288 Chances
Reflections on Everyday Life, One Word, Five Minutes at a Time
by
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Real is what is. No matter what spin we want to put on it, real is the truth. Real can't be argued with and it won't be ignored. You can't shove real aside, pushing it off into the corner when you don't like it. Close your eyes, open them, and real is there, front and center, good or bad. When the real is good, welcome it, embrace it. When it isn't, and if you can, change it. Real can be messy. It's not always going to be what we want, when we want it. Real isn't fake or phony. It doesn't allow a place for us to hide. Instead, real pulls back the curtain, all the way. Real is honest, even when honesty isn't what we want to see or hear. To be real is to be open, to be yourself, regardless of what anyone else might think. Real is you being you. Take me or leave me. I'd like to be able to say that. Maybe it's an age-thing, although I like to think it's my life experience and wisdom talking now, but I'm reaching a place where I don't want to be anything but real any more. I don't want to be the pleaser, the peace-maker, the smoother-over. I don't want to be the one who bites my tongue, who steps aside, who lets things slide. I don't want to be so predictable any more. Except - - deep down, that's who the real me is. I am all those things. I am a pleaser, a peace-maker, a smoother-over. I am predictable. And over time, I've paid a price because I am those things. But, I'm a giver, not a taker. And the real me is hurt when someone perceives me as anything different, for that's who I know am - - imperfect, faulty, unfinished - - but real. I just need to remind myself every once in a while that real is real - - perception isn't.
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About the Book
5 minutes—the time it takes to brush your teeth, fry an egg, or pay the electric bill. In any given twenty-four-hour period, we all have 288 chances to take five minutes and just stop—to think, to feel, allow ourselves time to breathe, grab hold of a thought or a word or a feeling, and capture a moment. 288 Chances is a collection of writings, each with a foundation that began in five short minutes. Open, honest, thoughtful words written from the heart, words that will hopefully engage the mind and the spirit as they relate to the simple, everyday feelings and emotions that we all experience over a lifetime. Love, Loss, Trust, Expectation. Just a few of the hopes and fears, joys and disappointments that might otherwise go unspoken, unshared, until we take the time to write them down. Could you set aside five minutes a day to challenge yourself? Challenge yourself to take one random word and write for five quick minutes, without thought to grammar or punctuation—first connecting the bare bones, and then going back and adding some flesh and muscle, so your words might inspire, entertain, encourage, or comfort someone who might need to hear them today. Everyday life is full of ordinary moments that should inspire us all to be extraordinary. Sharing these moments with others connects us. Take five. And write it down. For more on this book and the author, please visit 288chances.blogspot.com.
About the Author
An Iowa girl born and raised, Brenda is a wife and mother of two with two beautiful young granddaughters. Writing soothes her spirit as photography soothes her soul. If a picture paints a thousand words, so can words paint a picture, and for Brenda, the two are intertwined. Thus, the inspiration behind the premise for her first two books.
As an author, Brenda was an invited speaker at the 2014 Iowa Reading Association Conference, a council of The International Reading Association, held annually on the campus of Iowa State University. She presented on the importance of promoting literacy for all, her passion for writing and her belief that writers must first write to express, not impress.
With her background in writing and graphic design, she is working on a series of storybooks for her granddaughters. Her love and appreciation for her family, and her faith in God the Father who bestows all blessings, keep her grounded everyday.
For more on the author and her writing, please visit brendajotto@blogspot.com.