Gray Wolf Productions

Tag: human interest

Muses, Cycles, Emotions, and Staycations
I woke up with this post in my head and I’m learning to just “go with it.”

Over the years I’ve seen that I work in cycles of various lengths.

Jobs? Two years max!

Daily exercise at a club? About 1.5 years!

Regular worship attendance? Very varied so I guess it is never what you could call “regular.”

But writing? That’s one with a cycle I cannot yet figure out and now I am no longer trying to figure it out.

I just finished up an e-book about the 10 Commandments [a political snarky take on same] and I thought “wow! I’m on a roll with writing – let me finish up another of the ones I’ve started.” [There are more than a few.]

Bad idea. I could not put words to computer at all or even work at videos, etc. – instead I sniped at anyone who talked to me. I was in a very foul mood and still I tried to write.

Then I basically said, “screw this” and decided to give up on writing about anything. It felt like a big defeat.

I took a staycation. I played computer games, read a whole lot of books, spent time on web browsers – mostly feeling like my own words had left my head forever.

But aha!

After 2 weeks, the muse came back. I am writing this, getting back to videos, and I working on material for a class I teach.

But that muse won’t touch e-books right now!

Lesson learned? My muse did not desert me.
- She needed a break.
- She too has a cycle – just like me.
Why did I not know this?
- Because when I was in my foul mood I was not thinking.
2nd lesson learned? When in a foul mood – do not make major decisions about anything – and do not try to write!
06/12/2012
Does Your Family Have “Family Secrets?”

Family secrets: a topic I have had in my head for decades.

Growing up, I learned that my father’s family had Native American heritage – but it was not to be discussed, as it was a family secret!

When I asked my paternal relatives about it – I got told, “We don’t talk about that!”

end. of. conversation.

I may not have asked more questions of them – but the topic sure stayed in my head. And no I have not done much genealogical research – but I do poke around the web seeking information.

Then my mother’s family – always a mystery. Her paternal relatives did not like the woman their son married so there was little interaction [or so I was told.] Her father died when my mom was young and my grandmother would never speak of her spouse’s family so that too was an

end. of. conversation.

But – as it turned out – my father’s family had yet another secret!

My cousins and I knew our grandmother had a sister – we called her Aunt Sadie. As she lived near my grandparents, she was at all the family functions – and as far as we knew, she was the only sibling.

But not that many years ago I learned that her family included even more siblings!

My grandmother had another sister who lived and died in relatively close physical proximity to my her! Some of us, her children and grandchildren, sort of knew there was a relative who was married to a wealthy man but the exact “relation” was one of those family secrets.

Only after this woman died, and without a will, did we get to know the exact relationship. She was my grandmother’s and Aunt Sadie’s sister! We knew this only because as she died without a will, we, the grandchildren, stood to inherit her estate.

We had to prove we were related to her and that there were no other relatives in closer gemological proximity. To that end, our attorney hired a genealogist who researched my grandmother’s family.

Wow! Sitting in that Manhattan courtroom listening to the genealogist was funny and sad – at the same time.

Family secrets? Tons of them!

I’m not going into all of it here as there are many many hours of her testimony, but the one I do want to mention is that my grandmother had at least 8 siblings!

I will always wonder what happened to those relatives – the records are spotty and incomplete – but my psychology head has a wild time imagining all the possible whys that led this family to get so secretive.

What other secrets were there that kept siblings living near each other but not in contact? What kept the remaining NYC sister from seeking out her sister’s grandchildren?

Many questions…but no answers……

Does your family have secrets? I know many do as when I mentioned this family matter to friends, I was often told of the secret[s] in theirs!

01/12/2012
Say No To Lo [and No]

Say no to lo-fat and no-fat? Yes!

For years I have said that the low fat and no fat "alleged" foodstuffs [I have trouble calling it food] were at best no help and worse – bad for you.

My take is that the rate of obesity has kept pace with the number of low and no fat foods we have in the supermarket.

Why do I say the lo and no fats are bad?

We actually need fat in our diets – and removing it means we eat more of the lo/no stuff in an attempt to appease our bodies – which know they are lacking something.

But our ego says NO NO NO to all fat because the media has told us it is BAD BAD BAD – and so we ignore our body's message – that is it missing something it needs. 

Caveat – some lower fat foods are ok – but be sure it is food – not chemicalized "stuff."

We all need a mix of carbohydrates, fat and protein. There is never going to be one type of diet that fits all of us. We come from different types of ethnicity and we need to figure out what works best for us – not those other people.

But whatever it is you eat, it must contain all the food groups  . Many parents who themselves might be overweight [or afraid of being overweight] feed their children low fat and no fat foods.

Adults need fat in their diet and so do children. It's a human condition and not an adult v. child thing.   A growing body needs ALL components – fat, carbohydrates, protein – as well as fruits and veggies…

 Eat well – it helps you and your kids.

01/10/2012
Why Do You Want To Be Stress Free?
I'm sure we all have an answer – but in reality you should never want to be stress free. HUH?

Why?

Because you are human!

And because stress is good for you!

Stress is as natural a part of a human life as is breathing. Stress is most simply our body’s reaction to “something” in our environment that is making us a bit out of balance [or homeostasis.] Physically, and mentally, we want to be in balance and so we react to this balance shift. It is our mental and emotional reaction to this shifting that determines the type and level of stress.

Stress has negative, positive and neutral definitions:
- something that causes mental or emotional strain
- omething that we put extra emphasis or significance on
- the mechanical/physical definitions related to torque
Just being alive and interacting with our social and physical environment creates stress or “off balance-ness” and we can add more by how much we emphasize or give importance to what we are doing in those environments.

And physically – just standing, sitting and breathing create mechanical and/or physical stress.

We just aren’t used to thinking of the positive or mechanical sides of stress when we think STRESS! We think it’s like the image above!

Think for a moment that the positive and negative definitions can fit the exact same stressful situation. One can be very happy and enthusiastic about something with significance and yet be negatively stressed about it as well…think weddings or having a baby….

We are never stress-free. We are human. Our stress may be good or it may be bad – but it is here to stay in our lives.

So what do we do about our stress if it’s always here?

Learn about it and use it to our advantage!

P.S. 2 down on my ebook writing list is one on stress – stay tuned for it's publication

Comments Thoughts?
01/06/2012
Did You Really Want A White Christmas?

The idea of a white Christmas, one with snow on the ground, has become an annual wish for many.

One hears weather forecasters daily asking, “Will we have a white Christmas?” Adding “Stayed tuned for your forecast.” We have many children and adults wistfully looking out the windows to see if there is snow on the ground.

What we have is a national nostalgia for an event that comes from the song “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” The song, from the early 1940’s, has become not a dreaming of – but a longing or wishing for.

We like the idea of a light snow on the trees and the ground, we love seeing pictures and cards of snow covered outdoor Christmas trees all decorated and glistening in the snow.

But a white December 25th largely depends on where you live and for many keeping it a dream is far better than it being an actuality.

In reality, a very white December 25th can mean feet of snow to shovel, no traveling, no shopping and no fun [at least for the adults.]

So be careful what you wish for – you might get these types:

One like the top photo [of my car] from a holiday season in Vermont where there was about 5 feet of snow between 12/24 and 1/1.

Or, as in this photo, one like we had in Portland Oregon a few years ago when many put celebrations on hold til early January as no own could drive, fly or buy.

12/26/2011
Taking a Walk Instead of a Drive

I often drive. I often walk too – but I tend to not walk along the paths I drive on – so it's kind of neat to see what I can see when I am on foot.

It's a whole new perspective.

It's a bit like being in the passenger seat and having a different visual experience – except that these were photos were taken from points where cars are not allowed – like a sidewalk or a park.

Paul Bunyon – up close

Paul Bunyon from across the street

Then through the park

Sometimes I let my camera run and grab video of the scenes from the train rides – but I have not edited those videos – that's a task for a rainy winter day.

Thoughts? Comments? Thank you…

10/15/2011