perspective

Conversations with Calliope- Recharging the Writer

By Joseph Langen
Nov 30, 2009, 9:39am

(Butterfly Feeding)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I missed you.
JOE: I took off a few days to recharge my batteries.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good idea. What prompted that?
JOE: My friend Gerry keeps suggesting it. Sometimes I listen to him.
CALLIOPE: How do you get recharged?
JOE: First by turning off my computer. Sometimes too much input keeps me from being able to think.
CALLIOPE: Good. What else?
JOE: Mostly reading. I read two novels over the past few days, James Patterson's Swimsuit and Erich Segal's Acts of Faith.
CALLIOPE: How did they help you recharge?
JOE: Several ways. Reading helps me think from the perspective of the reader and imagine what it would be like for someone to read what I write.
CALLIOPE: Anything else?
JOE: Yes. I also absorb ways to describe events and bring characters to life. I don't try to copy other writers but I think their styles meld with my own and makes my writing richer.
CALLIOPE: Very wise.
JOE: Thank you. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Prosperity in Perspective

By Joseph Langen
Apr 16, 2009, 8:51am

(Gull at Niagara Falls)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine. Our travels the last couple days resulted in Carol finding a new car for a reasonable price.
CALLIOPE: Glad to hear it. What did you learn from the process?
JOE: Good question. I think I learned a few things about prosperity.
CALLIOPE: Tell me more.
JOE: Several years ago I retired from my psychology practice to focus entirely on my writing.
CALLIOPE: How does prosperity fit in?
JOE: When I retired, I realized I would have much less money to live on. I thought about this as Carol bought a new car. I don't know if I will ever be in a position to do so myself.
CALLIOPE: Does that bother you?
JOE: Sometimes it nags at me. I don't have oceans of money at my disposal and can't always do things I would like to do.
CALLIOPE: Is there another side to it?
JOE: I am freed from pursuing money. I have enough to live on and provide my basics as well as some left over for our travels.
CALLIOPE: Are you okay with that?
JOE: Most of the time. Sometimes I wish I had more money to pursue my interests. I usually come back to realize that oodles of money don't always make people happy. Usually I can accept the life I have chosen. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Lessons of Cancer

By Joseph Langen
Dec 22, 2008, 7:34am

(Sunset in Leroy)

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JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Not bad. Yesterday was quite a reflective day.
CALLIOPE: What was going on?
JOE: I attended a memorial service for a friend at Unity Church.
CALLIOPE: How did she die?
JOE: Metastatic breast cancer. Three members of our church were diagnosed with breast cancer in quick succession, including my life partner, Carol. Kat was the second one to die and Carol is the only survivor of the three.
CALLIOPE: Scary.
JOE: I've discovered there is no way to predict what will happen in life. Carol and I are grateful that things turned out the way they did for her but are sad to lose the other two.
CALLIOPE: What did you learn from yesterday?
JOE: That life is precious, unpredictable and to be treasured one day at a time.
CALLIOPE: All good lessons.
JOE: I think so. It's easy to take life for granted when things are going well. It takes incidents like this to remind us that we don't live forever and have only today to count on for sure.
CALLIOPE: I hope you use your day productively.
JOE: I will do my best. Talk with you tomorrow.

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