Anti-Social Media,Happy,Joy,Living,Social Media

“JOMO”

[caption id="attachment_757" align="alignnone" width="1880"] Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com[/caption] You've heard of FOMO... Fear Of Missing Out. I just heard of "JOMO." JOMO = Joy Of Missing Out. That means forgetting Facebook, turning off Twitter, and ignoring Instagram. And evading E-Mail for a block of uninterrupted time. Call it what you will, it's a way to decrease our addiction to the 24/7/365 bombardment of noise and distraction simply because we're afraid we won't know what our neighbor knows. We'll miss the client's email or an agent's answer. They can wait. JOMO is about allowing ourselves the joy of being in...
Adulthood,Fiction!,Wonder

Boardwalk

Steven took my hand and looked into my eyes. “Trust me, Heidi, I know where the car is for sure this time.” I saw the beads of sweat on my brother’s forehead and knew in that instant that he was still guessing. I hated him for how forgetful he was. He had just started driving last week. Our parents were stupid to let us out alone. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="402"] Photo by Robert Stokoe on Pexels.com[/caption] As we walked along the boardwalk at our city's beachside amusement park, I could see the Ferris wheel turning in slow motion in the...
Death,Happy,Lucky,Time

Mrs. B

Mrs. B didn't own a computer. She had a cell phone for three months but never used it.  She told her daughter to take it back.  She had time to take long walks at the park, read, do crafts, and go to lunch with friends. She attended live lectures, went to the library, enjoyed museums, picnics, and face-to-face conversations with squirmy children who weren't used to 'talking' without a keyboard, a cell phone or a computer— even the little ones.  She could see the kids' expressions, and help them understand social interplay the old-fashioned way. Sometimes she wore a clown nose. I want...
Birth,Chances,Children,Life,Lucky

Life’s a Crapshoot

Did you watch it? The storybook Royal Wedding? What did you take from it? That there's no predicting life. No one would have thought a Hollywood starlet would marry an honest-to-goodness prince. Well, not in real life. In stories. In movies. On TV. But not for real. But it was. Real. Rolling the Dice Back in 2006, I was becoming increasingly aware of egg donors facilities. Yes. I was pretty amazed that people were picking characteristics they wanted for their children and were buying eggs that they thought would make little people with those traits. What's cool is that it doesn't work...
Life,Living,Love Yourself,Purpose

Purpose

Someone in the audience asked, "How do you know you're living your life's purpose?" Good question!  How DO we know? Here were the answers from others in the room: "No other place I'd rather be." "I'm happy." "I'm in a state of flow." "It feels like I'm being me." The women's group in our neighborhood met to share business ideas and to talk about ourselves. Our SELVES. What do we fear? What do we seek? What do we need to feel like we are living our life's purpose? How do we say "no"? As in NO. How do we protect...
Children,Control,Death,Future,Life,Living,Time

Temporary

We just dropped off our twenty-year-old son at the airport. He is so, well, twenty. After raising two boys to manhood, I know that Kahlil Gibran was probably right: Our children are only on loan to us. I had heard it, but I didn’t have a clue of what that meant. When they were little, I fooled myself into thinking they were mine. But now I’m not so sure they ever were. Yes, they pretty much did what they were told—most of the time— because they didn’t know any better. However, those times didn’t last. And the boys often made...
Authors and Writing,Chances,Choices,Learning

What Comes Next?

Note to reader: This is a story with no end . . . yet. You can finish this story however you would like. How does the sentence end? What will happen? Who comes in the room? Who leaves the room? Would you like this kind of chance? Can you relate? Enjoy! The principal of the school sat in her office pondering the student— a girl who had been referred to the office for yet another dress-code violation. It was Thursday morning. “What?” the girl said in a slouching stand, her hand on one hip as attitude permeated her skinny little...
Life,Love Yourself,Plans,Time

Flip

The calendar doesn't care. Its pages flip. The new day comes into view. If it's a plain daily calendar, it's not much fun. The best calendars are those big monthly calendars with images that take your breath away. The ones that make you smile, even sigh at how beautiful they are. Some are sweeping vistas of romantic places. Some are such unique animals that you question if they really exist. Calendars do this on purpose, so you don't have to suffer as much with your life's passing. I have a favorite calendar. It's from Paper Source, and I buy one...
Finishing,Learning,Living,Lucky,Starting

Starting

Oh, my goodness. I had this fine idea that everyone is great at starting projects and that finishing is the problem. I forgot that many times people fail to start because they fear they will never finish. So finishing is still a huge challenge, no doubt about it, but the more pernicious problem is that a finely honed track record of non-finishing keeps people from the unbridled giddiness that comes from starting something. That, and fear of looking really dumb. I hope you can take the first step. Whatever it is, try something new this week. It doesn't have to be huge. You can...
About Me,Authors and Writing,Speaker

Kathryn Atkins — Short Bio

Kathryn Atkins is a native Californian. She is a writer, mom, wife, and a flamenco dancer. She loves to play the piano, read, and do yoga. She has published two books and has been featured in online and print magazines for over fourteen years as the owner and creative director of Writing World, LLC, a professional business writing company. In the early years of Writing World, Kathryn published a column in the Orange County (California) Register. Her Berkeley BS and MBA have served her freelance business writing company. Her eight-year membership in the California Writers Club has fulfilled her desire...