Grace…., a photo by Acoustic Soul on Flickr. It always happens this way. A shooting takes place in our nation. A person and/or others are killed while going about their day. Voices cry out, those of the bereaved family members and others in shock and anger. Stories of the incident make a virulent trek across […]
Of Mothers, Sons and Actions that Leave Us Eternally Changed… Read More »
A beneficiary of the Civil Rights Era, I entered integration in third grade carrying with me the missive delivered to many middle-class African-American children around the country: “Integration [of schools] offers an opportunity to work even harder. You may sit next to white students, but you will need to prove yourself. You will need to work hard and be better at all that you do.”
While my mother and father loathed slothfulness and laziness, this missive added pressure to an already weighty responsibility.
The result has been that I, like many African-Americans of my age and social class are and continue to be over achievers.
The concept of always giving your
Of Alice Miller, Amy Chua, and Parenting as a Way of Growth and Transformation… Read More »
When two years ago, our eldest daughter asked to moved back home I was thrilled.
Having just earned a graduate degree and about to begin law school she expressed the desire to return to a more laid back lifestyle than she had experienced when a coed and then graduate student living in the city.
My excitement at having our first born home came not simply from 0ur enjoyment of having her around to share and do activities with, but with the additional idea that she truly liked being with her father and most specifically me, her mother.
The relationship I shared with my mother, now nearly 16 years deceased,
Of Eldest Daughters, Mothers and Healing… Read More »
Should Huma Abedin forgive her husband, US Representative Anthony Weiner?
For further discussion join me for a Twitter Chat, this Thursday, June 16th, 2011 @ 5pm PDT/6pm MT/7pm CDT/8pm EDT.
http://tweetchat.com/room/anjuelledfloyd
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Last Friday, I heard a young woman say, “She [Huma] should abort the child she is carrying by Weiner.”
Should Huma do this I could not condemn her.
I cannot say what a person should are should not do regarding the betrayal a loved one or friend exacts upon him or her.
And yet our ability to move beyond experiences of hurt and emotional injury inflicted by friends, family and even acquaintances whom we hardly know establishes the foundation upon which we will build our healing.
And yet there is the anger.
Anger indicates a transgression of our boundaries, both physical and particularly emotional.
Beneath anger always lies hurt.
The steam of compassion can only rise from the flames of anger.
And what of forgiveness?
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What guides your steps in dealing with betrayal, infidelity, and the injurious actions of others, most particularly of family and friends–those whom you love?
What can you live with regarding your actions towards those who have hurt you?
How do you want to die?
What must you do to achieve your desires for transitioning from this life into what lies beyond?
For further discussion join me for a Twitter Chat, this Thursday, June 16th, 2011 @ 5pm PDT/6pm MT/7pm CDT/8pm EDT.
http://tweetchat.com/room/anjuelledfloyd
Twitter Chat: “Of Death, Mortality and The Steam of Compassion…” Read More »
Should Huma Abedin forgive her husband, US Representative Anthony Weiner?
Last Friday, I heard a young woman state that Huma should abort the child she is carrying Weiner.
Should Huma do this I could not condemn her.
I cannot say what a person should are should not do regarding the betrayal a loved one or friend exacts upon him or her.
And yet our ability to move beyond experiences of hurt and emotional injury inflicted by friends, family and even acquaintances whom we hardly know establishes the foundation upon which we will build our healing.
Of Death, Mortality and The Steam of Compassion… Read More »
“When we set out to judge—ridicule pillory, condemn, sneer at or…impugn our characters–we fail at our objective. Instead of making our characters look bad we make ourselves suspect.”
—-Peter Selgin, 179 Ways to Save a Novel: Matters of Vital Concern to Fiction Writers
We are known by the company we keep. In the case of a writer, that company consists of our characters and our attitude towards them.
Simply put, what kind of person would choose to writer 60,000 words, or there about, centered on a person or persons our words demonstrate that we dislike, hold little or no respect for, or even loathe?
Would you as a reader trust anything this writer has to say?
Of Writing, Integrity and The Company We Keep… Read More »
The greatest revelation in a novel often comes, quite understandably, during the end. The context in which this occurs involves releasing underlying knowledge, all of which provides the stage upon where the ultimate truth of everyone’s motives comes forth.
Protagonists that draw on our senses and emotions not only face tough dilemmas and challenges they also encounter wonderfully treacherous antagonists whose actions force the main character to dig deep within themselves, assess and display their strengths.
Of Revelations, Redemption and Grace… Read More »