Inviting Inspiration

Sometimes ideas just come to me. Out of nowhere. When I don't want them, e.g. at work when I'm doing something extremely important but have to stop mid-task to email myself a brilliant phrase that popped into my mind. 

Sometimes, there's never a follow-up idea and the first bit of inspiration fades, like a lit match dwindling away. And sometimes the match lights a dazzling firework of Creativity. 

Thank you for knowing the story of the Little Match Girl. It is beautiful. 

As a writer (albeit an amateur one), I realize that it is key to be ready for Inspiration at any moment. You never know when it may strike! I recommend keeping a notepad at your bedside for any ideas not worth getting out of bed at three in the morning. These glimmers of wisdom may eventually blossom into a masterpiece. And you certainly won't remember it in the morning if you turn back over and go to sleep!

Edit: if those ideas occur while pulling an all-nighter, write them down for their humorous appeal, because they probably aren't very wise. 

However, I've also figured out over the years that inspiration, while elusive and evasive as an egg-shell in a bowl of batter (pardon my culinary simile, inspiration is a bit sleep-deprived), it can be coaxed (but never coerced!) to appear. Since many of you readers are likewise writers, I thought I'd share some of my favorite methods: 

• Reading. If you run out of ideas, filling your mind with the ones that made other authors successful is bound to give you some. Though I have only ever written one very small piece that can be termed 'fanfiction' (I usually shy away from the genre, having encountered too horrific examples of it), I believe strongly in the influence of greater minds on great ones (because anyone who derives inspiration from Tolkien or Dostoevsky or Lewis is a great mind). 
• The great outdoors. This one never fails me. Writing instrument and journal in hand, I find myself a seat in the shade and open a blank, blue-lined page. Words just come.
  The only flaw to this method is mosquitoes. 
• Silence. Best when combined with the great outdoors, silence closes the door to distraction and opens the door to creativity. 
• Classical Music. Classical music really forces you to imagine (I intend another post solely on this subject). Phantasms float to the front of your mind and inspiration (sometimes) follows. 
• Random things. Like I said, inspiration is fickle and moody. The lady behind you at the grocery store may become the heroine of your next best-selling short-story. The picture of a strawberry wedding cake on pinterest may suggest a horror story about a psychopath whose bloodlust is awakened by the sight of strawberries (sorry if you'll never look at strawberries the same way again.) Be alert at all times, lest a fantastic opportunity for creativity slip by unnoticed.

The most vital tip of all, I believe, is to avoid stress, hurry, and boredom. Stress enhances irrelevant distractions and induces worry, which closes the mind. Hurry scares away the tentative approach of inspiration. Boredom dulls the finely-tuned senses and turns the mind inward, toward complaints. Maintaining interest in one's surroundings, however, leaves an open door for inspiration at all times.

A writer must always be ready for inspiration's call to invent. 

What inspires you? 

On Heaven

I attended a funeral today, and during the excellent homily, the priest dropped this gem of a simile:

'If you're not Italian, and you don't like three hour meals, you won't like Heaven, because that's what it's like.'

Note: If I ever make it there, I'm going to LOVE Heaven.

He then compared Heaven to a family Thanksgiving dinner, where everyone is brought together to one meal. Family members from diverse backgrounds, circumstances, and situations. That got me thinking.

Here's a tax collector, a few fishermen, a traitor, and the Son of God at the same table. Can't get much more variety than that! 

Down here on earth' we're ALL potentially part of Christ's mystical body, the Church. You, me, Mr. sketchy-neighbor-down-the-street...as I learned in Theology 101 fall semester, everyone has a chance to end up at the dinner table up in Heaven.

Think what that means. At Thanksgiving dinner, we sometimes run into that relative we just. can't. stand. and end up next to them for an entire endless three hour banquet. Fortunately, we won't have to see them for another year...or at least we'll avoid them at Christmas.

In Heaven, on the other hand, we can't pick who else makes it there. That person we gossiped about until we found out none of it was true, but we pretended we didn't know...That classmate who got on our nerves and became our arch-nemesis, that old droning teacher who didn't notice if we texted in class...

What if we're sitting next to them at Heaven's banquet? Conversation material will be a little scarce...'So, what was your class actually about, Professor? I never listened!' It's a fact: all these people are our brothers and sisters, partakers in the big family feast waiting up within the Pearly Gates. Judging them irrationally and uncharitably won't make them less likely to reach Heaven; on the contrary it lessens our own chance by miring us in sin. When we ignore our own faults and concentrate on the faults of others, we make ourselves very vulnerable to temptation.

Something to keep in mind next time you (and I--this is a big problem for me) face the temptation to make a snide remark or act disrespectful or do anything that isn't in the spirit of fraternal Christian charity. That person, that fellow member of the Mystical Body of Christ, could end up next to you at the dinner of ultimate Thanksgiving.

(Sidenote: Eucharist means Thanksgiving. Judging people around us at Mass is, ironically, a very common fault of good, practicing Catholics. Or it could be a typology, a preparation, a hint...)

Better to show love and help all parties involved along the straight and narrow rather than fall into the rut of easy criticism, slander or unkindness. The New Evangelization starts (or continues, strictly speaking) with YOU!

Enjoy the banquet ;)

Blessings,

Tullia

Facing Grendel: The Benefits of my Internship

For those of you that don't know, I'm working 20 hours a week as an intern for Population Research Institute. So far it isn't the most thrilling of jobs, in fact I'm sort of a 'menial tasks specialist.' However, after the first couple days of dragging my feet and wishing I'd just waited another year to get a 'real job,' I've come to realize that this job is the best thing that could have happened to me this summer because it is the gateway to my learning so many things. So, with a few anecdotes along the way, I will now elucidate on what I am learning as an intern, starting with the more mundane, boring lessons.

1. Systemization.
I don't think that's even a word, but my usual way of rambling through a task in whatever way I feel like does not work on excel spreadsheets. I find myself faced with 37,000 petition signers to peruse, eliminating duplicates and putting international names on another list. This takes SKILLZ, people. Handling a massive job with a minimum amount of keystrokes and cursor movement has become my latest hobby absolutely-necessary-for-my-salvation-and-sanity-occupation. Whether or not I work in development in the future, skills like that can't be completely useless, can they?

2. Multitasking
Of course, I got a head-start on this one during the school year, but my work at the office does not require long-term retention of zip codes and email addresses. Hence I can focus on the conversation outside the door (creeper status: achieved) or the lecture coming through my headphones with my ears while using purely visual effort on the computer screen in front of me.

3. Greek History.
Remember what I said about multitasking? I found this absolutely amazing Greek History course from Yale free on youtube! I highly recommend it to anyone with time on their hands or with an interest in classics! The professor, Donald Kagan, presents ancient Greek history in an engaging and professional manner, bringing in literary and archeological evidence and various conflicting view for a well-rounded series of lectures. What could be more fantastic to listen to while working?

Oh wait, I'm the only person in the world who would listen to Greek History for fun.

4. Office camaraderie
Did I mention I've never worked in an office with other people before? The idea of coworkers is still somewhat new to me, but luckily I've got some of the best! That means coffee and donuts and baseball games. Yes, the best.

5. Housewifely skills.
Not all my work is on the computer--I also wash the dishes and vacuum, on occasion. More on that below...

6. Facing my greatest fears.
As long as I can remember, I've been terrified of using vacuum cleaners. Unto this day, I always choose the traditional broom and dustpan or the updated version, the all-encompassing quick-to-get-filthy Swiffer.
Then, as I asked for my marching orders, I heard the dreaded words:

'Why don't you pick a random room and vacuum it!'

So, after a kindly coworker showed me the whereabouts of the aforementioned monster (ironically attired in the same colors as I was wearing, blue and black--my arch-nemesis, to be sure!), I faced Grendel. Like Beowulf, I had no useful weapons (such as knowing how to turn the !@#$ thing on). I unraveled a lot of useless cord that got in the way for the next 15 minutes and stared nervously at the big red 'POWER' button. Of course, it didn't bestow world domination upon me, it just started up an awful noise. But Grendel had lost his arm, and fled in ignominious defeat.
...Grendel's Mother was the lever that allowed me to tilt the handle of the monster. That necessitated my magic sword.

7. That I am the last hope for Hawaiian Independence. And Awesome.
Or so my coworkers tell me.

With all these excellent life lessons in mind, I highly encourage anyone and everyone to pick up a job for the summer...because you probably need the money ;) And I assure you, however boring and annoying your job may seem, you may yet have a chance to defeat Grendel while you're at it!

All the best,
~Tullia :)

10 Things I Want To Do This Summer (well, actually 20) and what I didn't learn freshmen year

Well, finals are over, as is the lingering fever which bothered me throughout commencement and beyond. Although it's a month till the 'first day of summer,' I now feel like summer has 'officially' started. Funny how college does that to you--the seasons are now defined by semesters and breaks. But I digress. I am not going to put forth a trite 'what I learned freshmen year' because I have not quite figured out what exactly I did learn. Except maybe 'Pray More.'

My plans aren't set in stone for the next three months, and I have a lot of hopes and dreams and expectations. To that end, I thought it would be constructive to create two lists. One of 'things I want to do this summer, assuming I have unlimited resources of wealth and unrestricted access to time and space.' Two, of the 'things I want to do this summer within reason taking into account my human limitations.'

List One (the probably-not-happening)

1. Visit the Mediterranean

Since I probably won't be leaving the country, I can always dream! Venice, Malta, Sicily...now THAT would be a summer vacation!

2. Become a serious runner. Or biker. Or any sort of athletic thing.

Probably not happening because I won't commit to any one thing...can I be a serious nutellaphile?

3. Spend a year any amount of time doing mission work in a foreign country

Someday I will do something great in Mission work. Someday.

4. Go to one of those big spoken Latin camps (e.g. conventiculum lexintoniense in Kentucky)

Because I like to speak Latin, obviously.

5. Learn a couple new languages fluently

Italian, German, Elvish...

6. Learn to play a new instrument

I have a guitar, but it ends there. Hopefully I can get at least a few finger positions down before fall.

7. Convert someone

Gotta get that Spirit working through me!

8. Write a great work that will make me famous

I'm on my way, kindle top 25 new releases!

9. Become independent of electronic devices

Seriously why do half the things on my mental to-do list involve emailing someone or printing something off? It's a very near occasion of wasting time...ok so maybe that's my fault, but still.

10. Go for a ride in the TARDIS.

Bowties are cool. And Time can be rewritten.

So, since I'm obviously not going to accomplish all of the above, here is my more realistic list, in some places related to the above:

1. Do something creative and productive every day.

So each day will be infinitely worth it

2. Write More

More productive than eating nutella, less tiring than roaming around like a maniac in the great outdoors.

3. Cut the screen time

Unless I'm watching Doctor Who or writing.

4. Read a meaningful book (or several)

Short stories count. Flannery O'Connor, here I come!

5. Learn to cook cool healthy summery foods.

Because deep down inside I like food more than I like avoiding the effort of cooking.

6. Make more music

If I could get my ukulele tuned, this would be easier.

7. Sow kindness and love everywhere I go

Sometimes it only takes a smile.

8. Start to learn more languages

They say it's easier when you're young. Am I still young?

9. Do one original and wonderful thing that will take great courage which will be one of my greatest memories and for which I'll be forever grateful

10. Instaurare omnia in Christo

Best way to get through life.

So now you can keep me accountable to my summer intentions :)

What are your summer intentions?

Adios!

-Tullia

Dimidium facti qui coepit habet ~Horace

Hey y'all! Welcome to my blog! I've been thinking about starting a blog as an outlet to random bits of inspiration that come to my mind for a while--and, as Horace says, Dimidium facti qui coepit habet (he who has begun has half the deed done). I like to get things done, so I'm going to begin right now. And whaddyeknow, I'm beginning by talking about Latin (well, the blog's name is Latin after all). 

Ex Praecordiis Ecfero Versum, a quote from the early Roman satirist Lucilius, translates as "I bring out my poetry from my heart." When I first ran across this phrase, it touched me deeply. The best literature is dragged out of some writer's innermost depths of intellect and passion. You can see it in Dostoevsky, in Dickens, in Catullus, in Shakespeare. Where a glimpse of the author's soul comes through, the reader finds the heart and purpose of the work. 

With this in mind, I'm going to sporadically post poetry, prose, and whatever reflections and pieces of wisdom seem fitting for the moment. Of course, I intend to bring them all straight form my heart, free from obfuscation and circumlocution. I'm glad to accept comments, especially constructive criticism of my writing style, additional reflection, and friendly debate. 

So, subscribe or check back or whatnot...due to the vicissitudes of college life I don't know when I'll be next posting, but thanks for checking in! :)
~Carolyn