Worn Out and Weary

Worn out and weary. 

Weak with burdens I don't have the strength to carry.

Lonelier than I've ever been.

Holding to a faith that's given and not seen.

Despairing at all the problems I can't fix,

Tempted by the Devil's tricks.

The world taunts me and death entreats,

God help me turn victory from these defeats.

"If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Are you Hot or Cold? Keeping the Romance Alive

Are you a hot or cold person? People all express themselves differently, and as it turns out some people are less affectionate than others. There's no denying that one of the ways we feel love is through physical affection--someone holding your hand, a light touch on your arm, a kiss, a hug, etc. We all vary on an individual basis by how much we like to give and receive such affection, but what's surprising is how much of that romantic "spark" depends on it.

I was reading an article in Psychology Today about how one man dramatically improved his marriage by making a conscious effort to be a warmer husband and demonstrate more physical affection. What happens when a relationship matures and you lose all those passionate kisses, those hours of holding each other's hands, or sitting wrapped up in each other's arms?

When you think of a romantic relationship--when you think of romance period--what images come to mind? Kissing, holding hands . . . ? I can't count the number of marriages I've seen where that the physical warmth is just gone. Maybe the excitement fades, the novelty wears off, or maybe you think all of that is just part of courtship and it's meant to disappear. Well, I refuse to believe it has to disappear. In fact, I've also seen a select few couples who still have that warmth after decades of marriage. So what's the difference between them and all those others who barely touch each other anymore?

I think they just got lazy. That's not meant to be a rebuke, but maybe it is, and I have no right to talk when I haven't been there yet, but I'm a romantic at heart, and I have to admit, even in the relatively short-term relationships I've had, when the physical affection starts to calm down, I start asking where it went; I miss it; and I try to bring it back with romantic gestures and words, and by taking the lead and being the affectionate one.

It must be a hundred times harder to keep the romance alive if you have kids, if you're just plain-old busy, or if you've been together a long time and you're starting to get bored, but that just brings me to a conclusion I drew a long time ago: romance is work. Love is work. Relationships are work. But everything you put in comes back to you. Every romantic gesture I've taken the trouble to plan for my girlfriends had the desired result and actually made me fall more in love with the person I'd planned it for. But that's not to say that your partner is going to be on the same page as you or even necessarily reciprocate at first. Maybe he/she is the busy one, the cold one, the pragmatic one, and it's going to take more work for him or her to come around and see that you both need to stoke the fires together. Talk about it; start by making the effort first. Find time to be alone together. Keep it fresh and exciting. Plan a surprise trip/dinner/outing. Make the effort.

But maybe, for whatever reason, you don't feel very romantic toward your partner anymore and you don't know how to motivate yourself to do something romantic. If that's the case, I have some heartening news for you which comes from the article I read on this topic: "To my great surprise, focusing on the physical act of touching her not for the purpose of comforting her but for expressing feelings of romance and warmth actually made me feel more romantic and warmer toward her." In other words, feelings also follow their expression, not just lead to it. So if you start being more affectionate/romantic, you'll feel more like being affectionate and romantic with your partner, and it will become a self-perpetuating cycle. This has been proven in many areas of human expression, not just romance. Forcing yourself to smile actually makes you feel happier. So if in the beginning it feels like work, don't worry, it won't be long before you're both being spontaneously romantic again, and when that happens, you'll realize that the spark you've been missing from the early days of your relationship didn't go anywhere, it's just been waiting for you to light the fire again.

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201107/keeping-romance-alive

Fallen Star

I'm sitting in the mall, sitting on the stairs, my back to the wall. The music's playing, and all the people are gone, but the world inside my head just goes on and on. Time stands still for a moment and then it runs in reverse and suddenly it all comes rushing back and that just makes everything worse.

*

You could have been her; I was stupid enough to think you were. This is just history repeating itself, but now, after so much time, I find out that what I thought were just the lies that I bought. Maybe the woman I fell in love with wasn't a fraud? Maybe I made a mistake. I wonder how that's possible, but now this is all just too much to take.

                        *

No, back to the present; somehow even that's more pleasant. I'm sorry that your life is complicated, but mine is, too. You can't use people; they'll use you right back, and soon you'll be just as empty as you feel. You are emptied out by what you steal.

                                          *

I wish you could see that love isn't made of three. Women are told this lie about the perfect guy. He should have everything, but there's always something missing, so you try to build prince charming with the bits and pieces you find. More than anything you should be looking for the piece that's kind.

                                                           *

I saw the stars and not the sky, but all those blank spaces in between are just as empty as they seem. You're as cold and dark as space, and sometimes, one can even see it in your face. I thought you'd fallen from above, and foolishly started to think that maybe this was love. Stars never fall, but when they do, we wish on them, because even a fallen star is better than everyone else down here by far. Just remember who you are.

                                                                                  *

I know I'm better off for having met her. That girl with the broken smile and those cold, cold eyes, so caught up in all her lies. She still has a long road to climb, and I think its going to be a long, long way to fine. But there's something good in her heart, and I think that gives her a headstart. No one is perfect, but she could be so much better. I just hope that someday she reads this letter.

Africa's Snow White III

After a long break from writing this saga, the untold parts of this story called to me, insisting they be written. Consequently, I'm now working on the outline for the third part in the series, and will be writing it within a week. So, you can expect Africa's Snow White III to be released some time around the end of summer. Meanwhile, I'm also working on the 2nd edition of ASW II, which will be released for Kindle in a matter of weeks.

Real Writer's Block

There are three types of writer's block. The first is the one most commonly thought of, that a writer gets blocked because they run out of things to say, or they run into a thorny point in their plot.

The second type occurs once you're done writing your book. Now you have a finished product and you need to market it, either to a publisher, or as is becoming more common nowadays, directly to your audience. The block at this stage is rejection. Maybe no publisher wants to publish you, or no agent wants to sign you, or even worse, no reader wants to buy or even finish your book.

All of this leads to the third and most deadly type of writer's block: despair. This is when you forget why you're a writer and start to wonder if you're just wasting your time.

But if you look at any writer who's made it, and most of the ones who are now invidiously famous, you'll see a pattern. First came rejection, then came . . .

Persistence. They kept going even when they felt like giving up. Here are some good examples that should encourage you to keep going even when it seems like you should just quit:

Danielle Steel: Published her first book right away, but next five went unpublished. She persisted and the sixth book found a publisher again.

Steven King: While writing his breakthrough success, Carrie, King became discouraged with his work and threw a partial of it in the trash. His wife encouraged him to finish it and the book later earned a paltry $2,500 advance. The paperback rights subsequently earned $400,000.

John Grisham was rejected 25 times before his first novel found publication.

The stories like these are endless, but they all go to show that you should never give up. If you try hard enough and persist long enough, sooner or later you'll get there.

Open Your Eyes

Open your eyes.

Let them see,

All the things that you could be.

Don’t stand by your wasted tries.

Or think you had your chance,

Now it’s gone, and you let it die,

Make your plans.

Hold on tight, and swallow that sigh.

A dream isn’t always what it seems.

Sometimes along the way you get lost.

You ask yourself why and what it means,

Or simply stop to count the cost.

Open your eyes.

Imagine what you could be,

If you silenced all the lies,

And could finally see.

Copyright © 2011 by Jonathan Eloff

Africa's Snow White Now Available for Kindle!

I have just made the first two books in the Africa's Snow White series available from Amazon.com in Kindle format. Both books are currently selling for $2.99. Follow the links below to buy:

ASW I: Summer Love - Jealous Winter
ASW II: Prince Charming