Posts Tagged ‘Story’
Making Peace With My Weirdness (Guest Post by Holly Pennington)
Today I’m delighted to welcome my friend Holly Pennington to my blog. Holly is a uniquely gifted writer, blogger from near Seattle, US. She writes about vulnerability, and faith, and has so much wisdom to share. Take it away Holly!
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I’ve never tried to be weird. But I have always felt weird. No purple spiky hair, grunge obsessions or gothic dress phases. Not even a single tiny hidden tattoo. Growing up in the 1980’s, I was a predictable Guess jeans-wearing suburban kid.
But I did own a pair of red plaid Doc Martens once. To be exact, I was only part-owner. My sister and I shared them. We simultaneously fell in love with them but Doc Martens weren’t cheap, so we each paid half. When I went away to college, I took them with me just until my next visit home; then, her turn. Being part-time keeper of the boots somehow made my love for them stronger.
Treading across the Wake Forest University quad, an insecure thumb tucked under each backpack strap and self-conscious eyes fixed downward, the surprise of my feet clad in red plaid filled me with a distinct burst of joy. I felt daring in my Doc Martens. My connection to them was made of courage, awe and a tinge of rebellion.
But, what made me feel weird was not my style; it was my interests.
Read MoreIt’s Time To Write: Christine Niles on ‘James Talks’
Writing is one of my biggest passions. It’s my calling you might say. I coach writers and I run a Facebook group for writers called ‘Writers Together’ (you can join that group here). I know that many of you reading this are writers too.
Now, if you’re anything like me, you’ll know one of the biggest barriers to writing is, in fact, the very act of getting started. The challenge of overcoming resistance to get going on your writing journey is one of the most significant challenges writers face.
But your words can’t change the world, if they aren’t in it.
One person well qualified to help us deal with this issue is my dear friend, author and writing coach Christine Niles. Today on my podcast ‘James Talks’ I’m interviewing Christine, an experienced writer, blogger, author and coach from Fort Wayne, Indiana. And she has an exclusive offer for all ‘James Talks’ listeners!
Read MoreChristopher Reeve & Why You Are A Superhero
I’ve always loved superheroes. As a child my hero was Christopher Reeve’s incarnation of Superman (left). I wanted to be him. His ideals, his values, his belief in our ability to be better as people. And of course, his super powers.
Now of course, as an adult I know I don’t have ‘superpowers’ like comic book heroes.
I’m just a writer. I’m just me, with all my insecurities, and imperfections. I’m not perfect. And a lot of the time, I think I’m nothing special.
Don’t we all?
But I was watching a superhero movie today, about Spider-Man – an ordinary guy who gets powers, and still has all his insecurities, fears and imperfections despite that.
And I felt God speak to me quietly, and tell me that I do have a superpower.
Writing – as only I can write. Being me.
Read MoreWhat Is Calling? – A Podcast Series
Calling. It’s a word more and more of us are thinking about, and using in our day to day lives.
Calling speaks to our desire for purpose and meaning. It causes us to ponder what we really wish to do with our lives. It whispers to us in our imaginations, and makes us wonder whether our life might just be about something bigger than ourselves.
Calling and vocation can, however, be easily misunderstood.
So every day on my podcast this week, I’m going to be unpacking this subject, and these a bit more.
You see, many often talk about calling in terms of one calling for life. These
Read MoreHow Will You Be Transformed in 2016? #OneWord365
Each year is a season. Each year, we undergo a process of transformation, of some kind. We’re never the same person departing the year as we were walking in. Whether we’re intentional or not about this process, transformation always happens. For good, or for ill.
Ironically, the word transformation was one I chose for my ‘OneWord365’ for 2015 (I’m going to talk more about One Word 365 and how it’s impacted my life, and how it can impact yours, in the podcast on Wednesday.
There’s no doubt my life as a whole, and especially my perception of life, faith, spirituality, and creativity, has transformed in 2015. And as happened in previous years, the word I chose has become true in many more ways than I could have foreseen.
But what I’ve learned is we are always in a process of transformation. Whether we like it or not. The choice we have is not whether we’re going to be transformed, but how.
Read MoreLetter To Me: Rhiannon Hall
In 2014 I ran a series of guest posts by writer friends, all writing a letter to themselves – either a past self from their present self, or to their present self from their future self.
This inspired my friend Rhiannon Hall, who wrote a letter to herself, and shared it with me. I loved it so much, I got her permission to share it here.
Rhiannon’s is a powerful, moving & courageous letter. So here it is:
Dear 37 Year Old Rhiannon Hall,
First, breathe.
I swear that I remember sitting there starting to reading this… I know you feel that tightness in your chest and you think you are about to cry because you want answers and life seems so complicated and scary. Just do us a favor and breathe for a minute.
Then read on. (And I know you are now fully crying and that’s okay.)
I am proud of you for getting where you are at the moment you are living in. 2015 changed a lot of things for us, didn’t it?
You risked so much to become whole and truly live your authentic life.
Read MoreSurrendering The Final Word
I can screw up. A lot. I’ve said and done things I’m not proud of. I’ve got regrets. And I’ve had to hear and reflect on some harsh truths in my time.
It’s so easy for me, as a writer who tries to be honest, and who writes material to encourage and help others grow, to give the impression you have all the answers.
But many of us, whether we’re writers or not, love to the have the final word. And we’ll keep on responding in discussions – online and offline – just to make sure we do.
Which, as we all know deep down, is not a healthy approach to life.
Experience has convinced me there’s a better way. Surrender.
Read MoreAfraid? Today Can Be Different
I’ll be honest, something in me panics every time I have to step out and do something on my own, without approval, without knowing the answers, without control, without training.
Every. Single. Time.
Usually, my response is excess panic, emotion, stress, anxiety, fear, thinking a million steps ahead, thousands of ‘what ifs’, jumping all the steps straight to the result, pulse rate going into emergency mode, adrenaline pumping, rational thought gone, mind clouded, stress levels growing.
All together in my body in less than 10 seconds.
This panic is basically what stops me from being the best version of myself.
And it all comes from fear.
Read MoreBe The Best You
It’s so popular in our celebrity culture to say “I want to be like [insert name of well known successful person you admire]”.
Celebrity idolatry is at an all time high. Fortunately, over time many people have learned to recognise it for what it is, and to avoid it.
But there’s a subtle, much more significant issue at work too. That of ‘wanting to healthily model the person I admire’.
At it’s best this is healthy. In some ways to learn from and aspire to be more like others who have walked a similar path, can be a good thing. It’s important to look at others with similar gifts and callings, those we respect, and learn lessons from them.
But if we’re not careful, this can lead us down the path of essentially becoming copies of those we admire.
We can become so busy trying to become like someone else, that we forget to be ourselves.
And even worse, we can use our ‘trying to be like someone else’ as a way of avoiding being who we were made to be. Maybe even to cover up for a belief that we, in ourselves, on our own, don’t have value or legitimacy, and nor does our work.
And it’s a horrendous lie.
Read More‘James Talks’ 3 Episode Week – 2: ‘Hearing Our Subconscious’
Hey friends, welcome back to the blog. I hope you’ve been enjoying my new podcast, James Talks. We’ve had 3 episodes now & it’s been great so far.
This week I have some great news – there’s going to be three – yes, count ’em, three – episodes.
There was one yesterday called ‘A Tale Of Two Fathers’ (The Bad Father & The Good Father), and there is another new episode going out on Friday.
And to make up the three, there is a brand new episode live right now! It’s called ‘Hearing Our Subconscious’
Today I talk about how creativity and our subconscious are connected, and can help us discover our true, authentic voice.
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