Can Creative Writers Learn From Each Other? At 83, I Filipino Male Am Learning From Bulgarian Female Maria Popova At 39

Maria Popova writes, “13 Life Lessons From 13 Years Of Brain Pickings” (The Marginalian, themarginalian.org), and this 83-year old male finds he can learn a few things from this 39-year old female.

Ms Maria says:
Here are the initial ten learnings, as published in 2016, which I continue to stand and live by:

1MP: Allow yourself the uncomfortable luxury of changing your mind.

1FAH: I’m comfortable “changing my mind” by simply offering a different perspective. The beauty of that is people do not notice!

2MP. Do nothing for prestige or status or money or approval alone.

2FAH: In any of my blogs, I never say I want to make money.

3MP: Be generous.
It’s so much easier to be a critic than a celebrator. Always remember there is a human being on the other end of every exchange and behind every cultural artifact being critiqued. To understand and be understood, those are among life’s greatest gifts, and every interaction is an opportunity to exchange them.

3FAH: I always give credit to my sources. Criticism encourages one not to think and simply be nasty!

4MP: Build pockets of stillness into your life. Meditate. Go for walks. Ride your bike going nowhere in particular. There is a creative purpose to daydreaming, even to boredom. The best ideas come to us when we stop actively trying to coax…

4FAH: I write using the personal computer; when I want to give myself a break, I put it to “Sleep” where it doesn’t wake up until I wake the PC again. Welcome interruption!

5MP: When people tell you who they are, Maya Angelou famously advised, believe them. Just as important, however, when people try to tell you who you are, don’t believe them.

5FAH: Nobody’s perfect!

6MP: Presence is far more intricate and rewarding an art than productivity. Ours is a culture that measures our worth as human beings by our efficiency, our earnings, our ability to perform this or that. The cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that makes life worth living.

6FAH: I must agree!

7MP: “Expect anything worthwhile to take a long time.” … The myth of the overnight success is just that – a myth.

7FAH: Right!

8MP: Seek out what magnifies your spirit.  

8FAH: I seek what magnifies the world. That is contained in the kind of essays I write; they belong to “Communication for Development of Vibrant Villages.” I am campaigning for Regenerative Agriculture (RA) against Chemical Agriculture (CA), where CA generates Climate Change and RA generates richer lives in communities.

9MP. Don’t be afraid to be an idealist.

9FAH: I an idealist all my life.

10MP: Don’t just resist cynicism – fight it actively.

10FAH: Always been a cock-eyed optimist.

Last word from me: Junk your pen and learn word/idea processing.
(“Pen” from tomvmorris.com, “Best book” from self-publishingschool.com)

This teacher tells you now, “You are never too old to learn!”@517