Once upon a time,..

Those four words are some of the most powerful in the English language. Hearing or reading those words means a story is coming next. You don't know who, what or where it is taking place but you know that something great is about to happen. Great stories have been starting with them since 1476 in Aesop's fables. Those four words are triggers to launch imagination and emotions around the world.

I can't speak for you but my go to genre is Fantasy. Has been for many years and although I love all sorts of work and always appreciate an elegant turn of phrase these books literally hold the magic for me. When I hold one in my hand new or old my brain starts to work and I put together the bits that I know or begin to determine the tiny relevance of the picture on the cover  ( Oh I know, but face it we all do it, with books and people). I find myself asking ,"Where is a castle, in foreboding winter world, like that?" Or "Why does she have that tattoo? Sometimes when I'm outside my genre I wonder about the crime at hand and what kind of a gun that is. Perhaps it's a historical piece and I discover I know almost nothing about architecture from the last century.

The stories tell us things, teach us things and sometimes even warn us about ourselves.
I have realized the power of those words and I am grateful [see last post] that I have both the ability and opportunity to read anything I want.

Many of us post signs and pictures in our bedrooms bathrooms and offices to inspire us to keep on keeping on. I have:
 Carpe Diem, and Nolite Dies Sine Linaes
They mean, Sieze the Day, and Never a day without a line,

I have a few others in English too: like the very encouraging;

"We got some daylight left. You want to use it or what?" from Steven King's Eddie Dean to Roland in The Gunslinger saga.

and the instructional; WRITE! it's a verb

I have more that i rotate in and out on the bulletin board, but I've added another this week. It puts me in a frame of mind that remembers how important reading of any kind is. Fiction or function, a book always brings you something, and in this modern world of whizzing electrons and non stop communication in tiny bursts, a book slows you down. A book stimulates you brain, builds the skill of reading itself, enlightens, inspires or fascinates. Sometimes they frighten, horrify or even titillate.They can delight and confuse make you raise a hand in triumph, or sag with tears. No matter what you read a book affects you, often now and occasionally in the future, when something you read becomes something you learned and you were able to use that information or knowledge in your own life. . 

So now when I finally hit the bed and look at the wall opposite me I see the phrase;

 Once upon a time.... 

And I pick up my current book for a few minutes. 

You should too. 

Thanksgiving All Year

Well Canadians have just had our thanksgiving and the American weekend is coming up and I want to share a little history tradition and maybe inspiration for you in the future.

My family and many families I have had the opportunity to spend time with over the years, including a fabulous evening at a friend's this year, have a tradition of a round table moment when everyone states out loud what they are thankful for. It is a warm and heartfelt moment with friends and family every time, And although I was able to hold back I found myself at the brink of tears when my turn came. This is a common occurrence for me and although I don't know the exact details I understand that the welling up of emotion comes from the gratitude I have and that I am about to share it. See our gratitude, the things we are thankful for, especially those deeper things that you realize if you take more than a few seconds to really consider your circumstances, Those things are what make you realize how much different your life could be if you had to live without them. Recognizing things that you really should be thankful for all the time can make an enormous difference in how you see the world.
This concept I call the Attitude of Gratitude and information about it is readily available in the public domain from many so called guru's. So after you see my few points below go looking if you want more. The point is being grateful changes your attitude, and that changes your thoughts, and those change everything so find things to be grateful for everyday or once a week to keep yourself positive and in a great emotional balance. It is easy to get caught up in complaining and wanting.  Be grateful instead.

Lary's Be Grateful guidlines:

• Little Things. - your health, your mind, your ability to walk a block or two, the ability to make change, count beyond 100, and write a letter (or an email). These things separate you from millions of people on the planet. How about the clean kitchen, or the new placement of the couch? Being grateful for what you have focuses your attention on positives instead of what you want or lack. You will only build on positives, and focusing on negatives gets you more of the same by drawing your attention to them,
• Big things-this fantastic Earth we live on. To quote Louis CK, "Everything else for millions and millions of miles sucks." Or maybe parts of it like oxygen and gravity are what you want to be grateful for today. 
• Funny things - toilet paper is pretty great, and the fact that farm animals cannot fly is also fantastic and certainly limits car washing and dry cleaning bills. I have a friend who is grateful for waking up every morning, because the alternative is not good. Think of something that makes you laugh and be glad for it. Laughter really is good medicine. 
• People-there are people in your life: some blood, some not, that make a difference. Remind yourself to be thankful for what they have given you. Friends and family, Great Grandmother's stories, and best teachers and bosses are always good to remind yourself of people to be grateful for because they have helped make you who you are. Not convinced? Who was your favorite teacher in high school? Why, did they inspire you, challenge you or force you to be better, or try harder? Ok, so now who won the Stanley Cup or the Grey cup or World Series or Super bowl that year? That person you thought of meant more than you imagined. 
• Yourself - Always be grateful for who you are. You are unique even if you are a twin. You have things that make you special or different and you should be grateful for you. You hear your own voice the most often, be sure it is telling you the right things. 
• The Other Side. This is the hardest one. Things will go wrong sometimes. Completely out of your control you might have accidents, mishaps, job losses, broken things and arguments with people you should love. It's okay. Find the other side. Car accident after work. Are you okay? are others okay? Good, it could be worse. Job loss might lead you to the coolest opportunity in years. Maybe it allows you to start a new business or take a holiday. The point is to see the other side. Broken dishes mean you just might get to shop and replace the whole set. Allow it to be positive and be grateful for the opportunity or experience in your life. 

Enough for today, 

Thank you for reading!

Lary