PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Peace
Yesterday my yoga instructor invited the class to choose an Intention for the day. I breathed in, my body and mind was tight, it has seemed that way for some time. Into my mind came the word PEACE. I thought, “How corny. Really? Peace is what you come up with Sonya?” But I closed my eyes, and again it was Peace that resonated for me. Peace that I needed.
As we all know, life is busy. I don’t think my life is any busier than anyone else’s, but I haven’t been able to find the peace and calm that is so important to me, especially in the midst of chaos. I write, model, chauffeur kids (well, now down to one), fix and manage rental houses and over the past twenty plus years I’ve been coaching as well. And during my last few years as a head coach, not only did amazing things happen, but a lot of negative energy was thrown in my direction by a group of parents and it made finding peace a little more difficult.
This part of my time coaching is not something I write about very often because I do my best to keep out the bad energy, but it comes up for me from time to time since I live in the neighborhood, and attend events at the high school where I coached, so I often see these parents. It’s not easy to forgive and forget.
The old sticks and stones will break my bones but words can never hurt me, is only partially true. The recent Mindful Magazine article The Stickiness of Misinformation, explains that once a lie has been told, it sticks in the mind, and if continually repeated is seen as […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Forget about the Perfect Word, First Capture your Thoughts
The thesaurus is my friend. Some may not need this crutch of sorts, this slayer of words. But I use mine (all three), a lot. I have one on my computer, as well as big thick hardback book that my husband bought for me years ago and last my husband himself, he is my personal thesaurus. If he is near and I’m searching for a word, I’ll holler out, “What’s another word for dive?” And with amazing consistency, he’ll pause for a second and then reply, “Plunge, plummet, drop…” and more useable words that hit the spot. (I have no idea how he does this, but it seems to work for me more often than not.)
However, he’s not always around, so if I’m writing away and I know what I want to say, but I just can’t pull a specific word up in my mind, I simply do this ( ), and keep typing with the knowledge that I can come back and fill in the blank. When I come back to my blanks, I pull out my thesaurus to help find the right word or edit and rewrite the sentence, or a paragraph or two, to get my thoughts down how I like them.
Finding the perfect word doesn’t always happen immediately, nor should it, writing takes time. Just know that if you have to toss in a ( ) or a _____ to keep your thoughts moving forward, then do it! You can always come back to find the perfect word, what’s important is to capture your thoughts while they are fresh in your mind.
Write on!
WRITING PROMPT: Capture
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Giving It Up
I played basketball the other day with my husband and some friends. My husband and I were teamed together, and when we are on the same team I tend to make him do the inside work. He is a good five inches taller than me. But when we were on a fast break he called for that ball earlier than normal and reminded me, “Give up the ball and I’ll get it back to you.” Ah, so true. The basic Give & Go. (If only I could move my 49-year-old body fast enough to fill the break to get it back).
Don’t be afraid to pass the ball to your teammates, in the end you will get more opportunities with the ball. Give and you shall receive. A fundamental part of the game and an important lesson in life.
On the court and in life. Remember to give and you will be sure to receive.
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Growing Hip
Honey 1919-2015
I’m trying to grow hip as I grow older. My husband always tells people that he wants to be like my grandma, Honey, when he is old. “She was HIP,” he explains and then goes on to talk about how she was current with news, sports and of course politics. (She and my grandpa leaned to the left, which I loved.) She stayed relevant with her grand and great-grand kids, up until she was in her late 90’s. Her great-grands loved her, chatted with her, played cards with her (She played a mean hand of Bridge or any card game for that matter) and learned from her until she was gone, and that is cool. HIP.
Honey wasn’t perfect, but she was darn close. She was an amazing grandmother to me, and just one of the things I loved about her was her ability to stay up with the times, and it is one thing I want to emulate and fold into my life. My hip won’t be like Honey’s, but I’ll do my best to live my life to the fullest, try new things, stay current with the world and stay positive despite some of what might be out there in the news. To look for the good and pass on the good to those around me.
Isn’t that something worth striving for as we grow older, to be hip and relevant? I don’t mean dress like a teenager. (Though Honey always looked sharp while being age appropriate) but just staying up with the times. Reading and learning. Being open and living life.
Writing prompt #1: How will you stay hip throughout your lifetime?
Meet Sonya
Meet Sonya
Sonya Elliott’s memoir, Back on the Court: A Young Woman’s Triumphant Return to Life, Love & Basketball, is her story of finding hope in the wake of tragedy after she and her fiancé were hit by a train. She blogs about writing, basketball, and life and is currently working on a Young Adult Novel and a Non-Fiction Coaching book. Stories of her career as a fashion model are woven through her memoir, as both the Soloflex and Easy Spirit Shoes commercials were filmed during that time period, and this unique and intriguing business continues to be a part of her life.
Sonya played basketball at Eastern Washington University and was a starter for the Big Sky Champion team that went to the 1987 NCAA tournament. She coached for almost 25 years and was voted Seattle Times Coach of the Year, Seattle Officials Women’s Basketball Association Coach of the Year, and twice voted Metro League Coach of the Year. She loves the game of basketball and is thankful, not only for her husband and kids but for her ability to continue to get back on the court.
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PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Court Dreams
Basketball has been a part of my life since I was a kid, and at forty-nine years old, I still can’t seem to get enough. Whether I’m playing, coaching or watching the game, when I’m near a ball, a court, or I hear the squeak of shoes on the hardwood, I feel at home.
The game has given me good times and bad times. It’s kept me in shape, it’s taught me life lessons, and once it even gave me a reason to live (read more about how basketball helped save my life after I lost my fiancé and was nearly killed, in Court Dreams: A Life Worth Living, at the Awesome Sports Project).
Find time to do the things that you love. Enjoy this life, it is truly worth living.
Book Reading: “Meet The Authors” @ Morgan Junction Community Festival in West Seattle
I’m excited to be a part of the Morgan Junction Community Festival in West Seattle this weekend, where local authors will be reading from their work!
“Meet the Authors”
Saturday, June 18, 2016
10 am to 5 pm
Morgan Junction, West Seattle
Northwest Corner of California Ave. SW and SW Beveridge Pl.
(Author booth located in Zeek’s Pizza parking lot)
Morgan Junction Community Festival Welcomes Local Authors
Where can you find Greek Gods, homicide detectives, and wanton boys all sharing one tent? This summer, they will be gathering under an awning at the Morgan Junction Community Festival. These are just a few of the dynamic characters that West Seattle authors bring to life in their novels and memoirs for your reading pleasure in genres as diverse as fantasy, young […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Stop Gun Violence!
All I could think about today when I sat down to write was NOT AGAIN! Not another mass shooting. I felt compelled to write about the Orlando mass shooting, but I wondered would it help? Does it matter? My answer came to me just as it did last fall with the Umpqua College shootings. It can’t hurt.
Last fall I wrote about the Umpqua College shootings in my blog, Guns – Know More. No More! – Be Heard. I wrote about needing to make changes to control guns and help reduce gun violence. In 1996, 35 people were killed and 23 wounded during one of the worlds deadliest massacres in Port Arthor, Australia and they introduced strict gun control laws and formulated the National Firearms Programme Implementation Act 1996, restricting the private ownership of semi-automatic rifles, semi-automatic shotguns and pump-action shotguns as well as introducing uniform firearms licensing. And […]
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