For the Wanderers and Wonderers

What did you want to be when you grew up?

You may wonder why I’m asking that question. I’m not sure, to be honest. Maybe because when I was little, I wrote little stories, then cut up the paper and stapled everything together so it looked like a book. I’ve always written.

I’ve also liked to perform. I was a dancer, and loved drama, and did little skits with my friends growing up.  I loved playing make believe.

Then, when I did grow up, I went into broadcasting and had a 15-year-career (behind the scenes, for the most part) in radio and television.

In a way, I’ve always known, at least generally, what I wanted to do.

Granted, I’ve done other things besides writing and broadcasting. I’ve worked for a Chamber of Commerce and an Economic Development Foundation and worked a few years in the hospitality industry at hotels. But as I’ve aged, I’ve turned back to my childhood love of writing and creating.

My husband will tell you that he wanted to be a rock and roll guitarist when he was a kid. And today, he is definitely NOT a famous guitarist, although he still has his love of music. God is using other talents of my husband’s in his current job.

As much as I love writing, I’m still not sure what place it holds in my future. I don’t know what I’ll write, if I’ll ever finish a novel, if I’ll write screenplays, or just be a happy blogger.

In the long run, perhaps I don’t need to know. I just need to follow the path that God has in front of me. Praying that no matter where he leads me, I’ll honor him.

I think there are a lot of people today who might be lost or wondering what to do with their lives. They may have lost their job in the pandemic. Or quit their job due to other circumstances. Others may feel like although they have a good job now, is this really what they’re meant to do in life.

Do you wonder what your purpose is in life? If you’re walking the road God created for you?

I wish I had a good answer for those who are wandering and wondering. I don’t. But I go back to the question of what I wanted to be when I grew up. If that doesn’t point you in a direction, then maybe volunteering somewhere will, or taking a continuing education class at a community college, or just getting involved with your church. I do know this: Prayer is the first step. The second step may be up to you. After that, look out! You never know where God is going to take you.

Listen Up!

I have no words these days. And for a writer, that’s not a good state to be in. If I had to dig for words, and face these words head on, I can think of two: anger and uncertainty.

www.TalkingAmongFriends.com blog by Rebecca Yauger Listen Up!
Are we taking the time to listen to each other, especially in today’s climate?

For the past few months, we’ve been living in an uncertain world. The pandemic left us all in a state of limbo and fear, with our worlds turned upside down.

Now, we have this terrible video of the death of George Floyd. And our nation seems to have erupted with anger. Yes, we should be angry and upset and disheartened that the actions of a few have now tarnished the entire police force. And there is anger over racism that should have long been eradicated in this country. There are some serious and very difficult issues to face with our nation, and that feeds into our anger and into our uncertainty.

The media is continually showing us the worst side of the protests, which turned into rioting and looting. Rioting is not protesting. Looting doesn’t belong in this equation. Violence, especially started by outside, not local, paid organizations, is criminal.

Protesting for a change of attitude, to fight for needed changes of behavior and change of heart and professionalism are warranted.

Now, I’m a Caucasian Christian woman who lives in the suburbs of a major American city. And because of that, I feel like there are no words I could say that would not be misunderstood, or that would make matters worse. I’ve already seen a blanket condemnation of caucasians, that we don’t understand. And that’s true. But that doesn’t mean I’m not compassionate, or feeling, or sick to my stomach at what’s happening in the world.

We shouldn’t condemn the entire police force with a single brush, or think that all people of color are criminals, or that all white people are privileged.

Right now, I’m angry, hurt, fearful and uncertain. As a Christian, I turn to my faith and prayer. As an American, I’m not sure what other action to take, but don’t take my temporary inaction as not caring. I want to take helpful steps, not fuel the fires of anger and hate. I will be cautious.

Finally, I’m the proud daughter of a military officer. I’m a supporter of the police (NOT the bad apples), but the police men and women who care about the citizens of their cities. Anyone who condemns the police in general, needs to go on a ride along with them on one of their shifts. I’m not sure they do ride-alongs anymore, but I was able to go on one for a college paper. And it changed my world forever. That was many years ago, so I can’t imagine what the police face today.

I guess I’m saying there needs to be respect, on all sides of the table. There needs to be forgiveness. If you can’t forgive the four former police officers in Minneapolis, then forgive the rest of the police force, no matter where you live. Don’t taint them all with the same brush. Just like you don’t like being tainted with the same false brush.

www.TalkingAmongFriends.com blog by Rebecca Yauger Listen up!
How do we become the “United” States once again?

The media needs to show more and more of the positive things that are happening. People of the United States of America, no matter what skin color, need to unite for change. Respect where we come from, what our points of view are, then find the common ground. I bet there’s more common ground than we realize.

It’s funny, right now, I’m thinking of something my dad always says. A lot of folks are interested in tracing their ancestry, where they come from. My dad doesn’t understand that. He keeps it simple and says, “I’m American. I was born here. This is where I come from.”

If you are a citizen of these great United States, you are an American. We need to find a way to be united. We need to find a way to have differing opinions, but not condemn others for having a differing opinion. We can learn from each other by listening to each other.

So, besides the words anger and uncertainty, maybe the greater word we need to remember right now is LISTEN. Let’s listen to ALL sides. Let’s learn from each other. The continuing anger won’t solve anything. We’re all heartbroken over the death of George Floyd. So, there’s common ground right there. We’re all outraged. But now, let’s come together to fight the systemic issue of racism. We can respect each other’s backgrounds and cultures, and celebrate those. But we also need to remember, we’re citizens of the same country. We need to prove that we are what our name says: United States. We need to be a united people.

The division among us doesn’t solve problems. Maybe listening to each other, with the attitude of respect and the expectation of learning from each other will help us unite for a better America.

I Failed…I didn’t Watch My Words (Video and Text)

The link below is to a video following up on last week’s “How do we talk to ourselves when we look in the mirror?” Apparently I wasn’t paying attention to my own words.

Video Link: I Didn’t Watch My Words

Here’s the text from the video:

Hi Everyone. Thank you for the great response to last week’s video on
“Watching your Words,” on how we talk to ourselves when we look in the mirror.

Before we move on, apparently, I need to go back and watch that video again.

This past weekend our granddaughters were over, and we were all playing out in the backyard. Before I go on let me give a shout out to my oldest granddaughter, who apparently likes to watch Grammy on these videos. So, hi Daphne! Grammy loves you.

Anyway, Daphne and her little sister were over and we’re all playing in the backyard and then afterwards my daughter posted some pictures on Facebook. And I saw one picture of me, and immediately started criticizing how fat I looked and how big I looked.

My husband stopped me and he said, “Is that all you see?”

My beautiful granddaughters

I sheepishly said, “Well, no. I see our beautiful granddaughters.”

And he said, “I see a Grammy out there kicking the ball with her granddaughters.”

And he has a point. I was out there playing with them and running around and kicking the ball. I wasn’t sitting on the sidelines.

But it shocked me how quickly and easily I fell back into the self-criticism mode of talking badly about myself after looking at one picture. Even when you’re watching out for how you watch your words, how you talk to yourself, you can slip back into the negative cycle.

We all have value. We all have a purpose, and the purpose of that day was me being a good Grammy. They didn’t care that I looked fat, they were glad I was out there participating.

So, I’m back to the drawing board, I need to watch my words and watch how I talk to myself.

Now, did I fail because I had this lapse? No, but it is something you need to pay attention to… I need to pay attention to. It can happen so easily.

So, we’re back on the cycle of positivity. We’re back on the cycle of I have value. And I have a purpose, and I have a meaning. And if I’m so unhappy with how I look, then I could go out and do something about it. So, stop the negativity.

Today’s the day to choose joy, and to believe in yourself and to believe in your purpose.

Lost Motivation? It’s Okay to Start Again

I’m privileged to blog for Novel Academy. My most recent post is about beginning again if you’ve lost motivation from your goals that you set a few weeks ago. Read more here.

I’m at the stage where I need to heed my own advice and begin again, as I’ve gotten a bit off-track already. To be fair, I’ve had a new grandchild arrive this month, so that’s a worthy distraction.

Worthy or not, I have a job to do if I’m ever going to fulfill my own dreams and goals.

What about you? How do you  stay on track? I’d love to hear your thoughts.