Marcus Lopes's Blog, page 44

Doubt. Restlessness. Courage.

Restless. That’s how I’m feeling these days. Like I can’t get myself moving, like I’ve stalled. The one good, productive day of writing sandwiched in-between the other days plagued with restlessness does little to move me forward. I’m still immured in the restlessness, still trying to claw my way out.
Maybe it’s not so much restlessness as doubt. Or a combination of both. Over the past few months I’ve been working on the rewrite of a novel-length manuscript. This particular manuscript has me...

2015: My Year of Selfishness

I recently shared on my Facebook page a quote that stirred something inside of me. Although I searched, I was unable to find who I should attribute the saying to, but one Google search revealed an image that labelled it this way: Three Simple Rules in Life:
1.      If you do not go after what you want, you’ll never have it.
2.      If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.
3.      If you do not step forward, you w...

Do What You Love!

As I sit down to write, the Weather Network indicates that here in Toronto it’s -17°C, feeling like -27 with the wind chill. By the weekend temperatures will “soar” to 2°C. The rising and falling of the temperatures this week remind me a lot about life, how life is anything by linear. That’s what I love about life! Some days are smooth sailing, the wind is calm, there’s an absolute peacefulness that enlivens the soul. Other days the roaring tempest is doing its best to turn our lives into a s...

Beginning, Middle, End

In the last days of 2014, I stumbled across a quote by Hal Borland that has, since then, stuck with me. The quote is this: “Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” At New Year’s the trend is to make such a big deal as we transition from one year to another. Many throw or attend lavish parties. Many more get hammered and cannot necessarily “remember” clearly the events of that night. Resolutions are made that will be...

2014 and Me

It wasn’t that long ago, or so it seems, that I was laying out my goals for 2014, which I had dubbed, “My Year of Positivity.” So here I am, at the end of 2014, taking stock of the year that has been. 2014 was a rollercoaster of a ride!
I had set two main goals for myself: Work to find a publisher for one of my novels and complete the rewrite of another novel-length manuscript that required lots of work. Then I challenged myself to maintain a healthy, positive outlook on life. I’m still waitin...

The Happiness List

This is not my typical blog post. I find, however, that as winter settles in it’s difficult to remain positive (generally speaking) since the days are shorter and temperatures below zero become the norm. Yesterday’s unseasonably “high” temperatures gave me a boost, and reminded me of the beauty that is this world. As we welcome December, and in the lead up to the festive season, I thought I’d share some of my favourite things from my Happiness List (in no particular order, and definitely not...

Getting Unstuck

When I feel stuck, like I have lost my footing, I immediately reach for Julia Cameron’s Walking in This World: The Practical Art of Creativity. Lately, I’ve been feeling stuck, like a victim, and desperate to change my mindset. In reading the first chapter from Cameron’s book this morning, what struck with me was this: “When we do not act in the direction of our dreams, we are only ‘dreaming.’ […] Dreams coupled with the firm intention to manifest them take on a steely reality. Our dreams co...

Do You Believe ...?

As I sit down to write, it’s actually Saturday morning (18 October 2014). It’s a typical fall Toronto day — cool and cloudy with a chance of showers. The day mimics my mood. I am wrapped up in anxiousness and uncertainty. I feel like I have lost my way.
My whole life I have set high expectations for myself, and my expectations were high again for this vacation time. I wanted to get into a regular writing routine, make real progress on two writing projects. I wanted to run three or four times...

Count Your Blessings

For the past week I have been on vacation, or what some would call a “staycation.” I’m not travelling about, not rushing around to do this or to do that. I am taking this time to do the things that I love to do. That means that I’m writing a new novel. Catching up on some of my reading. Running two to three times a week. Taking a culinary journey through France, Ireland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. I am also trying to rest.
What this all means is that I’m:
Loving Life. You see, we live in an ag...

Hold Fast to Dreams

It is already the middle of September, and the below seasonal temperatures here in Toronto make it feel like we have stepped fully into fall. Have you noticed how the days have already become shorter with the sun rising later and setting earlier? I don’t feel ready to let go of summer, yet, in just over a week, summer will officially end, fall eagerly waiting to take its place.
And as fall approaches, I am trying, desperately, to sure up my footing. Again. I am, daily, trying to bunker down an...