I love this new era of writing… we get to meet so many different writers and authors from all over the world in so many different ways. There are poets, novelists, essayists, etc. that brim with talent and potential.
I met a gentleman in one of my Facebook writer groups and he asked me to take a look at his short story, A Man’s Journey Into Darkness. It’s a good story with potential to be a great story.
This is a quick read published on the WordPress blog, Cold Coffee Stand. Patrick is originally from Ireland and moved around Europe a bit before finding himself back in his home island. He one liners, limericks and jokes, short birthday wish ( verses) before dabbling in story writing.
I signed up for my first ever Author Event in my community. I cried tears of joy after I read the official email. It’s called Quakertown Alive! and it takes place in the middle of town. There is an Author’s Corner, food vendors, craft vendors, activities, etc. I am super excited.
On top of that, I started my last semester at community college. After this, I will have my Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts!
As I continue to write Poetry through Recovery, I realize so many of these wonderful things in my life wouldn’t be possible without my sobriety. Painful to write but oh so necessary. Part of the way we get to keep our recovery and sobriety is to give it away.
When I first got sober my life was a multi-car trainwreck and I never thought I’d ever get my shit together. I am just living proof that even the biggest fuckups can put together a semblance of a life and live true to their soul.
If you’re in the area, please stop by and see me! I will be selling and signing books… plus giving away some fun gifts.
Well, it’s almost finished… this is the most difficult book I have ever written and I guess that means something. Scheduled for release on Wednesday, October 31, 2018. Halloween, I know… an important festive day in my life.
I had to burrow into my soul to write this as I thought long about how to approach this book. Did I want it to be some woe-is-me chronological account of my life while I was using and getting sober? Or did I want to approach it in a more emotional way so that while I wrote it, I could actually feel what I felt before and during my recovery?
I opted for the latter because I know there are people out there that still struggle with addiction and recovery. A lot of us think and thought that it was supposed to be some cakewalk. Newly clean and sober people see ‘oldheads’ living their lives in some bodacious harmony and sometimes it’s discouraging because that type of living seems a million moons away. But, it isn’t that far away for any of us.
So that is what I touch on in my memoir as a poetic and essay-ic journey through my last year of using into my first year and beyond in recovery. It’s not pretty sometimes and it’s not supposed to be.
I am still bummed they stopped doing the daily post and that has dulled my motivation to blog. Edits for the novel are almost complete, along with some new entries for Poetry Through Recovery which still does not have an official release date.
Despite the delays, I came up with another great idea for myself since I have so much to offer the world.
I am starting a YouTube Channel. Yes! How exciting, right? It’s going to be a trial and error thing at first because I have some issues with talking (it’s why I am a writer) but I want to do this because I feel a deep calling in me. (I guess it helps that I am taking a public speaking class in the fall!)
My YouTube Channel is going to be about getting through the bullshit of feelings, to put it bluntly, so people can live their best life. There will be an edge about living sober because one of the biggest reasons why people abuse drugs is because they don’t know how to deal. In light of this sick, sad opiate epidemic, I feel like it is something I need to do since opiates almost killed me and I am here to tell the tale of survival. I am attending a viewing tonight of a young woman who died last week as a result of opiate abuse. 😦
There has to be a way to stop all of this insanity, and I believe the first major step is self-awareness.
The username is irrelevant to the cause right now (it is Ninja500Chic – I used to ride a motorcycle!), but that link name will be changing to something more appropriate to what I want to do… which is help people with the truth about living sober. And not just sober, really. Living life free from the bullshit of regret and the past.
I am still figuring all of this out. Meditation has been a cornerstone in my life recently and let me tell you, it helps. A lot. It really makes sense to me now how life situations come in piles instead of droplets.
I am so excited about this! ❤ Stay tuned my friends… this is going to be beautiful.
Please, go to YouTube and follow my channel for upcoming videos about how to live your best life whether you are sober, want to be sober or are struggling to stay sober. Maybe you have a family member who struggles with addiction… this channel will help you to see inside the mind of an addict from both sides.
I took this picture yesterday at the Lehigh River. This first stack of Zen Rocks I ever made was a therapeutic moment in my life. It took only minutes, but I learned a lot.
One, even though there was activity all around me (people conversing, kids playing in the river, my husband talking nearby as he did his own thing) I remained intently focused on my task at hand. Once I finished my zen rocks and sat quietly for a few minutes, I readjusted to the reality around me, pulled out my cellphone and snapped this picture.
There were other zen rocks around me that I appreciated and nodded at as I walked the brief shoreline of the river. There were so many people sitting in chairs in the river, splashing about and sitting on towels in the dirt eating lunch. The energy was incredible and I inhaled all that energy in the oxygen around me, paused, then exhaled every tense fiber of my being. It was in that moment, I finally learned what it meant to JUST BE.
My husband and I did other things that day, too. We walked on the Appalachian Trail briefly yesterday and realized a few things: one, the trail is no joke (we would watch a documentary later that night about the AT and find out we did alright considering the Pennsylvania terrain). Number two, if you really want to do something, you just have to freaking do it.
What am I sitting around waiting for? All these wasted days of worry and fretting over shit that either hasn’t happened yet or has happened and I can’t change does me no good. After we got home yesterday, we took quick little power naps, made coffee, had some burgers and dogs, watched fireworks and then put on a documentary about the AT and were so inspired by these people who left their daily lives to just go BE. These people who I am sure had jobs, ideas – life in some town somewhere in the world – gave most of it or even all of it up to go live on the AT and hike (mostly by foot) from Georgia to Maine or Maine to Georgia.
This morning, I awoke to the sun beaming through my bedroom window and as I did my normal morning routine, felt more peaceful than I ever did before. I did my morning meditation with more conviction, I journaled, I got my coffee, watched the weather, then left for work after I kissed my husband ‘see you later.’
I just feel different today; I feel more hopeful. I have direction and plan on using it to steer me exactly where I want to be.
Good morning, everyone. How are things going for you? Happy Summer Solstice. Daylight has been creeping in each day and now it will be with us for the longest time of the year on this day. Hopefully, you find yourself outdoors on this fine day no matter the weather. Nature makes everything better.
I am halfway through my final edits on Consequences. I even have a book cover! Check it out:
I am so excited! I have picked this cover to have my bases covered… I am opting to traditionally publish my book, although these days it is harder moreso than it used to be. I won’t give up! 🙂
In other news, I am practicing mindfulness and also NOT watching the news or anything like it. I wish everyone knew what all this negative bullshit does to the mind, body, and soul. Unless you have the means and are actually going to do something about it, there is no point in getting all worked up and shitty over something. Also, the media has a great track record of blowing things out of proportion with fear mongering. Stop falling for it. I have limited my Social Media use. After my stomach being in knots yesterday, I decided news pages, tv news and any kind of news is bad for me. I cannot contribute to my life or mother earth if I am in a poor state of mind. In essence, the only thing I can control is me. I mean, how many times have you ever changed someone’s mind by incessant nagging, really.
So, I am on a quest for self-absolution and inner zen. I did great this morning with a ‘mindful driving meditation.’ The trick is not so much to be happy all the time but to just be, period. Happiness is awesome, yes. But to just be and settle down into calm is the key. I need to stay in the mellow to happy zone and stay clear of anything on the backside of the middle. These days that can be difficult! But, I really want this. Each day I get a little closer to where I want to be by appreciating where I am in the moment. That’s the trick I heard. In order to get closer to the things we want, we have to be grateful for what we have, and I truly am. I meditate each morning and make a list of all the things I am grateful for. It sets my mood each time…
Have an awesome first day of summer! Blessed be. ❤
Yes! I can’t believe it but it is true.
