I Like Words

I am a verbal person.  I love exploring ideas while talking through them with others, letting ideas evolve while we brainstorm away in polite conversation.  And I freely admit to having conversations with myself...after all, conversing is one of life's most accessible pleasures.

Writing is simply another form of conversation:  it inspires us to think, consider, contemplate, and hopefully spark our own conversations - with ourselves, with people we know well, and with  completely new and interesting folks.  Words are powerful in any form.

I'm filling some of my newfound time and freedom learning a little more about words; digging into writing as a profession, what it takes to share ideas and inspiration on a mass scale through the written word. I'm certainly not proficient in how I conduct my research and a lot of the stuff I come across isn't really that interesting, but then I come across things like this cover letter, written in 1934 and mass-mailed to Hollywood executives. Check out what copywriter Robert Pirosh wrote, via Letters of Note, and see how it inspires you:

Dear Sir:

I like words. I like fat buttery words, such as ooze, turpitude, glutinous, toady. I like solemn, angular, creaky words, such as straitlaced, cantankerous, pecunious, valedictory. I like spurious, black-is-white words, such as mortician, liquidate, tonsorial, demi-monde. I like suave "V" words, such as Svengali, svelte, bravura, verve. I like crunchy, brittle, crackly words, such as splinter, grapple, jostle, crusty. I like sullen, crabbed, scowling words, such as skulk, glower, scabby, churl. I like Oh-Heavens, my-gracious, land's-sake words, such as tricksy, tucker, genteel, horrid. I like elegant, flowery words, such as estivate, peregrinate, elysium, halcyon. I like wormy, squirmy, mealy words, such as crawl, blubber, squeal, drip. I like sniggly, chuckling words, such as cowlick, gurgle, bubble and burp.

I like the word screenwriter better than copywriter, so I decided to quit my job in a New York advertising agency and try my luck in Hollywood, but before taking the plunge I went to Europe for a year of study, contemplation and horsing around.

I have just returned and I still like words.

May I have a few with you?

Robert Pirosh

385 Madison Avenue

Room 610

New York

Eldorado 5-6024

Perfect Timing

There’s a new charter school coming to my new town and I couldn’t be more thrilled (seems I’ve been using that word a LOT since learning about Valley Academy)!

With kindergarten registration just weeks away, a fantastically progressive public school with a philosophy spot on with our approach to education has literally landed in our lap. 

And while the school’s Charter and foundational philosophy is over the top exciting…it is the people involved (it always comes down to the people, doesn’t it?) that make this addition to our community so incredibly poignant.  The director brings years of international experience and a global perspective to our little town – if you know me at all you realize this alone is enough to peak my enthusiasm – and the Board exudes the passion and dedication of an effective team that has long been working towards a shared dream. 

It took us about two seconds to decide to enroll our little sweetheart.

It’s a risk to get so excited of course: many others share my enthusiasm and that interest will most likely result in more demand than supply, forcing a lottery for the launch year positions.  But even though it means we could miss out in the short term, I cannot help but spread the word and encourage others to apply.

Being a part of the launch of a new school in our new community and helping to build an inspiring educational experience for children and parents alike promises to be nothing short of amazing regardless of when the opportunity materializes for us personally.  That said, I am crossing my fingers and toes in hopes that we are a part of the inaugural class.

As my mother-in-law so eloquently noted: it is serendipitous that this school comes to Hurricane at the perfect time for our daughter.  And the perfect time for us.

Sunrise

I’m sitting on my front porch this morning, sipping a warm cup of coffee, writing and watching the sunrise.  Pink, yellow, orange, blue stretching out from the cliffs across the red tile roofs and palm trees below.

My neighbor’s front yard fountain shares its calming, gurgling existence.

The morning doves coo and the early birds sing their praises of this beautiful place.

I watch the cliffs turn from brown to peach to rust while their speckled green inhabitants cling to the steep rocky sides, creating one of nature’s most elaborate landscapes.

As the clouds transition to a soft white and the quiet morning continues its peaceful waking, I am once again struck by the power of this desert space on my soul.  This life transition of mine – at first glance nothing more than a bright, unending page – is gaining momentum. Looking closely, I can just make out words beginning their slow fade to black.  What will they say?

Time to take another sip.

Inspiring Retiree Advice

Good morning Inspiring Girls! I came across a little gem a few minutes ago and wanted to share it with you. It seems especially poignant for me on this beautiful desert morning as I contemplate how the next chapter in my life will unfold (and what I will do to turn the pages). Several thoughts touched me but three struck me pretty intensely:

Cultivate a generous heart. -Barbara Robinson, 71

Keep growing, no matter what. -Michael Herman, Sr. 66

Spend more time with your children…they will remember time spent and wisdom shared, not so much the items you provided. -Keith Haines, 62

I love these ideas on so many levels, and if asked to add a bit of my own insight to these inspiring reflections, it would be that sharing our time, ideas, skills and life experience are also powerful ways to invest in our world.

It is worth taking a moment to read their full (short) quotes in the article What Retirees Wish They’d Done Differently.

I am inspired to ask the retired people in my life (a population that is growing now that I live near one of the country's most popular retirement communities!), what advice they would offer to those of us who have a chance – right now – to do it differently.

And I encourage you to ask yourself and share in a comment here: when you are retired, what do you not want to say you wish you would have done differently?

I hope at least one of these gems inspires you to take another step forward in your own journey to cultivate your most inspired life!