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Answers from Elena Ornig “The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.” Thomas Mann For a long period of time from initial human’s need of recording important information, the writing activity has become the vital instrument of generating meaning. Obviously, the written language and the spoken language are not the same. So, when you write, you have to take into consideration the differences between the literary (written) language and non-literary (spoken) language which you surely remember from school lessons. At this point, I would like to bring to the writer’s attention an extra matter.   When you write a story, narrative or novel, you must clearly understand who you write it for.  When you write you have all the time you need to be precise, deliberate and sophisticated; therefore, take your time and analyse what is the purpose of your written creation. What statement do you want to ... Read the rest of this post

Answers from Elena Ornig.   Peace or War is up to us!    What do I mean?  Just this – being frank, honest and sincere gives us the advantage of delivering or broadcasting our message clearly and concisely, thereby avoiding miscommunication. Miscommunication creates misunderstanding.  It makes doubts, as a disturbing notion crawls into a head of a ‘receiver’.  Without a clear and concise message from a ‘messenger’, the ‘receiver’ will be confused about the intention, agenda and motive of the messenger.  This is a two-way problem.   Even with sincerity, good intentions and the right agenda, the ‘receiver’ – by hearing, but not attentively listening – and by neglecting clarifications, confirmations and an intensive reading of body language, can misunderstand the message and the ‘messenger’.  Quite often we believe that in some way we are mind-readers, but in fact, we do not really know what is going on in other people’s minds.  Undoubtedly, the clarification of a ... Read the rest of this post

This is a story posted by April Robins on Facebook. It is truly inspiring and I wanted to share it with you. I love the message: don't fret about yesterday, make today count - every little step brings you toward your goal. The idea is to be persistent, even if it's one little step at a time. While it's important to work toward your goals, remember to feel joy and satisfaction in the process of getting there. Try to see the vision of what each little bulb will eventually become if you persist in your efforts.

You Have to See the Daffodils

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say,
"Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over."
I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead
"I will come next Tuesday",
I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy.
Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there.
When I finally walked into my daughter Carolyn's
house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children.
I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

I told my daughter, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn!
The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and
there is nothing in the world except you and my grandchildren
that I want to see right now. I don't want to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said,
"We drive in this weather all the time, mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears,
and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils.
It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

"Carolyn," I said sternly,

"It's all right, Mother, I promise.
You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

So we went!
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road
and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church,
I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read,

"Daffodil Garden ---->"

We got out of the car, each of us took a child's hand,
and I followed Carolyn down the path.
Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped.
Before me lay the most glorious sight.
It looked as though someone had taken
a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak
and its surrounding slopes.

The flowers were planted in majestic,
swirling patterns, great ribbons
and swaths of deep orange,
creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink,
and saffron and butter yellow.
Each different-colored variety was planted
in large groups so that it swirled
and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.

There were five acres of flowers!

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn.
"Just one woman," Carolyn answered.
"She lives on the property. That's her home."
Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house,
small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory.

We walked up to the house.
On the patio, we saw a poster.

"Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking"
was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read.

The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain."

The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience.
I thought of this woman whom I had never met,
who, more than forty years before, had begun,
one bulb at a time, to bring her vision
of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop.

Planting one bulb at a time, year after year,
this unknown woman had forever changed
the world in which she lived.
One day at a time, she had created something
of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught me
is one of the greatest principles of celebration.
That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time.

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn.
"What might I have accomplished
if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five
or forty years ago and had worked away at it
'one bulb at a time' through all those years?

Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"
My daughter summed up the message of the day
in her usual direct way.

"Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right.
It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays.
The way to make learning a lesson of celebration
instead of a cause for regret is to only ask,

"How can I put this to use today?"

The Daffodil Principle.

Stop waiting.....
Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die...

There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don't need money.
Love like you've never been hurt,
and, Dance like no one's watching.

If you want to brighten someone's day,
pass this on to someone special (like I did to you!)

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!
Don't be afraid that your life will end,
be afraid that it will never begin.

- Author unknown

Naomi S. Baron, author of Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World, is Professor of Linguistics at American University in Washington, DC. Always On explores the linguistic and social impact of computers and mobile phones. A former Guggenheim and Fulbright fellow, she is also the author of Alphabet to Email: How Written English Evolvedand Where It’s Heading, which probes the influence of technology on English over the past 1200 years. Baron is currently studying mobile phone use in cross-cultural context.

Admit it.

Sometimes you don’t want to talk with certain people. You spy a colleague down the hall, coming towards you. He’s a notorious chatterbox, so you duck down the nearest corridor. Your sister-in-law calls as you are settling in for an evening’s television, and you concoct excuses about preparing to leave the house.

Telecommunication devices help us maneuver when we converse with whom. Answering machines (reborn as voicemail) respond for us, even when we are sitting beside the phone, listening in. Speaker phones free us to multitask – and to subject unwitting callers to larger audiences than they bargained for. Skype lets us choose who gets to see us and who may only hear our voice.

Or take instant messaging, which allows you to “block” people, leading them to believe you aren’t logged on to your IM client, when you actually are. One undergraduate I interviewed regularly blocked his mother whenever he wanted to post away messages containing raunchy language. After his friends had a day or so to take in his humor, he removed the message – and unblocked Mom.

Social networking sites add more control options. Studies of Facebook have observed how young people in America stage themselves through photographs, quotations, and relationship status – aptly illustrating Erving Goffman’s notion of “presentation of self in everyday life.” One student at my university described her page on Facebook as “more an expression of who one wants to be than who one really is. [It’s] me on my best day.” Like a puppeteer pulling the strings, she manipulates what her friends see (and presumably think) of her.

Both IM and social networking sites also redefine what it means to keep in touch with friends. College students frequently read friends’ away messages on IM to catch up on their activities, rather than picking up the phone or launching an IM conversation. Facebook has been described as “a way of maintaining a friendship without having to make any effort whatsoever,” since you can see what your friends are up to simply by viewing their pages. In fact, Facebook will notify you when the birthdays of your online “Friends” roll around, so you can post a birthday greeting on their Facebook “Wall” (think of an electronic notice board). It’s Happy Birthday without risk of personal involvement.

What’s the problem? For starters, micro-managed human interaction undermines personal courage. (“You lacked the guts to tell her to her face you have a new girlfriend, but sent her a text message?”) It also devalues the other person’s right of response, replacing dialogue with monologue.

Recently I have been studying how university students in Sweden, the US, and Italy use their mobile phones. To understand why young people choose to send a text message (rather than make a voice call), I asked students to evaluate this possible explanation: “I want to make my message short, and talking takes too long.”

The cross-cultural data were amazingly consistent. Between 68% and 73% of subjects in all three countries judged this rationale to be either a “very important” or “somewhat important” reason to send a text message instead of calling. Participants in subsequent focus groups repeatedly stressed how expedient it was to get their message out without having to “waste” time with pleasantries or risk getting into actual conversations.

Like most technologies, computers and mobile phones are mixed blessings. Internal combustion engines brought the convenience of automobiles, but they also pollute the planet. Mobile phones are invaluable for bridging distance, yet they magnify our ability to distance ourselves from others.

Admittedly, children have long posted “Keep Out” signs on their tree-houses or bedroom doors.
But consider this: Today’s college students hear their mobile phone ring, glance at the number, and proceed to ignore the call because “It’s only Mom” – a story I heard many times in the US and even in family-friendly Italy.

“Only Mom.” As communal beings, part of our socialization entails learning how to engage interpersonally. To make small talk, to empathize, to be available, even when we would rather be doing something else. Today’s communication technologies may be turning us into social control freaks, leading us to diminish the importance of open, real-time (and yes, sometimes risky or boring) discussion.

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Finally finished ... the worn and torn message is about to be snatched from the owl's talons.