Reverb10: December 8 - 17

********

Five days ago, I wrote this comment on Vincci's response to a #reverb10 prompt.

I'm now another another five days behind. So my strategy will be to set the timer for one hour and write my responses to the ten prompts from December 8th through 17th. Another challenge: except for December 8th and 11th, my responses will be 140 characters or less. I started contemplating each prompt soon after it was published so I hope the mind-writing I've done will help me finish in the time limit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)

(This response added on December 19th)

I really struggled with -- in truth, avoided -- this prompt until I recalled the book, On Beauty, in my night table drawer. And another confession: I've not read more than bits and pieces of it. So I went to the chapter titled "The Beauty of the Flaw" and my eye immediately went to this quote.

Neither in environment nor in heredity can I find the exact instrument that fashioned me, the anonymous roller that pressed upon my life a certain intricate watermark whose unique design becomes visible when the lamp of art is made to shine through life's foolscap. ~Vladimar Nabokov

I love these words. Yes, I do believe our creativity makes each of us uniquely beautiful.

And now, please excuse me while I go express my creativity with a bit of cooking this afternoon -- company's coming & I'm on a tight schedule ;-).

*********

December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. (Author: Shauna Reid)

Dietitians' Santa Hat party. Savoury & sweet food & people. Rich, warm talk, not too spicy. Elegant black dresses ... & me in Hunter boots.

**********

December 10 – Wisdom Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway)

I responded "yes" instead of my usual "I can't/don't have time, knowledge or ability" to many learning & relationship opportunities.

***********

December 11 – 11 Things. What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? (Author: Sam Davidson)

Assumptions, doubts, anxieties, fears, negativity, lack of focus, mindlessness, multi-tasking, procrastination, rushing, any household stuff that is redundant or useless & migraine headaches (yes, I know that's 12, but fears & anxieties overlap).

************

December 12 – Body Integration. This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present? (Author: Patrick Reynolds)

Sometimes during Pilates, when we're near the end of the class. Also, during runs along the seawall.

*************

December 13 – Action. When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step? (Author: Scott Belsky)

Write it down. I've learned through blogging and #reverb10, I need to write out the ideas to bring them forward to the next stage.

**************

December 14 – Appreciate. What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it? (Author: Victoria Klein)

I'm learning to appreciate being wonderfully and imperfectly human and how authenticity allows us to grow & nurture relationships.

***************

December 15 – 5 Minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010. (Author: Patti Digh)

In case something spectacular happens in the next 15 days, I'd like to defer my response until December 31st. I won't forget. Promise.

****************

December 16 – Friendship. How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst? (Author: Martha Mihalick)

I cannot single out one friend. Each one has given me a gift. For example, my Hedge friends are teaching me about hope and that ...

*****************

December 17 – Lesson Learned. What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward? (Author: Tara Weaver)

... I can cultivate a realistic, eyes-wide-open kind of hope, "the thing with feathers,” Emily Dickinson wrote, “that perches in the soul.”