Tag The Gift

#WednesdayMotivation ‘Good Morning, Sunshine’ #Tanka #MorningMeditation #Mindfulness

LucciaGray 2 Comments

I’m currently reading The Gift: Twelve Lessons to Save your life by Dr Edith Eva Eger and the words I read this morning inspired me to write this tanka.

Good morning, Sunshine

Look in the mirror, 
Say, “I love you”
Promise, “I’ll never leave you.”
Smile and hug yourself,
Now wash your happy face,
You are ready.

****

The Gift is indeed a gift of a book, to be read slowly and savour every word. I’m reading a few pages morning because I want to digest Edith’s wisdom slowly.

Here’s the paragraph which inspired me today. This is a piece of advice she gave a patient who was severely depressed.

“So start by getting up in the morning and going to the mirror. Look yourself in the eye and say, ‘I love you.’ Say, ‘I’m never going to leave you.’ Hug yourself. Kiss yourself. Try it!

And then keep showing up for yourself all day, every day.”

So easy and so incredibly powerful. Try it!

***

Have a wonderful day!

You deserve it!

#AtoZChallenge ‘G’ #NationalPoetryMonth ‘The Gift’ #NPM17 #SOCS #amwriting #poem

LucciaGray 1 Comment

This year to celebrate National Poetry Month and to take part in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge, I’ll be posting two poems a day, one written by me and another poem written by one of my favourite poets. The title or first word of both poems will begin with the corresponding letter in the Blogging Challenge.

Today, I’m adding a third challenge, The first part of today’s post is stream of consciousness, following Linda G. Hill’s weekly prompt, using the word “give/given/giving.”  Following part is a beautiful poem about giving gifts, called A Blade of Grass, by Brian Patten, and the final part is a poem I wrote recently but I’ve tweaked for this post, called The Gift.

Giving a gift is a privilege. It means you have someone you love to give the present to and a special occasion to celebrate. I love giving and receiving gifts. The whole process of giving is special, choosing, buying or preparing, and finding the perfect moment to give the special present we have bought.

Every time I think of gifts, I think of the beautiful poem by Brian Patten about how difficult it can become to give and receive simple, inexpensive gifts.

A Blade of Grass

You ask for a poem.

I offer you a blade of grass.

You say it is not good enough.

You ask for a poem.

I say this blade of grass will do.

It has dressed itself in frost,

It is more immediate

Than any image of my making.

You say it is not a poem,

It is a blade of grass and grass

Is not quite good enough.

I offer you a blade of grass.

You are indignant.

You say it is too easy to offer grass.

It is absurd.

Anyone can offer a blade of grass.

You ask for a poem.

And so I write you a tragedy about

How a blade of grass

Becomes more and more difficult to offer,

And about how as you grow older

A blade of grass

Becomes more difficult to accept.

****

As I often do, I’ve credited and reworked an original work of art, to express what I’m feeling at this moment.

The Gift

You ask for a star

I offer you a flower.

You say it’s not enough.

I say this flower will do.

It’s unique, perfect for you.

You say it is too easy

To offer a flower.

So I write you a poem

About how a flower

Is so easy to give

And so hard to accept.

****

Follow Luccia Gray on Social Media:

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Check out Luccia Gray’s Books on Amazon 

 

 

The Sister, by Louise Jensen @Fab_Fiction #TuesdayBookBlog #Amreviewing

LucciaGray Leave a comment

Today I’m posting my review of  The Sister, by Louise Jensen. 

The Sister is a gripping thriller. I read it in two sittings, because I had to work in between, otherwise it’s the type of novel I wouldn’t have put down until I’d finished it!

Grace, the narrator, and Charlie were inseparable friends until something happened and Charlie left their town suddenly and inexplicably. She returned and died in an unfortunate accident, five months before the novel begins.

As a result of her death, Grace has what appears to be an emotional breakdown. She misses her friend, and grief, guilt and her own insecurities are ruining her relationship with her boyfriend, Dan. At the same time, Charlie’s words: ‘I did something terrible, Grace’, haunt Grace, and compel her to find out more about her deceased friend.

Charlie’s unstable and secretive mother, Lexi, is of little help in Grace’s quest to find Charlie’s unknown father, although Grace gradually finds out why Charlie died, why she had left, and who her father is. Just as the mystery seems to be unveiled, more twists appear in the plot.
As the story progresses, another character bursts into Grace’s life, namely Charlie’s half-sister, Anne, thus the title of the novel.

Neither Charlie nor Anne had known knew they were related, and Grace embraces Anne as if she were her best friend, letting her stay at her cottage, even though this puts a strain on her already complex relationship with, her boyfriend, Dan.

Suspense is created by the way in which Grace narrated the story, alternating present day events called ‘Now’ and flashbacks ‘Then’, as the past is gradually unveiled.

Grace is a lovely person, most girls would love to have her as a friend, but she’s often too nice and too gullible, which made me want to shake and shout at my kindle! Then in comes Dan, the most unworthy of boyfriends any girl could have. Dan is weak and pathetic, which leads him to do some unforgivable things.

The Sister is well plotted with engaging and believable characters. It’s beautifully written with many poetic descriptions of the English countryside, where the action takes place.

It has a satisfactory ending, which isn’t a traditional happy ever after. Grace has finally moved on and become more assertive, which is a welcome relief. All the ends are tied up and there is hope for the future.

A satisfying and enthralling read. I’m looking forward to reading The Gift now!

 Louise Jensen is a USA Today Bestselling Author, and lives in Northamptonshire with her husband, children, madcap spaniel and a rather naughty cat.

Louise’s first two novels, The Sister and the Gift, were both No.1 Bestsellers, and have been sold for translation to ten countries. The Sister was nominated for The Goodreads Awards Debut of 2016. Louise is currently writing her third psychological thriller.

Louise loves to hear from readers and writers and can be found at http://www.louisejensen.co.uk, where she regularly blogs flash fiction.

Shortly after reading The Sister, quite by chance, I ‘met’ Louise through her blog, when I was taking part in Friday Fictioneers a weekly Flash Fiction Challenge she also often takes part in. Don’t forget to check out Louise’s blog.

****

Follow Luccia Gray on Social Media:

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Check out Luccia Gray’s Books on Amazon