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Author Topic: My Love of Writing  (Read 1491 times)

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Offline Arquette

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My Love of Writing
« on: July 29, 2013, 03:35:53 PM »
Here, over the process of time, I hope to be sharing some meaningful writings taken from my Moleskine journal at home. Only inspiring, uplifting and thought-provoking material will be shared including poems and maybe pictures to illustrate.

You are welcome to post comments on my thread. :)


Help yourself to be inspired


Sometimes my opinions may come across as opinionated so I apologize ahead of time, just in case. In my heart they are always sincere. Please read to the end.


I believe that there are more people that feel they are entitled to receive what they deserve without earning it. Unfortunately, I just think this is the world we live in. We live in a world where people are either in love with themselves or they feel sorry for themselves, rather than dedicating their effort to achieve what they desire and become involved with the environment around them.

It's important to have something in your life to inspire you, but ultimately it is up to you to inspire yourself to achieve.

I've been asked "describe yourself with 1 word". My word is "driven", same as mum's. Why, because you can have every positive attribute, but if you're not driven to use them, then they are useless to have. I'm driven to achieve goals and become a person with good morals and values and willingness to be aware of what's around me, and how my actions affect the people around me. At home, at work and in life of the people I get to meet. Not all share my values, but that's their concern not mine. I don't believe in preaching one's lifestyle; unrepentantly, I am what I am.

With that said, I believe that inspiration comes from within by setting your goals achievable, but it is not easily achievable. You have to work hard at them, and when you reach the result, it makes you feel that much better. Unreasonably hard and it will just frustrate you, too easy and it feels like a "give me" achievement.

It's also important that you set your own goals to your own desires and ignore other peoples' desires. For example; I set   physical endurance goals because I love pushing myself physically, but I always use my home gym because I don't want to leave home to visit a town's gym, neither because I don't wish to compare myself to others. I set my personal standards very high and only compare my progress from one day to the next to make sure I lead a good physical life. My younger sister feels the same way, but she's spiritual. She is such a gentle girl and her spirituality reflects it as much as her lifestyle is looking after me and mum, too.

I encourage everyone to set their standards high. Set your goal just past what you think you can achieve that way. Because you can reach your goal...and then some. As I said, it may come across as insensitive and intolerant, but my goal is to encourage everyone to look at themselves and, from within, decide what type of person you want to be to that will make you feel like you are living life - rather than surviving. Your physical ability will only take you so far, your will to be driven, your spirit and desire will take you much, much further that you thought you could possibly do. Once you achieve your life's desire there is nothing that can hold you back. Absolutely nothing. Never give up hope, never!


“The thing I never understood about love is that it can't be quelled, like lust can. With love, if you follow its call, if you give in to it, it just gets worse. The more you have, the deeper you go, the more you need.”

― Emily Maguire, Taming the Beast

Offline Arquette

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Re: My Love of Writing
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2013, 11:55:21 AM »
When friends asked why I did an AS in English Literature, their eyebrows shoot up because they assumed I only study medicine and work in logistics, so I have composed a list of why I love it. And why it's not a doss.

1. Reading is actually enjoyable.
Contrary to how some people feel about books, I actually adore reading. Of course, this is a very vague comment because it depends on what I'm reading of course, but, in general, I enjoy reading books in preference to being on computer.


2. Reading is one of the smartest things you can do.
Let's face it, we're now living in an age where technology and computers have got the best of us. The beautiful art of reading and writing has been replaced by brain-numbing video games, Nintendo, PS1, 2 and 3, X-box... I can't even keep up with all of it. Why not learn something useful and pick up a book, instead of learning how to get to level 10 on COD or whatever other games it is you gamer geezers play, but that is just me rattling on, so don't be offended.   XD


3. Reading is magical.
Fictions novels (and non-fiction too) are like a time machine. They possess the incredible power to take you to another time and another world, and experience the adventure that you are reading. I don't know how it is for others, but when I read a good book, its contents occupy my mind long after I have read the last page. During the story, all I can think about is "Oh no, what's going to happen to this character? I bet so and so is really the bad guy..." and, if the story is really good, you won't be able to put it down until you finish it. Just a word of clarification: the Twilight series is the one that does not possess this quality, but they are NOT good books. Real vampires do not sparkle - and as for Bella Swan, I wanted to punch her in the face! Vapid creature.


4. Reading books tells us a lot about people.
Even if non-biographical or completely fictional, books tell us a lot about how people live(d), think, thought and how society is or was structured during the author's time. In fact, books and written documents are one of the few reasons why we know so much about history and people of past generations.


5. Reading a book is like going on a treasure hunt.
In this case, the treasure is the hidden message or messages that the author is trying to tell his or her readers, and the hunt is the journey of closely reading the book to try and find it. Whether of a political, social, dark or humorous nature, every good book contains some depth and tells us a secret that we did not know before.


6. Reading is practice.
If, like me, you aspire to produce your own books some day, then the best thing you can do is read. And read. And read. But obviously write as well, because, you know a book isn't going to write itself. Seriously though, reading is great practice for the mind, and, it goes without saying that the more you read, the more you know about literature and subsequently fall in love with it.

“The thing I never understood about love is that it can't be quelled, like lust can. With love, if you follow its call, if you give in to it, it just gets worse. The more you have, the deeper you go, the more you need.”

― Emily Maguire, Taming the Beast

Offline Arquette

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Re: My Love of Writing
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2013, 10:31:52 PM »
Rule #1: My Rule
 
  We all live by rules, even if we don't think we do, we have law and we   have our own personal rules and boundaries... my rules are a bit more   complicated.
 
  I live by a list of rules. They don't rule my life, but they help me   stop making mistakes and give an order to my life I didn't think I   needed. You may find this a bit weird, but it's always worked for me.
 
  Rule #1. All's fair in love and war, or maybe not...
 
  'I have always been told that all is fair in love and war. I can   somewhat agree with the war part. If you have the ability to totally   annihilate your enemy, go for it.
 
  'People’s lives are at risk. It’s better to destroy another person that   will always be nameless and faceless to you than to have a bunch of your   own people die and to have wounded soldiers walking around your town.   War is a nasty business that is all about winning. To make it beautiful   and sanitary is beyond reason. What is fair is not really a question one   should be asking when it comes to war. Why should one innocent civilian   die while another lives? Why does one soldier live while the one   standing next to him dies? It matters to the loved ones at home. We   would like for death to be fair. We can blame God and tell him that we   think it’s not fair. As much as it hurts, death is fair. We all have to   go through it at some point. Nobody can ever escape it.
 
  'So whether we do it early in life or later is just a matter of timing.   But if I can say something about death, it is that it is the great   equalizer. The rich and the poor are the same when they’re six feet   under. But love… Ah, now that is something entirely different. If God is   love and we want a fair and just God, then love should be fair.
 
  'Love isn’t like war. It’s not about winning. It’s about another human   being. If you want to possess somebody’s affection so badly that you are   willing to cheat to call that person yours, then you will never really   have that person. You can have that person physically, but the heart can   only be given by the person to whom it belongs. I guess, in a way, that   love isn’t fair. You can love somebody and never have them love you in   return. But love is fair in that each of us are given a heart to love   with, and we can love whomever we want with that heart, even if the love   isn’t reciprocated.'

 
  ~Broken Hearts Damaged Goods by Jack Gunthridge.
 
When I read this I questioned Rule #1. The first time I've ever gone back on a rule; after I read that book I questioned all my rules. . ..
 
I thought order was good for my life but is it really? Maybe I never   really have to live by my rules but knowing they are there makes things   easier.
 
Death is death and like J.G. said, it can't be escaped. . ..Love is love, we can love whoever we want because it's our heart and our choices. Choose yours carefully.
“The thing I never understood about love is that it can't be quelled, like lust can. With love, if you follow its call, if you give in to it, it just gets worse. The more you have, the deeper you go, the more you need.”

― Emily Maguire, Taming the Beast

Offline Arquette

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Re: My Love of Writing
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2013, 10:52:14 AM »
LOVE ~ An Essay


Love is an abstract emotion and can produce conflicting feelings

Love is an abstract emotion and is therefore very hard to describe. Perhaps the best examples of descriptions of love can be found in poetry. Everybody has different ideas about love and this can be seen in the poems I have studied. Whilst love can be expressed and interpreted in various ways, so can poetry. Perhaps this is why so many people express their views about love through poetry because only they truly know what they are trying to express through their love and their poetry. No two people feel exactly the same about love or write poetry in the same way, so every poem is unique and this is what makes love poetry so special. Love poetry is normally thought of in the sense of 'I love you, I want to spend my whole life with you, blah blah blah' but there are in fact many different kinds of love – platonic, controlling, unrequited, and, of course, romantic are all examples of love.

In 'When We Two parted' by Lord Byron, the poet is extremely upset by the loss of a loved one. This can be seen when he says "When we two parted in silence and tears." This quotation shows that he is crying and this is frequently associated with sadness. This could however be interpreted as that they are silent because they don't know how to or want to say goodbye and the tears are not on show but are inside, as the lovers die inside, as their hearts are charred by their inevitable parting.

On the other hand, in 'My Last Duchess' by Robert Browning, the narrator of the story clearly isn't upset by the death of his wife. In fact he freely tells an envoy from another nobleman that "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together." This tells the reader that the Duke ordered his wife death and her smiling stopped. It would appear that the Duke was at first smiling once his wife had but then either greed, loneliness, a desire for power or some other negative emotion began to creep in until he could no longer live without a wife. A wife by his side to manipulate and do with as he pleased would in theory take away shred of guilt or remorse that he felt after having his wife murdered. Love is not all doom and gloom however. In 'First Love' by John Clare, the poet talks about how good it feels to fall in love for the first time. He says "I ne'er was struck before that hour with love so sudden and so sweet," which shows that he likes this feeling and that it is sweet and sweet things have a tendency to be rather nice and unfortunately fattening, although that is thankfully not quite the case here. 'Villegiature' by Edith Nesbit simply mocks the traditional ideas of love and romance by comparing her lover to Romeo before declaring "I listened to you till the dawn, and half forgot I did not love you." She seems to be more than a little unsure of how she feels about this mystery man. Perhaps it is that she normally cannot stand the traditional slushy-gushy romantic ideas of love. When she realises that what she is saying or thinking is compromising her beliefs so she begins to react to this realisation by making a mockery of everything that she has previously said.

There are many different moods in which people think of love. Byron is regretful and this is shown when he says "In secret we met – in silence I grieve." It shows that he is regretful that nobody but his partner will ever know of the love that they share. Nobody knew they met each other because they met in secret and nobody will know how much it hurts for them to part because he grieves in silence and he is regretful because their love is so great and so special that it is hard to hide. He is, in effect, living a constant lie. In contrast to this, Browning writes from the point of view of an uncaring, selfish and controlling character – a stereotypical man of the house, Lord of his own domain, and general chauvinist. He says his wife was "Too easily impressed,” and she, "Ranked my nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody's gift." He is implying to the envoy with him that his first wife was a disrespectful slag who had no sense of what an honour it is to be married to such a gentleman of noble birth.

To be perfectly honest, I doubt the Duchess would have cared a toss if her husband were a king or a beggar, she would have still treated him the same as everyone else, just as she did with the Duke. He likes to have control of his wife and does not love her or accept her naivety and love of life. He also says "I choose never to stoop," which clearly shows how set and unbending he is in his ways. Clare, by contrast, is not controlling but frightened. He says that "My face turned pale as deathly pale," this is a common denotation of being scared by something. He is scared by this new feeling of love and doesn't know what to do. The mention of death might suggest that this new, scary, confusing feeling of love and his secret desire for this woman are killing him. Love is chewing at his heart, eating him up from inside and it will eventually leave nothing but an empty shell, like a skeleton. He is confused. Nesbit is also confused as she starts her poem by romantically talking about how "You found this Romeo's way, and through the blossom climbed and kissed me," which is a reference to 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare and in particular, the scene where Romeo climbs up to Juliet's window where they profess their love for each other. This scene is typical of what a lot of romantics think of when they imagine love. She then however goes on to say that "I did not love you." She is being romantic and soppy about a man but then confuses herself when she realises that she does not actually like him. It is my opinion that in her desperation to be loved and to not be alone, her subconscious is feigning love in an attempt to end her loneliness.

The poet's use of language is also a good way to show how they feel. Byron uses quite straightforward language that is a little archaic. This suggests that the love was quite straightforward and speaks for itself. It does not need any poetic flourishes or difficult words to get the point across. In essence, it says that love is simple and straightforward and a basic human emotion. We can live without our creature comforts if we have love but without love, we are nothing. Nesbit on the other hand uses traditional images of love and then adds her own bizarre twist to it. This is shown when she says "So, by the pear-tree to my room your ghost last night climbed uninvited," before adding "Your solid self, long leagues away, deep in dull books, had hardly missed me." She conjures up images of her lover's spirit being connected to hers through space and time and then completely warps this image by saying that he has hardly missed her.

The effect of this is at first amusement for the reader because it is quite funny – this woman being incredibly romantic and then ruining it, just like your average male when he's incredibly sweet on Valentine's Day and then only buys you some flowers from the local BP station. Then the effect changes to confusion as the reader desperately attempts to work out whether or not she likes this mysterious man. Clare also uses traditional love imagery such as "Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower." The flower is an important part of traditional love imagery but also one of death. Where red flowers suggest a deep and abiding love, white flowers suggest death. Perhaps what he is trying to say is that whilst he is falling in love with her face, his heart is dying from unrequited love. The aforementioned paleness of the poet's face is of course another suggestion of death. For whilst it is described as being "deathly pale," it does not need the 'deathly' as the paleness automatically conjures up images of pale white lilies being laid out at a funeral. At least this is what is conjured up inside my head. Browning on the other hand does not use traditional love imagery. In fact his poem is full of veiled threats to the envoy. He is trying to find a second wife but at the same time as he is charming the envoy, he is telling him how he killed his first wife because she disobeyed him.

The way each of these poems is structured also varied. Clare uses the traditional rhyming pattern of ABAB CDCD and his poem has three stanzas. There is a change of tense in it also. This change of tense would suggest that his encounter with this woman is something that has deeply affected him and that it will stay with him throughout his life, from the moment it happened to the moment he dies. It starts in the present when he reminisces and says "I ne'er as struck before that hour with love so sudden and so sweet." It then jumps to the past tense where he lists everything that happens to him when he sees this woman. It then ends with a couple of rhetorical questions such as "Are flowers the winter's choice?" and "Is love's bed always snow?"

These questions challenge love and ask is everything determined by fate, such as flowers dying in winter, or do we have a choice? Byron also uses the ABAB CDCD rhyming pattern but has one more stanza than Clare. Perhaps the length of the poem and the amount of stanzas is a way of symbolising his love in that it can go on for longer than other poet's and that it is more plentiful than theirs. Nesbit also uses this rhyming pattern and number of stanzas to express her feelings about love. She also uses a very personal narration as it details an encounter which takes place between the hours of dusk and dawn, almost like a secret affair. Browning also uses narration although it comes in the form of a dramatic monologue, whereby the main character, the Duke, is talking to another character in the poem and not the reader. This makes you feel more detached from the story and also shows how disconnected the Duke was from his wife and how distant they were from each other.

In conclusion, while poetry may be the best way of expressing your thoughts and feelings on love, it is still a very conflicting emotion. Byron regrets it, Clare is scared by it, Browning is jealous of it and Nesbit is disappointed by the reality of it. As these poets and their respective works show, there are many views of love and none of them are wrong. It's just that certain views make for far more entertaining reading.


~  *  ~

“You’ll be the same five years from now as you are today, except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
– Charles T. Jones



If you look back five years, who would you say has influenced your thinking? To whom have you turned for inspiration? In our day of shallow thinking and tainted worldviews, who has motivated you to move forward to fulfill your dreams or to answer that subtle (or sometimes not-so-subtle) calling deep within? Better yet, whose thinking have you influenced? Who has turned to you for inspiration? And who have you motivated to fulfill their dreams or to answer that calling deep within?

We neither live nor thrive in a vacuum. We are neither rocks nor islands. It is our very nature to be influenced or inspired by others; it is our privilege to do the same.

To say that there is no one in your life who has been influential or inspirational, perhaps because you live in a spiritually, culturally, or even geographically deprived area is a poor excuse. You can be surrounded by extraordinary and ordinary people who, through their heroic actions or humble spirit have made a huge difference in this world—either in our day, or in days gone by; in our land, or on exotic soil. Reading books—good books, life-changing books—gives you the opportunity to experience life outside of your finite, limited world. You can bear the burdens, celebrate the triumphs, enjoy the experiences, and learn the lessons of real men and women, boys and girls whom you will never see with your eyes nor feel with your skin. What richness! What depth! What an opportunity to be influenced and inspired!

Many great people have made a difference in my life since I began to read. I particularly love the story about the boy who asked many questions. He asked so many questions that his father thought he was stupid and his teacher considered him a dunce and requested that he be removed from school. But his mother believed in him. She believed that God had a special plan for his life. She inspired him to pursue his dreams. Years later, he became a famous inventor. This is what he wrote: “My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt that I had someone to live for. I did not have my mother very long, but in that length of time, she cast over me the influence which has lasted all my life. If it had not been for her appreciation and her faith in me at a critical time in my experience, I should very likely never have become an inventor. Signed, Thomas Edison.”

This glimpse into Thomas Edison’s life helped me to realize the power of influence. Note Edison’s own words—“an influence which lasted all my life.” Sometimes all it takes to light the fire that idly simmers within hearts, all it takes to release the pent-up creativity, all it takes to soften the many-layered hard, crusty shell—is just the right person, or just the right book—carefully selected; carefully timed.  :)
“The thing I never understood about love is that it can't be quelled, like lust can. With love, if you follow its call, if you give in to it, it just gets worse. The more you have, the deeper you go, the more you need.”

― Emily Maguire, Taming the Beast

 

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