Self-Reliance, I has it.
Or more correctly, my mother has it and has allowed me the benefit of basking in her glow. She is an incredibly gifted, social media oriented and generally interesting person who called me this morning in a supportive push to get me to join her in completing a 30-day writing challenge. The Domino Project’s blog-a-thon, Self-Reliance (#trust30) is inspired by the 208’s birthday of Ralph Waldo Emerson and is in their words: “30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders [that] will guide you on your writing journey.”
While I may not be terribly concerned with my own personal writing journey, I am a believer in creative habit and sharing a creative habit for 30 days sounds both do-able and a great motivator in the summer malaise that has descended on the scorching pavement of Brooklyn, NY. Also because I have some affinity for the point of inspiration, Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Exactly 180 years apart, we share the birthday of May 25th and we both called the southern region of New Hampshire home. Lastly, no one should be without an awareness of the definition he gave success, it is something I continue to live by.
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
So here goes!
Above: A gif featured on today’s I Can Has Cheezburger website.
Below: The first stanza of Emerson’s poem “Concord Hymn” was featured on a 1925 US 5¢ stamp (wikipedia).
