Community website . It is scheduled to launch in April. Here is what she said about it:

“Our intention in building this space is to share and encourage each other. One of my favorite parts of the new site is a big new art project called Quiet Revolutionaries. This project is all about you, featuring you. Quiet Revolutionaries is an ever-expanding photo essay of people who have thought about what it means to have a quiet consciousness and/or to draw on their own quiet strengths. Our goal is to inspire, connect and celebrate our thoughtfully vibrant community.”

In a TED Talk Susan Cain explains traits of introverts and talks about how our society has not traditionally seen this as a positive trait and that the needs of introverts in schools and work places have been ignored. The idea of constantly working in groups is seen as the ideal. She makes some good points about how it may not be the ideal.

In a post about The Quiet Revolution on her website she talks about plans to redesign the workplace and school environments to be more in line with the needs of introverts, and develop the leadership skills of introverts in the workplace.

This is interesting and worthwhile information for introverts and the people who love them. It is worthwhile for parents and teachers to be aware of this as well.

Writer’s Quote Wednesday-Frida Kahlo

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“My paintings are well-painted, not nimbly but patiently. My painting contains in it the message of pain. I think that at least a few people are interested in it. It’s not revolutionary. Why keep wishing for it to be belligerent? I can’t. Painting completed my life. I lost three children and a series of other things that would have fulfilled my horrible life. My painting took the place of all of this. I think work is the best.”
― Frida Kahlo

|Writer’s Quote Wednesday|

Bravery

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Children with special needs and learning differences do have to fight big battles every day. They are trying to relate to a world which often does not make any allowances for their differences. A world where they are seen as strange and not accepted.

They struggle to engage with the lessons that are presented to them in the classroom. Their learning styles or best way of accessing the material may not be taken into consideration.

The pace at which the material is presented may be too fast and not repeated enough for them to be able to process it.

They may have sensory needs and sensitivities that are impacted. They can be distracted by a noisy classroom or the noise itself can be painful for sensitive ears.

They may struggle to answer questions when called upon because it takes them a longer time to formulate their response.

They may prefer to work alone but are often required to work in groups where there are demands for social skills that they lack, and with other children who are more naturally adept in group interactions.

They may need down time, sensory breaks, and just plain time alone to regroup, recharge, and not be given those breaks.

With all the stresses that are not understood by others, kids can start acting out and have meltdowns. Their behaviors are not understood or easily tolerated by the other kids and the teacher. So that causes them to stand out again as different or strange.

The IEP report stated ” He comes to school every day with a smile on his face and ready to work.”

That is what I call bravery.

The Birds and the Bees and the Grapefruit Tree

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We went to Palm Desert for the weekend. We have put off coming out here for far too long. It has been about a year since we were last here. It is beautiful in the desert right now. Warm and sunny but not too hot.

The place where we are staying has many citrus trees on the property. The trees are in bloom with sweet smelling blossoms. There is fruit on the trees as well. There are grapefruit, orange and lemon trees.

There is a lovely large grapefruit tree in the backyard. The grapefruit tree provides shade and sweet perfume. It has been wonderfully relaxing to sit on a lounge chair, on the back yard patio, near this tree.

There are many honey bees, bumble bees, and hummingbirds flying amongst the citrus blossoms. As I sit very still I can watch the hummingbirds up close as they drink from the blossoms. There is a light breeze and mocking birds are singing. Very magical.

When you take the time to notice, you realize there is great beauty in the world. I feel such joy, my spirit soars and my heart is full to bursting. I whisper a prayer of thanks.

“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happened better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb. (Don’t Hesitate)” –Mary Oliver

20150307_115248 Palm Desert Grapefruit Tree

Grapefruit tree in Palm Desert

Award Free

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It is very gratifying to receive recognition from fellow bloggers and receive awards. I appreciate so much the support of these blogger friends. I like to think, when they nominate me, they are saying they do like reading my posts. It is fun for my ego to receive the awards and display them as well.

I have been thinking about this on and off for a while. I have decided to be award free because although I really appreciate it so much, instead of participating in the award requirements, right now I feel like I would rather support other bloggers in a different way. I will continue to support other bloggers by giving them likes or comments. And I do have a group I follow and a few weekly blogging activities.

I want to Thank Very Much the bloggers who have nominated me recently for:

Thank You Morgaine at Just Fooling Around with Bee for nominating me for One Lovely Blog Hop.

Thank You LuciledeGodoy and Fourth Generation Farm Girl for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.

Thank You Fourth Generation Farm Girl for nominating me for The Versatile Blogger Award.

I am honored to be recognized by you and recommend that other bloggers visit your sites and see your lovely blogs as well. ❤ ❤ ❤

Letting Go

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“Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing, life reveals just the opposite: that letting go is the real path to freedom.” –Sogyal Rinpoche

Letting go can be releasing long held negative emotions about things that happened in the past. Like perceived or real wrongs done to you by others, memories of people letting you down, or disappointments you have experienced.

When we have all this energy tied up in these feelings about past events it is not available for us in our life now. Part of us is still locked in that past and is unable to move forward to something new. Unable to fully experience our lives now.

There is another type of letting go I am thinking about now. We have to be willing to let go when something has not worked out for us or when we feel the need to move on to grow. When we experience disappointments or reach a place where we are stagnating.

There is a lot of resistance to letting go of the familiar when we do not know what will be there to fill that space. The familiar feels more secure even when we are very unhappy with our situation. It is known versus the scary unknown.

In the past, I have sometimes been unwilling to give up or admit something is not working out for me. It could have been a mixture of pride, fear of admitting failure, and thinking that it is wrong to give up. I have spent too long in many jobs because I thought I should not give up and admit it was not working out or that it was a bad fit for me.

I did not take the time to look inside at who I was and how that person fit with my work situation. Many times it was like trying to force a puzzle piece into a place where it really did not belong. Parts of it might look like it should fit but it just wasn’t quite the right shape. If you keep trying to fit yourself in and it is not working you need to look at that.

When you are able to admit that you need to make a change, it does take courage to let go. To let go of that dream and start looking for a better fit for you. In the beginning it is scary because you may not have any idea where you are going or what is the right direction.

At this point, it is good to listen to your inner voice and let it guide you in the direction that feels right to you. Trust that as you start to explore your horizons you will find the right path to where you need to go.

You will probably need to sit with the not knowing for a while as well. Many of us, including me, have a tendency to want to find the answer as soon as possible and embark on a new course right away. This can cause us to jump into something too quickly that is truly not the right fit. It is better to take time for reflection and exploration. To feel your way along through the process and check in with yourself to see what feels right. You need to be open, trust, and have faith. Then take the first step on the next part of your journey. The first step is letting go.

” Mystery is what happens to us when we allow life to evolve rather than having to make it happen all the time…Just to see. Just to notice. Just to be there.”–Joan Chittister

|Lindaghill|

I am out of town for a few days. I wrote this a few days ago but felt it went well with Stream of Consciousness Saturday for “go.”

The Perks of Being Out of the Daily Grind

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I spotted this funny and very cute cartoon on my Google+ page this morning. I follow Hyperallergic and get their newsletter/email. I am not a “morning person.” One great thing about not having to conform to a regular work schedule of 9-5 or 7-3 or 8-4, which have been like some of my schedules in my past work life, is that I do not have to get up early. My income has decreased quite a bit but the perks have increased exponentially.

Let me list a few.

I get to sleep in, if my husband does not wake me up. He is still an early riser.
I can enter the fully awake state at my own pace. I normally become active gradually if left to my natural inclinations.
I have the freedom to browse websites and newsletters like Hyperallergic at my leisure. This is where I get some of my inspiration to write on issues I feel strongly about or ones that I am passionate about.
I can be more like the real me. Not forced to conform to the needs and desires of an employer.
I can choose what I want to devote my energies to. Like writing, volunteer literacy tutoring, working with special needs kids, staring out the patio window contemplating nature or letting my mind wander.

I have discovered that not being chained to a full-time work schedule is worth more than all the gold I used to get paid to do it.

So there are things to look forward to when you are out of the mainstream workforce after all.

There Might Be Something Good About Siri Afterall

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I know I have been writing lately about the risk to our creativity caused by an addiction to technology like Smartphones. And I have written about how this addiction can prevent authentic face to face communication with other people. I still feel these are some of the big down sides of being so hooked on our technology.

But today I found an article about a very positive use for Smartphones. This was a New York Times post by Judith Newman about her son 13 year old son Gus who happens to have Autism and his relationship with Siri, the Apple Intelligent Personal Assistant.

I already was aware of the ability of technology to engage kids with special needs. Technology is one of the tools used in modern schools to teach kids the curriculum. The computer lessons are often designed like games to help kids learn phonics, spelling and math. The kids enjoy interacting with the games and the games reinforce what is being taught in the classroom.

Ms. Newman’s post described how the features of Siri are beneficial to her son’s special needs. Kids with autism can have major difficulty engaging with other people socially in conversation. They can have special interests or obsessions about certain topics that they want to talk about to the exclusion of all else. They do not pick up on cues from other people that they are not interested and they find it hard to be able to take turns in conversation. Siri is able to talk with Ms. Newman’s son Gus on all his favorite topics without losing patience with him. Even though the voice recognition feature has some problems this is actually a plus for Gus because he is made to enunciate. This helps him practice speaking clearly. Siri also models being polite. When Gus got a bit sharp with Siri over some music suggestions she had made, Siri told him he had a right to his opinions. This helped him realize that he did not need to get angry if he did not agree with someone and then he thanked Siri for the music.

This sounds like a great use for this type of program for kids that need to learn and practice the art of conversation. It is a help to parents who need a respite from the long discussions with their kids about their child’s special interests. I would not want to see the kids getting attached to these devices to the exclusion of everything else but I do see how they can be beneficial in certain ways.

Definitely something worth further investigation, don’t you agree?

If the Weather is Nice You Should See What is Going On Outside

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“What people call serendipity sometimes is just having your eyes open.”

–Jose Manuel Barroso

I realize I have been spending way too much time indoors and sitting at my computer over the past few months. I do venture out to walk to the car and drive places but I haven’t been walking around outside. I think I have been avoiding my front yard because it embarrasses me. It is currently a big weed patch. We need to get the landscaping done.

Today I did venture out to the car to load up some supplies I use for tutoring. I was busy deciding where to put my new rolling carry all when I noticed a teenager making his way across my front yard near my front walkway. At first I thought he was about to leave one of those random advertisements on my door. Like the ones for yard work. I was a bit suspicious of his intentions I must say. He saw me looking at him quizzically and said, ” Is this your property?” I said yes and then he told me not to worry because he was participating in a “water gun tournament” and that he was trying to hide and surprise one of his fellow tournamenters. I watched as he finished crossing my yard and told him it was ok as long as he didn’t squirt me. He laughed at that.

I thought this was the end of my interaction with the local teenagers when I spied another one squatting down, with a water gun, between my neighbor’s house and mine. This was getting to be really fun. I said to him that I had no idea this was going on around here. He said they had to catch other kids coming from their houses to their cars. I asked if they did windows. He said, ” Do you mean they need to be washed?” I said yes and that got a little laugh from him as well.

It was a happy encounter and I realized I need to get outside in the front of my house more often. Just look at all the interesting things I am missing out on.