Tag: contemplation

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Coffee and Contemplation: National Book Lover’s Day

Today is an exciting day for bibliophiles. National Book Lover’s Day is an unofficial holiday for those of us who love reading and collecting books. I didn’t realize for many years most of the books I owned were nonfiction. This wasn’t a conscious choice. Those were the only books I wanted to read at the time. I started reading more fiction and even gave myself a purpose to read more fiction. I gave myself a goal for the kind of fiction I wanted to read. I wanted to read the kind of fiction I wanted to write.

It began as a list of horror fiction with a supernatural focus. As I read and researched, I realized I wanted the supernatural more than the horror. There are many stories and novels that are supernatural but are not horrific. Likewise, there are many stories and novels that are horrific but have not supernatural elements. I began looking for both supernatural horror and magical realism in stories and novels. This has made for an interesting collection of books I’ve acquired. There are many stories that are not scary in the least but still involve supernatural creatures or beings. Some stories are even humorous in their absurdity.

I plan to share this list of books I’ve read on my journey one day. For now, tell me what you all are reading right now. What kind of books are you most interested in reading and collecting? I also want to leave you with a couple quotes that you may find interesting. One of them has some profanity, but I’m against censorship so consider yourself warned.

“It wasn’t until I started reading and found books, they wouldn’t let us read in school, that I discovered you could be insane and happy and have a good life without being like everybody else.”

John Waters

“We need to make books cool again. If you go home with somebody and they don’t have books, don’t fuck them.”

John Waters
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Coffee and Contemplation: Freedom from Fear of Speaking Month

July is Freedom from Fear of Speaking Month. It advocates for people to overcome their fear of public speaking. Having taken acting and speech classes, I’ve had a lot of training on this subject. I know many people have not and many people have a phobia of public speaking. More people fear public speaking than people who fear being killed. Some tips that have helped me and many others with public speaking include; practicing or rehearsing the speech beforehand, be organized, and know and understand the topic you’re speaking about.

I believe there is something else to this concept. If you fear speaking in public, this is a fear that can be overcome and will benefit you for the rest of your life. However, I think it’s time we all took a stand to speak up about the problems in our world. It’s not just fear of public speaking but the fear of speaking up and speaking out. Many terrible people of gotten away with terrible acts because no one spoke out against them. Sometimes the situation is difficult or dangerous. It’s important that we all overcome our fear of speaking about the difficult subjects.

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Coffee and Contemplation: Unemployed Again

With Covid-19 having no clear end in sight, my employer offered everyone the chance to either keep working or take a leave of absence. There weren’t enough hours for everyone, and I chose to take a leave of absence. It’s like quarantine and lockdown all over again. I have too much free time but no motivation to do the things I can do. I’ll figure that out at some point. For now, I’m enjoying being able to collect unemployment. With the additional money from the CARES Act, I’m living comfortably. As comfortable as I can at least.

The lease on my apartment ends August 31 so I’m looking around for a new place. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to move in since my income is solely unemployment right now. I’m sure if needed, my landlord will let me stay a little longer. I’d prefer to find a new place for reasons I won’t discuss now. I’m considering an apartment complex with a dishwasher as I don’t have one. Many of them are either too far away from my job which I return to on September 30 or they’re out of my budget. Things to consider.

I’m saving up as much as I can, but I’m concerned the CARES Act will not get renewed past July 31. I’ll have enough to get through September but it’s everything after that I’m most concerned about. It’s frustrating that I have not received my $1200 stimulus check. It’s frustrating that the Senate doesn’t appear to have any interest in passing another economic aid bill. Everything happening in the United States is frustrating. But it’s about damn time. Some of these issues have been going on for over 200 years. I hope changes over the next decade can move the country and world into something better.