Wednesday, March 5, 2025

The Half Full Glass - IWSG March 2025

 


Welcome to IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a haven for insecure writers of all kinds. IWSG is the brainchild of our ninja leader Alex Cavanaugh. The March co-hosts are Ronel Janse Van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and  ME! For links to all contributors, click here.

This month’s optional question: If for one day you could be anyone or "thing" in the world, what would it be? Describe, tell why, and any themes, goals, or values they/it inspire in you.

This is a pretty creative question and since I don’t often get particularly introspective, I’m finding my answer hard to articulate, but here goes.

If I could be one “thing,” it would be the particular feeling I get in my heart during certain experiences. Without being cliché, although I suppose I am, it’s what I feel after waking on a February morning to see pink clouds behind skeleton trees and realizing the sun is coming up earlier. It’s the joy of discovery when I find the first Snow Drop in my early March garden. It’s the sound of seagulls as they soar over tidal mudflats. It’s the belly laugh I get from my adult daughter when, once again, one of us says what the other is thinking. (“Get out of my brain!” we yell at each other!) It’s the sad-joy I experience when I see a fleeting glimpse of my dear late husband in the gait of his brother who lives next door. It’s the kindness of the volunteers with whom I interact, who use their own time to drive senior citizens to medical appointments, prepare hot meals and deliver food to the homebound in my town. I could go on and on, but I suppose the feeling I’m trying to describe is gratitude for all the gifts I receive and witness on a daily basis. But it goes beyond gratitude. It’s the continued feeling of unexpectedness to these things and an all-encompassing delight that they are a part of my life. The newness never goes away.

I’m aware as a general rule I’m pretty naïve, but humor me here. There are so very many people in the world experiencing challenges beyond anything I can imagine. If I could, I’d infuse my feeling into every being across the world,  so that everyone could experience positivity even when things look beyond bleak. 

If you could be any one or thing, what would you choose?

37 comments:

  1. I get it. It's our sweet reaction to familiar feelings when good things happen.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think that is a beautiful answer.
    Thanks for co-hosting today!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for co-hosting this month. I love your beautiful answer.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love your answer! Thanks for co-hosting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely answer. It's often moments that might appear insignificant to some are the ones that keep us going.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lisa, thank you for your beautiful and moving answer. You touched my heart. Thank you for co-hosting.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ps. Honestly, i meant Liza not Lisa! Sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for sharing your lovely answer! Made me nod along and smile. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I admire your choice. Most of us read to enjoy the ride of another's emotion. For me, reading is an escape. It helps give me a break from the real world when it gets to be too much.

    Anna from elements of emaginette

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a wonderful post! We all need a shot of positivity!! Thanks for co-hosting.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The world would be a better place if you could instill in people your kind and thoughtful sentiments.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy IWSG Day! Thanks for co-hosting. I never considered the idea of being a feeling. I like it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I had trouble with this question for the same reason you did--"I don’t often get particularly introspective". I like your conclusion.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautifully written. And a wonderful wish, to infuse others with the experience of positivity.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a lovely thought! Thank you for this sweet ray of kindness and positivity!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Being a great feeling! Perfect. https://cleemckenziebooks.substack.com/p/short-story-wednesday-5b4

    ReplyDelete
  17. Well, that was pretty moving and thought-provoking. I wish I had thought of that. I guess I could have if I could have been you for that day. One of the best answers I've seen so far.

    Lee

    ReplyDelete
  18. Well, I like your answer better than mine. I know what feeling you're describing. The simple gratitude that I get to enjoy that sunrise or sunset. Your description was perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh my dear friend - I love your answer. You are what we Buddhists call a bodhisattva.

    ReplyDelete
  20. You are amazing in all you do, Liza. The world needs more people like you. Someone who truly cares about others. God Bless you. And thanks for cohosting this month's question for IWSG.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thank you for a lovely post that celebrates life with such vivid images that I feel as if I'm seeing what you see and feeling what you feel. Truly lovely . . . and thank YOU for co-hosting!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I've never wanted to hug a stranger so much in my life - thank you for gifting us all with these beautiful thoughts and words! Wishing you all the happiness you can handle ;-) Thanks for co-hosting too!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I think that's a great answer. Thank you for co-hosting!

    ReplyDelete
  24. You want to be a poem, a gorgeous poem. It is so heartwarming.

    ReplyDelete
  25. To maintain a sense of wonder is an awesome aspiration - I agree!

    ReplyDelete
  26. That's lovely. That would a great feeling to spend an entire day wrapped inside. @samanthabwriter from
    Balancing Act

    ReplyDelete
  27. Liza, your answer is wonderful! I often think of how others are suffering far beyond anything I have experienced. I have deep gratitude for all I have been given. I say a lot of prayers every day for people I pass in the street. I feel so helpless when need is around me everywhere. Thank you for co-hosting today!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thanks for co-hosting today!
    ‘Experience positivity even when things look beyond blink.’ This is the feeling I often get when I’ve escaped into a good story.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi Liza - interesting answer ... but I totally agree with being there for others and being extremely grateful where I am in life. Take care - cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  30. This is great! I wouldn't have thought of an emotion or feeling, but what a lovely concept.

    ReplyDelete
  31. That's wonderful, Lisa. May you continue to share your wonder at the important things life brings us, to help people get through the horrible things that other people inflict upon us. And thanks for co-hosting this month.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Wow - your answer is so perfect. And I think it is the writer/photographer in you who just sees the moments, the little things that can keep us going. Thanks! you made me think....

    ReplyDelete
  33. There is something about experiencing goodness that you just enjoy but maybe you don't don't know the word for it but we can feel it.

    Have a lovely day.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Curiosity, openness and gratitude combined is what I read into your answer. I like you being a "feeling" and would like to share it.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Thank you for co-hosting. I thought your answer was beautiful. I choked up about your late husband.

    ReplyDelete