This Week's Prompt

Meditation (4 Stories)

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Meditation - the practice of mindfulness to achieve mental clarity and emotional calm - has always been a traditional part of the Eastern religions of Jainism,  Buddhism,  and Hinduism.

In the 20th century, meditation was used by the European psychoanalysts Carl Jung and Erich Fromm as part of their treatments. And today’s Western medical establishment recognizes the benefits of meditation in reducing depression, stress, and anxiety.

Do you meditate?  If so, how long have you practiced it, and how has it helped you?

Think back about Meditation and share forward!

 
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Stuff (1 Story)

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People produce and purchase piles of stuff: pots and pans, papers and paraphernalia. Some stuff we use daily. Other stuff loses its novelty or utility.  Day by day, year by year, stuff circulates through our lives.

What do you do with all your stuff?  Do you hang on to it?  Or hide it away?  Do you sort,  organize,  and store it?  Or do you eject it in a desperate attempt to simplify your life?

Think back about Stuff and share forward!
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My Own Worst Critic

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Does this sound familiar?  You finish a challenging task and think “Good job!”.  But soon you start second-guessing  “Couldn’t I have done it better?  Why didn’t I do this or that?”

Before long the “A” you initially gave yourself dissolves into a “B” and sometimes a “C” ,  and you’re left thinking  “I should have been perfect,  but I wasn’t!”

Are you your own worst critic,  and have you ever wondered why?

Think back about My Own Worst Critic and share forward!
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War (1 Story)

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War has always been too much with us.  Today, on a planet shriveled by media,  we are surrounded by this horrible human ritual.

Did you play war as a child?  Did a parent or grandparent fight in WWII?  Did you fight in Vietnam,  Iraq,  or Afghanistan?  Have you lost loved ones to war?  Have you protested war?  How do you feel about war today?

Think back about War and share forward!
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Family Relationships (2 Stories)

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It is said, “Blood is thicker than water.”,  and  “Family first.”

But we’re also told , “You can pick your friends,  but you can’t pick your family.”

Which is it in your family?  Or have you had both loving as well as strained relationships with your parents,  or with your own children?    Or with siblings,  cousins,  aunts,  uncles,  or in-laws?

Have there been estrangements or feuds in your family,  and if so have they been resolved?

Think back about Family Relationships and share forward!
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Past Prompts

Swimming (5 Stories)

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Human swimmers have appeared in Stone Age paintings dating back 7,000 years. In ancient Greece and Rome, swimming was considered a martial art and was required of all young boys.

Do you love to swim?  If so, did you learn as a child or as an adult?  Do you prefer swimming in lakes, oceans, or swimming pools?

Do you now or have you ever feared the water?  Did you ever survive a near-drowning experience, or witnessed one?

Think back about Swimming and share forward!
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Snow Day (7 Stories)

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Ever have one of those well-planned days that got buried in a snow storm so big that everything else was cancelled?

Perhaps it gave you a free fun day off from school or work? Or a bad day of stress, maybe during a long road trip when your car said, “That’s it, I’m done!”

Or at the Bemidji, Minnesota airport when you should have landed in Chicago?  Either way, did the day play out for better or worse?

Think back about Snow Day and share forward!
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Stress (4 Stories)

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Some people thrive on stress,  others find it exhausting and retreat into helplessness.  Most of us are probably somewhere in between.

Life has always had its stressors,  but since the advent of extreme national divisiveness,  Covid, and wars that keep popping up,  the world seems out to give us all a nervous breakdown.

What have been some of your most stressful times or stress-provoking events?  And what have been your coping strategies?

Think back about Stress and share forward!
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Training Pets (7 Stories)

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A new kitten or puppy in the family can be a delight, but as every animal-lover knows, pets have to be trained.

Do you have pets? Did you train them? Or did they train you?

Think back about Training Pets and share forward!
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Comedy (10 Stories)

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Comedy,  it seems,  has always been with us.  Human comedy probably began with paleolithic misfits, shamans, and fools who were useless in the hunt but beloved for their ability to inspire laughter.

Who are your favorite comedians past and present, male and female? Do they make fun of themselves?  Of others?

Comedy is difficult.  Have you ever evoked laughter - either on purpose or unintentionally?

Think back about Comedy and share forward!
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