Happy New Year!!!

Like many of you, I'm taking a few minutes to reflect on the year that was. Specifically in terms of how things have changed since I decided to start my website and join this amazing community. For those of you "on the outside looking in" (ie, who aren't blogging yourselves) I encourage you to at least consider it, because once you've taken that leap you'll probably find that life won't be the same again.

One of the biggest benefits has been the inspiration to resume writing.  This has been a great motivator for me; to my way of thinking once you develop any sort of following you have a certain degree of obligation to your readers.  Our lives are all different and most of us don't have as much time to devote as we'd like, but I've tried to stay fairly consistent.  I will however never write anything that's 'filler' just because I think it's expected. If I haven't been happy with it I haven't posted it.

Anyway I'm getting a bit side-tracked here because the real focus of this post is on you guys.  I've met many people from all over the world, which I expected, but what I never expected was the friendships that would develop along the way.  It's been an amazing ride. 

I feel better about life than I ever did. This year was so much better than last, and some of it is attributable to you (you know who you are).  My one regret is that I'll never meet most of you, however that's just geography and as corny as it may sound I carry you with me.

So...for you whose gaze I shall never reflect, your hand not to shake, or shoulders hug.  Our hearts, minds and souls have met through these wires, across cities and over oceans.  And I feel so, so blessed to have met each and every one of you.

Happy New Year everyone!!

PS:  I have a few things up my sleeve, and plan to make things more interesting in the coming year.

My Favourite Chemistry Lesson

         Ever had someone scramble your brain with just one look?
                                            Of course you have. *


Okay, there's really no way to skirt around this.  The piece I've written below was inspired by a book I've been reading on sexual psychophysiology (one of my Christmas presents from Sandy).  Amongst other more descriptive chapters it covers the body and mind's chemical reactions to sex and love.  Makes me wish we could take a trip inward; there are lots of colours and fireworks we're missing out on.


My Favourite Chemistry Lesson


Eyes lock across a room
Two entwine in silent dance,
Synergy
Energy
Chemistry at a glance.

Hormones
Pheromones
Embrace with this attraction,
Brain synapses fire
In neurological reaction.

Colours fill your eyes,
Blur your mind as you hold close.
Dopamine
Amphetamine
The rush, flushed skin exposed.

Longing, aching, trembling
Until release leaves you warm
Desire
In its most primal and purest form.




  Intellectual property copyright Barry O'Shea.  All rights reserved.
*Photo credit: "Disturbed Synapses" by waugh 2004-2009. 
All rights reserved.Link here

Hmm, What to Write?

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I'm in the mood to write a short story or vignette.  But I'm not sure of the theme, so I'm looking for ideas.  What type of storyline would you like to see, and what style? Safe and conservative?  Racy and edgy? Thought-provoking?  What kind of characters?

I could go anywhere with this.  Any suggestions?

Being the sappy romantic that I am and having a penchant for poetry of the heart, I couldn't resist sharing something I've just read.  In the late 1880's a small tablet was uncovered in a region that is now Iraq.  Inscribed on it is what historians believe to be the oldest love poem ever discovered. 

In it, a priestess professes her love (and lust) for a king.  While it may not make your heart swoon like the writing of Byron or DH Lawrence, I though some of you may find it interesting.  It reads:

"Bridegroom, dear to my heart,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet.
You have captivated me, let me stand trembling before you;
Bridegroom, I would be taken to the bedchamber."

Looks like the bedchamber saw some action, as she went on to write later:

"...you have taken your pleasure of me.
Tell my mother, she will give you delicacies;
My father, he will give you gifts."

This was written four thousand years ago.

So...what did you do for the holidays?

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Hi everybody,

Hope you've all had a Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah or a great Kwanzaa!  We had planned to go to visit my Sister-in-law and her family up North, but Sandy's been home sick for the past few days so we stayed put.  Today's been quieter than expected but we've made the best of it.

We started the day with bacon, cinnamon rolls and icing, a tradition that Sandy's family always observed and I've been happy to see continue.  After breakfast we opened our gifts.  We don't get too carried away with presents for Christmas; we do give presents to the kids but instead of an exchange between the adults we donate to two of our favourite charities each year. 

Our little sumthin' for each other was a fashion/style book for Sandy (In Style), and a heatable pad for whatever part of the body needs it.  It has nice little pockets to keep the feet toasty!  She bought me two cozy sweaters that will go well with other items in my wardrobe (does it sound strange to hear a guy say that?).  She also pulled a suggestion from my wish list and bought me a book on sexual psychophysiology (Why Women Have Sex), an extensive survey conducted by two premier psychologists in the US.  It's a fascinating read, I may post a review in the future if there's interest.

Once the gifts were opened we settled in for latte in front of the fireplace reading our books; Sandy with her new warmer, I with my hot water bottle.  Christmas music on the stereo, cats in our laps.  Cheese and crackers, veggies and dip.  It was so cozy. That's been our day, pretty relaxing.  Sandy's slowly getting better, I take comfort knowing we don't have to be anywhere for a while so she can rest up.  We're going to have dinner shortly and settle in to watch something. 

I hope you've all spent the day with loved ones. For those of you struggling (and I know a few of you are) I'm thinking of you especially.

So, how did you celebrate?  And what did you get for Christmas? 

Barry
x

Merry Christmas (peace and love to everyone)!

Christmas in Paris. Okay, so it's not your typical Christmas picture but it beats the hell out of snow!

Hi everyone,

 I'd like to wish all of you a heartfelt Merry Christmas, and also extend my best wishes to those of you celebrating other religious observations.  I hope you're all able to be with those who mean the most to you.

 To my friends and family, I love you.  It's been a great year!

 To all of you with whom I work, there's no one else I'd rather share my workday with.

 Finally, to everybody I've met on-line since I joined this crazy community, thanks for all your kind words and encouragement over the past year.  I feel blessed to have met each and every one of you.

  May the coming days bring you peace and happiness, and may the coming year be all you've hoped for.

I love you all.

Barry
xoxo

Musical Interlude

"Where words fail, music speaks."
-Hans Christian Andersen

Due to a temporary case of writer's block (and some pieces yet unfinished), I won't be posting any new writing for a short period. But...

This has been running through my head lately.  It's a feel-good song by Train, featured on a recent episode of CSI: NY.  I figure anyone who can write a tune with a ukelele in it that still catches my attention the way Jason Mraz does is worth a listen. 

Hope you like...

 

Who Are You?

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With kind permission, I 'stole' this idea from Loveology  (thanks Mila!) 


I'm curious.
I want to know who you are.
I want to know the names of the people who I'm grateful to, who are dropping by to read me.
So I want to play a little game.

Tell me your name, your age (if you dare), and your hometown.
Then, tell me 5 things about yourself.

Simple, but I'm looking forward to hearing from you....

Released

Released



What goes on in your good-girl mind
Hushed from temptuous thought and deed,
As if being done a favour.
“Please do tell me how to act," they think to hear,
"For I know not what I want.”
Oh, if they only knew of the strength of your desire
To unfurl your wings in their midst
And fly untethered.

But when night visits and your thoughts play alone
And you drift, freeing your will from another’s grasp
What do you dream as your eyes weigh heavy?
While The One beside you sleeps.
Do you welcome another to your door ,
To your bed?
Do you breathe his breath as your own,
Heart against heart
Feeling his life inside you.
Writhing beneath the weight of his mass,
Giving in to that beautiful release.
Breathless body strewn across crumpled sheets,
Spent, used,
But blissfully fulfilled.
And again.

And the hours pass unnoticed,
Their birth and decay measured only
In reckless heartbeats
Teeth-torn wrappers scattered around you.
Fading droplets in your glass.
This moment a lifetime.

All too soon the sun greets your window
And The One stirs,
Signalling a return to your world.
Accompanied, yet alone.


What goes on in your good-girl mind
What shadows lurk, what secrets to find?
Would you surrender yourself
For one night of sin
When the wind blows through your door
And the wolf creeps in?



Intellectual property copyright Barry O'Shea.  All rights reserved.

Secret Friday

TGIF everybody! It's time for the fifth installment of Secret Friday, a chance to anonymously share some secrets and fantasies you've kept to yourself. The reason I started this on my blog is I feel it helps people connect, by realizing there are others who have experienced or are going through now what they have. To provide a forum in which to understand they're not alone in their thoughts. Some are uplifting, some are heartbreaking, and (yes), some are just naughty.

Since last week, Secret Friday has also appeared in Egypt and Indonesia (thanks Mae and Nitia). If any of you get something from this post I hope you'll consider hosting one on your blog too.  Feel free to copy and paste the guidelines below if you choose.  All I ask is that you keep a regular eye on your feedback, contributions are a little heavy sometimes and contributors need to be respected.  It's very important.

If you decide to do this on your blog please, please let me know.  If we all link to each other I think we can start something great.  Okay, here's how it works:

1) This is open to anyone who wishes to participate, whether follower or visitor.

2) Post a secret or fantasy anonymously, no names please. It can be anything from mild to wild, anything goes. All I ask is that it's true. You can post as many as you're comfortable with.

3) I don't plan to censor content or language. However I do reserve the right to remove anything which appears to be posted with the sole intent of offending. I also reserve the right not to remove content that may be considered controversial. It's a fine line sometimes.

4) If you're someone who is easily offended by swearing or sexual content you may not want to read through the comments. I have no idea where this will go and won't be reviewing comments until after they are posted.

5) I'll be participating as well.

6) Feedback directed towards me is welcome, anonymously or otherwise.

7) As always I'd like everyone to refrain from commenting on what someone else has written please; what may seem trivial to you can be very personal to someone else. Everyone has feelings and I want to see them respected, therefore inappropriate remarks will be removed.

And now to it...

Never am I more aware of my own innocence lost than when I gaze into the eyes of a child at Christmas.
-Barry O'Shea

Right Now

                                  www.publicdomainpictures.net


Right now a young couple is trembling nervously in the back seat for the first time.
Right now someone is taking his last breath.
Right now she’s picking up the groceries she just dropped.
Right now someone's had a bad car accident.
Right now a girl is brushing herself off and getting back on her bicycle.
Right now you’ve temporarily forgotten about that big bill you’re wondering how to pay.
Right now a life has been created.
Right now she's wondering if she should reveal how she feels about him.
Right now he’s just proposed. She's thinking about it.
Right now the sun has set over the Great Barrier Reef and we missed it because we're at our computer.


  Every second of every minute of every hour of every day, every imaginable aspect of life is unfolding all around us. It’s relentless and our opinions or excuses won’t change it. Right now something could happen that will affect your life forever. Will you be ready when it happens?  Will you be able to say that you’ve lived as you planned to, as you want to, or have at least taken steps in that direction?

Call that person you’ve been afraid to. Write the story you’ve been meaning to get around to “some day”. Tell that someone how much they mean to you.  Take a chance and stretch out of your comfort zone.

Because right now is all we have.

What Moves You?

"I read and walked for miles at night along the beach, writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that that person could be me".
- Anna Quindlen

Admittedly I’ve never been an avid reader. I haven’t cracked the cover on War and Peace, Ulysses or Crime and Punishment. I can’t even recount the story of Moby Dick with any great authority, although I believe there’s a whale in there somewhere. (Okay so maybe that’s stretching things a bit).

I have read standard fare like Death of a Salesman, A Tale of Two Cities and To Kill a Mockingbird, but that was in high school as part of the curriculum. To tell you the truth I rarely finished any book I was given for assignment (not something of which I’m proud, although I always seemed to somehow complete my book reviews and pass with good grades).

This year things changed. My site began in March with a whisper, as is usually the case, and I in earnest began taking an interest in what others had to say. Today I can honestly state that I’ve willingly read more in the past nine months than in any other period of my life.

I hadn’t given this much thought before. But I realized a few days ago that the reason for my interest in others is in the opportunity they afford to see the world through different eyes. That chance to share in part of someone’s life, to be let in and communicate my own experiences in return has always meant a lot to me. I’ve read of births, deaths, marriage, divorce, joy and loss. Life as it happens, often virtually in real-time.

 I’ve always held appreciation for anyone willing to express themselves honestly; whether or not I agree with what they have to say is incidental.  Not everyone is comfortable sharing such personal experiences, and there will always be those who are amazed at how much others are willing to share of themselves. As for myself I've been a bit surprised at how far inside I’ve been willing to reach and put what I pull out down on paper. As I’m sure most of you would agree it’s a risk putting yourself out there. But with this risk can come great reward, for writer and reader alike.

Increasingly I’ve found myself revisiting my passion for language. The experience of creating my site and following others has been electrifying because it’s sparked my interest in writing again. It echoes the exhilaration I felt in my English Lit and Creative Writing classes which I enjoyed immensely, even though I was often less than inspired by the selection of works we were given to study. I always likened Mrs. Murphy, my thirteenth grade Creative Writing teacher, to Robin Williams' character John Keating in Dead Poets Society. She allowed us to let our minds fly untethered and espoused original thought (through her encouragement I was prompted to express some of that original thought onstage in the form of stand-up comedy).

So how does all this tie in with the title of the post? Well, every once in a great while I stumble upon someone with whose writing I immediately connect. I mean really connect. What draws me to a writer? The list is fairly long but most frequently it's a sheer unquestioning joy for life, expressed through words that are strikingly beautiful in their eloquence.  This moves me every time.

As a result of this recently rekindled passion I’ve found myself falling in love with the writing of a few people on these pages, not by the way to be confused with falling in love with the authors themselves (this list includes both men and women).  I've read passages that have left me inspired, in awe, almost breathless.

I’m wondering how many of you feel this way. Judging by the quality of work I’ve seen on some sites I think it’s safe to say that many of us are affected by language, but to what extent? Do you have an affair with language and literature?

What moves you?

Pieces of You

"Tough times don't last.  Tough people do."
-unknown

I had great response to yesterday's post.  I want to thank everyone who took a minute to read it, especially those of you who wrote back.  It was a personal exercise, but surprisingly liberating.   I'm hoping some of you will decide to do the same;  I'd love to get a better idea of what it is that makes you tick. 

Leah alluded to some tough times I've been through; and the strength I've gained as a result.  She mentioned viewing the negatives as a positive part of life, which I think is so important.

My teens for the most part aren't something I care to remember, as I had to put up with alcoholism and a dysfunctional home life.  I won't go into detail here out of respect for others involved who had things worse than I did.  But what I do want to say is that I got through the other side.  We all did, in our own way.

I know there are some of you now who are going through very tough times.  It could be finances, job, relationship.  Whatever it is it's incredibly important to keep your mind focused where it needs to be, always towards hope.  So often everything happens at once, we start out strong and coping the best we can but after a while it's easy to get tired of fighting and just want to give in to it. Please don't.

For me the bad years seemed hopeless, with no end in sight.  It would have been easy to give in, to start drinking as a way to cope.  But I knew I had to stay strong and maintain my self-esteem.  Giving in to that would have been a short-term solution but I wouldn't have been able to hold my head high when I was out of it.  I knew deep down that situation would end one day.

No matter how futile things may seem they will change and they will get better, it's just a matter of time.  If you can believe there's a positive end in sight then I believe you can get through it. And if you ever want someone to walk some of that road with you, drop me a line.

Pieces of Me

Mashed peas and rattles.
Sucking two fingers.
My stuffed koala.
Flintstones.
Velvet flocked wallpaper.
Digging to China.
The intercepted love note to Shauna in Grade Two.
Snakes loose in the house.
Late night sleepovers (running through backyards
when we should have been in bed).
Playing doctor.
Playing Evil Knievel on our bikes.
Parents' divorce.
Meeting relatives in Ireland for the first and last time.
Star Wars.
My grandmother's love.
Putting up with alcoholism.
Putting up with abuse.
Talking the gun from his hand.
Chemistry, Biology and Physics.
Setting my mind free in English lit class.
Falling in love with words.
High school graduation.
London. Rome. Munich. Paris.

God, Paris.

Niagara Falls.
Steamy nights in the back seat.
Acting, stand-up, karaoke, DJ.
Meeting the love of my life.
Marriage.
Renovations.
Car accidents.
Broken bones, broken hearts and mended friendships...

Births and deaths,
Hellos and good byes,
Joy and pain,
Love and sex,
Passion and desire.
Cars and trucks, boats and trains, planes and buses.
Gondolas, tractors, motorcycles, horses and waterskiis.
Fields and lakes.
Rivers and mountains.


I wouldn't give up any of it, because if I did I wouldn't be who I am today.  And I love my life.

Secret Friday

Hi everyone and welcome back to the fourth installment of Secret Friday, a chance to anonymously share some secrets and fantasies you've kept to yourself. If you find topics like this as intriguing as I do, stay tuned because in this case the comments are the post. I hope you'll all participate, I will.  As always I'm sending a very warm thank you to everyone who has contributed previously.

 I'm hoping to increase traffic for this feature, so if you know anyone who you think would be interested in reading this and/or contributing please send them this link.

Here's how it works:

1) This is open to anyone who wishes to participate, whether follower or visitor.

2) Post a secret or fantasy anonymously, no names please. It can be anything from mild to wild, anything goes. All I ask is that it's true. You can post as many as you're comfortable with.

3) I don't plan to censor content or language. However I do reserve the right to remove anything which appears to be posted with the sole intent of offending. I also reserve the right not to remove content that may be considered controversial. It's a fine line sometimes.

4) If you're someone who is easily offended by swearing or sexual content you may not want to read through the comments. I have no idea where this will go and won't be reviewing comments until after they are posted.

5) I'll be participating as well.

6) Feedback directed towards me is welcome, anonymously or otherwise.

7) As always I'd like everyone to refrain from commenting on what someone else has written please; what may seem trivial to you can be very personal to someone else. Everyone has feelings and I want to see them respected, therefore inappropriate remarks will be removed.
 
And now to it...

Awards for your use- Bloggers only

  In visiting countless sites over the months I've come across many awards, which I've saved to use at a later date.  I know many of you also like to pass them on to fellow Bloggers, so I'm making them available for your use.  Just right-click and save them to your computer.

There should be something here for everyone.........

                      

          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

            

          Now, go and tell someone how awesome they are.

            And while you're at it, don't forget to give yourself this...

           

If you don't know why you deserve it, ask me. I'll explain...