A Jangle and Tangle of Keys & Change December 26, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Art & Photography, Word Play, Writing & Writers.trackback
If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?
Would you let go of something that isn’t working? Or reach out to latch onto something new?
Would you swap your house, your career, your hobbies, or something more subtle ~ like your definition of “happiness” or of “success”?
What doors would you open? What doors would you close? What doors would you LOCK tight and mark “NO ADMITTANCE”?
Would you keep the keys?
* * * * *
A Quartet of Writing Prompts from Poets & Writers:
Change: Our lives are constantly changing as we navigate what we can and can’t control. Every day there is a new beginning and ending ~ in big and small ways. We fall in love. We lose an eyelash. Change is complex and emotional because it reminds us of our humanity and our mortality. Write a poem about how your life is changing. Be specific.
Keys: Keys remind us that the world is untrustworthy and unsafe, and that locks are needed to protect loved ones and possessions from humanity’s less appealing inclinations. Keys are also filled with memories ~ a first apartment, a new car, access to a home no longer occupied by a friend. Choose a key from your keychain, or perhaps one abandoned in the back of a kitchen drawer, and write a detailed description of the key. Segue into broader, more meaningful thoughts.
Homes: Our homes are extensions of our souls ~ the vibrant oil painting of a French villa hanging in the dining room, the tattered couch stained by a child’s bowl of ice cream in the den, the dead, blackened peace lily on an empty bookshelf. Write a poem about the home you were raised in. Focus on the decorations, the furniture, and the items that reveal the most about the people who lived among them. In our homes, everything means something.
Collections: People often collect strange things for unknown reasons ~ ceramic elves from Europe, antique trout fishing lures, bamboo back scratchers from around the world. What we collect often reveals our idiosyncrasies, and therefore our true natures. Recall someone in your life who collected something intriguing or odd. Try to define the attraction, and in the process, bring that person to life.
Related sites: Minto Florida
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Those questions Nancy can keep you occupied for the next year, even a lifetime. Very searching questions.
‘Tis the Season for reflection . . . fa la la la la la la la la! 😀
If I could change one thing about my life? I think you know what that would be. I would get rid of the anxiety/worry thing. It’s better, but I hate having to work at it so damn hard. These are happy months for me so it is mostly in check.
I’m glad to hear that, Pix. And just think, happy months turn into happy years. 😀
You are so right!
What would I change??? Just about everything!
Maybe 2014 will be filled with CHANGE for you, Granny.
Too much to list!
Some changes are easier to bring about than others. Hope 2014 brings desired changes your way.
If I could change something in my life – hmmm, I think I would go back to two days before the High School Sadie Hawkins Dance. This time I would ask Barry who wasn’t that cute but had a crush on me, instead of Marty who was really cute but only went to the dance with me because his Mom made him be polite.
(Clearly not the most important decision in my life, but it’s always bugged me because I was so superficial and basically high school – stupid.)
O.K. if I could change something that really mattered, I would go back to before my first child was born and get a RhoGam shot so all the rest of my children would not have to deal with jaundice and anemia from RH sensitazation.
I suspect that “High School” is synonymous with “Stupid,” for most of us anyway. 😛
Sounds like a RhoGam shot would have been of benefit ~ hindsight is 20/20.
Good questions indeed! And tempting themes. Which would need a LOT of time! *scoots off to bed*
That’s a WISE decision ~ to sleep, perchance to dream.
Hmmm…I’m not sure what to change. Maybe I’ll just stick to putting more effort into my novel writing so I’ll be a little closer to my dream of writing for a living 🙂
That sounds like a plan! Perhaps 2014 will be a Novel Year for you.
I’d mainly like to start over, and this go-round use the tools I’ve acquired along the way. Maybe I’ll just pretend that this is possible, and see what I can do with the time I have left, eh? Great questions. I like “ponderables,” especially at this time of the year. There’s usually something I can start over. 🙂
Thanks, Debra. That’s a good sign ~> you’re enthusiastic enough about being here to want to “start over.” 😀
I like your ponderable posts. I would change my lack of self-discipline in certain areas of my life. Come to think of it, the book “How to be Amazing at Anything” says all I need to do is “PRACTICE.” 🙂
As I read your comment, “Just Start and the Way will appear” came to mind. Half the battle is getting started. Momentum carries us forward. PRACTICE.
Thank you for your words of wisdom.
Now I’m reminded of the daily battle to get me to practice the piano in grade school:
“Aw, mom . . . how come I have to practice AGAIN? I practiced yesterday for 30 minutes!” 😛
Nada! I live in the present (while acknowledging the past) and choose to be grateful for all that I am and with what I’ve been blessed. I’m cautious with “if” questions as, to me, they can suggest something other than what is. Coulda, shoulda, & woulda’s don’t garner a lot of time and attention in my life. I’ll deal with the here and now which is reality and find ways to blend the present with actions in fulfillment of my goals and dreams. Still, I can see the fun (and perhaps value), in this exercise for some. 🙂 Belated Christmas greetings, Nancy!
Sounds like you’ve reached the pinnacle! Watch out . . . it’s all down hill from there. 😛
Not sure if there is a pinnacle and looking down simply induces vertigo. 🙂
Hmmm – my job, which I’m going to do when I get back from leave by resigning. I’m 50; I don’t have another job – some would say I’m foolish, but I say, life’s too damn short to toil for pigs in a trough…
Good for you! Life is too short to work for Greedy Meanies. I did the same thing at 50 when we decided to move to FL ~ BEFORE selling the house in MD and without jobs for either of us. So far so good. Best of luck with your changes!
I don’t think you’re a bit foolish. Signed, The Mad Hatter