Tag Archives: dailyprompt

PROMPT: First Name

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Daily writing prompt
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
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Having been raised in a Catholic household, I wouldn’t have this name if one or more saints hadn’t already. In my case, there are several Saint Bernards, and I don’t know that my parents had any particular one in mind. As far as I know, none were associated with Ireland, from whence my ancestry lies. [St. Bernard of Clairvaux seems to be the most famous St. Bernard – he’s “The St. Bernard,” if you will – excepting of course Chris the St. Bernard dog who starred in the 1992 movie “Beethoven” whose name was actually Chris and his breed was “St. Bernard” so, technically, Clairvaux is still king of the St. Bernards.] I also know that it’s not the first time this name appeared in my genealogical line, but don’t know much more than that.

I understand the etymology of the name is Germanic and that it means something like “Bear Hardy,” with which I’m pleased. (Could have been much worse — e.g. “Squirrel Brave” or “Bear Smelling.”)

PROMPT: Dream Job

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What’s your dream job?

One that involves interacting with only a small group of familiar people, and which allows for a great deal of deep thought and introspection. (And for the tricky part to reconcile,) one that involves / or allows for a good deal of travel.

PROMPT: Favorite Animal

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What is your favorite animal?
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I’m not sure whether the intention is to determine one’s favorite species of animal or one’s favorite particular individual animal. I’ll presume the former as the latter would turn it into a “Which of your pets (or children — for those who count humans among the animal kingdom) do you love best?” type of question — which is awkward to ask anyone with whom one is not on intimate terms.

At any rate, I’ve come to think of assigning favorites as a bad habit of lazy minds, intended to negate the need to actively observe and to see the beauty and brilliance of whatever stands before one at any given moment. [It’s part of a vast array of patterns people develop to be as cognitively disengaged as can be managed.] So, I don’t have a favorite species of animal, but aardvark does come first in the dictionary, if not in my heart.

[Incidentally, when I had multiple pets, I did have a favorite, and — perhaps tellingly — it was the one whose personality was least like my own.]

PROMPT: Describe a Man

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Describe a man who has positively impacted your life.

A little under six feet tall, medium build, dark hair, olive complexion,…

PROMPT: A Year Ago

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Is your life today what you pictured a year ago?

I make no predictions. Forecasting is a sucker’s game.

PROMPT: First Day

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Tell us about your first day at something — school, work, as a parent, etc.

I can’t say I have strong recollections of any of them. I have a vague recollection of the flight to basic training (first time flying, but mostly I remember there was a drunk dude sitting next to me,) but I don’t recall anything from my first day in the military proper. No first days of school or on any job have stuck.

I guess my clearest memory is for the most recent major first — first day living in Bangalore, India (a little over eleven years ago.) I must say, however, I just remember snippets of being lost in a walk around the neighborhood. One might expect a first day in urban India to be daunting / overwhelming- even for a reasonably well-traveled Westerner, but if it was I don’t remember that bit.

PROMPT: Positive Events

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Daily writing prompt
What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year?
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Just, oh so many of them. Virtually all of them. I’ve succeeded in every breath I took (so far, fingers crossed.)

PROMPT: Good At

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Share five things you’re good at.
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1.) Changing my mind. This wouldn’t be noteworthy except that there seems to be a stigma attached to adults changing their minds about a thing (even in the face of new, better, or first -time information.) It’s considered “wishy-washy.”

2.) Learning. I love learning and I devote a lot of time to it. Beyond youth, a skill for it requires a capacity for what Shunryu Suzuki called “beginner’s mind” — a state a lot of people seem to run from, rather than toward.

3.) Adopting another’s point of view. Truth be told, I wouldn’t really say I’m good at this, but the bar is quite low.

4.) Operating my body.

5.) Going the places that scare me.

NOTE: I thought I was better at humility, but the fact that I’m willing to answer the question speaks to the contrary.

PROMPT: Change

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Daily writing prompt
What is one thing you would change about yourself?
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For a long time, I’d have said that I’d like to be less introverted. However, adjusting my attitude towards introversion, managing it, and recognizing / valuing the strengths that derive from it has been one of the most enlightening and empowering processes of my life. (So, I’m keeping it.)

However, I do have an ulnar impaction in my wrist that I’d be happy to get rid of (if anyone with such powers is taking requests.)

PROMPT: Technology

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What technology would you be better off without, why?

That’s a tough question. While not a Luddite, I do think there are a number of technologies that are out of control, figuratively (or may – literally – become so.) But that doesn’t mean I think they should be gone altogether (it just makes me wishful that people can find a way to moderate their use.)

I’ll go with nuclear weapons, the one technology whose only use lies in not being used. I choose them because they result in low-level existential dread and inflated tax bills. [There is the argument that they may have staved off a colossal Third World War, but one can also argue that two really shitty wars in rapid succession led to institutions (e.g. UN agencies & permanent alliances) and approaches (e.g. low-intensity proxy wars) to avert such a war as well (Those things also being extremely expensive, but not so much with the existential dread.)]