Today's Poetry and Brain Epiphany

Dew

The sweat of the Earth clings to my hands

Beautiful in its clarity and longing

The sun gently arises from the Orient

Bringing with her its patron colors and vibrancy

All about me are tears

The tears the Earth wept for Eve

Joyful tears, yet heart-rending in their silence.

The life of a writer is an endless striving to say what has been given us to say; to articulate the message written on our hearts in God's fiery hand. There is no erasing this message, and no matter how I may shrink from telling it, I am continuously haunted by my inability to say it with clarity. I may rip myself apart inside in frenzies of unworthiness, but somehow I always come back to that one rule of my soul: I must write. There is no turning back from this path, no running away, and all I can pray is that I never lose this inner passion, this heart's burning. I know I can write, I know I have talent, even genius, but my genius will come to nothing unless I can find the words to express it. 

~The Dryad

Dangerous and Observant: A Guide to Spying

When I was young(er) I wanted to be a spy, but I could never figure out how. I have looked up surveillance and being a detective, etc. on the internet, but I cannot find anything that really helps my creativity/longing to be a dangerous and observant person. Someday I will have to write a book on this, but for now, I have a short list just to expand my thoughts on the subject. 

Observe

I cannot stress this enough. Watch the things around you. Train yourself to remember unusual activities. If you don't notice things, you will probably miss important clues when your abilities are put to the test.

Wonder

After you notice an activity that is a little strange, set yourself the task of finding out why. This doesn't need to include any actual work or research, just a little brain power. Why did your neighbor close his curtains at 3 PM? It could be because of the sun, or...something else.

Read Body Language

Body language is important. Even if someone is lying, his brain will likely be working so hard that he won't have time to react to things, or regulate his body language to what he is saying. Do his emotions match the sad story he's listening to? Does he smile later than everyone else laughs after the joke? Often, a liar will be either fidgety or unnaturally still.

Listen

Is someone being vague when they answer you? They may be lying, or they could have forgotten.

Pay attention to the sounds around you. Perhaps the person talking to you is trying to distract you from something in the next room.

That's all I have now. Hint: I wouldn't recommend wearing all black. It may make you feel dangerous, but it won't help you be undercover. It will make you more obvious than not if you're wearing black clothes and shades. 

Aaand if you want young adult novels that have spies in them, you should read the Kiki Strike series. It's pretty great.

~The Dryad

I Am an Introvert

    I wish I was an extrovert. I really do, and this summer I'll be working on that.
One thing I have a problem with is having my own opinions. I wait for others to state theirs, and then base my vehemence of opposition or agreement on the way they say their opinion. Why do I care what they think? I don't know.
    I also hate showing emotions, but last Friday I was in a Choreography Performance for a workshop that I did with my dance studio, and I got so nervous that I started crying ten or twenty minutes before it started. For goodness' sake, I only had to be onstage for 3 minutes! Thanks to my teacher's pep talk, I got it over with, and I will be doing it next time, but I can't get over the fact that I cried in front of twenty-some people. I HATE crying in front of people.
    *sigh*
     It was definitely a learning experience in a couple different ways. I certainly got a lot of hugs, and another reason I want to become an extrovert this summer is so I can show all those people who I know love me how much I love them back. I'm so thankful for all the support I got from all the other dancers, and some of their parents.
     Furthermore, I know that God will never leave me nor forsake me, even if tears are pouring down my face, and whether my face is red or not, whether I'm an introvert or extrovert.

Thoughts after reading "Gone With the Wind."

     Love makes me happy. I don't mean romantic love, but the love of one person accepting another just as he is. When someone loves me for myself, I am happy. For someone who loves me for the simple, strange person I am, I would do almost anything. So many times we "love" others for what we can get from them; maybe talking to a particular person makes us feel important, or makes us laugh, or whatever. No matter what it is, we're in it for what we can get, and yet we think, "I love this person! Look at how nice I was to them today!" Even then we are "loving" others so we can pat ourselves on the back. That is not love. Love is giving of yourself to make someone else happy. It is accepting one another whether we are weird, or ugly, or helpless, or boring. Love is about what you can do for another needy, sinful person.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." ~1 Corinthians 13:4-7
~The Dryad

Spool Quote Necklace

Necklace Ingredients:

• Wooden spool
• Chain/necklace
• Paper
• Thread

     Write a quote out on a long piece of paper, the width approximately 1/4 inch smaller than the height of your spool.
     Tape one end to the spool and wind it 'round, securing with a piece of thread wrapped 3 or 4 times around the spool before tying.

 

     Put the spool on the chain. Easy, right? The hardest part is really tying the thread...I had trouble with that. 

~ The Dryad

I was in the middle of working on a Les Miserable paper for my literature class, when I suddenly came up with this list.

Hillary Hints

• Listen. To both other people and the world around you.
• Live in the moment. Be aware.
• Love. How would you wish others to react to you?
• Think. Is that the nicest way to say something? How does your tone sound?
• Excuse. If someone sounded rude, they are probably preoccupied or upset. There is always a reason.
• Honesty is the best policy. Be yourself.
• Uniqueness. Don't fear the quirkyness.
• Obey.
• Be carefree. If others don't rush to talk to you, don't sell yourself short. Look for someone who needs you, and don't over think it. 
• Understanding is all-important when if comes to people. If you don't understand something, don't fear asking.
• Imagination is an indispensable part of your existence. Keep it alive.
• Recognize the good in people, even when you don't see it all the time. Have you ever seen that person do something kind or loving? Treat them like they did it just a moment ago. Look at them with new eyes. Appreciate them.
• Be natureal. Don't cater to the expectations of others.
• Enjoy life. Do you adore the sunshine? The flowers? The raging thunderstorm? Share that joy with the people around you.
• Trust. No matter what argument you just had, whether people ignore your opinions, or whether you're stressed with schoolwork, God has it under control. If he takes care of the birds and lilies of the valley, how much more will he take care of you?

It was relaxing to write myself a sort of to-do list of what I need to change, or what bothers me. I hope it helps other people besides me.

~The Dryad

Valentine Deliciousness

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! To commemorate the beheading of St. Valentine, I made cookies and meringues. Weird, I know.

Acrostic: Valentine
Veritably, I love you
All quite a bit. The
Longer I know you, the more
Excited I get about how
Neat y'all are. I love you,
Though
I might
Never
Ever say it.

These meringues were supposed to be a light pink, but I misjudged the amount of food coloring necessary. :P Oh, well, they're still yummy. They're just plain vanilla meringues.

This one is huge...

 Aaand cookies!! Recipe here. It's brown sugar free, because I didn't have any.

 ~The Dryad, with love and cookies

Journalist, Poet, Writer, Man

G. K. Chesterton is amazing. He was not only a great theological writer, but also a writer of mysteries, both humorous and serious poems, and an artist. He wrote about four thousand essays in his lifetime. He also advocated fairy tales, which makes him that much more fantastic.
In fact, he was pure nonsense mixed with a knowledge of what life is really about.
He said that angels could fly because they took themselves lightly. (His pun, not mine) I don't know about  you, but I wish I could fly. You can easily find quite a few of his quotes on love, including this one.

 

He was extraordinarily large, but that never bothered him. He often made jokes about it, and drew a few cartoons about his girth. Reportedly, a lady once asked him during World War I why he was not out at the Front. He replied, "If you'll go 'round to the side, you will see that I am." 

He wasn't afraid to make a fool of himself to make others laugh. He believed in dragons. He wrote books on theology. Could there be anything better??? Well, yes, Jesus, but that's true no matter what. 

~The Dryad

Are you better than a book character?

It's amazing to me how we simply fall in love with people in books, but we (me at least) aren't nearly as quick to find good in the real people around us. One Year Novel  producer Daniel Schwabauer says that we like book people because we see how they react to stress. Through the course of a book, they are put in uncomfortable situations, and their virtues are shown in how they act in those situations.
Do we act as nicely as our protagonists when we go through troubled times? I believe that most of the time we do not. Occasionally we may meet someone who really can handle hard times, but I, for one, don't do very well with day-to-day life, much less real difficulties.
:) Just a thought that I had.

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." Romans 12:12

~The Dryad

DIY Postcards

I made some postcards the other day with some friends.
You can find the tutorial here.

~The Dryad

Book Spine Cuff Bracelets

I saw a picture on Pinterest of these bracelets made from the spine of a book, but the link didn't work. I was really bummed.
Some of you may hate me for doing this to a book. I'm sorry. I do love books, but I think the purpose of books is to bring joy to people, and to teach them things, so these bracelets are like I'm advertising a book and saying how good it is. The beauty of a book is not in the bright new cover, but in the wisdom it conveys.

Let us begin. All you need is a hardback book, and a knife, and a bowl...and water...but hopefully you all have water at your houses.

First cut the book back off of the book. Before doing this, make sure that your book is really hardback and has cardboard on the spine. The Reader's Digest books do not. Their spines are just fabric and glue, so you can't use them for this craft.
To cut the back off, you need to take a knife and slice between the first page and the paper glued to the front cover of the book. Do the same on the back, and then cut the spine from between the front and back covers.

Then you trim any little bits off of the spine, and dip it in water, making sure it is fully soaked.

Now wind it into a circle, preferably smaller than your wrist. It will expand as you wear it, so you want to teach it to be small.

Blow it with a hairdryer until it dries and keeps its shape. If there is glue on it, make sure that the glue doesn't get too warm and start sticking it together. Otherwise, the glue is not a problem.

Bum ba dum! Wear that bracelet, people. Tell all the world of your beloved books.
By the way, you may want to store it curled, with a rubber band around it. That's what I do.

~The Dryad

These are a couple poems I wrote after reading a bit of a book about a schizophrenic over my mom's shoulder.

The Man and His Shadows

The man swept away silence

As he chomped his dinner

Thinking over the day's work.

He thought of the shadows

He saw hovering there

They curled around him to lurk.

Maybe he imagined it

Perhaps they were not there

He held his warm mug closer.

He didn't doubt they were real

Of course, they had to be.

Alone..he needed a hug.

Petrol

Blue petrol splashing

In waves away from my feet

It spilled

No use crying now

It will be expensive

My mind slowly reverts

Back to the real world

Away from the splashing petrol.

They aren't my normal style, especially 'Petrol.' I rarely write free verse. The influence of the book was upon me, I believe. 

~The Dryad