October 31- Mindful Monday Summary

"For twelve years we MacDonalds have been living on an island in Puget Sound. There is no getting away from it, life on an island is different from life in the St. Francis Hotel, but you can get used to it, can even grow to like it."

Opening lines from "Onions In The Stew" by Betty MacDonald

My Photo Before Dawn

   

 Today is the last day of my 31 Days of Writing in October. The month went much more slowly because each morning was dedicated to paying attention to what I know and want to know about the place I live. As I scroll through the posts I see what we as a family have been doing for 30 years on this island. I see posts about our homes, people we taught, help we received, and the beauty surrounding us. A blessing was cast over us when we decided to make the ferry travel permanent.  

Photo by Kent Phelen

   I hope my writing has improved. If it has it would be because I have faithfully followed three bloggers, who write very well, during their own 31 Days of Writing.
   Let me introduce you to Michelle from Pen and Hive. Her subject this October was 
"You: Sustainable: A Guide to Small Improvements for a Better Life." From her writing I learned to look at my own habits and desired goals. Are they sustainable? Will I be able to continue with them for the next 20 years? My performance needs some tweaking but overall I think I can sustain the life I'm living now for many years to come.

   Lesley from "Life In The Spacious Place", is a favorite blogger friend from Scotland. She chose to share Christian music everyday. Inspirational stories from those songs helped me learn how the composer was inspired. You can see her table of context here.

  Lastly, I followed Annie, from "Sharing Stories Of Life and Faith", through a very interesting discussion of StrengthFinder,a book written by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, first published in 2001. At the heart of the book is the internet based "Clifton Strengths Finder," an online personal assessment test which will outline the user's strengths. The authors advocate focusing on building strengths rather than focusing on weaknesses. Annie wrote personal stories about recognizing her own strengths and how these strengths influence her family. I found myself looking carefully at my own and feeling grateful that they come naturally to me. Things that come easily are not to be discounted. 

    I wish I could have read more posts by other bloggers. I did stop in, now and then, to read others and cheer for those who finished and for those who started and found it wasn't the right time. In the coming months I will continue writing on Mindful Mondays, where I write about my word Mindful of 2016 and on Fridays with Five Minute Friday, where writers give their full attention to expressing their thoughts based on five minutes. I hope to pop back in with Ann Dee Ellis  as she leaves some prompts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Through that group I met Dalene, from "The Compulsive Writer", whose prose really fire up my thinking.

   Again, thank-you for reading along my journey. I love this island which I call home. Rest assured I will be leaving pictures and stories for months to come. 

If you missed some posts click here to see the other days of writing.