Daily Tao ☯ 6.16.17

Last pass pages of LIE TO ME. Ergo: this is really all there is to say today:

Have a fabulous weekend, lovelies!

Daily Tao ☯ 6.14.17

Another rough day. Another terror attack. In our backyards, this time. Or at least, my old backyard. Maybe that's why it hit me so hard. 

I was feeling (understandably) bleak this morning. Though I stayed away from most of social media, I did post about the shooting early on FB, and a pastor friend of mine, Rev. Katie Ladd, with whom I went to college (yes, we've been friends a very long time) commented back. In turn, I asked her for spiritual guidance, which she graciously gave. I asked if I could share it because it is so beautiful, and gave me a more than a small measure of peace. I hope it helps you this evening, too.

Sometimes feeling bleak, as difficult as it is, is the only thing to do in the face of overwhelming sorrow and heartbrokenness. The spiritual challenge is not to linger there too long. Mourn today - for those wounded, for those compelled to see violence as an answer for anything, for our country, for the already hard hearted and hateful sentiments springing up online. Mourn. Our country needs to pause and mourn for so much. 

Here's the spiritually challenging part. And (or "then" - it's up to each of us is we can do this at the same time as mourning or if we need to wait) reach deep inside and reach out to community that serves as a reminder of the goodness in life. There is also that at work in our lives and in our world. I mean, look at us. We haven't seen each other in a long time. Our politics are pretty different. I still love you and value our connection. I give thanks to God for you. Love and community can exist in this world - in the midst of difference and distance, in the midst of mourning and brokenness, in the midst of it all. 

And then work. Work for a better world. 

The best resistance to the powers of violence, death, and despair is laughter. Evil is prepared to fight righteousness. It has no idea what to do with joy. So laugh along the way. 

You already know all of this. I hope these little reminders don't come across as trite. Mostly I want to say that I understand why you would feel bleak. It is normal. And I care.

"Evil is prepared to fight righteousness. It has no idea what to do with joy."

These are words to live by. 

Sweet dreams.  

Daily Tao ☯ 6.13.17

I got upset with Facebook this morning for the ridiculous way they “serve” me to the people who have liked and follow my official J.T. Ellison page. I don’t normally pop off but it’s been really bad this past week, literally a fraction of people being served the posts, so I complained—and more than quadrupled the past few post's engagement. 

It made me wonder… yes, Facebook wants me to advertise, but on a more personal level, I see this happen elsewhere. I post something happy and inspirational, and get a lovely, but intimate response. I lose my temper or bitch about something, and it’s like opening the floodgates.

Are we all so dissatisfied with our worlds right now? Or is it something else entirely—people are so ready to comfort, to jump in and say hey, you’re going to be okay, it’s all good? 

I prefer the latter, and it certainly feels that way to me. 

I loved that the majority of the comments today were “I see you.” In a fast-paced world with a ton of distractions, it was very cool to not only have people comment, but to use that particular phraseology.

Sometimes, it does feel like we aren’t seen. We’re talked to, we’re preached to, we’re forgotten. To be seen, to really be top of mind to a virtual friend—it takes effort, on both sides. 

I see you. I see all the comment, the likes, the messages. I am glad to hear you see me, too.

Fun writing day today — great progress on THE BLOOD CABAL, the outline is officially submitted and the story is working well—and edits on a new short story I will have in your hands pretty soon! (How’s that for a tease???)

Sweet, non-grumpy dreams!

Daily Tao ☯ 6.12.17

I was watching a movie over the weekend that I’d never seen before—Love is a Many Splendored Thing—and one of the lines is about the precious stone jade, and how the Chinese people feel when you wear jade, part of their souls/personalities attach to it. When you gift someone a piece of jade you’ve worn, it’s like giving them a part of you.

A beautiful concept, and I of course couldn’t help but wonder at my choice of names for the thrillercat—Jade—and how she forever marked me. 

I love thinking about how we touch those around us, how we live on in memory. How a smell or a sound can evoke a fully corporeal person—or former pet—to us. Love always ends tragically, right?

For all its many faults, the plot of the movie was fascinating to me. Set in the 1950s, it’s the story of an “Eurasian” female doctor who falls in love with a married but separated American war correspondent. Their romance is illicit, and she is shunned by her family, looked down upon by her boss's meddlesome wife and the other doctors she works with, loses her job, the works. 

Have we changed so much since then? In many ways, yes. In many ways, no. There are always going to be people who disapprove of non-homogenous choices.  

But I have a question: when did the tragic endings of romances move into the need for a happily ever after? It makes sense that the movies made during the war eras explored the tragic loss of true love. But nowadays, the happily ever after—HEA—seems to be a must for a romance novel or movie. To the point that we've lost the concept of loss.

Maybe that’s why the wonderful film La-La-Land was such a success. The tragic nature allows us to mourn our own lost loves. Better to have loved and lost...

Opinions please, because I’m genuinely curious—are you cool with the tragic ending, or is HEA your thing?

Oh, good writing day today, too— cruising right along with 1800....

Daily Tao ☯ 6.9.17

Excellent writing day today. The girls and I hung out on the porch, they: melting into little kitten-sized puddles in the sun, me: typing away. As of this moment, I’ve crossed the 10K line on the book—which means technically, I’m over 1/10th of the way done!—and the story is starting to shape up. I’m going to write some more before I shut down for the night, but I wanted to get this blog done first. A palette cleanser, so to speak.

Preds were outplayed and lost big last night, which was a shame, but they’re back in Nashville Sunday, and I’m sure we’ll whoop some Penguin butt. And then it’s back to Pittsburgh. Our boys need to dig deep to beat them in their own house in Game 7, but it’s not over until the fat penguin sings. 

Quick alert: June newsletter is in your inboxes. If you didn’t get it, check your spam, and if you’re using Gmail, your promotions tab. If you find it there, a favor — drag it to your inbox so Gmail knows it’s a legit email you’ve requested! Same for Outlook users, as it might be stripped out of your focused inbox.

Why is this a good newsletter, you ask? Because it has an excerpt of LIE TO ME, so you definitely want to get it opened!

Oh, the remodel is going great — demo was quick, quiet, and the big push starts again Monday! Still trying to find a rug that's cut pile, not loop, but of all the problems to have...

So it’s a quiet weekend ahead for us. It’s going to be beautiful weather, but since the mister and I are still battling this funk, I foresee a lot of reading and writing, and maybe even some decluttering, if I get the energy. At least the laundry folded and me unpacked — I sort of came back from New York and collapsed. 

Have a lovely weekend, chickens!