Daily writing prompt

What’s a book, movie, or TV show that you wish you could experience again for the first time?

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In some ways, this dynamic already presents itself as a function of my age and all the water under the bridge. I might pick up To Kill a Mockingbird, or watch Dances with Wolves or Castaway or M*A*S*H and experience them differently because my perceptions and understandings have been influenced and shaped along the way.

For the sake of this prompt, I think I’d like to experience The Wizard of Oz, the 1939 movie, for the first time.

Daily writing prompt

What’s a common misconception people have about happiness?

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I suppose the classic assumption that money or power bring happiness, when maybe it’s more about having enough to provide food, clothing, and shelter, along with enjoying a certain level of respect and appreciation.

It seems to me that happiness of a basic sort means having needs met, feeling loved and supported.

I find it hard to believe that the lifestyles of the rich and famous can automatically be equated with being happy. Yes, I’d rather have money than not have it, but at some point working for a living can turn into an endless pursuit, where people lose sight of what it means to simply have enough.

Daily writing prompt

If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be and why?

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Sight reading any piano piece.

Daily writing prompt

What is one way you have grown this year?

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Physically heavier and a bit softer– I haven’t been to the Y since January. I’ve tried to get some exercise in other ways, but it can’t approximate what I’d be doing in the gym.

And I don’t know if it can be called growth, but my attitude in general has been weighted toward cynical skepticism– if that’s even a thing– as I realize the fate of the world is currently in the hands of lunatics and pretenders.

Daily writing prompt

Write your guide to setting healthy boundaries in relationships.

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Work on creating a culture of trust. Laugh often. Give each other the benefit of the doubt, at least in the beginning. Recognize that the other is a one-of-a-kind human being with their own origin story. Listen to the story. Check in, but not so often that it gets annoying. Do an unexpected nice thing every now and then. Give each other space. Support each other in their aspirations. Push each other from time to time, but not constantly. Be realistic. Relax. Don’t be in a hurry to move on to The Next Thing. Enjoy each other’s company. Breathe.

Daily writing prompt

Do you think humans will ever colonize Mars? What would life there actually look like?

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I don’t really care. If we do, we do. I’m just not sure what purpose it will serve, other than proof that we could do it. There are most likely visionaries who can see all sorts of benefits, or vendors and manufacturers with dollar signs in their eyes, but colonization would be only for those who could afford it, were handpicked to propagate our species, and who could stand the 7-9-month trip, based on current modes of propulsion.

It’s cynical, I know, but I don’t see the value. And quality of life would be assessed in a different way, couched in a certain amount of restraint and restriction, since the Martian atmosphere is much thinner and colder and harsher than Earth’s.

I’m not a big proponent, but there are those who figure that we’re doing a fine job of messing up our current planetary home, so we best develop a Plan B. If there were important learnings that could benefit us back here on Earth, I might soften the skepticism a bit.

Daily writing prompt

What’s your favorite meme?

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There’s one with the Dos Equis guy that has a picture of him with the words, “I don’t often crop pictures, but when I do…” and the last line is unreadable.

There’s a short video clip of a woman fresh from a dentist appointment who can’t close her eye and has a droopy lip. I laugh every time I see it, and that’s without the sound turned on.

Another is a picture of a young, attractive couple who must be candidates for a home improvement show or something, with the caption, “I walk iguanas and my wife sells umbrella insurance from home. Our budget is $2.1 million.”

And from the El Arroyo sign, somewhere in Texas: “What if soy milk is just regular milk introducing itself in Spanish?”

There are so many.

Daily writing prompt

What’s a cultural tradition from another country that you wish existed in yours?

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Maybe Midsommar, or Midsummer. I remember my Mom and Dad returning from their trip to northern Sweden and talking about how on the day they arrived, they got to celebrate the festival with some of the long-lost relatives they had traveled there to visit.

It was June, maybe mid-June, and they were far enough north that the sun set for only a few minutes before it came back up again. There was much frivolity and food and merriment, and it sounded like something that would be highly anticipated every year.

Of course, if we adapted it for this neck of the woods, the sun’s disappearance and return wouldn’t be quite as dramatic. But I think we could replicate the rest of it.

Well, we’d also have to have a vacation cottage to head off to. Many over there have a place for a summer getaway.

Daily writing prompt

What’s a song that always puts you in a good mood?

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Song names aren’t coming to me yet, but probably something singable, tuneful, maybe with a beat and some now-familiar riffs that strike a chord within, and maybe get the body moving and toes tapping.

Nothing current, probably something from the late 60s, early- to mid-70s from The Beatles or Steely Dan or Chicago– Here Comes the Sun, Bodhisattva, Beginnings, respectively. Maybe Your Mama Don’t Dance, from Loggins and Messina, or Crazy Little Thing Called Love, from Queen, released in 1979.

Something like that.

Daily writing prompt

What’s a fear you’ve overcome — and how did you do it?

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Thunderstorms. I think I’ve just outgrown the fear and understand them better. Anymore and for quite a while now, I’ve found them intriguing and awesome, but still something to be respected. It’s not wise to be cavalier when lightning is involved.