Does This Describe You?
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
—Thornton Wilder
Working With Words
A weblog devoted to spurring a conversation among those who use words to varying degrees in their daily work. Hosted by John Ettorre, a Cleveland-based writer and editor. Please email me at: john.ettorre@gmail.com. "There comes a time when you realize that everything is a dream, and only those things preserved in writing have any possibility of being real." --James Salter
Saturday, December 19, 2009
About Me
- Name: John Ettorre
- Location: Cleveland, Ohio
I'm a Cleveland, Ohio-based writer, editor and writing coach, with more than 25 years of experience, including stints in Chicago and Washington, D.C. My work has appeared in more than 100 print and online publications, from the New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor to local and regional publications. My work has been recognized by awards (including an Emmy) from four journalism groups.
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19 Comments:
Describes me to a T! :o)
Glad to hear that, Marie.
I can whole-heartedly agree with this from my current location - here in the mid-west with my son's loving family - such happiness - hard to contain my joy.
No need at all to contain it, Kass. Just enjoy it.
I do not think so, I think as long as we bread and have some cognitive functions working we are alive, because being alive consists on the mix of all the stages we might go trough. What it refers here might be a stage of mental clarity
Interesting take, Mariana. Thanks for adding that.
In times of great pain, sometimes it is only possible to gulp a small breath of air. Amidst searing pain I become aware of the tiniest comforts like the touch of a loved one, a cup of water, or a warm blanket. Sometimes darkness takes on a heavenly glow because it is in trials that we become most aware of the everyday treasures that are easy to take for granted.
Would you have lived differently today if you knew it would be your last?
Christmas Blessings to you all.
I'm sure Wilder meant something specific and actual by this, and I'm finding it rather opaque, even a little generic. I admit I don't know Wilder very well, so I don't know his context. From my clueless perspective, my reaction to this quote is, well, duh. LOL Particularly since I have been reading Caroline Myss' "Entering the Castle," her book on St. Teresa of Avila, which is detailed and precise and non-generic by comparison.
I had a talk with a fellow seeker about a year ago, in which we were talking about many of the things we'd been studying, in our respective paths. She said to me, "You know, it's time to stop repeating the entry-level teachings, and go on to the graduate-level work." Which is where I'm at with all this, too. Not that one wants to give up beginner's mind, and suddenly become a self-inflated expert; rather, that one seeks to keep learning new lessons rather than repeating known ones.
So, there's every good thing to agree with about Wilder's quote, here, and still it strikes me as rather unfocused.
Fair enough. But of course my goal is to reach readers at every level of the self-awareness continuum.
Oh, yes, absolutely! Not every thing will speak to everyone, of course, and it's always good to present many levels at the same time.
Sorry if I sounded down on Wilder. As I said, I don't know his work very well at all. That wasn't my intent. Chalk it up to "thinking out loud before the first cup of tea" at the start of the day. LOL
No, there's no problem at all, Art. Actually, your comment reminded me of a familiar dynamic in publishing, be it online or print. A good magazine, paper, blog, what have you ideally will seem so personal to readers that they'll sometimes, perhaps often, kind of forget that it's not crafted only for them. I find myself reacting this way to some favorite outlets all the time. I consider it the highest form of praise, actually.
Since last time I ticked you off, I thought it best to be anonymous. Now you merely ignore me. I guess it's not OK to be a downer at Christmas time. I truly won't bother you again. I suppose I really don't have anything worthwhile to add to the discussion. You have made that clear.
I'm so sorry, Krina. I didn't mean to ignore you. I just felt that anything I could have thought to say in response to such deep hurt would somehow seem too pat and easy. And I must admit that the fact that it was signed anonymous only left me feeling even more that way. Some of this I suppose just highlights the inevitable limits of this venue. I'm not a shrink, and have plenty of my own issues, which I guess I just leave to less public outlets to work through. I hope you'll understand what I'm saying. But also know that anytime I ever see your name here in comments, I'll be sure to respond, as best as I can. And I also want to renew my invitation to contact me privately via email, a venue in which we can perhaps have a more meaningful conversation about subjects you've brought up in the past.
I think this goes back to an earlier post you made about "contentment." Looking inward vs. outward acts. The evangelicals may claim that we are most alive when we accept their G-d. So how do we know contentment? And if we find it, then do we just STOP?
Wow, I admire your memory for earlier posts, Joan. I thought I was the only one that remembered these things. I hope you'll continue to come back.
I haven't read this one before - and I like it! Happy holidays John.
A joyous, peaceful holiday to you too, Diane. Thanks for the yearlong gift of your friendship and your uniquely poetic words. They've been a high point of the last year.
Hi John, I'm a dinosaur with aol. Looks like they evolved though and left me without my contact address book. . .any chance you'd send me your current email address?
Very Merry Christmas!
Sure, it's: john.ettorre@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you soon.
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