This morning I made a light proclamation to my daughter,
Emma when I said, “Your Great Great Grandpa was Canadian.”
She didn’t find that very funny.
Emma is taking AP World History this year and one of her
first assignments is to research where her family roots began. We’re thinking
nineteenth century here. Most of her classmates have roots in Europe or Central
or South American during that time, but my little Emma’s roots stretch across
the United States in that time.
My family of choice goes beyond blood. My family of choice
flows words and images as blood. My literary Grandma’s and Aunties, My Artist
Cousins and Sisters, these women so many people haven’t heard of yet.
In honor of the spirit of “FLASH” today, I am going to leave
you with images of these women and request you visit the links I will leave
from my “Women in Literary History from A to Z” series from last Spring.
Lucy Larcom, Mill Girl & Writer
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Social Reformer & Writer
Ina Coolbrith, First Poet Laureate of California
Kate Chopin: Novelist, Short Story Writer (with her Children)
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity
Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since
1999. She is
Julie Jordan Scott writing at Ina Coolbrith Park in San Francisco
also an award winning Actor, Director,
Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the
StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield.
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you enjoy this essay? Receive emails directly to your
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My love for cooking is a well kept secret. I would love to
cook more regularly, nothing fancy but simple, healthy and made from scratch
using herbs from my garden, stuff I buy at the farmers market….
It is strange because in the past year I’ve been known by my
daughter’s friends as being quite the fancy cook because she takes different
pasta dishes and when I’m really moved,
homemade cookies, every day. The reason
for the pasta dishes is she won’t eat sandwiches like other kids so I had to
get creative!
Would you gain benefit in applying any of these principals or
just make your life or your writing more fulfilling? Call for a complimentary coaching
session now - 661.444.2735.
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity
Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since
1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director,
Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the
StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield.
Did
you enjoy this essay? Receive emails directly to your
inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion
Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost)
every week day. Subscribe here now -
This post is one of 30 in 30 Days of Flash Life Writing inspired by Terri Long
and her fantabulous blogging event. Click on the image to join this creative fun!
We took a driving/sightseeing/national park vacation this
Summer. We visited Las Vegas, too. It
was an apology to my beloved Middle Child for enduring nature meanderings.
We hit several months worth of shopping and outlet malls on
those final few days.
I learned a lot. The most important thing was I love
spending time with my children when they are fully mine. Once they hit teenage
status, this is rare.
Secondly, I can meander around nature solo.
Thirdly, our relationships deepen no matter where we go, as
long as we remember our most important adventure is loving one another.
Julie Jordan Scott
has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator
and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an
award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother
Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling
Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS &
this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring
this unique, fun filled creative experience to the
people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoy this essay? Receive emails directly to
your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via
the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational
essay and poem (almost) every week day.
Subscribe here now -
I’m not sure when I made writing of dawn a regular practice. I just started and since then, continued as a writing challenge. Interesting to note that today’s writing included “night” before the dawn.
Writing about the same subject every day has built my powers of description and wordsmithing in ways I can’t even quantify. Since I get bored easily, I challenge myself to “see the sunrise differently” every day. It would be such a cop out to constantly write the same dull words over and over.
Sandpaper clouds stretch
Slowly slice through night's darkness
Sun reflects gold light
This prompt has decided it: I am going to start writing of dusk as a daily practice as well.
Word Count - 118 without bonus. With bonus haiku = 169
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
I'm catching up with my #BlogFlash2012 posts. Today's prompt is simply.... SPORTS
I have two big sporting victories in my life. The first: Fall, 1977 at Dana Hills High School.
I had recently moved to California from New Jersey. Did I mention it was a beach city where most of the girls seemed to be at least 5 feet 8 inches tall with long blonde hair, great tans and had perfect bodies and complexions?
I had none of those things.
Worse yet, in my New Jersey P.E. classes, we apparently played “Monkey Ball” rather than “Volley Ball.”
In Dana Point we drilled on the how-to’s so I learned how to become a great server and one day a miracle occurred. I attempted a dig and the ball rose in the air triumphantly.
I can still see my arms somehow knowing how to dig and watching the ball rise up, white against the blue sky. For a split second, I didn’t feel completely uncoordinated.
WORD COUNT: 152
AND a quick PS... things have changed since then. Dana Point is now a city - even has a woman mayor... and while it appears there are more minority students at DHHS check out all the blondes in this video.
Oh, and we didn't even have an auditorium much less a performing arts center when I attended there!!
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
It is a strange passion: graveyards. They are among my favorite tourist attractions. Here are some photos of my favorites for the BlogFlash2012 post. Visual primarily rather than words, primarily.
Rodney Dangerfield, Los Angeles
This is my favorite grave here in Bakersfield, California. I think I love it so much because I know it has a story but so far, I haven't uncovered it.
Or written my version beyond a poem or two.
This is a grave of two John Alsheimers - both died in 1918 within months of each other. A baby and a grown man. What was the relationship? Father and son? Grandfather and son? How did the elder John die? Where is Mrs. Alsheimer?
Louisa May Alcott (and family)
Concord, Massachusetts
She is a Civil War Veteran (she was a nurse) so she has special honors by her simple headstone marked LMA.
Johnny Ramone of the Band The Ramones
H
Hollywoodland Forever, Los Angeles
I had a different version of this photo of Emily's Grave, but when I was preparing to upload I realized the shadow sillouette of my friend, Ann, fit perfectly!
Emily Dickinson
Amherst, Massachusetts
I have other famous photos of cemeteries, but I will end with this one, my daughter who was stillborn, Marlena.
I think once you have someone close to you die and you honor their life and death, the way cemeteries feel changes.
I hope you enjoyed this short tour!
(I think I might blog more of my cemetery photos more regularly!)
This blog post was inspired by the prompt "graveyard" from Blog Flash2012. 30 Days, 30 Prompts.
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
I have been pulling off a great acting job for years. People tend to think of me as a real goodie-two-shoes: using bad language or “talk smack” or heaven forbid say something of a sexual nature, people can’t believe it.
*Gasp*!
Why, our Julie Jordan Scott doesn’t think of things like being mean and hating or getting so angry she uses bad language and wait – isn’t she a nun?
I am cynical today because it is the anniversary of one of my biggest mistakes ever. I’ll be paying off those moments of wildness for the rest of my life.
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
I have so many books I have written sitting in Word Docs and notebooks and blogs and articles I use to keep me warm, like a quilt, somehow afraid to stitch together and watch fly away into other people’s hearts and minds.
The irony is people ASK me where they can “get” my books.
“Oh, I’m in poetry and essay anthologies. I have a couple ebooks…” my voice trails off.
They want a book, a real bound book with pages to turn and margins to add their thoughts in purple ink.
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
Today's topic from #BlogFlash2012 - which I am joining almost half-way through the month - is CHILDREN. My most common computer password expresses, everytime I log into a website or what have you, how much I adore my children. My first internet handle was "luvmibabies" - yes, I am a mother hooked on her children.
I have heard rumors that most Mothers & Daughters go through a horrible season or two between ages 9 and 18 before they can actually look each other in the eye again.
I must have done something wrong in the parenting department. My daughters and I have never gone through that “Who is this female under my roof who looks somewhat like me but is so annoying I can’t stand to be in the same room as her!”
My formula for parenting success, though, isn’t an easy one either.
My belief is we were bound together by the not-so-great times so we cherish each other that much more in all the other times. We thrive on vulnerability, transparency and love. We have each others backs. We see the best in each other. We appreciate each other’s idiosyncrasies.
Last night my children and I had a slumber party in my living room. My daughters, my eleven-year-old son and I all chose a different spot and we laughed our way to sleep.
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
This was the first soulcollage card I made last Saturday. I have been haunted by a recent couchsurfer from Austria who was so much more aware of world politics than I. PLUS I am such a reluctant leader… people tend to appoint me leader without me volunteering. The first time this happened was the fourth grade in Girl Scouts. People just look to me as such so it is no accident to know Samuel drew this card for me this morning to study and to live today.
So far today I have written in response:
I am one who leads.
I am one who leads women and men.
I am one who inspired, one who creates a path no one else can fathom yet. I see crowds (comfy ones) in rural villages, in fields of red flowers.
I am one who brings color to the colorless. I am one who believes in the forefront, who stands at the forefront proclaiming joy in each moment.
I am one who asks questions:
Why am I a leader?
Who do I lead?
What purpose does my leadership serve?
Is my leadership making a difference?
Am I making the right decisions?
Are the results of my leadership worth the personal sacrifices I am making?
Deepening questions –
What is this card offering to me?
Courage
Will
Support
Inspiration
What does this card want or need from me?
Learn more about current women leaders in politics, business and the arts. Continue to learn about grandmothers of the arts. You know how to spread passion, now spread it.
Are there any other messages from the card?
You can, Julie, my love, you can!
Speaking as if I am the image:
I chose the woman leading the march with the flag and the blue binder in her arms.
Many of the times I head out the door to lead, I am afraid. I know the cause is bigger than my fear and there are lives that will be changed under my leadership. This makes me move. It makes me conspire with myself (my heart?) to reach deeper, higher, further.
I look at each person with that same strength and conviction in my eyes: women leaders will change the world by mothering it differently than other leaders have. Yes, I said mothering the world.
Current leaders to study now:
German Chancellor: Angela Merkel
From Finland: Heidi Anneli Hautala was appointed as the Minister for International Development to the Finnish government in June 2011. Shedeals with the ministry’s development cooperation affairs and the government’s ownership steering within the Prime Minister’s Office.
Hautala has been referred as the Grand Lady of Finnish Human Rights politics. She is a former member of the European Parliament and the chairwoman of the parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights. She was in charge of European Parliament’s human rights policy in external relations. She believes in furthering human rights, transparency, environmental responsibility and global justice. During the past years Heidi Hautala has been known as a versatile, active and fearless politician internationally and in Finland, where she has been a household name for two decades.
It is no accident you are reading this today. Sure, it is my card and my intuitive listening that gave my responses.
How do you connect with the card and with what I have written?
So there we have it: Soul Assignment Accepted on July 25, 2012
This is post #16/31 for the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Slowly and surely I am getting caught up!
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
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