Nikan Is Not Just a Camera

I have written on here before that I am trying to have more gratitude in my life. Being a perfectionist, I have a hard time with this. It seems I want to pick on my life and writing until I've found every single flaw. I have found a new way to combat this. It's called Nikan.

Nikan is a Buddhist practice, started in Japan, that seeks to make us feel more connected to the world. It's so very simple that you can use it everyday, or anytime you need a little gratitude boost. To get started, you ask three questions and write down the answers on a piece of paper (or if you subscribe to happyrambles.com, you do this online).

First question is, "How have I been supported today?" This list could go on and on, from the people who make the roads for your drive to work to Steve Jobs, who made your Mac (sort of).Pick only concrete things you can feel with your senses like something someone said or did.

The next question is "How have I served today?" This could be something as simple as making coffee for your significant other or getting up and going to work when the alarm went off so your family has income.

The final question is,"What troubles or difficulties have I caused?" Please notice that there is not a parallel question about what trouble and difficulties have been caused to you.

I plan to write these lists down everyday and, hopefully, increase my sense of interconnectedness and gratitude. Also, maybe I'll increase my awareness of my impact on the world. Will you join me?

Do You Want Sweeping Change?

I was listening to NPR the other day, and they had a guy on there who was a political scientist going off about the state of fiction today. He was saying that there are no classics being written today because writers only deal with personal themes, not sweeping social or political ones.

He used Grapes of Wrath as an example of a great work of fiction that would never be written today because current writers are not concerned with the problems of society. He said they only look within themselves.

I whole-heartedly disagree. It may be true that writers today are more introspective, and I see where, at times, this could be too much off a good thing. However, while the radio man was very persuasive, I don't necessarily think that great fiction needs to institute huge changes in society. Changing one person's outlook on the world, making one person a little more open, is a great change, too. Either way, it is change one person at a time.

Of course, I am not saying that I think fiction should ignore society's ills. I just saying that society's problems are often captured in the problems of one person. What do you think?

A Little Anger Helps A Lot

Yesterday, as you might have seen if you follow this blog regularly, my husband and I got into a fight. No need to worry - we are all made up now, and he even vacuumed the house. I promised him that I would address the topic of the fight in today's blog.

First, I am very glad to be married, and what I said yesterday was not an indictment of marriage. It is absolutely wonderful to have a partner and friend who is always there, even when the leftovers have been sitting in the fridge for weeks. My husband also certainly helps around the house - if it weren't for him, there would be little pieces of toys our dog chewed up all around the house.

My basic argument is that women everywhere often take on too much of the burden of running a household, and this cuts back on the time she has for creating and writing. Definitely we need to work on that.

This brings me to my main point of the day. Sometimes, when you write how you honestly feel, people will get upset. Don't worry about this. If the person is important to you, you will probably have the chance to work out your feelings with them. If you don't know them that well, then who cares. You can't please everyone.

So , clear the air. Get things off your chest. Releasing a little anger can be a big relief.

Improve Your Writing with Feedback!

I read a blog yesterday about how to improve your trade, whatever that might be. The writer suggested doing something where you get immediate feedback. An example of this would be writing a blog for a writer or giving a concert for a musician.

The positive benefits of doing your craft before a crowd is simple - you can quickly find out what works and immediately change and modify what's going on. I am already writing a blog, you say? Well, I am going to take this idea a step further with my next few posts.

I am going to gauge the helpfulness of my writing by the number of hits, comments, followers, etc, that I get. Now I was already doing that to a certain extent, but before I was mainly looking at general trends. Now I am going to look at specific blogs that are really popular to see what I am doing right, and take a peek at those that flop to see how I could improve - livelier title, catchier openers, you get the picture.

I think this is a great idea to hone your craft, whether you are a writer or a banker (hi Dad!). Please think about incorporating some immediate feedback into your career today!

How to Overcome Your Inner Critic

I received so many good suggestions on how to get started on my new song writing hobby without putting out a lot of cash. Thank you to everyone who made a suggestion!

So, I have a guitar, and now I have many good ideas on how to get started playing it. Unfortunately, it's really hard for me to start something new. I am (surprise, surprise) a bit of a perfectionist, and somehow, in my twisted thought process, it is better to not do something at all than to begin and not do a great job. This is silly because no one excels at a project when they are a beginner, and I could be missing out on some great experiences.

Perhaps this is the problem some have with writing. I know the perfectionist bug has bitten me from time to time when I am writing (I'm thinking thesis).

My idea is to begin writing (or playing guitar or pogosticking or whatever) for small increments of time to begin with. Maybe 5 or 10 minutes. That sounds doable. Any other ideas?

Learning to Rock

I am listening to someone I work with on the radio as I write this. He is a singer-song writer, and it is a strange sensation to witness the creative side of someone you know professionally.

It makes me wonder if I should try my hand at writing a song. As I may have mentioned before, I am just crazy about music. It touches something deep within me that I am unable to access any other way.

 I took piano lessons as a child but never got very far. Now, I am considering starting taking the guitar more seriously and learning a few chords so I can play beautiful music myself.

I know you are never to old to learn but this is a really scary endeavor because it takes years to master an instrument and I don't have a lot of discretionary income to spend on lessons (or time for that matter). Does anyone have any suggestions on ways to get started?

Answering the Call for the Future

I was reading an article the other day on happiness. It said that one way to increase happiness is to look at, listen to, or participate in the arts. What a joyous thought! We are actually doing something good for ourselves by engaging in something pleasant.

I know that not everyone finds reading or going to a play exciting, but I'm using art in the broad sense. I consider making a table or running a marathon an art.

Shouldn't we enhance our children's happiness by increasing their exposure to art at a young age. I know a lot of people believe we need to push math and science on our children, so they can be world leaders in the future, but what about being happiness leaders? Can't we find time for an arts education to help our children increase their sense of well being. After all, isn't a sense of well being the reason we want to be world leaders in the first place?