Category: Philosophy

Friday Morning FYI – 2/24/2017

Ron Delaney JrLeave a comment

Welcome to your Friday Morning FYI (still playing catch up, and going a little deep on this one edition) – my chance to share observations/wisdom/rants in short, easily consumed form.

So I just got a new tattoo, which always prompts conversation with coworkers and friends. The most common argument I hear from people for why they’ve never gotten one is “I want one, but it’s so permanent.” That brings us to this week’s (philosophical) FYI:

Nothing is permanent. That’s right, nothing. You’re only going to be here for a while, and then you won’t be, along with that tattoo. Same for your favorite t-shirt, your spouse, your car, your home, your town, your state, your country, your continent, this planet, the sun, this galaxy, etc. Each of those things will, sometime in the future, no longer be because permanence doesn’t exist. The nature of, well, nature, is change.

So where does that leave us?

Write that book you’ve always wanted to write. Take that trip you keep putting off. Cut your hair or let it grow out. Get that stupid, silly little tattoo that no one else will understand. Do the (reasonably-safe) things you want to do. Have fun 🙂

 

Thanks for reading,

{RDj}

Friday Morning FYI – 9/23/2016

Ron Delaney JrLeave a comment

Welcome to your Friday Morning FYI (wow! a week late edition) – my chance to share observations/wisdom/rants in short, easily consumed form.

In addition to day job work and working on a novel and various short stories, I’ve decided to get a yoga trainer certification. Being all healthy and stuff, you know. In outlining a one hour class, I encountered a similar issue to one with which many writers struggle : flow. The beginning of the session is easy to construct, as is the end, but the middle… that friggin’ middle… is tough. Let’s make that this week’s (yes, fine, LAST week’s) FYI:

We all know the phrase “Life imitates art,” but no one ever said “Living life is like making art”. Not that I’ve seen, anyway, but it’s true. Things we do are like other things we do, but more often than not we don’t see the similarities, the connections, the bond. If you do something well, pay attention to what you did and how you did it, and that goes double for something you did poorly. Recognizing those patterns may pay off in another aspect of your life.

 

Thanks for reading,

{RDj}

Friday Morning FYI – 9/17/2016

Ron Delaney JrLeave a comment

Welcome to your Friday Morning FYI (it’s Saturday and there’s hockey on so WOOT! edition) – my chance to share observations/wisdom/rants in short, easily consumed form.

I have a friend who’s going to deliver a presentation on self-education with a focus on the idea if you want something, you have to motivate yourself to go get it. What a great topic! So great, I think I’ll steal it (remember, writer) for this week’s FYI:

I hear people complain about not-having enough time to do stuff all. The. Time. Forget for a moment how much time they’re wasting complaining rather than doing something productive, the sentiment is just nonsense. If you have something you want, you’ll make it a priority, simple as that. If you want it, go get it! Don’t say you don’t have time to lose weight as you wash down your cream cheese covered bagel with your iced super-giganto caramel macchiato. Don’t say you don’t have time to get a degree when you’re planning to go home and watch five hours of the Real Housewives of What-f*ck-berg. Find time, or admit that thing is not a priority. It’s OK, really. No one’s going to stone you if you don’t ‘finally’ rebuild that old car engine or take-up Tai Chi. It’ll be fine, I promise.

 

Thanks for reading,

{RDj}

Friday Morning FYI – 9/9/2016

Ron Delaney Jr2 Comments

Welcome to your Friday Morning FYI (busy busy busy weekend edition) – my chance to share observations/wisdom/rants in short, easily consumed form.

On Saturday, I received a rejection for a short story that went far into the selection process, and of which I’m quite proud. Not the biggest deal in the world as it was my first short story submission ever, and I figure I get to keep all the fun characters and use them in more stories (stay tuned), but for writers any rejection can be very disheartening.

Jump to Sunday where I spent six hours in yoga trainer training (no, not for research). In the late session, we were shown Crow, but before trying it, the trainer showed us how to roll in case we found ourselves falling forward. He went into the posture, tucked his head, leaned forward, rolled, and wound up in a sitting position. “Just roll,” he said to a room full of people who had obviously never (or not recently) done that, and shrugged. “That’s it, just roll.” As ideas/realizations normally do, ‘Just roll’ struck me like a bee sting, because that’s what I do with my writing rejections. That leads us to this week’s FYI :

Every rejection, in writing and in life, can feel like a knife to the gut, but they’re not. They’re part of the learning/growing process, like all failures. Understand and accept that not everyone will love or even like everything you write, and that’s normal. Keep going until you find the right words for the right story for the right audience. Until then, just roll.

 

Thanks for reading,

{RDj}

Friday Morning FYI – 8/26/2016

Ron Delaney JrLeave a comment

Welcome to your Friday Morning FYI (hey-look-I’m-only-a-day-late edition) – my chance to share observations/wisdom/rants in short, easily consumed form.

Have you ever had one of those 48-hour periods where you keep having the same conversation with different people? In the last couple of days, I’ve talked about doing what’s right for yourself with no less than 3 people, each raising the subject themselves. I can’t ignore a sign from the universe like that, so that topic is this week’s FYI:

There are going to be times when you face the choice between doing what you believe to be right for you and what other people are saying. This could be something as simple as getting a tattoo or something as life-impacting as changing careers. While ignoring everyone else’s advice is not something you should do flat out, ultimately you succeed and fail on your own. You’re the one who knows whether or not you’ll put in the time, you’re the one who knows whether or not you have the stamina, and you’re the one who knows whether or not you’re capable of achieving your dreams. Own that, and know if things don’t go as you’d hoped at least you went for it and lived the way you wanted to. Most people can’t say that.

 

Thanks for reading,

{RDj}