Envy

Based on my friend Jan's recent BLOG, "Truth Difficulty by The Roving Typist," I wrote this comment: 

Why do these kind of stories always move me to tears. When I hear about (or see) someone who takes the usual and makes it into the unusual, or takes the old and makes it new and different, I find myself being envious. 

Often I have said that I am "envious" or "jealous" of someone and have been chastised for the use of those words. I am told that it is a negative comment that means I resent the other person for having something that I do not. But that is not true, so I need to specify what I mean by “envious.” 

Read the following from Wikipedia and know that I mean “Benign Envy!” 

Envy (from Latin invidia) is an emotion which “occurs when a person lacks another’s superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it” Bertrand Russell said that envy was one of the most potent causes of unhappiness. Not only is the envious person rendered unhappy by his envy, but they also wish to inflict misfortune on others. Although envy is generally seen as something negative, Russell also believed that envy was a driving force behind the movement towards democracy and must be endured to achieve a more just social system. However, psychologists have recently suggested that there may be two types of envy: malicious envy and benign envy—benign envy being proposed as a type of positive motivational force.

Now if you want to know of what I am most recently envious, click through to Jan's BLOG:
http://connectere.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/truth-difficulty-by-the-roving-typist/

Writing

Today, my friend and fellow writer Pat and I went to a presentation at the Chicago Cultural Arts Festival. The discussion was with Justin Torres who wrote We The Animals. Hearing him talk about his work of fiction caused me to think about myself as a writer and what I believe to be true about myself when it comes to my writing.

I am more of a memoirist than anything. Most of my stories are true although some embellishment of the details may help fill out the stories where my memory fails me.

For me, making up a story is the farthest from what I want to do when I feel  I have so many of my own stories to tell and isn't recounting and/or explaining life a series of Story Telling Experiences?

Saying this makes me feel like I may sound vain and a little self important, but far from that when I explain that I have always compared Fiction Writers to God while Memoirists are just  Story Tellers.

To create a uniquely new, previously non-existant life from bits and pieces of one's experience and lots of research; a life with beginnings, middles, and ends; a life with colors and nuances, joys and sorrows, celebrations and tragedies; is more like an act of God creating the world in six days and resting on the seventh.

The Memoirist's job is to retell his stories in a way that is interesting, engaging, humorous, at times not so funny; all added to other possible descriptors. There may be red herrings, plot twists, flash-backs, and other surprises. The stories can sound like fiction but they are not. The line between the two styles of literature is thin and I can see where the two may easily cross at times.

When I asked Mr. Torres to talk about how much of his book is about him even though it is a work of fiction, when compared to a memoirist who shares his real life experiences with possibly some embellishment, he felt my use of the word embellishment was a strange choice. I do not think so.

I think he skirted the issue on what is the definition and interpretation of Fiction vs Memoirs to which I will add, possibly the definition of the newer genre of Creative Non-Fiction.

Fiction is defined as literature in the form of prose, esp. short stories and novels, that describes imaginary events and people.

Memoirs is a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources. 

Creative Non-Fiction writing, which I sometimes more easily refer to as Memoirs (but also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction,) interestingly takes many more words to define. 

It is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is not primarily written in service to its craft. 

As a genre, creative nonfiction is still relatively young, and is only beginning to be scrutinized with the same critical analysis given to fiction and poetry.

P.S. Poetry is my second form of literary expression! Interesting.

HaShem

This passage was shared with me by my friend Sheryl L. around the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holidays. She received it as a greeting from a cousin.

• • • • •

1) HaShem' - (neither masculine nor feminine and absolutely no plural;) the word means, literally, 'The Name,' and it is the way that the Jewish people refer to God when not in a Prayer or Torah Reading or Torah citation context.

2) HaShem determines who walks into your life … It is up to you to decide who your let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.

• • • • •

What I like about the first passage is that HaSHem, GOD (If there is a god,) is neither masculine nor feminine which means that s/he is both masculine and feminine at the same time without needing to discriminate the difference. Ah that our society/culture could be so accepting.

One of my beliefs, not totally original, is that each of us is part male and part female, perhaps with different orders of importance, degrees of strength, levels of experience, types of daily practice, and/or abilities in admitting such.

I believe that to be a "whole person" one must acknowledge both parts of the self, male and female. How one understands those parts and how those parts contribute to one's world view determines how one interacts with others and how one accepts oneself.

Culture plays a large role in determining what is "boy-like" and what is "girl-like," what is acceptable and what is not. To be part of a culture is to embrace those culturally defined differences … but also, I believe, it is necesssary to make some personal decisions on how to adjust the cultural beliefs to fit one's own life. This idea is what the second part of the passage means to me which I rewrite to read: HaShem determines what walks into your life … It is up to you to decide what you let walk away, what you let stay, and what you refuse to let go.

September 11, 2001: Flags and Rainbows

At various times through the years of my adult life it has been easy or difficult, fashionable or unfashionable, political or non-political to fly the American Flag. Sometimes we are proud of our country and what it stands for. Other times we are not so proud or closer to ashamed of what our country's leaders and/or citizens do or say.

Maybe this waxing and waning of pride of country is OK. Throughout history nationalism in its extreme has lead to trouble. Maybe a healthy outlook and the ability to say what one thinks about one's country is where the balance should be and what makes the U.S.A. a great nation. We know that in many parts of the world the "citizens" do not have that right, freedom, ability … call it what you will … to do so. 

"The negative results of nationalism cannot be denied. It can cause division in societies when one nationality classes itself as superior to another. This also generates racism, and can often lead to violent and bloody conflicts. On the personal level, individuals may be persecuted because other individuals or groups believe their nationality to be inferior, or that it poses a threat."

"Nationalism is a powerful tool, as it takes its strength from the sentiments of belonging that most individuals possess. This has led to its use by politicians as a way of gaining popular support through uniting a people under a common cause. It is a vague concept, and can be shaped by the bearer to mean almost anything, and most people are vulnerable to it in some form or other. Because of this, it can be a very dangerous weapon in certain hands." (What is Nationalism? Katy Hughes. 2008.)

Popular or unpopular, today is a day to fly our flag in memory of those who died unnecessarily and those who gave their lives to help others. We need to think of those people still living who were affected by the deaths. The need here is to focus on the lives and love of these people, not the hate of their perpetrators. We need to revisit 9/11 and the World Trade Towers  by celebrating the lives of those who died, not by stoking the fires of hatred against others. 

We need to give a lot of thought to the differences among the peoples of the world and weight carefully the influences of the Freedom of Speech and the Freedom of Religion. We need to work to make sure that the two can coexist. With the September 2010 threats of burning the Koran, the continuing fear of and threats against those who practice the Muslim faith, the Ground Zero and Muslim Mosque controversy, with some of our fellow countrymen and politicians using these differences to sow hatred and gain power, we cannot let one freedom be used to put down the other freedom, both must coexist. That must be our goal. 

We need to find a balance between freedom of speech and freedom of religion and the promise of the biblical Noah, "Never again!" Either way, today is a day to fly our flag.

Decolletage

decolletage or décolletage

PRONUNCIATION:
(day-kol-TAZH, -kol-uh-)


MEANING:
noun: A low neckline on a woman's dress.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French décolletage (low-cut), past participle of décolleter (to expose the neck), from de- (away) + collet (collar), diminutive of col (neck). 


Every morning I get a new definition from wordsmith.org. It is a great way to build your vocabulary and also a way to insure that you do not embarrass yourself when speaking. "My doctor said I had a coronary trombonest." 


Sometimes a word arrives that sets my mind off in all directions. Today was just such a day with the word: decolletage. As you can tell from the above definition it deals with the female breast as exposed by a plunging neckline. My grandma wouldn't approve.


Here are some other possible definitions based on how the word looks.


decolletage - an art form that includes gluing various pieces of cloth to a dress in colorful, geometric patterns making sure to leave no white showing.


decolletage - to undo what one has learned at an institution of higher learning while studying haute couture.


decolletage - a viscous, usually amber colored liquid glue contained in a clear plastic bottle with a breast shaped application tip.


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