a life lived in fear is a life half lived

What I want most in life is to be able to look back and say there wasn’t anything I regret, no chances I didn’t take, and nothing I passed up. Life is to short to be spent asking yourself "what if?" What if I had tried harder, done more, been better. There are many things beyond our control that keep us from our dreams, but fear is the worst, and we bring it upon ourselves. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary describes fear as "A painful emotion or passion excited by the expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger." Fear can hold you in a grip so tight you feel as though there is no way to escape it, but overcoming it gives a gratifying sense of triumph and pride. Life is a journey and full of scary things, but there is no breaking new ground without leaving the beaten path.

-unknown

I don't remember where I found this snippet. If you read this and know, please tell me so that I can properly credit it.

my first officially published works

I've just been published in MacMillan's TEFL Magazine. I'm very excited. Here is the link:

http://www.onestopenglish.com/english_teacher_diary/willow.htm

You can cut and paste, or simply click on the title of this entry and be taken directly to the webpage.

Comments are welcome. I will be writing one or two pieces a month for their new feature, "Diary of an English Teacher". For those of you that are curious, it will also give you another window into my life on an island in the Maldives. Most of my day is spent teaching after all, and my writing about life in general has suffered because of it. Hopefully this will mend that and inspire me to keep pushing the limits and painting with words.

This was a surprise job. I was reading the magazine one day and the publisher asked for submissions for a new feature. My piece was shortlisted from a few hundred. I was asked to submit another piece and...the rest is history (and cache).

inspired and refreshed

Nightly I dream of swimming in the crystal blue waters of the Indian Ocean. There's freedom and joy. Usually I can open my eyes underwater and see as clearly as if I were wearing goggles.

Today I left my computer screen with all of its Excel sheets to go for a swimming break. Walking across the beach, my brilliant red sarong blowing open in the wind to reveal my creamy white legs, blending in with the blinding white sand stretching into the sea and finally the sky...

I left the sarong as a dot on the beach as I waded out into the the sea-sky. The colors here are like being inside of a very simple but beautiful impressionist painting. The water is cool at first and then warm as it envelops me in its saltiness. The world is flat, as I lie on my back Isee nothing but deep blue sky circling me. It's like being inside of a little snow-globe souvenir.

I have lost some of my small fears of the water. I no longer hold my nose. I am no longer afraid of the salt water in my eyes. When I first began swimming here, the water stung and it was very difficult to see. Now it's not as crystal clear as in my dreams, but I see fairly well underwater. I can dive down and examine things in detail. I can watch the fish watching me. The sand is as silky underwater as on the beach. I revel in its texture.

I love it here.