Bloganuary #12

~ Catherine ~ 8 Comments

What emoji(s) do you like to use?

💜✨ (always together)

😊

😘❤️ (most often together)

These are the emojis I use most.

But really? That’s not the most inspiring prompt… At least, it did not spark much creativity in me.

Be well

Be kind with yourself

Art of Dying – get through this

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~ Catherine ~ 6 Comments

Some call it wisdom, some call it philosophical, some call it pretentious rubbish. Me, I am just a bit relieved that there are still words left that I deem worthy to share with the world.

💜❤️🖤💚💙🤍🧡🤎

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~ Catherine ~ 6 Comments

To feel hope means letting go of the harrowing thoughts inside of me

If I were a painter, I would paint an open cage

If I were a poet, I would write words that made sense

But I am just a jester floating on lilac light

Feeling hope means remembering the broken fragments residing in me

❤🖤💙💚💛🧡💜

First poem of the year.

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~ Catherine ~ Leave a comment

Sleepless night. It’s after 2 am here. It means either my biorhythm is still messed up from the nightshifts, I slept too much last night, or my mental health is taking a serious hit in the next 24 to 48 hours.

This sucks… And my friend who is insomniac is actually asleep tonight. Ha! Such is life. But, I am upbeat and bubbly.

Bloganuary #11

~ Catherine ~ 8 Comments

What does it mean to live boldly?

Living boldly, hm.

It possibly, means – for me, to live without doubts or care. Without shying away from responsibility. Being loud and unapologetic. Taking what one wants, and being confident about it. Being who one wants to be and not how others are expecting them to be. Being free.

The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can’t be any large-scale revolution until there’s a personal revolution, on an individual level. It’s got to happen inside first.

Jim Morrison
The Doors – people are strange

I am not living boldly.

Bloganuary #10

~ Catherine ~ 4 Comments

What are 5 things you’re grateful for today?

  1. Communication and my language skills. It is 1 pm where I am and already, I spoke French with the mailman, German with a co-worker (on my day off!), English with my closest friend, and Luxembourgish with my kids. Obviously, I need these 4 languages daily, but I am well aware that not everyone has access to learn or use foreign languages. That said, here in Luxembourg, being fluent in at least 2 or 3 is standard.
  2. Quiet me-time. Oh, that sounds selfish and ungrateful. But I worked a lot these last weeks, without any real time to recover. Today is the first time in weeks that I am on my own, without any plans. As it is, I am still in bed, and I am very happy about that.
  3. Today, I am grateful for yesterday’s smiles and yesterday’s memories
  4. Creativity. My head is buzzing with ideas to write new stuff. I am not sure if I can put it on paper (or a screen), but the ideas are definitely there.
  5. Music – that’s a no-brainer. Always, always grateful for music and musicians.
Kate Bush – the man with the child in his eyes. 💜

Bloganuary #9

~ Catherine ~ 10 Comments

What do people incorrectly assume about you?

At work and in my private life, people tend to assume that I am relaxed and unfazed. As if nothing could disturb my calm or patience. Yes, I have been told that I exude calm and confidence.

If they only knew that I need to choose every word I say carefully and that inside, I am a bundle of nervous energy. I doubt myself all the time and I overthink everything I say or do or will say or do in the future.

But, those doubts also make me great at work. I am rigorous and thorough. I don’t leave messes for others to clean up and assume my responsibilities. All that, but calm, patient, and relaxed, I am not.

Edited to add something else people wrongly assume about me:

Apparently, I come across as distant here on the blog, like someone who does not want to engage. That’s wrong. I love interacting. If you take a chance to comment, I will reply. Hehe

~ Catherine ~ 7 Comments

For a moment, I thought…

…But then I stopped.

💜❤️🤎🧡💛🤍💙💚🖤

Nightshift 1/2 done… Good morning and good night.

Bloganuary #8

~ Catherine ~ 8 Comments

What do you like most about your writing?

That’s an easy one. At least, I think it is.

I have a writing voice that I believe to be not so common. My vocabulary is rather simple. There are a few reasons for that: 1) English is not my native language 2) I like it that way because I believe that simple and relatable vocabulary has more impact than complicated words.

My stories and poems are filled (overflowing?) with emotions. And I like to believe that these emotions are palpable to the readers. But that’s not for me to judge.

Most of my writing is impulsive, unedited and that’s why it is also a bit raw and unpolished. That’s okay with me. And quite frankly, not many people complain about it. And those who do tell me that I could be a much better writer if I showed some ambition. Maybe they are right. Maybe they are not.

So yes… I think, if you read my short stories, my voice is recognisable. Or maybe that is just the sleep-deprived overconfidence talking and in truth I simply wrote the same story over and over again.

And so, I ask you:

What do you like most about my writing?