Writing

The Wisdom of a Glass Half Full

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Wine!

You will say, “Alright already, fill the glass up.  Who wants to be cheated with half a glass?”

The more moderate of you will say, “Of course half full is good.  That is the middle way.”

This post is not about the crazy wisdom of over doing it, or the middle way, but something else.

Bring your ear closer and I will tell you a story:

There was this university professor who knew everything about Zen.  And now some of you may be thinking why is she talking about Zen again?  Because Zen is like that magical trout slippery fish that always gets away.

Bear with me awhile…

So this university professor was well learned about all things Zen and went and saw this Zen monk to tell him what he knew. The monk listened politely as this professor went on and on about all of these things.  And as is custom, the monk was serving tea.  The professor held out his cup, all the while talking, expounding his great knowledge.  All of a sudden the professor noticed that his hand was getting wet from the monk overflowing his tea cup.

“Ah! Stop!” He said.

The monk put down the teapot.

“Why did you do that?” the professor asked.

“How can I give you any more knowledge when you already know everything?” the monk replied; wiping his hand on a clean, linen cloth.

This idea is really about what we think we know versus what we don’t.  Do we think we know everthing?  Of course not. But we do have our ideas about things. And they get in the way.  We assume things.  Because of our conditioning.

Karen Swim developed a beautiful post about assumptions.  Please read it to understand how you mind can actually act as a roadblock instead of a tool to help you move forward.

If you do not operate with an open mind, with a mind as open and vast as space, you will cling to the things that bind you.

And these attachments will hold you down and hinder your thought processes, and so of course, your writing – or your photography, or whatever art form you practice.

I think that operating with a full mind with hamper you in all types of art forms, but I have most noticed it in the realm of fiction.  If you try to force yourself on your characters they balk and become flat.

And a full mind will flatten things until they are lifeless.

If you can bring yourself to the place that says “I don’t know,” you will enjoy the wisdom of a glass half full.  You will be set free of everything you think you know and how it should go.

Thank you very much.

Photocredit: © Ellen Wilson

Wave Your Flag!

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Joan of Arc, copyright Ellen Wilson

I don’t care what country you are from, you should proudly wave your flag over at Elance.

Or, maybe not.

I used to enjoy strolling over to the Water Cooler. It was a great place to meet other writers from around the world. We could all share our commonalities and concerns.

But recently, it has become veeeery quiet.

Apparently Elance wants its Providers to police themselves over at the Water Cooler. Interesting theory. I searched their guidelines and could find nothing on how to accomplish this.

To make a long story short, writer’s have been complaining about having some of their concerns met that haven’t been addressed. Elance has been continually vague (to their own advantage) on various issues.

Basically, they are making things up as they go along.

But if you say anything critical about Elance, watch out! – they are apt to throw you off your horse.

There recently has been criticism of Elance over in the Writer’s Section of the Water Cooler. Lo and behold, some Virtual Assistants came over to “police” us. They threw flags up all over our little comment plots.

I started saving them the work of planting flags in my little comment plot by throwing up my own little flag.

All of this symbolic flag waving just begged the question: Just whose Virtual Assistant are you? Elance’s?

I made the comment that these “Virtual Assistants” could be made up by Elance. And that it all sounded very reminiscent of a movie called The Stepford Wives. If you recall the original Stepford Wives were automatons that policed all the other wives in the neighborhood. They were good little robots that did their husband’s bidding.

Elance said they would not dignify this Astroturfing theory with a response. Well, they did dignify it by taking down the entire thread that criticized what was going on behind all of this “policing.”

What I don’t understand is that Elance wants to learn more about how to make their company a better place to do business with. They have a Suggestion for Elance section.

A few days ago a writer voiced the concern that Elance might remove the writer’s category. And then another provider mentioned that the “top” 25 providers pull in a lot of money ($56,000 over a six month period) so therefore, Elance wouldn’t be shutting down the writer’s category, to which I responded:

That is very interesting analysis Niel, but that covers only 25 writers. What about the rest of us? As of today there are 11,479 writers. Add all the service costs associated with the rest of these writers doing business as Elance as the broker. I think it equals A LOT more then $56,000.

Suppose these 11,454 ( I subtracted the top 25 writers) pay $ 24.99 for a basic 40 connects/month membership. That equals $ 286,235.46. Over a six month period Elance membership profit equals $1,717,412.76 from these writers. Notice I haven’t added in the percentages Elance skims off the tops of projects.

So, in the main, $56,000 over a 6 month period is chump change to Elance. The writing masses are the driving force behind all of Elance’s profits.

Actually, I think this writer was really talking about Elance shutting down the Writer’s Section of the Water Cooler. They may very well do that.

Don’t get me wrong, if anyone says anything sexist or racist their comment should be removed. And there is always a constructive way to disagree with someone without cutting them down or harassing them. But people need to know the reality of doing business with Elance.

Elance wants to be seen in a favorable light, but in my opinion this does does not make them shine. It just makes them look arbitrary, capricious, and intolerant if they remove threads that criticize them or simply state reality.

Photo Credit:  © Ellen Wilson

Foundations

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Today didn’t go as planned, and I’m tired. I just need to rest my head and daydream awhile. Today is the kind of day I have to ask myself where I’m heading with my plans. Enough of this crazy activity. I have been working non-stop. What kind of roots am I laying down?When you build your dreams, your business,your whatever; you must have a firm foundation to rest it on. Or else you find your self blown every which way. Roots are good and will give you a firm sense of who you are.

I struggle with this because I am a wanderer. I love to travel, but I need a place to call home. Home is inside you, as much as it is outside you – in the community.

I’m old fashioned; I like Victorians. They have been around a long time and are well rooted. Although the kitchens are tiny, you can still manage to cook a good pot of soup. Want some? Food for the soul. Welcome to my home.

Photo Credit: © Ellen Wilson