Tag Archives: Heart

22

A Life Is Defined By Action

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wd oooHow many great ideas are destroyed before they have a chance to take root? How many are discarded by the neglect of time? Due to fear of failure or a lack of self-confidence? The time to wait is over, and the time for action is here. Taking action is THE ingredient that turns the perfect combination of raw materials into a masterpiece. Life is defined by the actions one takes or, in many cases, the inaction.

I wanted to share a few things I have learned about grasping your life by the throat through action. None of them are complicated to do, but they can be daunting, and I continually have to remind myself about these things.

Forget your Fears

We are all afraid at some point. Fear has served its purpose in your life to help keep you safe in a wild world, but it can become too much for people to function at the level of their highest capabilities. What is there to be afraid of? Action will defeat fear. Always!

inactionIf you stretch yourself, reaching for something you want, what is the worst thing? Fear will stop you from getting because you may be hurt, but that cocoon you exist in has become a cage, and it is time to let that go. Action will destroy fear.

Ignore the negative voices of others and even your mind. When someone behaves without fear, it can make people uncomfortable because their worries are displayed in comparison. Encourage the negative to seek positive actions. Actions will defeat fear.

Recognize your fear, thank it for caring and then do what you should. Move forward with all of the drive and ambition that you have in your heart. You are a bright light that doesn’t need to be hidden anymore. It is your time to shine through the dim fog of fear. Action will destroy fear.

Focus on Your Voice

There is a voice guiding our actions in each of us, and it performs this duty perfectly and for our greater good. Unfortunately, many of us lack a practical aptitude for hearing this voice, much less following it.

The voice is not in your mind but in your heart, and it can only be heard when you quiet your mind and listen. This is the guide that can tell you what you need to know and help guide your steps toward your dreams. To quiet the reason is a simple breathing practice, focusing on your breath and not paying attention to the endless stream of thoughts in your mind. 99% of these are not essential or relevant.

If you have a fail, it is this voice that will tell you to keep on going. Regardless of what others or your mind think, your greatness will be revealed when listening to this voice. Quiet your mind and focus on your voice. It is never wrong and will guide you into the action and places you need to go. You have to have faith and follow what it tells you. This is admittedly difficult to do, but what have you got to lose? A life of comfortable mediocrity?

Be Conscious of Your Vibration

Quantum physics has proven that each object globally projects a measurable vibration based on its physical makeup. You and I are no different, with the minor exception that human being seems to be able to adjust their vibration by changing how they perceive the world. Your thoughts are paramount to this. You can’t control all of your thoughts because they come pretty rapidly sometimes. Yet we have total control over the views we pay attention to and, of course, our reaction to those thoughts. 

In a nutshell, focus on the thoughts that come from love, such as kindness, joy, peace, hope, benevolence, empathy, truth, faith, and compassion. They provide a higher vibration and power.   Give no attention to thoughts like envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, guilt, inferiority, lies, superiority, or ego, which are all thoughts of fear. These lower vibrations will thwart your plans and make your life less enjoyable.

Positive thoughts are the motivation for our best actions. Our actions will define us. Many believe that your vibration will determine what type of life you will experience. Be conscious of which thoughts you focus on, and they will evaluate the experiences that come into your life. The quality of people you meet and the success you ultimately enjoy through your experience.

Kick  It Now

All of this is to urge you to go for it. If you have a mountain in front of you, climb it! Start swimming if there is an ocean between you and what you want. Now is your time.

All people are born with extraordinary abilities, and how much of those the world will see is determined by your conscious decisions to take action. If you want to lose weight, start doing something to lose weight!

If you want to be successful, start doing what you can to achieve your goals. There is absolutely nothing between you and your dreams than a lack of action. 

22

Over The Rainbow

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The Wizard of Oz has always been classic because of its great story and, of course, for the messages it teaches.   Yearly, children of all ages enjoy it because of the symbolic search for self the characters embark on. The search for personal growth is one that I am very familiar with, the ability to think, have a heart, maintain your courage, and find a home. I think we are all looking for the same things. I have learned a few things on my trip somewhere over the rainbow.

If I only had a Brain

With the thoughts I'd be thinking, I could be another Lincoln.
With the thoughts I’d be thinking, I could be another Lincoln.

The search for intelligence has changed over time for me. Initially, I thought school was the ultimate expression of your intellect and to what degree you had determined your intelligence.

But life experience has taught me that your natural intellect is revealed when you have a passion for learning something. I have learned more since I turned 44 than I ever conceived of as a college student. I never had a passion for reading about facts and learning new things as I do today, and trying to fit their lessons into my life. If I were a faster learner, perhaps I would have had a happier life.

I believe that all people contain intelligence inside themselves, and they only need the right question to bring it out. Don’t spend a lifetime looking outside yourself for intelligence or intellect. It has existed inside you all along. Embrace it and your magic that will take you anywhere you want to go.

Tales of a Broken Heart

I would like to be able to sing and dance too.
I want to be able to sing and dance too.

Many of us are just like that tin man, tapping our chests and hearing nothing but an echo shooting back at us. Yet, the heart is always there, and it has to be for us to exist. Some are hard to find in people as they act callously toward us or others. But some semblance of pulmonary machinery exists, and you have to look hard in some people.

An emotional heart is in everyone, but we try to protect it too much. Nothing hurts as bad as when it is broken, but that is a part of the process. There is an inherent risk in any relationship that if you love someone, you may be hurt. It is one of the elements of life that make no sense. Something good goes terrible; pleasure becomes pain; joy becomes sorrow, yin, yang, light and dark; we are all pawns to our strongest emotions.

This fact goes for loving your spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, children, grandparents, or friends. Because it hurts so much, that is why we construct such stable structures around our hearts. The problem with this is that it is hard to get any guidance from a heart so deeply buried. Let it rise to the surface and take your chances. That is life. No guarantees.

Remember that your heart is available to you anytime you want to use it. Any tin walls around it can be removed simply by deciding to do so. But know also there is no warranty on your heart and no return policy either. It will allow you to love all the good, bad, joyful, and painful stuff that comes with it.

What have they got that I ain’t got?

I'd fight you with my eyes closed!
I’d fight you with my eyes closed!

When it comes to courage, we all face fears all the time. Some are big, like a fear of death or heights, and some are pretty small. There is a twinge of fear in each action that we either overcome or succumb to. I think I have given in way more than I would ever like to admit. To the horror of what others think, fear of failure, fear of success, and fear of being happy. (as silly as that sounds)

Courage to me is recognizing the thing that frightens you and still moving forward anyway. As life progresses, people create routines and structures that seem to protect us from fear, but it still exists.   My search for courage is to be myself in every moment, regardless of what others think. To open myself up to life and love and accept the results, even when they aren’t what I would choose. I still endeavor to try to be happy and try to be brave for another day. Some days I have retreated, but we all have days like that. I have been knocked down 100 times and gotten up 101.

Your fear may be something else.   We all have the courage inside us to face whatever adversity we face. It isn’t always easy, but it can be done. Have courage in your journey, and you will find success.

No Place Like Home

There's no place like home. There's no place like home.
There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.

Some would say that home is where the heart is, and others might say that home is where you can be accepted and loved for who you are. No matter what definition you use, I think searching for a home is a lifelong one.

I am fortunate to have experienced a lot of pleasant experiences in my life, but I am unfortunate that I have never found my home. Home is one of the places that I have been looking for all of my life, and I have thought I found it before but was mistaken. I also know what I may encounter is finding the home I am thinking of is an impossibility, or it may be something that I have known all along. There is a sneaking suspicion inside me. Home is not out there somewhere over the rainbow but residing much closer to me, right inside myself, just waiting to be recognized. Once accepted and understood, the world might make sense. We can’t find a home in another place or another person, and we can only share our home with them, and they theirs with us.

Either way, those who have found this in their lives should be grateful. I am thankful for the idea that home will be possible someday, and I dream of it because there is no place like home.

So, What have you learned, Dorothy?

So as I express my gratitude for this movie and the search for a brain, a heart, courage, and a home. I urge all of you who have these things to be grateful for them. If you are still searching, that is OK too.

Life is nothing but a search for all of our missing pieces, which exist out there somewhere. If I only knew where a wizard was hiding behind a curtain, perhaps I would find mine more efficiently.

21

Joy

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What does your joy look like?

Can anyone define their joy as one particular aspect of a day or even a life?

I certainly can’t. Life is much faceted, and joy derives from many different experiences. The canvas that I paint on has many colors, and I take pleasure from many other parts of that image my life has created.

Joy is an emotion that comes from within each of us.  Things bring us experiences, but we have to allow the joy in ourselves to rise to the surface and show itself. Happiness can come when you are with someone else or by yourself. It can be in the morning or the afternoon.  You are fully able to feel it at any moment you choose.  My joy today looks like many things. I have some thoughts about some specific things I experience happiness about in life—a glimpse of what is making experience great pleasure and satisfaction today.

Freedom’s Just Another Name

Something about times of complete and utter freedom makes me extremely happy and fills my heart with joy and happiness.

freedom There are times in each day where you have to perform specific tasks for your job or to meet the expectations of loved ones. These acts bring a reward for their merit.  Yet, most days, there are moments where I have complete and utter freedom to do whatever I desire at that moment.

 My desires aren’t all that wild and unattainable. I like to write (surprise), I enjoy thinking, and I read with passion.  Finding the time and freedom to do these things fills me with joy today.

 I think that having and exercising your free will each day for some time make you feel rejuvenated and brand new. I know those moments when there is no requirement on me other than those I place on myself are precious.

 On most days, there is a small portion where I experience the freedom of choice, which looks like a joy to me today.

Be Creative, and Things will Flow.

tumblr_la3fh5yX2q1qcgiqwo1_500I have always thought of myself as a person that lacked creativity.  Since I was a young lad, I heard that I lacked the artistic imagination to make art.

The sad part was not that people said these things, but that I believed them.  If you feel this, it cripples your ability to find the answers you are looking for on your journey.

For example, some writers suffer from writer’s block. They can’t get the flow going no matter how hard they try.  One of the most effective ways to break down walls of any kind is to do something creative.  I find that as I become completely engaged in an activity on the creative side, generally, the blocks go away, and words and ideas start to flow freely.

Surprisingly drawing is a form of expression for me, which allows me to do this.  Even though I have no talent in this area, engaging in a brief drawing session will let me find some clarity if I struggle with thought. Creativity looks like my joy today.

Music is Joy

I have often written about how much music means to me, and it is a daily love affair that is only limited by the number of songs available for me to hear.  No one genre brings me joy because many songs and artists I wouldn’t think I would like to perform songs that I find that I can relate to, at least to some degree! I find that nothing explains your emotions better than music or speaks to your soul like the lyrics of the right song.!

Music works magically like a time machine and transports you to different times in your life, and you can almost more than remember those people who were in your life at the time, you can only touch them with your heart and feel them with your soul but touch them and feel them you do.

A song can transport you over the years to a specific place and time. In an instant, you are there re-experiencing the moment from long ago. Happiness, sadness, or even joy can wash over you as you remember your past actions through a song.

As I drive down the road listening to some great music from today and yesterday, I know my joy looks like music today.

You Look Like Joy To Me!

If you are reading this, then you are what my joy looks like today.  I was thinking about what makes me joyous, and that is when something I write affects someone else and makes them believe in any way.

It can be a positive or negative reaction, but to be moved enough to comment, either way, makes me very happy.

 As anyone who writes probably has realized, this is all just the thoughts that come into your head.  They never existed before in the manner you used them and wrote them down. It is an expression of yourself in your mind.

 If someone else can read them and take something from them, find inspiration, commiseration,  or agitation, then I think that is a pretty powerful thing. I enjoy reading the ideas of others as they push me to learn more about myself and think about what I want to be and do in this experience of life: the personality and the presentation of the information counts.  Much like music, there is an unlimited number of writers and creators out there providing great information and excellent entertainment.  I learn something interacting with each written piece I come across.  I find new ones every day like a treasure hidden, just waiting for someone to discover them.

Joy is a feeling that comes from within, and all of these help me feel it because I accept them in my life. Each of us is in charge of the level of joy we experience and from what source it comes.

“Let your joy be in your journey—not in some distant goal.” —Tim Cook

“We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.” —Joseph Campbell

“Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home… it’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.” —Chuck Palahniuk

“The soul’s joy lies in doing.” —Percy Bysshe Shelley

“If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any broken moment.”

 

 

Philosophy

Build Your Adventure Pack

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“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

Why We Need Adventure Packs

My adventure Pack
My Adventure Pack

In a conversation with a friend, they mentioned that they always kept a pack of items in their vehicle, just in case there was a cause to go on an adventure that day.  It got me to thinking that each of us should create our own “Adventure Packs” for whatever each day might bring us.  There are many things that you could do every day to make your life more of an experience if you wanted to.  I figured that why not set the tone and expect something adventurous by carrying an adventure pack, just in case.  Think of all of the adventures you might be missing out on just by not having one. The pack doesn’t have to be fancy or anything, it can just be a bag with a few of the necessities an adventurer might need.   I think there are many different experiences that can qualify as adventures, here is a short list of adventures you might have.

Physical Adventures Are Good For You And Fun

physical adventure with an adventure pack
My pack is always ready.

These are the most prevalent kind of adventures, I think, the ones that take you somewhere, on a hike, or a walk, or around the bend to see what is there.  In your daily activities, you might see a road that you wanted to walk down, or even a park you wanted to visit, to see what was there.  What is stopping you? If you have an adventure pack with a bottle of water, sun screen, a light jacket, then you will be ready for this type of excursion.  The benefits of these types of activities are improved health which is good for your heart, your mind and your soul.  The difference between a thought and an experience is action, so don’t be afraid to take that action step. Make sure you keep a snack in your adventure pack so that you will always have the energy to carry out the adventure in front of you.

Social Adventures Good For Your Mind

adventure pack for fun
Adventure packs are light weight and make you smile

These are the ones that involve getting together with someone in a social situation, going for coffee or breakfast just for the sake of socialization.  Your adventure pack doesn’t even need to have much in it to carry on this type of excitement.  If you have a strong desire to connect then you really don’t need to do anything other than a little money to pay for whatever you eat.  Most often when you visit with old friends you will have revelations and memories about yourself and them that you had forgotten a long time ago. Life is a can be a long road and it is a much happier experience when you travel it with friends. So always keep a little extra cash in your adventure pack, just in case the opportunity to connect comes up.

Simple Things which are Great

There are a bunch of simple adventures that you can experience with just a little bit of energy and imagination.  On any clear night, you have access to one of the grandest adventures on earth, the night sky.  When you make the effort to get where the lights of civilization are not a factor you can view the stars and any time you do this, you can’t help but be swept up in the power and wonder of the vastness of space.  Each star billions of miles away has a story, and you are just a very small and insignificant spec to whatever story is happening there.  You can also have the same kind of adventures at any natural wonder, a river, a lake or the ocean.  You will have to travel with your adventure pack to get to these locations most likely, but keep a map in your adventure pack and you will never get lost on your journey.

Doing Something for Others

adventure pack for visiting
My pack usually has enough to share, if not we’ll make due.

Having an adventure pack handy should allow you the freedom to help someone else.  There are many people who don’t really need anything other than a visit and a kind word.  This adventure is very low-cost and will never be out of demand.  If you don’t know who needs this type of adventure from you, look around.  There are hospitals and nursing homes with people in them who would like nothing more than a friend to talk to and share their stories with.  This is why it is always important to keep a handy list of topics with you at all times.  Remember that any commonality is a conversation in and of itself.  A sport, a team, a performance or anything that you can relate to in any way can create a conversation that will pick up someone’s day.  This type of adventure is doubly good because it is good for the person you visit and it is good for you.

In the end, there is no shortage of ways that you can enjoy life more than you do right now.  If you are already filling your life with adventures, then perhaps it is time to add new people to them.  The more the merrier is a great theme to follow as you move through life.  It is true that the more people you share your life with, the richer you will feel.   So create your own adventure pack and hit the streets, life is nothing more than an adventure waiting to happen.

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Questions

The Price of Love

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If you could experience true love for only a week of your life would it be worth it?

by Jonathan Hilton Day 36

love worth livingSometimes life seems to be full of things that are dichotomous to experience. Both bitter and sweet to the senses and often times we have to make a decision if they are worth it or not.

 Love is one of these experience in life. There are so many positive things to it but in the end you have to wonder is it really worth it?  Wouldn’t the time be better spent developing a talent or learning to fly a kite or something?

 The answer I give in the final analysis is based on the weight of the measure of the positive power of love against the angst and pain that remain when for whatever reason love ends. That is the dilemma this question asks you to solve.

The Power of Love

There is nothing that can make you feel as good as being in love. The connection that you have with one other person which allows you to know that there is something unique and special inside of you that someone else appreciates.

love All of you flaws are overlooked for a moment and the positive ingredients that make you who you are,  seem to be enough, like shining jewels in you soul that are invisible to everyone else.

There is nothing more important than spending time with that person you love.  Hours are condensed to moments and moments are non-stop fun, interest and your heart actually hurts when you are apart.  There is a counting of the moments until you are together again.

 Someone’s love for you is very powerful and can allow you to grow and accomplish things together that apart would be impossible.  Love has the power to make you unbelievably happy and when you appreciate that you live in the moment like at no other time in your life.

The Price you Pay

There is a significant cost that you sometimes pay for love however, for no good thing comes for free or without risk.  Love is so precious that many times we start to let fear of losing your love creep in and start to destroy the positives you feel.  Jealousy is one of the major culprits.

When you are afraid of losing your love then jealousy arises. It can be based on absolutely love we deservenothing, or on something from your past or any irrational fear, but once jealousy starts to creep in, love seems to be much harder to maintain.  Envy, anger, doubt, inferiority and ego also come with this package, but the culprit is fear. I don’t think you fall out of love as much as you fall into fear.

These negative emotions cause you to lose your empathy for that person you loved and once that is gone, there is no longer any love.

Once love is lost, there is no cure for the pain that you feel other than the calming salve of time. That does not do you any good when you are alone, can’t sleep and you miss the thing that made you so happy.

There is a hole in your soul that may in time be closed or perhaps it will just sit there, neither healing or being fatal to your existence. Just bearing a constant reminder of what once was and now is gone.  Is that pain really worth it when it comes to love?  When you just want to find a way to be normal, to find your worth again. To feel that special again.

Totally Worth It

True-love-is-always-worth-love-quotesI admit freely that in my past, I had totally given up on love and the fact that it could ever provide anything but pain and anguish in the end. Yet I know that there is a hope that love will rise and those feelings will come with it.

The idea that no better way to spend a day than talking about whatever it is that the one your love is interested in.   Life is a game that was designed to be played by pairs of people to be most effective.

Love makes this possible. With the power, the craziness, the mess, the loss, the happiness, the sadness, the fear, the jealousy, the joy, the anguish, the euphoria, the pain is all worth it. I would do it for a week, if that is all I was allowed to have.

I know I am a better person for those I loved truly and carry those victories and defeats happily in my heart!  If I was only allowed that kind of love for one day it would definitely be worth it. Life would be much less if I had never had her head on my shoulder or held her hand just to feel her near me.

 The memory of the power of that relationship gives a hope to the heart that tomorrow, a love may rise again. If it doesn’t come then you will at least have the memory of the power and purity and know that the most beautiful things in life are in fact possible.

If you could experience true love for only a week of your life would it be worth it?

It would be so good to see your face at my door!

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Questions

Joy Looks Like This

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What does your joy look like today?

Joy Noun A feeling of great pleasure and happiness. A thing that causes joy. Synonyms delight - gladness - pleasure - mirth - rejoicing
Joy- A feeling of great pleasure and happiness. A thing that causes joy.

by Jon Hilton Day 17

Can anyone really define their joy as one particular aspect of a day or even a life?

I certainly can’t so when I started to answer this question for today I had many thoughts about what gives me joy right at this moment and in the overall canvass of existence.

 My joy today looks like many things of which I am going to try to give you a glimpse of what is making experience great pleasure and happiness today.

Freedom’s Just Another Name

There is something about times of complete and utter freedom that makes me extremely happy and fills my heart with joy!

freedom There are times in each day where you have to perform specific tasks for your job or your loved ones, and that has a reward on its merit.  Yet, most days, there are moments where I have complete and utter freedom to do whatever I desire at that moment.

What I want in life isn’t all that wild and unattainable. I like to write (surprise), I want to think, and I like to read.  Finding the time and freedom to do these things fills me with joy today.

 I think that having and exercising your free will every day for some time can make you feel rejuvenated and brand new. I know that when I have moments when there is no requirement on me other than those I place on myself are precious.

 In most days, there is a small portion where I experience the freedom of choice, and that looks like a joy to me today.

Be Creative, and Things will Flow

tumblr_la3fh5yX2q1qcgiqwo1_500I have always thought of myself as a person that lacked creativity.  Since I was a young lad, I was told that I lacked the artistic creativity that used to make art.

The sad part was not that people said these things, but that I believed them.  If you think this, it cripples your ability to find answers you are looking for in life.

For example, some writers suffer from writer’s block. They can’t get the flow going no matter how hard they try.  One of the most effective ways I have found to break down chunks of any kind is to do something creative.  I find that as I allow myself to become completely engaged in an activity that is on the creative side, generally, the blocks just go away, and words and ideas start to flow freely.

Surprisingly drawing is a form of expression for me, which allows me to do this.  Even though I really have no talent in this area, if I am struggling in thought, engaging in a brief drawing session will allow me to find some clarity. Creativity looks like my joy today.

The Music Man

musicI have often written about how much music means to me, and it is a daily love affair that is only limited by the number of songs that are available for me to hear.  I find that there is nothing that explains your emotions better than music or speaks to your soul like the words of a song.  No one genre brings me joy because many songs and artists I wouldn’t think I would like to perform songs that I find that I can relate to, at least to some degree!!

Music works magically like a time machine and transports you to different times in your life and you can almost more than remember those people who were in your life at the time, you can only touch them with your heart and feel them with your soul but touch them and feel them you do.

Songs by Billy Joel take me to 1985.  George Michael, (the singer not the Bluth.), reminds me of 1988.  Hey there, Delilah takes me immediately to 2007.  It is not a phenomenon that is unique to me.  I avoid these trips of nostalgia because today is pretty impressive, but there is a time for everything.

As I drive down the road listening to some great music from today and yesterday, I know that my joy looks like music today.

You Look Like Joy To Me!

I LOVE YOU! and all of you wonderful thoughts and creations!
I LOVE YOU! and all of you beautiful thoughts and creations!

If you are reading this, then you are what my joy looks like today.  I was thinking about what makes me joyous, and that is when something I write is read by someone else and has an effect on them in any way.

It can be a positive or negative reaction, but to be moved enough to comment, either way makes me very happy.

 As anyone who writes probably has realized, this is all just the thoughts that come into your head.  They never existed before you thought them and wrote them down.

 If someone else can read them and take something from them, find inspiration, commiseration,  or agitation, then I think that is pretty cool.

Like all great relationships, there is a two-way street. I read a lot of blogs, and if I didn’t have work to do, I would read a lot more.  It is all interactive literature for me.  I love reading about all things; it is the best way to learn new things.

 It is the personality and the presentation of the information that counts.  Much like music, there is an unlimited number of bloggers out there providing great information.  I learn something about interacting with each one.  I find new ones every day like a treasure hidden just waiting to be discovered.

Some of you have become great friends, and I feel I know you better than people I see in person every day.  So you reading these words right now, that means you, my joy, looks like you today.

Hey There, Delilah, by the time that we get through, the world will never be the same. 

 

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Interests

Jefferson Writing Challenge

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by Jonathan Hilton

T shirt backIt has long been one of my long standing beliefs that people come into your life for a reason and you merely need to allow things to play out to find out why.   Sometimes they come in to stay for awhile, and some times they just pop in teach you something and then disappear on down the line.

I have been doing a super secret writing project with Hope Rose of Hope is Something You Can’t Live Without, well at least it is super, not really all that secret.  I wanted to take a moment and evaluate our progress.  She wanted to write and needed a little push, and I always like projects.  So I devised the rules which looking at I have broken all the time, but I never liked rules anyway.

Rules of The Project

Hope writes like a dancing machine. Cheap use of the prompt but a use none the less.
Hope writes like a dancing machine. Cheap use of the prompt but a use none the less.

I will provide you with a prompt each day.
You will have a reasonable time to post something,using any creative medium you want, along with your writing. You can take pictures, you can draw pictures, you can paint pictures, you make macaroni pictures, or you can take them from Google, videos from youtube, whatever expresses what you feel inside.  I will also complete the assignment. The commitment is for 30 days, that means until March 9.

But there must be writing that answers the prompt.

So we started this journey of very few rules and no real idea of what would come out of it. I am not sure if I expected to write like I was some sort of dancing machine or what, but it has been interesting.  I have enjoyed it and I hope that Hope has as well.  There are still ten days left as far as I can tell because we missed a few and I see more writing on hope’s blog then there were prompts. But I may be mistaken which one goes with which.

So here are the prompts so far and links to our answers:

#1: A Snow Day

Hope’s

Jon’s

#2 At This very Moment

Hope’s

Jon’s

#3 Beginnings

Hope’s

Jon’s

#4 Vanentine’s Day

Hope’s

Jon’s

#5 Life isn’t Fair or Life is Fair

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/14/my-fair-life/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/inspiration/life-is-fair-get-used-to-it/

6. I looked Into the Fire

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/16/girl-on-fire/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/inspiration/i-looked-into-the-fire/

7. Guilty Pleasures

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/16/guilty-pleasures/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/articles-and-stories/secrets-from-the-vault/

8. I should have Listened to My Heart 

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/18/she-taught-me/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/inspiration/go-ahead-choose-destiny/

9. What If?

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/19/itll-make-you-crazy/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/articles-and-stories/what-if/

10. Looks Like Trouble

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/20/771/  – looking for trouble

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/articles-and-stories/looks-like-trouble-tagged/

11. What is In the Box?

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/21/gifting/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/interests/what-is-in-the-box/

12. The Monkey

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/22/thats-clutch/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/philosophy/like-monkeys-building-walls/

13. Why Doesn’t anybody Listen?

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/22/i-told-you-so/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/interests/why-doesnt-anybody-listen/

14. Postitive Thinking

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/25/super-power/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/interests/my-next-step/

15. French Fries and A Chocolate Shake

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/25/of-couse-i-want-fries-with-that/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/articles-and-stories/french-fries-and-a-chocolate-shake/

16. I was so Frustrated

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/25/train-of-thought/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/inspiration/dont-believe-in-luck/

17. Night and Day

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/26/night-and-day/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/inspiration/motivation/feeling-groovy/

18. Above and Beyond

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/28/grovers-bad-awful-day/

I don’t know what happened to this one???????

19. Space

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/28/space-junk/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/articles-and-stories/why-do-you-create/

20. Dancing Machine

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/03/01/the-color-of-dance/

For Your Listening Pleasure: Dancing Machine- Jackson Five

Articles

Looks Like Trouble- Tagged

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adventure pack
I made my own adventure pack, just in case. I use it in case of danger. Click the image to learn more

by Jonathan Hilton

I thought, “This looks like trouble.” When I saw this tag game going around. I want to participate and yet I have this daily writing prompt to take care of because I am committed. When I was tagged by the illustrious DJMatticus I had no choice to respond. I don’t have time for two posts today, what am I going to do.   (Visit Matticus Kingdom HERE)

Then the trouble continued as I was tagged by the wonderful Kim of Tanquil Dreams, and since I write on every post she makes, I have no choice but to answer her questions as well. It really looked like trouble, trying to answer all of those questions.  (Kim at Tranquil Dreams HERE!)

Being flexible in my actions and as dexterous as a cat, my solution took away any trouble I had, combine the two into one grand and exciting post that will inform and entertain all that come this way today, tomorrow or next week.

The rules of this game:

  • The Rules –
  1. Post these rules.
  2. Post a photo of yourself and eleven random facts about you.
  3. Answer the questions given to you in the tagger’s post.
  4. Create eleven new questions and tag new people to answer them.
  5. Go to their blog/twitter and let them know they have been tagged.

Note*********There is a post coming later to describe my new social demographic that I created this morning, but suffice it to say, we make our own rules so I am doing what I want in the case of entertainment. I am tagging everyone in the world, everyone in the galaxy, everyone who has ever lived.  If you know my philosophy, either you will answer some questions or you will keep them to yourself. I will love you no matter what you decide to do.  Free will, baby  enjoy it!!

This was taken today, February 20, 2013
This was taken today, February 20, 2013

 

So the picture of me? I love pictures of me so I am giving you a few,  because I look different all the time depending on length of hair, facial hair at the moment or the peace within my heart. 🙂

Eleven Random Facts About Me:

  1. Until yesterday I had no idea what a hipster was.
  2. I enjoy thinking about thinking
  3. I like the color blue because of my personality
This is what I look like without a beard.
This is what I look like without a beard.
  1. Music is important to me. (see link)
  • I am a positive thinker

  • I have been best friends with the same person since kindergarten

  • I am very stubborn sometimes, apparently when others are wrong, and don’t listen to reason.

  • My uniform numbers for various sports I played in high school were, Soccer  #10, Basketball  #14 then #12 as a senior  and baseball #4.

  • There were only two things I liked about high school, sports and girls.

  • I taught high school history for 14 years, loved it for 13 hated it for one.

  • I have fought  a chicken. Read the details here. 

    •  

    The Questions from Kim at Tranquil Dreams:

    1) Cookies or Cakes?

    Cookies, chocolate chip are my favorites.

    2) What was your first Blu-ray or DVD you ever purchased?

    No idea. I have Netflix.

    3) Whats the most inspiring book/movie you’ve ever read/seen?

    Into the Wild, I really don’t know if this is true or not, but I am thinking about that movie, it is pretty great if you haven’t seen it. Alexander Supertramp!

    4) Cats or Dogs? Or other pets?

    Dogs, they are like big (or little) people who never learn to use the toilet.

    5) What type of music do you like?

    All types at some point. I can listen to most anything.

    6) Whats your favorite Grimm’s Fairy Tales?

    Hansel and Gretel

    7) Console, Handheld, PC or Arcades?

    None of the above. Because I understand myself enough to know I would be addicted, I refrain from playing any games.

    8) Favorite flavor of chips?

    Salt and Vinegar

    9) What animal do you visit first at the zoo?

    Sea creatures of any kind, or apes, or apes fighting any type of sea creature.

    10) What food could you eat every single day?

    Chinese food

    11) Who is your favorite superhero?

    Kim of Tranquil Dreams

    Following are Matt’s Questions

    My questions for the unlucky few I just tagged:
    1) What does “inconceivable” mean to you?

    That what you are seeing can’t possibly be happening. but it really doesn’t matter because when I hear that word I think of the Princess Bride and many quotes enter my head.

    no more rhyming now, I mean it!” , “Anybody want a peanut?

    You seem a decent fellow, I hate to kill you.     You seem a decent fellow, I hate to die.

    On and on it goes!

    2) Have you ever had fun storming a castle?  If yes, please elaborate.

    No, because I was unfortunately caught without a Holocaust Cloak.
    3) Can you name the three terrors of the Fire Swamp?

    1. Bursts of fire, they make a popping sound before they ignite, easily avoided.
  • Lightning sands- must be avoided

  • R.O.U.S. – Rodents of unusual size?  I don’t think they exist.

    • 4) If you were named “Buttercup” would you keep that as a name or change it once you could legally do so?

    Yes I believe I would.
    5) Have you ever been walking around and just happened upon four white horses?

    This ironically happened to me today and I thought, there are four of us, if you count the lady. hey lady!  So it worked out wonderfully. RIP Andre the Giant
    6) If you could pick new actors to play Inigo and Fezzick, who would you pick?

    Antonio Banderas to play Inigo and The Rock to play Fezzick. He really isn’t a giant but with today’s technology it would be good. He could layeth the smacketh down on the castle.

    7) Have you ever pondered if you would make a good Dread Pirate Roberts?

    I have, in fact I have been thinking of a career change. All you have to do is never make exceptions because once you do, its nothing but work, work, work.
    8) Do you prefer your magic pills coated in chocolate or vanilla?

    Chocolate, they always go down smoother, you just have to wait 30 minutes before you go in the water.
    9) Do you have a wheelbarrow or a cloak?

    As I mentioned before no cloak so I guess that leaves a wheelbarrow to help me find the tourture chamber where the man in black is being held captive.
    10) Have you ever said “As you wish,” and really meant “I love you?”

    Not once, but I think this is a practice I am going to start.
    11) What could quite possibly be the greatest movie ever made?

    The Princess Bride could be the greatest movie ever made. Either that or A few Good Men, I only included that for Matt because it didn’t make his list. I’m difficult like that.

     

    11 new questions that anyone who feels moved by the Universe to answer are:

    1. What is a hipster?
  • Are you a hipster? (if you answer yes, you clearly aren’t, if no then maybe you are.)

  • Who is your hero?

  • Which planet do you like the best and why?

  • What president of the United States do you admire the most excluding Lincoln, Roosevelt and Washington?

  • If you were in charge of the world for a day what is the first thing you would do?

  • Describe your Mental image of the state of Maine in two sentences.

  • Are you tall or short? Explain your answer.

  • If you were a car, what kind of car would you be? Explain.

  • Why is love important to you?

  • Aren’t you glad you have answered all of these questions.

    • My tag goes to the Whole World. 

    If you are still reading way down here you are certainly dedicated and you deserve a special Kozo hug. Have a great day!!

    You don’t have to go through the whole tag thing, because I make up my own rules, but you can answer my 11 questions in the comment if you want to share your knowledge!!