Today’s writing prompt made me laugh. Rather than linger on it, I just spent about a minute and came up with this: Rubik Cube Solutions. I envision booths found in all airports where people often get delayed or have to sit around for hours for their next connection. In the booth, a video would teach you a way to solve it, after paying a fee for playing. Each player gets two chances only. The attempts would be timed and at the end of the day, a winner for the person solving it in the fastest time would be awarded a travel voucher. Participants would have to enter their emails and preferred frequent flyer airline. The times for each day would be from midnight to 11:59 and a winner would be chosen everyday.
Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?
As a young child, I was always inspired by music and Music class was my favorite class, starting from kindergarten. I can fondly remember playing those plastic recorders from a very young age. By fourth grade, I had a clarinet, and I begged my parents for a piano, and was gifted an old upright to learn from. It was my guitar that I got at 12 years old that was the most precious to me of all.
While I had lessons with the clarinet in school, I didn’t have any lessons on the guitar, so I am self-taught. I spent everyday of my younger years playing and singing with my guitar. It was almost like an emotional support animal to me: always comforting, always soothing, and always keeping me company. I can really relate to this John Denver song called “This Old Guitar.”
I wrote my first song when I was 12 and wrote several more over the years. I even gave some guitar lessons to people in my hometown when I was in high school.
While I added another guitar to my collection when I lived in Spain, that first guitar is so special to me. I still have it and right now, one of my daughters wants to learn from it. I hope she’ll get as much enjoyment with it as I did.
Today’s prompt asks about my mission in life. It wasn’t always clear to me for most of my life. Major life changes helped me to reach within and work on myself until it came to me that I am here to help spread tips on living a more joyful life. By using the tools and techniques I’ve learned through various teachers, my journey as Barbara, The Spirited Strider, began over 14 years ago.
It started with a Memory Walk for the Alzheimer’s Association and I called my team of walkers “Team Spirited Strides.” That quickly led to my first blog and so many connections with new people. It led to learning many techniques from classes and workshops, to creating my website and a small business in coaching. While I no longer have my main website, having lost it earlier this year, I am appreciative of everything I learned while building it.
We often don’t realize the effect our words and actions can have on other people. It was through a powerful moment of inspiration that I knew that I am here to serve in love, one person at a time. I’m reminded of a sermon I gave once as a Certified Lay Speaker and a couple of years later, I returned to that church and an elderly woman came up to me to tell me how much that sermon affected her in a positive way. We often don’t get that kind of feedback about ourselves, but when we do, it’s such a good feeling to know that we made a difference in someone’s life.
For me, it was an affirmation that I’m doing something that is of value to others. I know my mission for myself and for others. Life is meant to be filled with joy and I appreciate that I can contribute to it in my own small way.
What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?
Just living a very long life isn’t necessarily ideal, if the life isn’t full of beautiful moments, relationships, passion and love. I’ve already passed the age of my maternal grandmother when she died and I feel like I’m living a life of quality in most aspects. I’m living comfortably, have had a wonderful professional career and a beautiful family. I laugh frequently and I feel young. I personally would love to continue living a long life, as long as it’s healthy and full of loving and fun moments.
Today’s writing prompt asks us what we could do differently. Being a very adaptable person, I am fairly flexible when life throws me a curveball. It’s probably the day-to-day things that I might change up a bit. As I tend to get bored with routine, I don’t stay long in a daily routine. Whether it’s adding a walk to it, or reading a new book, or trying a new recipe, I find pleasure in mixing my day up with activities.
But when I think about approaching life differently, I don’t expect to do things differently, as I’m overall happy with my decisions in life. Focusing on what I could do differently brings up emotions of regrets to me, and I like to live a life with no regrets.
If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?
This is an interesting writing prompt today. A billboard doesn’t say much, so mine is short and sweet. It would be “Be Kind.” That’s my message for today!
Do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past? Why?
Today’s writing prompt question is an interesting one. We probably all think about our past and our future at some point. For me, it’s more about what feelings I evoke when I do. When thinking about happy past times, it’s easy. What can be tricky is to dwell on things that didn’t go as well as I liked in the past. I usually don’t do that, as I live as much in the present as possible these days. There are times when I use Neville Goddard’s technique of “revisioning.” That is where you imagine a different outcome of a past event. It certainly helps to make the more stressful past feel better!
I think about the future when I set intentions. It could be an immediate future, such as setting my intentions for the day, or a longer term, such as choosing my word for 2024: laughter. I use my imagination a lot for the future things I’d like to manifest. What I don’t do is worry about the future.
Worry serves no purpose other than to make us stressed. No amount of worrying will change the outcome of the thing we’re worried about! While it’s ok to make plans for the future, it is important not to let worry creep into those plans. So I prefer to stay in the present as much as possible.
Elkhart Tolle’s teachings taught me a lot about being present and living in the now. My quality of life is improved because of it. Here are a few quotes from him to illustrate the power of living in the present.
When you are present, when you are fully in the Now, Presence will flow and transform what you do. There will be a quality and a power in it.
The past has no power over the present moment.
It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living.
As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease. When you act out the present-moment awareness, whatever you do becomes imbued with a sense of quality, care and love-even the most simplest action.
For me, the greatest gift someone can give me is their time. Relationships are important and in order to have meaningful ones, time connecting with one another is vital.
It’s pretty simple. You can’t foster a friendship or a love without giving the other person some of your time. And with that, this is probably the shortest blog post I’ll do!
Today’s writing prompt could be answered in a few sentences! I’m a proud alumna of The University of Iowa for a couple of degrees, and spent one year at the University of Valencia in Valencia, Spain. I love both of these institutions and my experiences there.
I loved college. Later, I spent my entire professional career working in higher education with college students. I love working with college students, even though now I’m working with little kids as a substitute teacher. If given the chance, however, I’d return to higher education in a heartbeat!
My parents and relatives kept calling me a professional student when I’d go back to study after a brief break between degrees. I appreciate learning and working with young people. So college (and working with little kids) is a perfect for me! Besides, I feel that working with young people helps keep me young at heart! Go Hawkeyes!
Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?
The importance of play cannot be overstated. So many of us adults forget how to play or be playful. Just think about how many times you’ve heard the expression, “Act your age!” It’s as if society expects us to always act serious as we grow older.
I personally love to act playful. I love to act silly in certain situations. (I can embarrass my daughters when I do it around them.) I love to laugh and I know that children laugh about 300 times in a day! That’s a whole lot more than adults. In fact, I read an article saying a 4 year old laughs about 300 times in a day, whereas a 40 year old only 4!
I’ve been doing substitute teaching since last year in the elementary schools here and I’m very happy that I get more opportunities to be playful and laugh because of it. Little kids have less of a filter than adults and I find that they do say the darnest things! While I don’t have grandchildren, people who have young grandchildren probably know this first hand, too.
Being playful makes me feel young. It lifts my vibe. Being playful always results in more laughter for me, too. As a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader, so I can laugh for no reason at all. Doing so with others really results in genuine laughter, as it truly is contagious. It fills my heart with joy!
Today’s daily prompt has pushed me to finally read the Harry Potter series. I have all the books, my daughters loved it and so many children at school talk about it. While they’re sitting on my bookshelf, I’ve yet to read them. I think I’d like to engage with the students at school by reading the books next. It will certainly help me to relate to what they’re saying.
Meanwhile, I’ll continue to go through life never losing my sense of playfulness. Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, I do intentions and this year I chose one word to describe what I’ll intend more of this year. That word is laughter. For sure, it’ll be fun and playful!
Appreciation Magic 