KICKSTART 2019Sure, everyone says they're ready for a total reset every Jan. 1, but there are indeed many personal habits that you can easily improve — often for free. These range from the basics such as exercising more and eating better to finding easier ways to save money and expanding your vocabulary. When combined, they just might add up to a "new-and-improved" you for 20019.
Read more: www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/31-good-habits-you-should-start-on-new-years-day/ss-BBR4Jlx?li=BBnb7Kz
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Film is arguably the art form that evokes the most emotions. And great films are those that move audiences most. They generate a deep connection between moviegoers and the story.
While 24/7 Wall St.'s list of 100 best movies of all time attempts a more impartial approach of aggregating and averaging critic and audience reviews, these reviews were no doubt influenced by the films' emotional appeal. The 100 best films span all genres and tell stories of romance, determination, fear, money, success, failure, freedom, loss, truth, and other themes. Each motion picture is unique and may excel at different aspects, yet all of these films will most likely be remembered for all time. A film can transcend images on a screen to something much greater. Its power lies in its ability to emotionally connect the audience with the story. From its beginnings in the late 1800s, through greater developments in the early 20th century, the motion picture’s evolution continues to astound us. Cinema has produced great auteurs, such as Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, and Billy Wilder. Hitchcock, Chaplin, and Wilder are all immigrants who achieved lasting acclaim for their work. Hitchcock landed seven films on the list, while Chaplin and Wilder each had five. American-born directors are well-represented with Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, John Ford, and Martin Scorsese, all of whom had three movies on the list. Every great movie has a great story, and how many of these movies were made often is a great story itself. Often, they’ve got their own drama worthy of performances. In the end, the films achieved their goal of making it to the silver screen, and a slice of immortality. Read more: www.msn.com/en-us/movies/gallery/100-best-movies-of-all-time/ss-BBKPZ7x?li=BBnb2gh You can dread the holidays as a passive bystander or you can actively shape your experience of them to be life-giving. Your choice will reaffirm whether you choose to be fully alive in the present or not. All too often I hear people express angst about holiday gatherings that they feel obligated to attend. To be certain there are gatherings such as work related events where your absence would not serve you well. Those who anticipate the holidays share a sense of gladness and expectation about being with at least some of the guests. Their anticipation is usually grounded in a well-developed self-awareness which accepts others as they are and an ability to not get caught up in the drama or baggage of others. These three tools to create a life-giving experience of the holiday season can also be applied to other work or family events. 1. Detach to Engage. You are not obligated to engage in or endure lengthy and painful conversations with those whose energy, attitude or chip on their shoulder sucks the spirit out of you or others. Those are their issues and choices, not yours. You are not responsible for their behavior and you cannot change it. You can be polite and detach. Detachment is the practice that reflects your grounding as a compassionate and courageous person. With loving intention you entrust the well-being of the person you detach from to the goodness of the Universe. This is not an expression of anger or righteousness but an act of hoping for their highest good. It frees you both. Your detachment allows you to be fully present to the positive energy of other guests. 2. Frame New Conversations. One woman found herself filled with anxiety at the thought of family holiday events. She dreaded the sexist, racist and homophobic jokes or comments that would be offered. She thought about abandoning her family’s events. Instead she decided that she did not want to walk away as a helpless victim. She prepared herself with stories to tell in response to the inevitable offensive comments. When she told those stories – attending the wedding of two women at her church, getting to know Latino immigrants through her volunteer work – she discovered that the landscape changed. Her stories invited connection to real human beings beyond labels and crude jokes. Her experience of the family gatherings began to shift. 3. Name Your Gratitude. Your gratitude is a reflection of the rich variety of relationships and experiences that shape your life. It can only be compromised by the negative or toxic behavior of others if you allow them to elbow your gratitude to the sidelines. In preparation for the center of the holiday season take a few minutes each day to name or write down one person or experience you are grateful for. This practice creates a heartfelt mosaic of gratefulness. Express your thankfulness to each of the people you have named and the particular experiences they may have shaped. If you will not see them in person express your gratitude via a note, email or social media tool. If you are with the person be prepared for how you will convey your heartfelt thanks. Naming your gratitude creates a mindful way of appreciating your interconnection with others. When you detach in order to engage, frame new conversations and name your gratitude you choose to be present to yourself and others in life-affirming ways. These choices unclutter the angst or apprehension you might feel. They allow you to experience holiday gatherings in unexpected and positive ways. How will you be proactive in your choices? To be a writer in my experience there are the five things a writer must have. You must have heart, have desire, have self-discipline, have tough skin, and above all, with no exceptions you must surrender to and accept that your creativity will be a gift and a curse.
A writer has to have heart to want to get into this business. He or she has to want to do this and not for the success or the money, but because you have something you want to say, you want people to read your writing and forget about their problems for a while, you want to present the reader with a gift of yourself. You have to have the desire to pursue your goals even when you feel like your writing is shit, see it through to the end with confidence and with practice and self-discipline you indeed will give that reader a gift of yourself. Self-discipline, if you aint got it, find another career, hobby or passion. Writing the work is easy, it is the editing, the marketing that is hard, finding a publisher, it is all work, and with no pay, even when you are published. Sit down with yourself and write even when you don’t want to, even when you aint got nothing to say, you will find something to say. Write and write and write even if you don’t feel like it. You have to have tough skin because you will be rejected, unsupported, told you are nuts. You will be asked why you sit there in front of computer working through one sentence for two hours and everyone will question why you are putting yourself through this. Then, when you feel you have got it, a publisher or editor will shred you to the floor saying your stuff just doesn’t have what it takes. After several rejections you will believe what the publisher and editors say, you will believe you family when they say you should give up, you will tell yourself you are done. Unfortunately if you own all the above issues I mentioned, you won’t be done, and you will torture yourself and you can’t stop until you reach what you think is the finished product. You will ask yourself, “Why am I doing this crap?” Hence, the curse. When someone says to you, “WOW that is superb,” or you finally feel in your heart you have written something worth reading, well my friends that is the gift. Cya Keith Am I normal?'The most common question I get is some variation on 'am I normal?'' says Cyndi Darnell, a sex and relationship therapist based in New York City. 'Sex is under-taught, so most of us gleaned what we know from well-meaning friends and pop culture. As a result, we're left to fill in the blanks ourselves and can feel isolated. People feel afraid to ask for help or worse still, do not know who to ask!' Darnell wants to reassure you: Whether a person is wondering about their biology (e.g. the size, shape, placement, scent, etc. of body parts), their sexual abilities, or the kinds of activities they enjoy, 'someone else out there has had the exact same feeling.' Sex therapist Megan Fleming, PhD wholeheartedly agrees and adds, 'There is such a range of sexual interests and behaviors that no matter how 'strange' or uncommon, they are 'normal' as long as it's consensual and pleasurable for both partners.'
Continue reading: www.msn.com/en-us/health/sexualhealth/9-sex-therapists-reveal-what-they-get-asked-the-most/ss-AAzGmFH?li=BBnba9O |
AuthorKeith Kelly currently lives in Rio Rancho New Mexico. Archives
October 2020
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