April 2021 Vol 3 Issue 4

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):

Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Organizational Storytelling

Let me tell your story!

IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE 1: How to laugh more in Covid times

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: The annoying case of “my bad”

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

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Welcome Mid-April, 2021!

Although Covid-19 continues to dominate the headlines and to force lockdowns across the country, we might be forgiven for feeling Covid fatigue and some gloom about the state of public health.

In this month’s issue, I therefore recommend a distraction, by visiting an article, “How to Laugh More,” by Monaco-based, laughing specialist (gelotologist),  Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky. Who knew that laughter (gelotology) had its own field?!

And in this month’s issue of “Storytellers’ Corner,” I visit the always annoying (to me, at least) case of “my bad,” with etymologist, Bryan Garner.

Although media are questioning what kind of summer we will have, I hope that you are enjoying, whenever possible, the sights, sounds and smells of spring, which persist through recent cold and, in some places, snow.

May the freshness of spring (whether by a walk outdoors or a seat by an open window) provide some consolation for the public health anxieties we face, in these Covid times.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

Principal

Storytelling Communications

www.elizabethshih.com

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Article One: How to laugh more in Covid times (with Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky)

In a recent edition of the newsletter “Psyche,” gelotologist (laughter specialist) Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky (hereafter, G-S) authored an article called “How to Laugh More.”

After a full year’s (obsessive) diet of often terrible, Covid-related news, many of us feel we need to laugh more than ever! As G-S writes: “Laughter is one of the best things you can do to cheer yourself up. So much so that I actively make a habit to laugh regularly—and I think you should, too.”

She offers three reasons why we should laugh more:

(1) Laughter is good for our physical well-being. American psychologist William Fry (the father of gelotology), described laughter as “internal jogging.”

Laughter has been found to have a similar effect, on heart rate and heart-rate variability, as exercise. Our immune systems are strengthened, our muscles relax and our blood pressure decreases.

G-S writes that a study of nearly 21K older adults found that those who laughed daily had lower rates of heart disease, compared with those who never or rarely laughed.

Patients with Type 2 diabetes who watched a comic film (by contrast to those who listened to an unhumourous lecture) showed decreased levels of prorenin in their blood, a protein involved in diabetic complications.

Watching humourous videos can also increase our tolerance for pain. So if you strain your neck and back cleaning out the garage, an enlightened doctor’s orders may be YouTube or a highly imaginative comic novel–and not just Advil.

(2) Laughter has become known for offering benefits for our mental health and personal development. When we laugh, the brain releases endorphins and decreases its release of stress hormones (including cortisol). Laughter can reduce feelings of stress and symptoms of depression, to help us to cope when life gets challenging. Problems loom less large when we laugh about some aspect of them.

Recent studies show that laughter can improve the quality of our sleep, increase our self-esteem and creativity and help create an environment that enhances our capacity to learn. G-S quotes the poet Byron: “ ‘Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.’”

(3) People don’t laugh enough: studies of adults in the US showed that on average, people laugh 18 times per day, with respondents varying between 0 and 89. I’m now searching for results in Canada. But–and this is crucial–we can all laugh without having the stimulation of humour.

G-S says that babies, for instance, laugh and coo without hearing (or understanding) jokes or stories. Laughter and humour can occur separately for us all. She writes: “We don’t need to wait for something funny to happen before we can experience the benefits of laughter.”

Laughter can be free, easy-to-use and fast to take effect. You don’t have to buy equipment or join a group or go to a specific location. G-S writes that laughter “burns calories, . . . it’s low risk and it’s legal.” We are 30 times more likely to laugh with someone else than when we’re alone and laughter tends to be a bonding process between people.

But G-S also says that it’s “perfectly possible to laugh when you’re alone” and to benefit from laughter.

Based on American psychologist Paul McGhee’s book, Humour as Survival Training for a Stressed-Out World (2010), G-S recommends three strategies or “humour habits”:

(1) Surround yourself with humour. Watch classic movies or comedy clips, collect jokes that you hear from others, tune into re-runs of sit-com shows you remember from the past. Create a file on your computer or digital device, so you can revisit these kind of “funnies.”

(2) Try to practice having a more “playful attitude” at work and at home (or wherever you work, in Covid times). Try to live more in-the-moment and find fun in daily life. G-S says this is “like warming up” before you start a run. Think about preparing your mind and body to laugh.

(3) Try with intention to laugh more frequently and more deeply. When you’re alone, think of something funny and learn how to laugh out loud from it. This gets easier with practice. She says to consider and try different styles of laughter, such as “playful, joyful and natural.”

Interestingly, G-S says that there is no such thing as “fake” laughter, since “all laughs are real, just produced by different vocal systems.” However, when we are just starting, self-induced laughter may feel somewhat forced. Don’t lose heart, as she says, “Self-induced laughter can get a bad rap, but research indicates that it can be even more effective for health and well-being than the spontaneous kind.”

Psychologist Paul McGhee recommends “looking for humour in everyday life . . . laugh at silly typos, or at the shape of a vegetable in your garden or fridge, or at the antics of your pet—whatever works.”

Verbal humour (such as puns) can arise from almost any context. Cartoon and comic groups exist on social media to share zany humour. (I’ve never laughed harder on Facebook than I have by subscribing to vintage cartoons from “The Far Side.”)

Being open to finding humour in day-to-day occurrences can soften embarrassing and stress-ridden moments. So learning to take ourselves less seriously and “to find humour in the midst of stress” can be helpful.

You can train your own skills as a comedian by writing your own jokes and by reading and viewing the growing number of online resources on laughter. For instance, my colleague, marketer and all-around funny man, Michael Katz, has undertaken training as a stand-up comedian and marvelled at how different that art form is from writing humourously (for which he’s better known).

You can undertake more formal practices of learning to laugh, without humour. G-S refers to “Laughter Yoga,” invented by the Indian medical doctor, Madan Kataria, in the mid-1990s, to reduce depression and loneliness. Nowadays, laughter yoga features “playful movements and exercises,” more than sophisticated yoga poses. For instance, you can learn to speak “gibberish” to initiate laughter.

Similarly, “Laughing Qigong” in China pairs “a series of breathing and body movements . . . with simulated laughter.” Studies show that practicing this has improved participants’ mood and humour levels.

Gonot-Schoupinsky herself created “laughies,” one-minute audio recordings of people laughing, that we can play back, either alone or with others.

They’re “like selfies,” she writes, “but instead of taking a photo of yourself, you record yourself laughing.” She says that recording and listening to a “laughie” three times daily for a week increased well-being by 16% in healthy adults.

Almost all of us can remember hearing someone whose laughter was so distinctive and vibrant that merely hearing it made us want to laugh. I can remember a family friend whose energetic “smoker’s laugh” alone made a me giggle, as a small child.

Other benefits from laughter included being more relaxed, more open to laughing with others and sleeping better. In the UK, a psychologist whom Gonot-Schoupinsky cites, is developing a database of “laughies” for others to use (aka “laughing stock”), much like the individual who in the US started the scream” telephone line, for those frustrated by our late Covid-times.

Further resources:

Videos abound online on the nature of laughter and how it benefits us. Gonot-Schoupinsky refers to many videos, books, talks and interviews with UK and US based psychologists and researchers; read here.

Her two favourite books on the topic are Laughter: A Scientific Investigation (2020) by Robert Provine; and Taking Laughter Seriously (1983) by John Morreall (a philosophical overview).

Forthcoming: a book by psychologist Jennifer Aaker, and the marketer Naomi Bagdonas: Humor, Seriously: Why Humor is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life and How Anyone Can Harness it, Even You (2021).

And now it’s your turn? Do you separate laughter and humour? If you practice laughing regularly, what difference do you notice in your sense of well-being? Please share on my “contact” page. I’d be delighted to hear from you!

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STORYTELLER’s CORNER …

STORYTELLER’S CORNER: The annoying case of “my bad” (with Bryan Garner)

In his blog on English usage at the end of March, etymologist Bryan Garner discussed the common expression, “my bad.”

He describes it as a “low colloquialism” that “gained popularity in the mid-1980s, apparently growing out of American sports slang and meaning, ‘Sorry, my mistake.'”

Garner goes on to say that it was “established” enough that it was “listed in a collection of campus slang published by the University of North Carolina” (no date given) and became common in pop culture, especially in the 1990s.

However, Garner adds, with (one suspects a gleeful look in his eye), the “phrase now seems to be on the wane.”

My beef with “my bad” is that, during the past 10-15 years, I heard the expression used in a “throwaway” manner, when the speaker couldn’t be bothered to correct an error that in those cases deserved more attention! For instance, when talking about one’s health care or when talking to university students about their writing, sometimes precision matters!

And now it’s your turn: Do you still use “my bad?” What case can you make (or not) of its usefulness?

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SHOP NEWS: 

I am particularly grateful this month to members of my faith community (St. Andrew’s Presbyterian) who have offered me support with caring for (and moving) an aging family member. Just as it’s often said, “It takes a village to raise a child,” caring for our elderly works much better when shared in community.

So special thanks to Rev. Roberto and Heather DeSandoli, Laura Van Loon, Martha and Dean Fergusson, as well as Jan Rodda, Judy McFadden, MaryAnn Lyle, Shirley Fourney, Donna and Jim Fenton and those whose names I may briefly have forgotten, for loaning time and other resources for my family’s move.

Senior’s health care in the province, as many of you know or have experienced, is problematic, so the last years of most seniors’ lives can present choppy waters. Having friends who become like family are a tremendous blessing.

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Thank you also to my communications friends, including Christina Cherneskey (Christina Cherneskey Communications)  and Megan Kent (Little Ox Videography), for sharing their insights on staySMART contracts we’ve been working on, since the winter. Talking with peers is so helpful to focus and to gauge our progress, when we face complex demands on our time and energy.

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The days of self-isolation I experienced, after taking a precautionary Covid test in March, have reminded me of the importance of making an effort (when it’s safe) to walk again, to enjoy the warmth of our prairie sunshine and the freshness of the air.

If you are Saskatchewan-based, have you seen or heard the Canada Geese who started to appear, four weekends ago? Spotting them and their activities first alerted me to the start of spring.

How can this season of growth inspire you to keep fighting?

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ABOUT US: Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country. Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now write marketing and communications documents and lead workshops that help entrepreneurs and newcomers to Canada to strengthen their businesses or secure better jobs. Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com). After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you! Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

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March 2021 Vol 3 Issue 3

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):
Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Organizational Storytelling
Let me tell your story!

Welcome Mid-March, 2021!
As spring is on the horizon in Saskatchewan, we long for more of the sunshine of last weekend but less of yesterday’s gusting wind! No Saskatchewanian ever dares to call an end to winter in March!

But longer daylight hours (and our province’s wisdom in not having accepted Daylight Savings’ Time), bring welcome relief!

Although the late phases of the Covid pandemic are wearying, I was relieved to test negative for the virus recently, after developing some troubling symptoms. I’m grateful to colleague and friend, nurse Laura Van Loon, for assisting me with getting tested. And I’m happy to be on-the-mend!

Despite these self-isolating, pandemic days, may the growing light and warmth of this month (even if limited to a balcony or back yard) bring you a return to or renewed good health, accomplishment in what you do and gratitude for the blessings (people, projects, books and more) that grace your life.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth

Principal
Storytelling Communications
www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE 1: More thoughts on creativity from Daphne Gray-Grant
STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: Bryan Garner and the origins of “milquetoast”
SHOP NEWS
ABOUT US

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Article One, on Entrepreneurial Wellness: More thoughts on creativity from Daphne Gray-Grant

Readers of this newsletter will recall that I’ve often discussed the concept of creativity and how we can enhance creative thinking processes, as entrepreneurs. Recently, Vancouver writer and writers’ coach, Daphne Gray-Grant, recommended 10 ways we can all improve our creativity.

Unlike writers Elizabeth Gilbert (Big Magic) and more in the vein of Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird), Gray-Grant stresses that creativity is “not a special gift, reserved for a limited few,” but is “a skill that anyone can learn.” Do her following 10 tips resonate with you?

(1) Get enough rest: Gray-Grant reports that most of us need between seven and nine hours of rest, nightly, and yet very few of us reach that target. She questions while we feel shame about needing sleep and argues against subordinating our need for sleep to anything else.

Most sleep studies “confirm that creativity is better after prolonged sleep”
(Sleepline.com/creativity/). Right-brain centred, verbal creatives may fall asleep later and sleep later than those who are visually creative (i.e. artists) and definitely from left-brain, science thinkers.

An article on the US National Institutes of Health website tells us that sleep is needed to flush out metabolic waste from the brain that accrues when we are awake. Sleep helps to restore our thinking and creating capacities (reasoning, problem solving and attention to detail) and to store memories, as
well.

(2) Creativity can improve if we allow for boredom. Because of foolishly overusing our smartphones, we never allow ourselves to be bored. When we’re waiting for a bus or at the supermarket, we surf YouTube or social media.
Gray-Grant says that instead allowing our minds to wander is healthy. She suggests: “look at the other people in the same space as you—notice their appearance, think about what makes them tick, imagine what their lives are like. You can look at the physical space [near you]. What are the
colours? What re the objects like? What makes it pretty? Or ugly? Or boring?”

This kind of mind wandering allows for creativity, since your mind can “go in any direction it likes. “Doing the same old activities does not allow for creativity.” And “noodling” on one’s smartphone is the mental equivalent of eating junk food, says British psychologist Sandi Mann.

When people are bored, they engage in deeper thinking, create games, amusements, diversions. I recall the great English actress Emma Thompson saying in an interview years ago that when she was a new mother, she coped with periods of creative underwork (e.g. a film project that lost its funding)
by daydreaming and developing far-away thoughts that bore no relation to the present.

(3) Gray-Grant says that it’s a mistake to try to write or create in a silent space and that this is why many writers work in coffee shops. She recommends seeking sound in the “70-decibel range,” like some soft living room music, which will not be too distracting; something with consistent rhythm
and tempo, such as Baroque composers; music that you already know and that does not have lyrics (which are distracting). Writers like me who dislike hearing music when thinking, can use a soundbox that quietly plays the repetitive sounds of rain, the surf, running water, wind and singing birds.

(4) Exercising regularly helps our brains, because it encourages the growth and survival of new brain cells (in the hippocampus). Writers for centuries have spoken of walking as a stimulant for better thinking (e.g. Virginia Woolf’s famous essay on “Street Haunting.”), since physical movement
can also promote mental activity.

(5) Gray-Grant recommends allowing ourselves to be “more childlike,” by which she means to allow oneself to have more fun in life—by questioning the status quo; by speaking our own simple truths (without white lies meant to spare others’ feelings); by “approaching the world with open hands and
open hearts,” instead of selfish egotism; and by not allowing discouraging things to burden you, by looking for positivity elsewhere.

(6) She also recommends taking more frequent breaks. Taking rests from work and not chaining oneself to a 80+ hour work week allows mental rest that increases one’s productivity in fewer hours.

(7) Seek the company of others who are creative, or, when that isn’t possible, read about creative people. I blogged years ago on creativity as discussed by Twyla Tharp and Elizabeth Gilbert’s books on the topic. Gray-Grant recommends Just Kids (Patti Smith) and Flow (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)
and The War of Art (Steven Pressfield), amongst others.

(8) Know that being and thinking creatively “isn’t easy” and can be messy. “It’s not about playing with paints . . . on a sunny day. Instead it’s about sticking with your program when you’re discouraged with it and frustrated.” She recommends “set[ting] up routines and practices.”

(9) Do creative work, “just because,” and not always for a specifically defined purpose. Creativity can be “for fun” or because you “feel like doing it.” These are worthwhile motivations.

(10) Allow yourself time to be creative, practice it as part of a routine, so you become used to allowing time and energy for it. Gray-Grant says that while we can’t simply turn on a creativity tap, we can get used to developing a routine that encourages it.

And now it’s your turn: do you already use these recommended activities to increase your creativity? What does or does not work for you? Please share your experience on my “Contact” page. I’ll be delighted to hear from you.
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STORYTELLER’S CORNER: Words, Stories, Riddles and Jokes on Writing and Editing . . .

This month: Bryan Garner and the origins of “milquetoast”

Etymologist Bryan Garner recently wrote in his “Usage Tip for the Day,” that the term “milquetoast” is derived from Harold Webster’s early-20th -century American comic strip, “The Timid Soul.”

The popular cartoon featured Caspar Milquetoast. His surname (then and now) refers to a “weak, timid person who is easily led” by others. The character is meek, overly sensitive and paranoid of offending others.

Webster had his character speak the following, which was reprinted on a Christmas card in the 1950s: “If you won’t think it presumptuous of me I’d like to -uh-er-wish you a merry-or at least as reasonably pleasant-a Christmas as we are entitled to, things-uh-er-being what they are.”

Garner says the word is now so commonplace that it should not be capitalized. Today, we might call someone a “milquetoast” if, for instance, after many years of political correctness, the person becomes unable to speak assertively about anything.

The name is derived (as sources including Wikipedia remind us) from “bland and . . . inoffensive food, milk toast, which, light and easy to digest, is appropriate food for someone with a weak or ‘nervous’ stomach.”

The cartoon started in the 1920s, resurged in the 1930s and continued for one year Webster’s death in 1952.

Do you have a story, riddle, cartoon or joke on any aspect of communications? Please share it with me; I’d be delighted to use it in an upcoming issue.

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SHOP NEWS:

I’m taking a needed few days off from my usual writing and editing activities, so am happy to delve more deeply into my stack of unread books.
Maybe Middlemarch or Tristram Shandy will finally get their due . . . .?
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I’ll be delighted to return to editing Praxis School of Entrepreneurship (PSE) colleagues’ blog postings and to develop their website copy, as part of the staySMART, pandemic-friendly program.

The program will be renewed in 2021, so stay tuned to join in! Meantime, it’s always wonderful to work with fellow alumni. I’m grateful as ever to PSE Chief Visionary Office Monica Kreuger, group coach and facilitator, Deanna Litz, and Elaine Mantyka and the PSE administrative team, who developed this work for me and other service providers.
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Special acknowledgement to those of my readers who in recent months have lost beloved spouses or family members, whether due to Covid or other illnesses. You are on my mind and in my heart.
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And deep thanks to those who continue to provide support via the province’s Healthline (811) and at our Health Region’s Covid-19 Testing Centre.
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Finally, thanks and prayers to those who care well for seniors in these trying times, providing necessary stimulation, support, good nutrition and other basic needs, even when the pandemic limits our activity.
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ABOUT US:
Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now teach English as a second language that helps new and economic immigrants to secure better jobs; I write communications documents that help SMEs to close more sales by communicating more effectively; and I write ebooks and chapbooks that help major companies share their legacies.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant
website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!
Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca)

January 2021, Vol 3 Issue 1

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN): Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Organizational Storytelling

Let me tell your story!

IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE 1: Missing out on reading? Writer Christian Jarrett on how to get back to the books

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:

On Janus words with Mignon Fogarty

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

STORYTELLER’S CORNER: On Janus words, with Mignon Fogarty At the end of last year, “Grammar Girl” and writer, Mignon Fogarty, wrote a blog posting on “Janus words,” which are also called auto-antonyms. (The term “Janus” comes from Roman mythology, where the deity Janus had two faces, one looking forward and another, backward. In common writing, the term refers to something having two contrasting aspects; and, less commonly, to someone who is two-faced or deceitful.) “Janus words,” then, are words that have two opposing meanings (i.e. “auto-antonyms,” or words that provide their own antonyms). A good example is the verb “to dust,” which can mean both “to add a light layer,” such as when one “dusts a cake with icing sugar,” and “to remove dust,” such as when one “dusts the tables and surfaces before company arrives”). Fogarty cites “sanction” as another Janus word, as it can mean both “to approve or ratify something” and “to punish or penalize someone.” So too is “chuffed,” an English word that can mean both “pleased or satisfied” (more common) and “displeased or disgruntled” (less common). Fogarty estimates that there are about 30 Janus words in the English language (others include “cleave,” “trim,” “seed” and “alight”), which add to the challenge of learning  the language for children and for non-native speakers. In most of these cases, one of the two meanings is far more common, but the second is still possible. Janus words caused me frustration in childhood (verbalized in the 1970s and 80s to my family) that some words “don’t mean what they’re supposed to”–or at least don’t have a single, stable meaning. They remain the delight of readers as well as literary theorists like Jacques Derrida and Slavoj Zizek. And now it’s your turn: Do you notice Janus words in the reading and writing of your discipline? Why not share them on my “contact” page?  +++++ SHOP NEWS: I am particularly grateful this month to Monica Kreuger, Deanna Litz and Elaine Manytka for leading and running the staySMART cohort of alumni from the Praxis School of Entrepreneurship. This group of entrepreneurs has been meeting since last fall, to strategize on how to make our businesses more Covid resistant. The 90 minute, weekly seminars, combined with 45 minutes of weekly coaching from Deanna Litz, have been fortifying and inspiring; and the contact with fellow alumni soothing, in these troubled times. As a participant in this program, I’m delighted to provide editing services for websites and blog postings, for several fellow staySMART alumni. Special thanks to Monica Kreuger, for making this possible. Meantime, I continue with my ESL training through Tefl.org and look forward to upcoming months, when I will unroll services of language instruction. Between writing and teaching, I will help new immigrant entrepreneurs and others “to tell their stories in English,” or “to learn  English to tell their stories.” +++++ Hearty congratulations this month to Monica Kreuger for being named CTV Saskatoon’s Citizen of the Year. Monica’s 30+ years of leadership in entrepreneurial circles and her generosity, profound decency and genius all made it very easy to write in support of her nomination. Special thanks to Lenore Swystun and Deanna Litz for spearheading that application process. +++++   ABOUT US: Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country. Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now write marketing and communications documents and lead  workshops that help entrepreneurs and newcomers to Canada to strengthen their businesses or secure better jobs. Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com). After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you! Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

 

December 2020 Vol 2 Issue 12

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN): Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Organizational Storytelling

Let me tell your story!

Welcome Mid-December, 2020!

Winter in Saskatchewan came “fast and furious” with November’s storm and heavy snowfall. But after several weeks of mild temperatures, this week ushered in unseasonable cold, as if to reinforce our socially distant,  pandemic friendly, Christmas plans!

If the media’s obsessive coverage of Covid-19 (excluding so much other, important news) threatens to overwhelm you, or if this time of year is difficult for other reasons, please visit to the American Hospice Society’s menu on “surviving Christmas,” which I featured in the past two December issues of this newsletter (2019 and 2018).

In this month’s issue, I visit some of the teachings of Buddhist monk, Pema Chodron, whose insights help me cope with pandemic fatigue.

In “Storytellers Corner,” I visit the perennial grammatical issue of whether or not we can end sentences with prepositions (with a nod to “Grammar Girl,” Mignon Fogarty).

While it feels painful to miss seeing those outside our immediate “bubbles,” I hope that this Christmas/Hanukkah season allows you time to rest and recharge body, mind and soul. And that this time renews our awareness of the many blessings we do have, that are so easy to forget.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

Principal

Storytelling Communications

www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE 1: Pema Chodron: Some insights for pandemic times

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:

Should you end a sentence with a preposition? 

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

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Article One: Pema Chodron: Some insights for Pandemic Times

When the world seems most off-kilter, vulnerable to the force of this international pandemic, Pema Chodron reminds us to turn inward, befriend our inner selves and let go of what we do not need.

The Buddhist nun (b. 1936) has been cited by people as diverse as Oprah Winfry and Seth Godin, as an “essential life-force” of human experience. I recently recovered Maria Popova’s notes, from a month-long meditation session some 20 years ago, held at the monastery where Chodron is a founding director. Chodron trains others to practice mindfulness through meditation, “to remain wholeheartedly awake to everything that occur[s] and to use the abundant material of daily life” as a “primary teacher and guide.”

In times of crisis and stress like the one we are in (where the media provide a far-too-steady diet of Covid-19), combining solitude, nature, meditation and a monastic life enables us to reflect on how to “be oneself without embarrassment or harshness.”

In such books as When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (2016), Chodron says that rather than seeking human perfection in thought or argument, we would do well to recognize that “our neurosis and our wisdom are made out of the same material. If you throw out your neurosis, you also throw out your wisdom.”

Instead of judging ourselves for our shortcomings, Chodron says, we should “make friends with ourselves” and so find “a sense of warmth toward oneself.” Self-criticism is not purposeful. Self-acceptance, befriending ourselves and our world involves acknowledging “not just the parts we like,” but all of us, seeing that we can learn from all of it.

In one meditation, Chodron explores how precision, gentleness and letting go are related graces: “If we see our so-called limitations with clarity, precision, gentleness, goodheartedness and kindness and, having seen them fully, then let go, . . . we begin to find that our world is more vast and more refreshing than we had realized before. . . . The key to feeling more whole and less shut off and shut down is to be able to see clearly who we are and what we’re doing.”

Simple applications could be putting down all of our screens and taking long walks in nature and the outdoors. (In some ways, pandemic life has forced us to do such things.)

Chodron urges us to avoid aiming to please other people, and that we should not try to improve ourselves by exposing our own “ignorance, unkindness and shut-downness.” When plenty of business gurus endorse changing oneself, she observes: “The problem is that the desire to change is fundamentally a form of aggression toward yourself. . . our hangups, unfortunately or fortunately, contain our wealth.”

This is not license to be self-indulgent or settle for mediocrity, but an injunction to “gently let go” of our imperfections, rather than forcefully trying to expel them.

When we face fear or depression, such as in our current pandemic, Chodron finds freedom lies in “getting to know [that feeling] completely,” accepting it, without judgment and “learn[ing] how, once you’ve experienced it fully, to let go.” No, we do not want today to die of Covid-19, or for our loved ones or friends to die. But Chodron wants us first to sit with the limitations of human life without trying to deny them.

We can learn to view ourselves with “loving kindness,” such as through breathing practices that help us to “let go” of our ruminative lives, our epidemic of hurrying and our efforts of getting and spending (especially in the Christmas season). The “4-7-8” breathing exercise, developed by Dr. Andrew Weil draws on Buddhist meditation (see article one of  last October’s issue, “Remember to breathe”).

To be “fully present isn’t something that happens once and then you have achieved it,” Chodron says: “it’s being awake to the ebb and flow and movement and creation of life, being alive to the process of life itself.”

Whether or not one follows Buddhist teachings closely, most of us can find value in expanding our capacity for self-acceptance and the acceptance of others that it allows, as ingredients for peace.

If you lack time for yourself and quiet contemplation in this crisis-weary world, please consider picking up one of Chodron’s books. Additionally, mindfulness meditations pertaining to her teachings are made accessible by the Buddhist teacher, Sam Harris, in his book, Waking Up:A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion (2014). These he has adapted to a website and even a cell phone app.

And now it’s your turn: Do you treat yourself with loving kindness, especially in pandemic times? Will our seeking spirituality find a way forward without fear?

Please share your insights with me on my “Contact” page. I’d be delighted to hear from you.

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STORYTELLER’s CORNER . . . . 

STORYTELLER’S CORNER: Ideas, Stories, Riddles and Jokes on Writing and Editing . . .

Should you end a sentence with a preposition, asks Mignon Fogarty?

Just as many of us were taught in grade two not to start a sentence with “and” or “but” (practices long ago overturned as pedantic), some writers and readers still believe that we should not end sentences with prepositions.

Mignon Fogarty, the American writing coach who brands herself as “Grammar Girl,” recently blogged on this very point.

To review (for non-grammarians), a “preposition” is a word that creates a relationship between other words, usually dealing with space (e.g.“above,” “by,” and “over”); and time (e.g.“before” and “after”).

Here are two examples of these, respectively: “The nightstand is by the bed,” and “We had dessert after dinner.”

So long as the preposition is grammatically needed (unlike in the phrase:“The diver jumped off of the deep end”), it can legitimately fall at the end of a sentence. So it’s acceptable, as Fogarty says, to write “What did you step on?” instead of “On what did you step?” (Note that the latter sounds stuffy and pedantic.)

Fogarty says that prepositions often fall at the end of sentences in which phrasal verbs are used—verbs that are made of multiple words that usually include a preposition. For example, “I wish she would leave it off.” Or “You should cheer up.”

Other sentences without phrasal verbs can also end with prepositions and are also valid: “I want to know where he came from” is much more readable than “I want to know from where he came.” Fogarty says that one exception would be when writing conservative documents like cover letters (i.e. job applications), when it would be safer to avoid ending sentences with prepositions.

However, in virtually all other cases, ending sentences with prepositions will make them easier to read.

Consider the story that Sir Winston Churchill famously refused the rule against preposition use, saying: “This is the sort of pedantry up with which I will not put!”

Do you have an idea, riddle or joke on any aspect of writing or communications? Please share it with me; I’d be delighted to use it in an upcoming issue. 

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SHOP NEWS:

Attending last week’s virtual graduation for the Praxis School of Entrepreneurship’s 2020 students was inspiring! The graduation (on Zoom) allowed me to write copy behind-the-scenes, and so to collaborate with Little Ox Film Company (videography lead Megan Kent) and Christina Cherneskey Communications (podcasting and virtual event management).

Thank you to the alumni, friends and family who attended and shared their wisdom and experience. And thanks especially to the Praxis Team (Monica and Brent Kreuger, Deanna Litz, Elaine Mantyka, Silvana Cracogna) for spearheading this first-ever online grad for Praxis, with all of their ideas and effort.

I look forward to further collaboration in 2021, to continue to commemorate the achievement of 30 years in entrepreneurial education!

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Special thanks also this month to entrepreneurial coach, facilitator and all-around amazing woman, Deanna Litz. Deanna leads Praxis’ “staySMART” online group that keeps  entrepreneurs like me grounded and supported through pandemic times, by group discussion and one-on-one coaching.

I highly recommend Deanna as a business coach: read more about her services on her “Powerful Nature” website.

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Heartfelt thanks also go to the staff and owner/operator of Persephone Care Home in Saskatoon, who provide empathetic care and comfort to seniors during this pandemic-centred holiday season, when social distancing from family and friends is compulsory.

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 ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country. 

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now write to help small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to secure more sales by communicating more effectively; help economic immigrants to improve their language skills and secure better jobs;  and I write the legacy stories of major companies.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).