My Philosophy For Living

I was having a conversation last night with a friend and we were talking about what it is each of us considers to be important in life, which led onto to what we think the purpose of this existence is (other than buying as many brand name products on as much credit as we can access).

And I managed to distill what I believe the meaning or purpose of life is, down into a sentence. (Be it a rather long one).

Here goes:

At this point in my journey I believe the meaning or purpose of life is to identify my fears (some of which include: flying, public speaking, disapproval, being emotionally vulnerable, being a poor partner and/or father, handling confrontation poorly), work towards and through confronting and overcoming those fears, and therein discover my passion/s (some of which include writing, travel, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures) and then pursue and use those passions to inspire and encourage other people to confront their fears and pursue their passions; the byproduct of all this is growth.

Keep writing!

I'm Back...

Crossing the Nullarbor was still an amazing experience -- even third time around. (See photo's below.)

Arrived at our destination on December 23rd, after six days of travelling. We poured out of the car like zombies released from a tomb.

It's good to be near family again, after so long on the other side of the country.

We're recuperating and enjoying the summer weather; it's invigorating swimming laps in a fifty metre outdoor pool under a sunlit blue sky.

My writing plan is to start proofreading and rewriting my MS. To be honest it's rather a daunting task after not having touched it for a couple of months.

But as someone said (maybe me), 'Discipline is more important than talent.'

Keep writing.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling...

I'm in the middle of preparing to move from the western to the eastern side of the country.

So not much writing happening at the moment.

My plan is to spend the summer editing and rewriting my MS, and then begin resubmitting to agents in the UK and Australia early next year.

Keep writing.

Grammar Grab

I’ve decided to include the occasional grammar and/or parts-of-speech analysis, starting today.

When I was teaching high school English I noticed how often students mixed up "were" and "we're".

"Were" is the plural past tense form of the verb "are".

For example, "We were on our way to Paris when it started raining."

"We're" is a contraction of "we are"; the apostrophe indicates the omitted "a".

For example, "We're friends now, but for many years we were enemies."

Keep writing.

Thoughts, Words, Actions, Habits, Character, Destiny...

Be mindful of your thoughts, they become your words,
Be mindful of your words, they become your actions,
Be mindful of your actions, they become your habits,
Be mindful of your habits, they become your character,
Be mindful of your character, it becomes your destiny.

--Author Unknown (Based on the word and teachings of the Buddha)

If you enjoyed this, you might enjoy my novel: Seventeen Summers.