The Writing Room

There are many dimensions of success but I am going to share five dimensions of success with you.  What does success mean to you? How do you go about achieving it? You, readers, fall into one of the following categories: Some of you have already achieved your version of success and are enjoying the fruits of this success. S ome of you are working toward achieving your version of success and are enjoying some of the fruits of this success. Some of you are working to achieve even more success, having to date exceeded the objectives that you have set for achieving your version of success. Eugenio Salvato in the group  Books and Writers on LinkedIn started a discussion to elicit from members their understanding of success. Here are some responses: "Getting it right." Being "happy with achievements at certain points in time." “ Success is relative.” "Achieving your own objectives." "Achieving the g

Is it something special about your features – the shape of your face, the slant of your eyes, the size of your lips and ears, the texture of your hair, the colour of your skin, your race? Is it your build – being petite rather than being plus sized or vice versa; being tall rather than being short or vice versa; having long legs rather than short ones? Is it the way you dress? Is it your personality? Is it affirmation from others? Is it your resemblance to somebody who is famous? Is it “looking good”? We may answer affirmatively or negatively to any or a number of the above questions. We learn our concept of what is beautiful from our experiences throughout our lives. Today, in Jamaica, possibly elsewhere, some men and women are bleaching their bodies because they want to be “beautiful, to have a “brighter” complexion; to become “prettier” and so on and so on. See, The skin Bleaching Phenomenon which was aired on Television Jamaica on the 19th of June 2013. Errol Miller, fo

Tell all the truth but tell it slant - by Emily Dickinson (1830-1856) Tell all the truth but tell it slant - Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth's superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind - Is Dickinson talking about poetry or the nature of 'truth' as is or both or something else? What does this poem mean to you? Leave a comment below.

Paula Johnson waits impatiently for the elevator to take her to the 8th floor of her one bedroom apartment. She shakes her head in disbelief, as the usual ten minutes wait for the elevator turns to fifteen minutes.  She enters the dingy apartment.  The pale sheer curtains hang unevenly at the window, revealing the areas where the paint is stripping off the wall. The two- piece sofa hugs the corner of the living room. The discoloured cushions sink in the middle. The top of the sofa is of a darker shade than the rest as grease and dirty palms leave permanent impressions. The television blares. The girls are oblivious to the fact that Sponge Bob has lost his job at the Krusty Krab; they tug at a doll to gain possession. Paula pulls two nutri-bars from her handbag and shouts at them to stop.  They hastily grab the bars from their mother’s grasp. "Say thank you!" she snaps. She slumps into the chair as weariness, annoyance and despair battle each other. Her youn