Sandra Carrington-Smith's Blog – March 2010 Archive (17)

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. -- Albert Einstein







Of all the things my children were blessed with, curiosity is certainly the trait that brings home the prize. They never tire of asking questions, and charge everything with a genuine interest to learn something new at every turn.







Even if their unbridled desire to always find out different things… Continue

“In spite of everything I shall rise again; I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh





While I was catching up with e-mail last night, I overheard a story my husband was following on TV – a man served a long sentence for a crime he didn’t commit; when he was finally cleared of the charges, he could have chosen to be bitter toward the system that had forced him captive all those years, but he… Continue

“In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt







One of the most intriguing things about listening to people describe news events is their tendency to remember – and their preference to discuss – the most gruesome segments. I once heard someone say that the newscast he had just watched was not very interesting because nothing really… Continue

“Emotions are the fuel to really move you along - that's the only way you can create music. If you don't feel any emotions, it's not going to happen.” ~ Jan Hammer







In one of her comments to one of my posts, friend and fellow writer Alice grist described how hearing of the success a childhood friend experienced in her career, motivated her to stir her own creative juices and start writing professionally.



Although their friendship had ended many years before… Continue

“Some closing of the gates is inevitable after thirty, if the mind is to become a creative power.”~ E.M. Forster





This past weekend, one of my close friends went on a spiritual retreat she attends several times a year, and decided to share the trip with another friend who occasionally travels with her. During this particular trip, she had a surprise –another friend she had not seen in years decided to ride along.





Once she got past the initial shock, she was… Continue

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” ~ Proverb of origin unknown



Although this wise, old proverb hints at the fact that we shouldn’t judge a gift by its monetary value, a few days ago I couldn’t help but come up with a slightly different interpretation for it.



A week ago, I woke up to a terrible head cold – sore throat, stuffy nose, body aches, and all the necessary garnishes to make me feel utterly miserable. Not being a fan of medications unless absolutely necessary,… Continue

Being passionate of all things spiritual, I became really intrigued when I read the editorial reviews of The Big Book of Soul. Finally I had the opportunity to read a book dealing with the spiritual practice of Hoodoo which focused on healing rather than hexing.



I went to a local bookstore to pick up a copy already expecting to like the book, but nothing prepared me for the treat I was about to receive. The cover itself, with its abundance of color and festive energy was striking… Continue

“Fear is faith that it won’t work out.” ~ Author unknown





While watching a comedy sitcom in which a kid was trying to learn how to swim, I saw my daughter become pensive for a moment. Then, with a puzzled look spreading across her little face, she said: “If I can swim, why is he having such a hard time with it? He can just float.”





I tried to remind her of when she didn’t know how to swim either, and how apprehensive she was when the swimming instructor first… Continue

“The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” ~Chinese Proverb



While playing Lego blocks with my daughter, yesterday afternoon, my attention was piqued by a home she had built for one of her little miniature dolls. She had erected the walls around the figurine, and in the excitement of the moment, she had forgotten to include a door.



Here was the poor little doll, sitting in a cluster of colored plastic bricks tightly intertwined together as… Continue

“A lot of people say they want to get out of pain, and I'm sure that's true, but they aren't willing to make healing a high priority. They aren't willing to look inside to see the source of their pain in order to deal with it.” ~ Lindsay Wagner





About a week ago, my oldest son got hurt playing basketball. What initially appeared as a red, slightly swollen bump, changed color over time, and became a silver-dollar-sized brown and yellow bruise covering the inside of his… Continue

Last night was a bit of a rollercoaster. After reaching the top when I received the copies of Housekeeping for the Soul I had ordered two weeks ago, I took a fast dip when one of my contacts sent me a message and told me that the advance copy she received today for review was misprinted – right jacket and wrong book inside of it!



I am of firm belief that people’s paths cross for a reason, but this unexpected merging of literary children created sheer panic. Within a matter of hours,… Continue

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” ~ Henry D. Thoreau





Although I’ve heard the expression ‘Heaven on earth’ many times, it was only yesterday that I realized how easily we misinterpret its meaning.



While I buy into the concept that to get to the light at the end of the tunnel one must first go through the tunnel, I also feel that the road has been particularly long and rough this year – with sub-freezing temperatures almost everyday, and a pale sun… Continue

On September 19 1893 New Zealand became the first country in the world to give women the right to vote. Women in other countries campaigned for justice for many years.



In 1910 a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) proposed the idea of an International Women's Day, which was launched the following year on March 19.



Two new journals… Continue

“Star light, Star bright, the first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.” ~ From Pinocchio







When I woke up early in the morning, I had no idea what an amazing day yesterday would turn out to be. In so many ways, March 4 was special already, as it marked the first day of my oldest son attending a driving class. The rest of the day passed relatively uneventful, and it was almost seven o’clock when I finally got home. I started… Continue

“In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself in a dark wood where the straight way was lost. Ah! How hard a thing is it to tell what a wild, and rough, and stubborn wood this was, which in my thought renews the fear! So bitter is it that scarcely more is death: but to treat of the good that I there found, I will relate the other things that I discerned.” ~ Dante Alighieri







It’s quite amazing how time and age can make such a difference in the way one… Continue

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.” ~ Robert Frost







When I was a young girl, I found it mind-boggling how older people never seemed to really worry about anything. As for any teenager worth her salt, a small stumble was enough to devastate my world.



One day, one of my mother’s friends came over to see us. She looked terrible – her face was etched with deep lines of worry, and her eyes lacked the spark I was accustomed to… Continue

Triangle Area Freelancers (TAF) will hold its annual nonfiction symposium Write Now! 2010 at Wake Technical Community College (Main Campus) on Saturday, March 27, 2010, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Local broadcast journalist and WRAL crime beat reporter Amanda Lamb will deliver the keynote address. Amanda is the author of three books: Smotherhood, Deadly Dose, and Evil Next Door, which is scheduled for an April 6 release.





The conference classes, taught by nationally published writers… Continue