Escape With A Writer

It's time for another episode of the Round Robin Blog! November's Round Robin topic: Mass emotion -- tell about one incident you've experience where a large crowd of people shared the same strong emotion. Whoever said laughter is the best medicine wasn't far from wrong. It has a long shelf-life and is even more contagious than a foul mood, especially when shared with others. How many times have you seen or heard something funny that hasn't affected your mood for the rest of the day? Recently one of my lovely friends celebrated her birthday by inviting a few other couples to a local comedy night. Six of us sat around the table in a sea of nearly 500 other people. As show time came and went, anxiety was palpable, but most people simply went and got another drink. Once the show began and the laughter started, there was no turning back. Funny lines or not, one audience member after another got swept up in the swell of giggles and chuckles that broke into crests

Okay, decluttering has gone by the wayside. Christmas is upon us and I always find it even more difficult to keep the clutter down at this time of the year. Decorations, a six foot tree and gifts filling all the spaces I'm trying to empty out, do little to help. Step back and take a deep breath. What can I focus on instead? Join me while I take a wild leap... I got my driver's license when I was 16. Across the aisle from me in the classroom was my 64 year old grandma. I kid you not. Holy inspiration! If my grandma could go back to school at 64 and learn to drive, what was there to stop me? Over the years, I drove less as I went through University and when I married and we were down to 1 vehicle. Then it became a necessity for me to drive 3 kids to school, doctor appointments and play dates. Even so, I was afraid to drive. Afraid of the big city. (We lived in Edmonton at the time, which is nothing compared to Toronto!) Afraid of getting lost. Afraid one of the kids woul

Over the end of the week and the weekend, I'd planned to continue decluttering and making our space work better for our family. I was derailed from my cleaning mission by several visits with friends. Lunch on Thursday, breakfast Friday, lunch Friday, Christmas shopping with the kids Saturday morning, a comedy show Saturday night and Sunday my middle son "had" to take me out shopping. Busy for sure, but happy busy. While the kids and I didn't buy a lot, we walked and talked. Catching up with friends I haven't had the opportunity to spend time with in months was well worth putting aside projects. The comedy show Saturday night was hilarious. The comedians on stage were pretty good and the ones at the table made me laugh just as hard. It's great when you can sit with friends who love to laugh, love to dance and love to just have fun and be silly. There were about 500 people at the event and my friends and I only knew a handful of them. It was like being at t

Just when I'm getting discouraged with a lot of things, I found this in my inbox!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0coq4YPAR3k    If you watch the whole thing, you'll see cover for The Bookstore Lady ! What a fun idea. I have worked on a trailer for The Bookstore Lady , but haven't put it to music yet so it's stuck in my "To Do" pile. Why haven't I finished it? Time. Fear. Anxiety. Whatever. Truth is, I have a whole pile of things left undone that haunt my computer and my closet. In keeping with my Happiness Project, my theme this month is clearing out clutter and building energy. I've been going for daily walks and suddenly have more opportunities to meet with friends. Great energy builders. I've also been making healthier meals. (mostly for myself because the boys just won't eat chicken in spinach sauce for no amount of money!) I have cleaned out my novels-in-waiting and have a stack of paper to shred. Not projects I'm giving up on,

Still keeping in with my Happiness Project, I started looking for things that make me happy and give me energy. This brought me to a realization. I am an empath . There I said it. An Empath  is a person who can psychically tune in to the emotional experience of a person, place or animal. Being so strongly affected by the emotions of others, crowds overwhelm me, the negative moods of others send me into a funk and I can tell when something is wrong with certain people in my life. Not only do these things affect me mentally, but it can become a physical reaction as well. Racing heart, anxiety, the works. Sometimes I know where the feelings are coming from, sometimes I don't. What does being an empath have to do with being happy? I thought at first it was just the reactions to others that exaggerated my moods. After some trial and error, I've discovered the foods I eat play just as big a role. This spring I started a cleanse with the help of my naturopath. No caffeine. No alc