Day Two of the 3-Day Quote Challenge

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he Proverbs 23:7

It took me some time to realise that my thinking correlated with what I would become; that it had to be renewed if I were going to accomplish my goals and be happy as I live out my divine purpose for being on this planet.

I came upon the book by James Allen, the philosopher and author of As A Man Thinketh, and realized that my negative thinking, my pessimism, and my insecurities had to go, and my mindsets had to be so that I was willing to accept change at any phase of my life. 

 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says in his book, FLOW, “One of the most ironic paradoxes of our time is the great availability of leisure that somehow fails to be translated into enjoyment.  Compared to people living only a few generations ago, we have enormously greater opportunities to have a good time, yet there is no indication that we actually enjoy life more than our ancestors did.  Opportunities alone, however, are not enough.  We also need the skills to make use of them. And we need to know how to control consciousness––a skill that most people have not learned to cultivate. Surrounded by an astounding panoply of recreational gadgets and leisure choices, most of us go on being bored and vaguely frustrated.”

That meant, in my opinion, that I could not sit back and go on never ending vacations, or constant buying, or any other thing, that was not related to my purpose oriented life.  Things were not going to make me happy.  Opportunities that came my way had to be accepted, and my mind would be in a state of constant renewal as I studied, learned and implemented.

As a person thinks in his heart, so is he or she.

Are you happy with the way your life is?

Is there a yearning that you seem unable to fulfill?

What dominates your thinking?

Shalom,

Pat Garcia

Day One of 3 Day Quote Challenge

I would like to thank Susan Scott for asking me to participate in this 3-Day Quote Challenge.  I read her blog Garden of Eden with interest. Every article she writes stimulates my mind and causes me to think and reconsider my own ideas and opinions, which have settled in my mind and control my own behavior.  Confronted with my mindsets, I can see if my thinking has become old and musty, and I am challenged to change.

Leaving a town where repression because of my skin color blocked my opportunities, I knew I had to leave if I wanted to live my dream and let the creative gifts that were deep inside me become a reality. 

It was 1967, and I was watching the very first Super Bowl game with the Green Bay Packers out of Wisconsin.  That was my first encounter with the coach Vince Lombardi and his inspirational messages to his team. His message that day gave me the strength to walk away and to start living my dream.

Vince Lombardi once said:

You can be as great as you want to be.  If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive, and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.

This quote changed a mindset that was anchored in my mind and thus changed the way I live.

What quote or quotes has changed one of  your mindset and has inspired you to change?

I would like to invite the three writers whom I have gotten to know to join me by sharing some of their inspirational quotes in the 3 Day Challenge at their convenience.  Their blogs are an inspiration to my life and I invite you to visit them and be inspired.  

Aurora  at https://aurorajalexander.wordpress.com

L.W. at https://laurie27wsmith.wordpress.com

Jessica at https://sendsunshine.wordpress.com

Shalom,

Pat Garcia

Viewpoint: Will We Ever Learn?

1933- Signs of discontent, distrust, and jealousy arose in Europe, no longer hiding behind the smiling face of tolerance. The burdens placed upon the German people through the Treaty of Versailles, after losing the First World War caused anger and frustration to smother beneath the surface. Hunger, inflation, rising costs, and joblessness created clusters of dissatisfied people who grumbled.

That the Treaty of Versailles, with its failure to reach an agreement on reparation and Article 231, (the War-Guilt Clause), would play a leading role in starting the second world war, only a few people considered possible.  One of the few was Economist John Maynard Keyes, who thought the ordinances set down in the Versailles Treaty too harsh.  Keyes considered that treaties overlooking the food, fuel, and finance would exacerbate the situation.¹ Keyes was right. For many Germans, to this day, the Treaty of Versailles broke their necks while humiliating and stripping them of their pride.

This year, 2015, that same wind blows, not in Germany but Greece; not because of war, but because of the economic collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in the United States, in 2008; which led to the Great Recession.  The corrosive nature of that recession has put Greece in the begging role and subjects them to the hands of non-compromising politicians, whose main concerns are securing their own country’s safety, instead of the welfare of their sister nation, Greece.²

Soup lines, homeless sleeping on streets, beggars pushing carts, begging, while the initial instigators of their presence crisis discuss how to repay a debt that began with the negligence to institute proper controls, just as the Treaty of Versailles neglected to devise a method that would ensure that the German people survive with their self-esteem intact. 

The Greek debt must be paid, but does this mean humiliating the Greek working class who has no millions stashed away in bank accounts in Luxembourg or Switzerland or on the Cayman Islands.

The question should not be whether or not the Greeks pay their debt, but whether they will be allowed to pay it back with dignity and room to breathe.  History has shown us repeatedly that when the feet of those who have much hold down the feet of those who have little rebellion comes. Will history repeat itself, once again?  

Will we ever learn?

Shalom,

Pat Garcia

<sup>1. The Treaty of Versailles and its Consequences. Europe Between the Wars Dr. Julian Casanova, University of Notre Dame, 16 December 2001. James J. Atkinson ↩︎
2. The Political Consequences of the Great Recession in Europe. EuroCrisis in the Press ↩︎</sup>

Women's Fiction Festival

I am discovering that it is okay to like your strengths and to validate yourself instead of waiting for others to validate you.

Living as an Expatriate (ExPat) outside of my own country forces me to explore who I am and stretch. That is one of the positive advantages of becoming an ExPat; you have to leave your shadow because you stick out.

I stick out.  I can count the number of chocolate brown women from any nation that drive all over Germany–the European Country, where I presently reside. In fact, I have had the privilege of driving in many of the European Countries and most of my trips have been without someone accompanying me. Just me , with my CD player blasting, and me singing as I whiz down the autobahn (interstate) to Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, or Italy or whiz to a harbor in Germany to catch a ferry that takes me to the United Kingdom.

What does this have to do with writing? Well, I’ve discovered the Women’s Fiction Festival, in Matera, Italy. I didn’t know they existed until I started combing the internet for possible English speaking writing support groups because I was grumpy about not having enough exposure to agents and publishers in a non-English speaking environment.

So, I will stretch again when I drive to Matera, which is in Southern Italy and about fifteen hours away from where I live. I will drive because I want to see the Adriatic Coastline and soak in some of the Italian Culture.  Again, I’ll probably stick out. It is my first writer’s conference with this association and my third writer’s conference overall.

I can’t wait until September comes. Then, I’ll get in White Eagle (my beetle), and we’ll hit the Autobahn singing, Country roads, take me home, to that place, I belong, West Virginia, mountain mamas, take me home, country roads.[1]  But instead of country roads, it will be the interstate, instead of West Virginia, it’ll be Matera, Italy, and instead of mountain mamas, it’ll be one ever-loving writing gal jazzing down the interstate to be with people who love writing just as much as she does.

Shalom,

Pat Garcia

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[1] John Denver, Country Roads, Poems, Prayers, & Promises, 1971.

Struggles

May was struggle month pure for me but along with it came a nice surprise.

Struggle 1 - My MacBook Pro got sick.  I treat it like a child, so it had to go to Uncle Doctor Apple.  I suspected it was my graphic card and said so when I met with the technician.  He checked it with me standing by and sure enough, the graphic card was gone.  It needed a new one. My Mac Pro is five years old, so the guarantee was over, but I wanted to have it repaired, and it was. Apple gave me a new graphic card at no cost to me.  That was my biggest surprise for May. Thank you, Apple.

Struggle 2 – Stopped letting procrastination gnaw away at my self-confidence by returning to the Critique Circle. I am a paying member of the CC, and although I don’t submit any manuscripts on a regular basis, I like giving others helpful critiques. I was out of the loop for about four months and knew that if I didn’t get involved again, I wouldn’t feel good about myself.

Struggle 3 – Taking the time to visit all the blogs that I signed up for during the challenge on a regular basis. Some people write blog postings daily. That’s okay, but I won’t be able to read every one of them. I’m a writer that want to be a novelist, so, I have to find a balance that will work for me. 

Struggle 4 – Taking the time to maintenance my Social Media platforms.  My platforms have been practically screaming update me or complete me.

I could go on and on, but I won’t, because struggles are inevitable. They accompany change, so I’m learning  how to overcome as I master them.

Shalom,

Pat Garcia