Dance of Love

In a flash, we met

Our lives start to intertwine

We dance into love

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Emotion Through Art

Today I will speak through my pictures as I am lacking energy and words. Nothing wrong, just a lazy dreary day to enjoy. (Well, technically yesterday when I wrote this.)

Sometimes I think I say more with pictures than I do words anyway, perhaps more elegantly too. So here are a few iPhone pictures I took and their edits. Which do you prefer,the actual image or the image I created?

Now, for the rest of my Thursday, I will be enjoying life unplugged. There will be music, dancing, and even a dashing prince, and who knows what will actually happen during the ballet-because I was just talking about my real life:)

Go out and find your art and smile today!

Love, Nato

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For Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge ~ Challenger’s Choice Week

I chose Abstracts.

No Escaping My Love

It was a long, grueling day at work so I was relieved to take a steaming hot shower. I needed to wipe away the stench of failure. Business at the firm had been intense lately, and seemed to be going all wrong. It was like I was under a black cloud. But, I was the newbie. I think they wanted us to fail in the beginning to season us. At least that was my hope anyway.

Wrapped in a towel, I drug myself into the kitchen, feeling only slightly less beaten. I broke out the bottle of merlot that the firm had left on my desk at work today for “all the hard work this week.” They were such a wonderful bunch of people. Though they worked me to the bone, they were the most supportive group of coworkers I had ever met. So supportive, I revealed my secret to them. So supportive, they swore to protect me if the time ever came. I hoped it never did. No, I prayed it never did.

I had taken every precaution, looked at every detail. If moving across the country was not good enough, I had changed my name as well. No longer did I sport flowing locks of gold. Instead, I had the shortest, blackest bob cut possible. I was a new woman. A woman he could no longer stalk.

Thinking about the crazed man who hunted me like prey gave me chills. They were the worst three years of my life. Everywhere I turned, he would appear. It started simply enough with a hello, a card, a flower. He seemed sweet at first. God. What a fool I had been to date him, and for two months! But I thought I would chalk it up to a bad experience when I broke up with him. That only made it worse though. He called me relentlessly. He showed up at my house, at work. I begged him to stop. He didn’t.

Finally, in a fit of anger, I slapped him and told him he was crazy. He grabbed me, and pulled me close. Through his teeth he told me, “You are mine bitch. You will always be mine. So YOU are the crazy one if you think you can just dump me and walk away.” Then he dug his hands into my arms and threw me to the ground. People on the street just stood there staring at the scene, afraid to get involved. Each time after that, his “visits” got more intense and violent. When he had broken into my house and pleasured himself in my bed, leaving me a video of it. I got a restraining order.

That didn’t stop him though. Nothing did. Stalking laws were clearly inept at protecting people. For years, the police could do nothing. He became good at leaving his “gifts” as untraceable as they were unwanted. The final straw was his “promise” to me-a video of me sleeping while he pleasured himself next to me. Apparently, he had drugged me that night. So I lay there oblivious of his revolting presence. At the end of the video, he kissed my unconscious body and then looked right into the camera with his creepy mask, and whispered, “Next time, you will be awake my love, and I won’t entertain myself.”

I packed up and left the next day knowing the police could do nothing, yet again.

It had been a year now in this new life. How wonderful it was to begin to breath and relax. With that thought, I took another gulp of merlot. I could feel my tension fade away. You are free of him, I told myself.

Maybe, I’ll watch a good girly movie tonight, or maybe just go to bed. I was feeling pretty buzzed already. Yeah, maybe bed was a better idea, I thought. But first, I’ll read the mail that the mailman had handed me earlier when I came home.

I grabbed the pile I had thrown on the counter. In the middle of the bills, ads, and magazines was an odd envelope. I didn’t think much until I read it. I dropped to the floor trembling, uncontrollably. The room started to spin. I felt dizzy. I reached for my phone, but I couldn’t help  stare at the message.

“It took me a while to find you my love. But I did. When you wake up from your wine nap, I’ll be next to you waiting for our night to begin.”

 

Prompt for Challenge

You’ve just been handed a message that makes you drop to the floor, trembling uncontrollably.

• No more than a Word Count of 600. (SUGGESTED)
• Using the above scenario, create a scene of what the note is about, and why it makes you react the way you do. (REQUIRED)
• No external dialogue for this scene. (SUGGESTED)

 

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Battle of the Bulge

Squat, lunge, press. I’m warm.

Exercise makes muscles tight.

Then…I don’t eat right.

~

My muscles are tight

From diet and exercise

Warm equals two-piece

~

Exercise goal – tight

Tiny weenie bikini

When it’s warm – in sight

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Prompt words: tight and warm

Differing Opinions~Agree to Disagree?

Politics, religion and toilet paper. What do these things have in common? If you immediately thought, people full of…close, but no. They are all connected on differences, the varying differences of opinions that people can have about them that is.

There are donkeys and elephants that seemingly argue about every topic considered, and probably even when considering the topics to consider…or so it seems to this apolitical girl. Then comes religion. This is when you think peace, love and joy would unite people through the disparities. No, it seems to do the opposite. It causes people to divide, fight, and in some cases, even kill. Then a much simple issue, toilet paper, has been known to cause great debate in some homes. Some prefer two-ply and for the roll to spin out from the bottom while others prefer quilted and the roll to dispense from the top.

I admit, life would be a heck of a lot easier if we would all agree and get along. Apparently, this has been impossible since the creation of humans though.

As a child, I quickly learned to avoid confrontation. As an adult, I became skilled at choosing my battles. There were just so many things not worth arguing over. Then, on the other side, there really are.

Critical issues surround life and there are a variety of viewpoints to nearly all of them I am sure. Some people are so set in their views that they cannot even consider another though. And THAT is where the problem lies. Well, at least according to Aristotle.

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

I take that statement to mean that to respectfully disagree, you need to be listen to both sides. You need to consider all the angles. You need to weigh the options. Once you have all the facts, and only then, should you consider what viewpoint you prefer. And that’s just the thing, it’s a preference.

I may prefer one candidate over another. I may personally choose to practice one religion over another. However, I still listen to other sides and opinions. Learning about other options helps me widen my knowledge not only about the subject in general but my own viewpoint as well.

For example, in learning about the Jewish faith (from my boyfriend), I researched my own Christian beliefs. I compared some of the differences and read more to see how and why there were different views. In trying to figure out who to vote for, I listened to candidates speak and read on topics. I’ve never chosen a candidate because of a political party. Some years I have selected one party while the next, the other. Frankly, some years that I have voted, I didn’t even pay attention to who was in what party. I just knew that I liked their arguments, stances on issues and appeared the least corrupt option. Never in any of these choices though, do I feel that I am always in the right. I will listen to other arguments and respect them. Why not? I mean, isn’t there always more to learn in the areas of religion and politics? I think so.

Now, as for that toilet paper issue. I can respectfully listen to your debate on quilted versus two-ply. However, if you try to explain the benefits of dispensing your toilet paper from the top of the roll, I will close my ears. I’ve done my research on that topic already and there is nothing really more to discuss. Case closed. Toilet paper that dispenses from the bottom is clearly the superior option. Conversation closed.

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