Woo Woo

 

 

By Pauline Evanosky

 

May 2026 

 

Taking Responsibility for Your Life

You know what is hard to swallow? Not only is it your fault, but you had a hand in the creation of your own distress. I spent much of my life thinking it was never my fault. Slowly, it came to me that not only was I responsible for my own happiness, but I was just as responsible for my own unhappiness. I couldn’t blame anybody.
 

That was a difficult thing to come to terms with. Alongside that realization came the idea that if nobody was to blame for my circumstances in life, then I was also the only one who could set things to right.
Again, a hard lesson. I am not a student of life other than my own. And, with the reading I’ve done, I’ve also read stories where the characters in them were never to blame, so it was a novel idea for me to take charge of my own life.
 

It was difficult to do, and yet it was one of the most liberating things I’ve ever done.
 

The other thing I learned is that you can do these things in bits and pieces. One of the things that helps you to come to grips with these major life lessons is to have what some people refer to as the right company. For instance, if you want to stop drinking, you can’t go into bars anymore. Perhaps, someday in the future, when you are secure enough in your sobriety, you might return or at least be okay in the company of other people who are drinking, but in those first years? No. You really can’t be around folks who drink.
If you were a church-going person, you’d want to be around others who are also regulars at church, temple, or mosque. 
 

If you were a writer of horror fiction, you’d want to read horror fiction.
You get my drift, right?
 

I’ve been a loaner most of my life. I believe it had to do with me being a military kid, where everybody moved around a lot, and the friendships you had were smoking hot. They didn’t last long, so you would have to make hay while the sun shone. 
 

In learning these sometimes difficult life lessons I’ve been studying on for so long, not only did I need to find folks who supported that sort of wondering, but I also had to read the stories people had written about not only their own journeys but about fiction in general.
 

So, for me, the right company was not always about the people but more about what I read.
You don’t wake up one morning knowing all this wonderful stuff. You have to learn it the same way other people learn it.
 

Yes, there will be heartbreak involved. They say you can’t know love until you love yourself first. I tend to think something similar about heartbreak. You can’t appreciate love until you have had your heart broken.
 

Align yourself with right company. Keep an eye on how you are feeling. Don’t ignore those feelings. Delve deeply inside to see if you can figure out what is wrong. It might be as simple as smiling to start you on the road to a better frame of mind.
Thanks for reading. See you next time.
Pauline Evanosky 

 June 2026 

Something Inspirational 

 I make it a practice to write something inspirational every morning. I make rules for everything. Virgos are like that, I think. Nice and orderly, and rules help a person get things done quickly and efficiently. I have had to learn the art of flexibility through my life until now, well, I hope I can also be flexible.
 

My own rule is based on an idea I’d heard before, but it was when I began reading the book 

Atomic Habits by James Clear, who said it would be a good idea to do this every morning.
 

He said the minute your feet touch the floor as you rise from your bed, you think of something that you are grateful for. I thought that was good, except sometimes I can’t think of a thing. It doesn’t happen to me as often as it used to, but still, sometimes I’m not Johnny on the Spot as far as thinking of something I am grateful for. Also, sometimes in the morning, I have a difficult few minutes catching my wind. In wind, I’m not talking about breathing; I’m talking about my awareness. 
 

So, I changed the rule slightly. I said to myself that not only do I tend to forget to do this daily, but that I might more easily think of something uplifting rather than something I was grateful for. And that did the trick.
 

Because I am a writer and, in my case, one thing always leads to another, I decided to do this in written form. I call it my Do-Good File, and I keep it on my computer. All my entries are short. That’s the rule. If something wants to get longer, I take it and move the idea onto another piece of paper, where it eventually grows into an article.
 

You could do the same thing in a pretty journal. In fact, if you were so inclined, you could create one to your own specifications in a program like the one I use, Canva.com, download your finished creation as a PDF file, upload it to KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) on Amazon, and turn it into a paperback book. 
 

The Canva I use is a paid program. It is $12.99 a month or $144 for the annual plan. There is a free plan for people to see what it is like, but you are limited as to which pictures you can use and whether you can download your creations to create a printed version. Of course, one of the services at Canva is they print whatever it is you want. And that can get pricey. 
 

I use Canva to create pictures to illustrate many of the articles I write. I’ve used it in the past to create videos for YouTube, and I’ve used it to create low-content paperback books, so not novels, just fancy notebooks with lines to write on. I have not pursued my notebook creation just because I don’t like the way the book won’t lie flat when I write in it. The alternative would be to go to a site like LuLu.com and design a spiral-bound notebook. However, the experience was part of a learning process for me. I wanted to know how you could self-publish your own book. 
 

In fact, it just occurred to me that if you were inclined, you could sketch a little something in your journal and decorate as you go. Even to do a tiny Zentangle would be interesting. It’s your journal.
 

In any case, writing something short and inspiring in your own special notebook is slightly different than composing something at your computer. With a special pen and some flowers on the table, and a cup of tea, this ritual could be a nice one for you. Just a nice way to start your day.
 

Many people will include some inspirational reading as part of their morning ritual. Some folks I know read a bit of scripture every morning. So, whether it is scripture, an uplifting verse, or even a meditation, starting your day off right is a good thing to do. It sets the tone for the rest of your day.
 

Something that figures in the woo-woo side of thinking is manifestation. This is not confined to mystical sorts of things. We do it all the time, but I think a lot of people don’t realize they are already doing it. When you want to manifest something in your life, a new pair of shoes, a blanket, a new car, it could be anything, you spend time thinking about the thing often. Not to say something like, “I want this,” but more this four-door hatchback in red is what I want. 

Now, you picture it. For real. You have a picture you printed from the internet, from a magazine, or from a brochure. That is the real in-your-face part of manifestation. The woo-woo part comes in when you relax. Intentionally. You allow your desire to go where it needs to go. I don’t know where these things go, but somehow the echo of their passing eventually results in a red car sitting out in your driveway. The means to procure it is the second job that comes your way unexpectedly.
 

So, in the way of manifestation, your uplifting and inspirational thoughts affect your day, too. There is power in thoughts and in words. Take advantage of what you can do yourself. And I know you can do it because it is what I do.
 

Have a wonder-filled day, and thanks for reading.
Love,
Pauline

 

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This issue appears in the ezine in the blog www.pencilstubs.net at Google Blogger with the capability of adding comments at the latter.

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