October writing challenge

I recently realized that it was time for a fresh start in my writing.  September has almost always felt like a new year to me.  A chance to get back to normal - after a busy summer.  So I set some small goals for September and then I actually did something with them. 

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DAILY WRITING HABIT

I decided to bring back my daily habit of writing at least 300 words - at least several days each week. As I look back on September I discovered that I did 12 days in a row and 25 for the month. Definitely a success.  I’ll take that.

For October I decided to bump it up another notch - as the next step of preparation for my big writing month of November.  For fifteen years now I have participated in NaNoWriMo - also known as National Novel Writing Month - when we write 50,000 words to earn a certificate.

Well, technically, NaNoWriMo is a misnomer, at least for me - because I don’t write novels.  And maybe because it was not just “national” but had become a global event.  Well, and now unfortunately the official NaNoWriMo is no more.  But the habit has been built and the benefit still matters - so at least for another year or three - I shall continue the discipline of cranking out 50K during November by averaging a couple thousand words per day.

October is the preamble, the chance to bump up the daily writing habit - from 300 words to something closer to 2K.  Hopefully this exercise will also produce something worth editing and actually using somewhere.

It is now mid-October and I am happy to report that I have indeed typed out a thousand words on seven of those days and at least 500 on another five days.  Feels like good progress on this next step.

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WEEKLY BLOG POSTS

My September writing challenge also included a goal of bumping up my posting frequency here on my blog.  I had been faithful to post at least once a month for a lot of years, but wanted to change that to SEVERAL times a month.  Sure enough, I posted 4 times in September - which is a good step toward my weekly publishing wish.

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Thankful for progress I am

A month ago I decided to bump up my daily walking commitment by adding another half mile to my usual mile route.

As I look back at my September calendar, I see that I did indeed walk at least a mile & a half on 17 of those days.

And 7 of them were at least 1.7 

And 7 days were over 2 miles!

On this Thankful Thursday, I am thankful that I made that commitment and proud of myself for the progress.    And I’m thinking for October I might push past 2 miles several days again.

Also, I am thinking that I want to address one other wellness issue - the whole question of pausing to consider whether I am actually hungry - before putting food in my mouth.

I do love food - and I love to find as many opportunities to partake as possible.

BUT I wish I could build a habit of pausing to ask if I am hungry first.

Before eating.

What a concept; right?

I sometimes incorporate handy-dandy little TLA’s in my to-do list - because I kinda' love TLA’s.  Three-letter-acronyms.

So I’m pulling out my WFH* TLA once again.

It reminds me to Wait For Hunger by pausing to ask myself if I am actually hungry.

 

I shall re-incorporate that little directive into my to-do list - reminding myself topause and evaluate and give myself a little checkmark.  Simple; right?

There is however one more layer I sometimes add for further effectiveness.

This one came to my attention many years ago from a friend who struggled with alcohol.  

She spoke of the times when the best she could do would be to postpone her intake - by 15 minutes - maybe over & over again.  It immediately struck me that it might work for food as well as for alcohol.

So… sometimes… I realize that I’m probably not gonna’ make it all the way to stomach-growling hunger… but I can choose to wait at least 15 minutes** - and then maybe another 15…

I think that I am deciding to challenge myself to pay attention during October… to pause and honestly assess whether I am in fact hungry.  That might be enough to get my attention, to make a better decision, and maybe to turn my attention to something besides food.

’Tis a way to be intentional - with my thoughts and then my action of deciding and maybe setting that timer for 15 minutes.

I am unsure about specific goals for this, but I am deciding to at least experiment with it once again - so that I can choose to be more alert and responsible.

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*  WFH - wait for hunger

** WFM - wait 15 minutes

Thankful Thursday: Lucky enough

Ah, yes, I remember that wall hanging in the keepers’ kitchen.

"If you are Lucky enough to Live in a LiGHTHOUSE 

You are Lucky Enough"

And we got to live in THIS very one! 

I love to look at the photos of this place from all the different angles, but this one is cool because it shows our bedroom windows right under the chimney.

Those two weeks were such a fun adventure! I'm grateful that we had the privilege of doing that.

I love to look back over the little snippets I wrote about our time there not as "keepers of the light" but as welcomers and hosts to the history of the place.

On this Thankful Thursday, I tear up a bit to think of my good fortune. 

May I never take such blessings for granted.

One Magic Moment

Once upon a time we worked at a lighthouse with a team of six people.

One evening Bob and I found ourselves alone in the keepers’ quarters.

Alone in the whole place and the whole lonely shoreline.

I was just reminded of that evening and of how tired we were from the day’s work.

But I was also reminded that I paid attention to the potential of a magic moment and pushed myself just enough to get down the stairs and out the door to the beach - yes, in my PJs.  What a glorious memory.

How many times do I miss magical moments?

Maybe I’m too busy

Too tired

Maybe I don’t even notice the idea

Nor pause to consider the possibility

So now, today, I am reminding myself to watch for such magic.

To pause and consider the moment - and what could maybe happen.

To provide space to welcome magic moments.

Photo credit: Bob Sims

You can read more about that PJ sunset here. 

September Challenge: Week Two Update

I turned the page from August to September with the idea of a September challenge.

I had been reminded of how effective a monthly challenge can be because of the relatively short time span. I also remember how significant September had become for me - almost thinking of it as my new year.

So I decided to challenge myself to bump up my daily walking - from my usual mile/day - to add another half-mile or maybe even more.

I am pleased to discover that I am doing well with that challenge - having walked 18 miles so far.

So yes, it’s working… 

And I am encouraged.

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Somewhere in those transitional hours from August to September I also decided to set a writing challenge to augment my walking challenge.  

I had already been seeing my writing year as beginning in September - a time to rebuild my regular writing habits and to ponder my writing strategy for the coming months.

I chose as my main challenge to make sure that I am writing at least 300 words/day - for a minimum of 5 days/week or 20 days for the month.  So far I have succeeded every day of the first 11 days.

Early in the month I also pondered my wish of turning my monthly blogging habit into a weekly one. I decided to give it a try.  Sadly, I had begun to think I might not succeed with that one this week, but I guess I am. Right here. Right now. Taking that next step I am.

So there we go.

Small steps

Progress

Gratification

Writing Challenge

 September feels like a new beginning for me.

A fresh start.

Back to normal.

I have loved that September feeling for most of my life.

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Since I started thinking of myself as a writer, it was probably natural that autumn would become significant in my annual writing cycle.

• In 2010 I started this blog and have posted something here pretty much every month in the years since.
• That was also the year that I began participating in NaNoWriMo - and have completed that project 17 times. 
• I soon realized that I might want to start thinking about my November writing project as early as September.
• I have built some excellent writing habits through these 17 years.

So here we are - and here I am.

It is September and time to start my writing year.

Time to get back in gear.

To rebuild my writing habit.

To stretch those writing muscles.

I hereby declare my September writing plan.

This month…

• I will pay attention to that habit of writing at least 300 words/day.  
• I also wish to bump up my posting frequency here - aiming for weekly posts.  I am putting that back into my reminder calendar at this very moment.

And so, my writing friends, do you have a September writing plan?

Could you use a fresh start?

My only advice is to keep it simple and do-able.

Happy September new year!

September Fitness Challenge

50 miles during August!!! * 

When my Facebook Memories remind me that I used to walk 3 miles a day I can be tempted to feel badly that I do only one mile/day lately.  

On the other hand I can choose to celebrate the fact that I AM walking at least a mile most days. 

I mostly choose to celebrate.

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Recently I saw Leo Babauta of Zen Habits recommending a month-long fitness challenge.  He says such a challenge can be helpful for a couple reasons:

1. Because I am committed to something.  (Now there’s a novel idea.)
2. Because it is for a short time.   (A short time sounds good. Am I right?)

That’s when I went to my calendar to see how many miles I had done so far this month.

That’s also when I realized that I could maybe make it to 50 miles yet in August.

Because I had already been pushing a bit more than usual…

So I decided to start there - and I made it!

Yay!

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So, yes, I will do a fitness challenge for September but I’m still deciding about my target numbers.  I know they must be doable - so I think I’ll start with 30 miles as my minimum commitment and then 40 or more will be bonus.  

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* Disclaimer:

This is where I pause to clarify that not all of those 50 August miles were walking, but about a dozen of them were biking.

For September I think I will start by using only walking miles and keep the biking separate…

Keep it simple; right?

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ALL Lives Matter

Jesus was pretty clear about the importance of “loving my neighbor as myself.” 

One day, an “expert in the law” had a follow-up question for him: “And who is my neighbor?”  (Luke says the guy wanted to justify himself.)   [Luke 10:29, NIV]

If I want to obey Jesus’ commands, I do need to understand who is my neighbor. Therefore I will pay attention to his answer - which comes in the form of a story.

’Tis a familiar story to those of us who grew up inside the church walls - the one about the man “going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers.”

Jesus mentions that a priest and a Levite, both religious leaders, “passed by on the other side” - evidently not wanting to contaminate themselves by getting involved in a messy situation.  

Then a Samaritan came along, took pity on the guy, and stopped to help him.

Not just a brief stop to offer “thoughts and prayers.” 

Rather he interrupted his own travel plans.

He inconvenienced himself. 

He cleaned the guy up and did what he could for him.

Then he put the guy on his own donkey and transported him to an inn.

It is an inspiring story as the Samaritan leaves extra money with the innkeeper and promises to come back and pay whatever else might be needed. 

As he finished the telling, Jesus had a question for the questioner: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”    - [Luke 10, NIV]

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In Sunday School we learned that Samaritans were seen as second-class citizens. Jews regarded them as foreigners and treated them with hostility.  For Jesus to have chosen a Samaritan as the hero of this story seems pretty significant.

I could almost imagine a few sweet Jewish grandmothers who had begun to realize how badly Samaritans were treated. Maybe they came over to Jesus and and tearfully told him that SAMARITAN LIVES MATTER!

Maybe Jesus interrupted with a retort: “Of course, they do. ALL lives matter!”

No?

That’s not how the story went?

No. 

Jesus knew very well that Samaritans were mistreated.  

He was already doing something about it.

He had just elevated a Samaritan to hero status - quite possibly as an example for religious leaders.

He was being an advocate for people who didn’t seem to matter.

Let that be a lesson to me!

Multiple lessons even.

Obviously I need to respect those who are "the other”. 

Those who are different than me.

Those that don’t seem to matter in society.

They are my neighbors.

Like the hero in the story who had mercy, I am to do likewise.

I am to be their neighbor.

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* Excerpted from my book Beyond These Walls: Book by Book.