Conversations with Calliope- Recharging the Writer

(Butterfly Feeding)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I missed you.
JOE: I took off a few days to recharge my batteries.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good idea. What prompted that?
JOE: My friend Gerry keeps suggesting it. Sometimes I listen to him.
CALLIOPE: How do you get recharged?
JOE: First by turning off my computer. Sometimes too much input keeps me from being able to think.
CALLIOPE: Good. What else?
JOE: Mostly reading. I read two novels over the past few days, James Patterson's Swimsuit and Erich Segal's Acts of Faith.
CALLIOPE: How did they help you recharge?
JOE: Several ways. Reading helps me think from the perspective of the reader and imagine what it would be like for someone to read what I write.
CALLIOPE: Anything else?
JOE: Yes. I also absorb ways to describe events and bring characters to life. I don't try to copy other writers but I think their styles meld with my own and makes my writing richer.
CALLIOPE: Very wise.
JOE: Thank you. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Lessons of Cancer

(Sunset in Leroy)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Not bad. Yesterday was quite a reflective day.
CALLIOPE: What was going on?
JOE: I attended a memorial service for a friend at Unity Church.
CALLIOPE: How did she die?
JOE: Metastatic breast cancer. Three members of our church were diagnosed with breast cancer in quick succession, including my life partner, Carol. Kat was the second one to die and Carol is the only survivor of the three.
CALLIOPE: Scary.
JOE: I've discovered there is no way to predict what will happen in life. Carol and I are grateful that things turned out the way they did for her but are sad to lose the other two.
CALLIOPE: What did you learn from yesterday?
JOE: That life is precious, unpredictable and to be treasured one day at a time.
CALLIOPE: All good lessons.
JOE: I think so. It's easy to take life for granted when things are going well. It takes incidents like this to remind us that we don't live forever and have only today to count on for sure.
CALLIOPE: I hope you use your day productively.
JOE: I will do my best. Talk with you tomorrow.

Accepting What Is

In the summer we sometimes think it is too hot. In the winter it is too cold. It seems we can always think of some way life could be improved at any particular moment. It is harder for us sometimes to remember how fortunate we are until something tragic happens to us or to someone we care about. I am not always so good at it, but I try to notice the things for which I am grateful each day. I find it a good way to keep my life in perspective.

(Sunset in Dunkirk, NY)

Keeping My Life in Perspective

Sometimes it feels like I am at the center of the universe. Everything revolves around me and has meaning in the way it affects me. It is like I am all that is. At other times I realize my insignificance in the grand scope of things. I am only a tiny particle in the universe and in the procession of people who have lived before me and who are yet to come. I think my life is better when I keep my perspective and don't think I am too important. That way I can contribute what I have and not get too excited if people don't always take me seriously.