A Year of Living Positively-Volume 2

A YEAR OF LIVING POSITIVELY, VOLUME 2

- a compilation of daily autobiographical blogs from April 14 to July 13, 2014

By Barbara Waldern

Copyright © 2014 by Barbara Waldern

Table of Contents

Introduction

Day 121 The season is changing

Day 126 Journal writing is a tool of learning

Day 129 The process of journal writing in blog form

Day 132 Is learning necessarily stressful?

Day 136 Journal writing in reflective teaching and research

Day 140, 141, and 142 Report on some peace activity

Day 147 Exploring the mundane aspects of daily life through journal writing for self-improvement and altruism

Day 149 Exploring Bridget Jones’ Diary—a comparative analysis

Day 151 Further reflections on Bridget Jone’s diary and my Confessions project, and recapping the positive thinking perspective

Day 160 The life project of accumulating wisdom

Day 168 The five most frequent wishes people have when they die

Day 179 Epiphany number two: what to do with Volume 3.

Day 180 Ending Volume Two with a preview of the foreseen vein of discussion in Volume Three: collaboration

Conclusion

Introduction to Volume Two of

A Year of Living Positively, a Daily Blog on Positive Thinking

Blogging can be journal writing, especially an autobiographical blog. In journal writing, one recounts and examines events and people one encounters. Hopefully, we notice more and learn something from that kind of blogging. Journal writing is a tool for learning and can be a formal pedagogical tool.

Employing an attitude of positive thinking, one deliberately strives to learn more, starting from the humble position that one in any walk of life or at any age could and needs to learn. From that perspective, journal writing is a way to reflect on oneself, others and life. It can have a particular topic in mind. Actually, it is much more constructive to have a topic, while remaining flexible that the topic could change, although some thinkers, I guess, might say that untargeted writing might be the most helpful. I am not one of them. If you have a topic, you have an over arching question and, if you persevere, you may very likely come upon an over arching discovery, which is to say a lesson in life.

The question lends itself to a prospective goal. Finding an answer to the question is the goal. The question may evolve or change completely, and so too the goal. Writing with a goal in mind can get you somewhere. Without one, you could just be spinning your wheels.

The method is to think and writing stirs the mind and moves words and emotions. I notice that I just plod along reporting on my daily life when nothing particular is ready to be expressed, or no deep thoughts surface and let me get a handle on them so that I can put them to paper or computer screen. Sooner or later, however, something more substantive bubbles up or, at times, comes rushing out like a fountain of water. Simply the process of observing, reviewing and reflecting can stir up ideas and allow them to take form. I am finding that writing regularly, and keeping to a topic and going about a quest, is productive in that things that I am looking for get found, and sometimes things I had not expected to find or was not searching for get found. Such moments give joy, hope, courage, and light.

Writing every day also builds skills of reflection and communication. It is satisfying because it is a means of self-expression and about things that concern you. Self-expression and vocabulary grow in the process. Concepts become familiar and take more shape as you go steadily along. Reflection helps you find the words that you can use to resolve relationships or open new ones, or make requests, or communicate satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Writing gives you an anchor, a point to which you can refer so as to avoid disorientation, and a reference point by which you can travel through time and space. It is a record that you can refer to later and by which you can use to evaluate and understand the present or the past.

This method of learning is low in stress. There are no tests except that which you construct yourself, like set goals or a time frame by which you desire to solve a question or get some information. Not a test-focused method of learning, you learn at your own pace and follow the threads of topics that intrigue you or urge you on. You are free to stop at any time. You can write and discuss as much as you wish.

It can be used in a formal way, if you like. It can be used for professional development and quality assurance in business, institutions and work. A teacher or manager can have their students or crew write journals as training or reflection with the purpose of personal or professional growth and improvement of relations, skills and awareness.

We consult each other’s writing, giving input, which thus leads to creating more output. When we seek knowledge or advice, we want to read or hear what others have to say. Creators of text, believe it or not, also seek knowledge or advice from readers. It is a cyclical process of creation, exchange, discussion and further creation, further exchange and discussion, and on and on and on. We must collaborate. We depend on other humans and we need to consult and engage with them. We must learn, and we must create. This is living.

Day 121

I'm back after an intense day yesterday. Wrapping up volume one of A Year of Living Positively, composing the introduction and conclusion, then collating and formatting the entire document of 162 pages was a lot of work. I feel fresher today, but I have not had much time to reflect on how to proceed. I haven't even had much time to check my feelings about this pivotal moment because the tension of the work and the buzzing of thought inside my brain have dulled the emotional response.

I also had to resize the photo I'd chosen as the cover for the time being. It was finicky labor, and I had forgotten how to set it up for the requirements of the publisher. Each time red messages appeared reporting that I had not passed muster and that adjustments had to be made for publishing to happen, I was reminded. After several attempts, I eventually figured it out, at least so far as getting the system to upload the photo. There are no graphic adornments, not even the title and author's name as I lack a photo shop program. At least the photo fits and works.

I want to take time to find something appropriate. I need to see how the writing goes and my thinking on the subject of positive thinking evolves before I finalize a cover. Yesterday, I just looked through my electronic albums, thinking that some scene of nature might do, and chose a photo of rhododendrons in full red bloom in the sunlight.

It is the season for such flowers now, at this point in spring, so it brings to mind the spring and reminds me when I completed that section of work. As an emblem of spring, it also signifies rebirth and growth, which is fitting. I like the fact that the colour of the flowers is bright red. It is a colour meaning power, life and revolutionary change.

I do recall feeling satisfied by Sunday evening, though, hours after publishing the piece. I felt content knowing that I had made it this far, and that there was further evidence of my creativity and hard work displayed for others to see.

I was especially pressed to make sure that I posted the volume of work as soon as possible since funding officials may be looking through my work and judging me. In fact, I received an acknowledgement notice from the Canada Council of the Arts, indicating that the application has been received and that it will be examined. Yahoo! I want to impress them, since I have this chance.

I will have to keep mulling over how to develop this discussion in these blogs from here on in. I have decided that I am headed towards saying something profound about the need and possibility of cultural renewal as part of a process of making basic changes to the way humans are living. I guess I am working on a philosophy, when all is boiled down. I do want to keep it practical, at the same time, so that it is helpful for individuals and groups to address problems in their lives and find more joy. I must plod on step by step, picking my way through daily life to go forward. I do want to keep on the same track and see what happens.

Day 122

I am determined to see this project through. It is difficult to find the mental space to reflect these days, though. Getting some funding to support me while I work on it, and develop a book out of the project, would certainly be a relief.

Things come up unexpectedly, of course. I was asked to edit a couple of translations out of the blue, one of them, a lengthy one at that, a benevolently without pay because it is for the labor activists. It did this work today.

In addition, the Pixel Association conference organizing staff sent me some procedures to look through and some paperwork to complete. After agreeing to submit a poster proposal once it was known that the deadline for submissions was past, I am being solicited to produce an article on the poster presentation. There is a process with deadlines and administrative duties, naturally. Using materials previously written on the poster topic, which is my collection of stories about language learners, I was able to pull out excerpts in order to get a start on drafting an article. Though I had not been confident I could get something together by April 26th, now it seems feasible. I therefore went ahead and filled out the publication release form and drew up a biographical profile today.

Thirdly, there was marking to finish in time for an afternoon class today. I also wanted to finish marking some quizzes for the composition classes, since one of the classes is to be held tomorrow morning. Because the quiz involved having the students composing paragraphs within the class period, there was the painstaking chore of reading and evaluating all the paragraphs as well as the quiz section that can be more easily quantitatively measured.

Things break down too, of course. Both a desk drawer front and a folding door stop are coming off their settings and need to be screwed back on, As well, more window dressing needs to be done inside the office.

Meanwhile, the personal writing projects are barking at my heels. Today, I had hoped to say more about how to develop the second volume of this positive thinking blog, but I don't have much in mind. I need to back off and relax because hump day (Wednesday) is fast approaching, my longest day of work that ends with the late evening Korean class. I don't even feel that I can study Korean for half an hour tonight. (Fortunately, I did study yesterday and on Sunday.)

The demands of the day-to-day work and study must be taken care of first and foremost, as the personal writing does not pay the bills. Hopefully, it will some day.

Day 123

It was a day to kick back a little. I had noticed that many of my students were getting weighed down with stress and fatigue, so I wanted to give us all a reprieve. Normally a long heavy day crowded with classes, I gave most of my students the option of attending, and just met them casually for small talk.

I met a few students at a campus cafe and treated them to breakfast. It was a success. There were eight of them, so I got them four large muffins and a couple of bananas to share. That was a nice time. The usual questions came up about life in Canada, studying and working abroad, and so on.

The writing class, which normally meets for two hours, only took place for one hour today. I wanted to complete a lesson with them before they do their take-home exam.

As for the afternoon class, I told them we could forego one of the quizzes, and that attendance today was optional. I proposed going for a walk and getting beverages at an outdoor restaurant up the road. Only two came. They reported that many students opted to use the time to study in the library. The two young women had not eaten lunch, so I treated them to noodles at a country outdoor restaurant across from the campus. They chit-chatted about everything.

At one point, one of these two students confided in me about some poison about staff that one of my colleagues is spreading. We know this person's bad habit of talking about others in a derogatory fashion behind their backs. I heard him talking to students in the hallway one time openly raking a teacher through the mud. The student I talked to today told me some shocking