A Year of Living Positively-Volume 4

A YEAR OF LIVING POSITIVELY, VOLUME 4

- a compilation of daily autobiographical blogs from August 14 to December 14, 2014

By Barbara Waldern

Copyright © 2014 by Barbara Waldern

Table of Contents

Introduction

Day 244 Two Poems: The Sound of Violence; and Beware the Rains

Day 256 Change is; be a factor for positive change

Day 260 The habit of negativity and resistance to change

Day 263 Peace (poem)

Day 269 Frugality is relative

Day 274 Self-efficacy (and teaching)

Day 282 A review of my goals

Day 283 Thoughts on adjusting my short term goals

Day 284 The amended list of my short and long term goals

Day 288 Teachers’ Conference message: embrace change

Day 289 World Teachers’ Day message by TEA-KOR

Day 291 An example of breeding negativity (film review)

Day 294 Refining my short term plans

Day 297 Women’s homecare work

Day 299 People and negative family dynamics

Day 303 Report Back from Peace Poems Busan, October 19, 2014

Day 311 The benefits and potential to make change by creating social and festive activities

Day 313 An example of a negative thinker in action

Day 329 Positive thinking should be seen as a social effort

Day 331 The fate of number nine according to numerology: dedication to social causes

Day 338 How the process of activation plays out: What’s happening to me?!

Day 345 New poem: To Bloom Again

Day 347 Tallying all the visits to my blog in 12.5 months

Day 350 On Faith, and a sample from Confessions –#14 Horror at the Hair Salon

Day 353 Note on faulty numeration in Volume Two: 353 is really 359

Day 354 The Ultimate Gift

Conclusion

Introduction

In writing for this blog project every day, I have made a journey. I did not where I was going when I started out, but have since made some discoveries and turned some corners. I have been progressing as a person by employing this combined method of thinking positively and journal writing. By this means, I have made more and greater steps than I anticipated. I had some of my own problems at this phase of my life to sort out, and I have been able to take them by the horns this way. More than that, I have made some decisions, reviewed and set new goals, and made some advances in my writing, career, finances, and in other areas. I have traveled far in the past eight months.

My starting point was an examination of what positive thinking is, in general, and to me in particular I found some references and used them to help develop my own understanding and perspective. I began applying some principles of positive thinking for communication and managing everyday life. The exercise has served to make me stronger, fend off the blues, see more benefits to more situations, develop my identity, clarify and push on my thinking, facilitate my actions, see new possibilities, and be more creative.

As I wrote, I began to appreciate the value and technique of journal writing more. I engaged in a deep reflection about it. I even created academic presentations and articles on the subject. I learned how extensive the process of journal writing can be. Moreover, I learned that journal writing can serve many functions, take many forms, and be used in different social roles from student to teacher, from biographer to film maker. The process of journal writing can help to inform one or more, solve problems, develop and ameliorate relationships, give rise to goals and facilitate the achievement of goals.

Both positive thinking and journal writing can help a person contribute to social change. In fact, they can together make one feel more positive about the future, see opportunities and potential, inspire motivation, fortify their understanding, and foment action for positive social change among people.

A third tool that can lead to success in building community and giving rise to social change is collaboration. For social action to be launched and attain success, people have to talk and work together. I began to see that journal writing can be a form of collaboration if it is shared so that it contributes to communication and social interaction, and then brings about collective action. It can help to deepen understanding and alter or extend perceptions of social situations and problems.

Volume three concluded at the point where I completed participation in a project of activism for peace and alternative energy. The blogging was useful in thinking through the purpose and making a plan for this project. It gave me strength, insight and determination to push ahead and make the idea a reality. Of course, the history and ongoing work of at least three organizations made the International Peace Solidarity Mission in Korea and Japan a reality. I am talking about my role in suggesting, promoting and participating in the Mission.

Writing about the planning and execution of the Peace Mission also served to inform others. It offered an example of pursuing a worthwhile cause and collaborating to take action. I tried to reach and encourage readers to stand up for peace in this crucial era when militarization, terrorism and projects of domination are rampant. Violence in general is has become a way of life and takes over as the crisis deepens and families, communities and even societies fail.

People everywhere need a method by which to survive and overcome the crisis. They need a way to make positive change happen and find a new path for humanity and life on Earth towards a more peaceful, kinder, supportive and intelligent type of society. They need tools to cope, maintain a positive outlook, search for new ideas, talk with each other, set new goals, and take action to realize their aims with each other as a community or nation.

I thus have been developing a proposed approach to social change. In the fourth volume of this project, I aim to come up with a specific process of positive thinking as applied to a way of life that incorporates social change as a motive, subject of thought, and vision.

Day 241

Nothing happened in my life today. It has been an incredibly slow day. I know I must cherish the time on such a day.

I began with no plan and none developed. It is a national holiday, so why not make it a day to do nothing in particular? I have just switched from puttering about the house (room), playing my cutsie computer games, reading messages and articles on the internet and watching a little TV.

Although I like to watch the main newscasts of Euronews and the BBC World News when I rise, I am into the TV5Monde channel. It is the French language channel based in France. I have been enjoying documentaries on little pockets of French culture, especially the program called Roots and Wings (Les Racines et les Ailes). There is also a program that is similar to Jeopardy! that I enjoy, although it is hard for me to follow all the questions because they are articulated very fast when the contestants only have a few seconds to answer in timed competitions. Moreover, I sometimes catch the news from Montreal in the afternoon.

Oh, and I also uploaded a couple of photo albums. I uploaded all the Peace Mission (Korea-Japan) photos into my own personal album, including the sightseeing ones. We had half a day for sightseeing in Nagasaki, after the commemorations of the morning. In addition, I finally uploaded the Italy trip photos, the ones I took on my visit to Florence for a premature vacation and attending a conference. I have wanted to delay uploading them since I violated my employer's policies by taking off when I did, and not reporting it, and I still want to be discrete. I put them into a Facebook album, which is risky because Facebook wants everything posted and even when I labeled the Florence album as for only me, it still turned up on my timeline, which friends can see. I just deleted the timeline postings but kept the album.

I could have written this blog earlier in the day, I had so much time. I thought I should wait and see if I had any news or big thoughts. My mind is spongy today, however.

I guess my brain needs to recharge today. After all, I have been busy. I coordinated the tour and did some course development in the days leading up to the Peace Mission, and was preoccupied with learning about struggles and taking action myself from August 3 to 11, which was eleven days. Then I had to take care of Stephen and immediately after he left Busan, I set to work reporting on the Mission. Yesterday, I spent half a day hurrying to finalize fall course syllabuses and input all the details on the university's system. Yes, I deserve a break. My mind probably needed to be passive in order to process things and recharge. I'm okay. I don't need to work or accomplish anything today. I have no reason to consider myself lax for doing little today.

In passing the Day 240 mark, I have written more than 60 days worth of entries in this third Volume of A Year of Living Positively. After September 13th, I can compile and upload Volume Three. I have not been writing about the them of journal writing or that of collaboration lately; I think the ideas have run their course and petered out. Next I want to concentrate on working for social change as a goal and aspect of a life with a positive thinking approach in the last Volume. Having done and reported on the Peace Solidarity Mission, I have made my way naturally into that domain.

Day 242

I roused myself out of a lazy frame of mind today and got back into the regular swing of things. Partly, it was out of necessity. I needed to shop and study.

For one thing, I needed to buy groceries. I went out to the department store's food floor and filled up two bags. Now I have fresh vegetables and fruit at home and am cooking meals again after nearly two weeks of snacking simple food or eating out. Tonight I fried up some mackerel pike and ate it with steamed green vegetables. I was lazy before I cooked, but it feels good to have done it and eaten a delicious home-made meal.

E postponed last week's class after I sent her a note to explain that I had to spend the evening with my guest. That is to say that I am partially prepared for my next Korean class on Tuesday, but I knew I should refresh my memory and work on the current unit of study this weekend. I studied for an hour and a half.

Further to that, I have to start turning my attention back to the work for Korea TESOL It is a good thing I checked our organization's email messages, for I learned that the next national meeting is next Saturday, a meeting that I'll have to attend. I must review the materials for the meeting. I also must get back to work finding speakers to complete the fall line-up of the local Chapter seminars.

The national meeting is to take place in the city where R lives so I am asking him whether he'll be around. Maybe we can at least have dinner together after my meeting if he is in town.

On Monday, I must resume my workouts at the gym. I also have to return to the planning of the graduate course this week.

Y is due to return home on Thursday. I have not told her that I lent HER place out to S. I think she'll understand if I have to tell her. Maybe she won't know. S cleaned up quite well, and I vacuumed and checked everything. I did leave her some of the extra food. Unfortunately, her little succulent plants have dropped leaves. I hope I did not over-expose them to moisture. Well, it has been an especially wet summer here.

Day 243

Over 350 views on August 15th!! Why?? I think it is because I referenced two major television stations. Interesting what prompts more visits and views. I was looking to see whether references to Aug. 6 and 9, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and A-bombs would have gotten as many hits, but, alas, no.

It is a pleasant Sunday. Itching to keep busy and get out of the house today, I could only think of going shopping or working in my office. Since most stores around here close their doors on Sundays, I opted to go to the office. Besides, I felt like a walk outdoors on such a nice day.

I got some important tasks out of the way today. I therefore not only felt that I had accomplished some things today; I also felt more organized and confident about what I am serving up to my students this fall semester.

With regards to the graduate course planning, I looked at one of the reference books that I recently acquired from the teacher training library. It is on technology and second language education. I tagged some pages to be referred to in my lecture on the unit concerning technology. With the information from the tagged pages of that book, I was able to complete a missing section of the graduate course slideshow and think of an additional topic for a student presentation.

After working on the grad course plan, I reviewed the undergraduate course syllabuses and did some fine tuning. I now have a clearer idea about what I am teaching and the steps that I will lead the students through. Also, I worked on developing the details of the first major project of the writing course and wrote up a project description sheet. Along with that student handout, I wrote up a description sheet for the first presentation assignment for my conversation classes.

Having eaten a snack and had an extra cup of hot coffee in my office, I didn't need lunch. Instead, I wanted to take a walk through one of the nearby forest trails. I thought I might get hungry and want to have noodles in one of the outdoor hikers' restaurants. Else, I'd just have a drink. It was a nice day to walk around and sit outside--not too sunny or hot.

I went out the back door of our building and walked along the path beside the stream. There is a temple somewhere way up there, and I probably climbed most of the way there. After about an hour, though, I decided to turn around and make the descent. I was only wearing canvass loafers and street clothes. I had no snack or water with me.

Along the way, I stopped and saw people lingering beside the stream. I wanted to wade in and wash my feet like they were doing. I found pool midstream and waded immersed in water just above my ankles. I sat for awhile, but did not want to get bug bites.

On the way back, I had worked up an appetite and found that my knees were shaking. I therefore decided to cut across from the stream trail to the sports field and find the noodle shack. I ordered cold spicy bibimbap noodles with a broth. Lots of people were there--some big family groups and couples, among whom a few were casual hikers. I took my time, but rose to leave when I noted that the weather was changing. A lot of people were coming back down the mountain at that point, but there was only a sort of spitting and no real rainfall occurred.

I just got home and it is only 3:30. Other than a little more studying for the Korean course, I can think of nothing more that I need to do today. I can study this evening. For now, after completing this blog entry, I can relax and just take in the rest of a summer day.

Day 244

The Sound of Violence

Go away darkness

You’re not my friend

I don’t want to see you again

Every time you come along

We know that something is wrong

You sneak up while we are all sleeping

To ruin the world you go acreeping

The screams ring out and explode inside my brain

Here it is again!

The sound of violence.

Hollywood loves that roar

They produce it more and more

Guns ablazing

Property razing

Bodies falling, here and there

Persons mauling everywhere

It’s hard to tell who’s good or bad

And chaos makes the audience glad

They love it when things go, BOOM!

The thrive on prospects of doom

It’s exciting to see cities aflame

What’s frightening an amusing game

Yeah, lots of guys get off on menacing dins

It’s cool to immerse themselves in sins

It’s ridiculous how shot heroes spring back

And frivolous how they attack

Cameras make the impossible true

Special effects play mind tricks too

Bodies fall all over the place

Cars keep crashing on the chase

Buildings blow up, crumble

Speedy aircraft smoke and tumble

What does it all mean?

Violence appears just routine

They say, Relax! It’s just entertainment.

I say it’s mass concern, sensitivity containment

Violence deafens the ears

For people not to hear the tears

It is justified and claims its right

The proof presented in all its might

It’s a habitual informant

To convince hearts to lay dormant

In the background, the machine hum

Drowns out voices, makes us dumb

It’s white noise turned bloody

Oozing life liquefied and ruddy

Civilization is losing its grace

Barbarism and cruelty taking its place

We may have believed in progression

But the conquest realizes retrogression

Technology once evoked fine dreams

Yet it elicits terrible rage and screams

The wars far away

Are closer to home today

They can get you

Your friends and family too

Whole towns are being slaughtered

Grandmothers, kids and daughters

You can see, and can listen so that you hear

The soldiers of greed as they draw near

Their drones and jet fighters precede them

Don’t let state and oil feed them

You can act, the will is yours

We can refuse to be involved in their wars

Don’t fall for the illusions

Let go of your self-delusions

Train your ears to hear the truth

Don’t believe, eye for eye and tooth for tooth

Make a pledge to ditch the dope

Open your mind to peace and hope

Speak out to what is unjust

It’s not a choice, we must, we must!

You’d better heed the warning

For it all could be over in the morning

Stop consuming wanton destruction

Join the struggle for a new construction

Learn to sing a new refrain

Create a chorus of Justice shall reign!

Sure, it’s not easy, but not too late

To unite as people and put things straight

You’re responsible so get into gear

Don’t hide your head in fear

The time is now

We’ll find out how

The point is to shut up the machine

Reverse the direction of what’s been

Curb violence, reclaim peace

Shout it out all through the streets

Chain up the predators in silence

Retake the podium, media, audience

Quell the screams and cries

Counter all the evil lies

Once we have created the space

Then we can the future face

Let’s challenge the contemporary rants

Begin by composing some alternate chants

Good-bye darkness!

Let in the light!

We’re shooting for what’s right

We’re setting out, taking flight

The beauty of life we defend

We’ll sing that melody ‘til the end!