Conversations with Calliope- Waiting for Spring

(Storm Clouds over the Lagoon- San Juan)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Waiting for Spring.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it?
JOE: I feel as if my mind has been fallow lately, like a a field not yet plowed and planted for the new season.
CALLIOPE: How did you reach that conclusion?
JOE: It just occurred to me this morning while I was writing my journal.
CALLIOPE: What did you realize about yourself and your writing?
JOE: I don't feel creative ideas tugging at me anxious to be written.
CALLIOPE: What about the computer virus problem you wrote about yesterday?
JOE: I think it was just an excuse for not doing anything. I could have turned off my computer and written on paper.
CALLIOPE: No doubt. What do you think is paralyzing you?
JOE: I hadn't thought of it as paralysis but now that you mention it, I suppose that is what I am feeling. I think it might be a philosophical problem. My chosen goal is to help others understand themselves and take responsibility for their interactions with others. Lately it seems many people are giving up any concern about each other and just grabbing what they can with no concern for their own integrity or effect on anyone else.
CALLIOPE: Sounds depressing. Do you plan to just give up?
JOE: I'm not that desperate. But I do need to get refocused. I just need to figure out how. Talk with you on Monday.

Conversations with Calliope- Authentic Marketing

(Marketplace- Marigot, St. Martin)
JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Did you finish Seth Godin's book, All Marketers Are Liars?
JOE: I finished it this morning.
CALLIOPE: So what did you think?
JOE: It was a wake up call and challenged what I thought I knew about marketing.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I want to convey to my readers encouragement to live authentic lives by using their talents for good purposes.
CALLIOPE: So what's the problem?
JOE: I have been concerned that there are many people who don't care about living their lives this way but just want to grab what they can.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: Godin encourages marketers and by extension writers to address people with a worldview consistent with their message rather than trying to change people with entrenched worldviews not open to their message.
CALLIOPE: How does this change your approach?
JOE: My goal will now be to speak effectively to those who are willing to listen rather than beating my head against a wall trying to interest those who think I'm crazy.
CALLIOPE: Sounds good to me.
JOE: Me too. I will get working on it today. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning, Calliope.

CALLIOPE: Good Morning, Joe. Ready for the new year?

JOE: I guess so. I plan to spend today organizing things so I can find them next year rather than tripping over them and having to search for them when I need them.

CALLIOPE: A noble aspiration. Do you plan to do your whole house?

JOE: That would be a bit much for me all at once. I think I will start with my writing room and do another perhaps once a week or so.

CALLIOPE: Sounds manageable. What did you do yesterday?

JOE: I had planned to work on marketing but ended up going to Unity Church in Rochester and having my grandson over to make cookies and watch him play video games.

CALLIOPE: Did you learn anything at Church?

JOE: Steve DeNunzio gave the lesson. He talked about context, stewardship and living in the now. All three topics were good reminders for me. I tend to spin my wheels sometimes.

CALLIOPE: How do his thoughts apply to your writing?

JOE: Sometimes I have to stop to think why I write or why anyone writes. Yesterday was a chance to consider these topics.

CALLIOPE: Why do you write?

JOE: To help people consider their lives. I do this with fiction as well as nonfiction. I thought I should make it part of the introduction to my writing so readers know what to expect and don't waste their time just looking to be entertained.

CALLIOPE: Noble of you. Do you think it is worth making an issue of it?

JOE: Yes. That's who I am. If people read my writing I want them to know they can expect to be invited to look at the human condition and their own lives in the process.

CALLIOPE: I will be interested to see how that works out.

JOE: So will I. On to cleaning and organizing.

(Nineteenth Century Church- Genesee Country Village)

What Are Sunflowers For?

I was reading Thomas Berry's book, The Great Work. I found a passage about how we have made everything utilitarian and have stopped just enjoying nature for the most part. I saw a field of sunflowers and wondered what they were for. They might have been for birds or people to eat, for oil, or maybe just for fun. I stopped to commune with them, and enjoyed seeing them from various directions and perspectives. I decided to enjoy them just for fun.

(A field of sunflowers- Leroy, NY)