Mariane Doktor, servant and writer

A journey in creativity and faith

Author: Mariane Doktor (Page 14 of 14)

And the winner is…

October 20, 2014 / / 0 Comments

I’ve found a winner of the contest: “What is Pillow Poetry?” I’m excited to announce the winner: Elaine Weger. Here is her answer:

Well, Mariane, without doing a search for such a category, I would think of pillow poetry as something soft and comforting to the soul. It would be easy to hear and remember for contemplation.

Elaine has won an opportunity to guest post on my blog next week. Give a big applause to Elaine Weger!

About the pillow poetry. I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not an original. If you have googled Pillow Poetry, I’m sorry to tell you that my pillow poetry are not real pillows (I do not sew), it’s not poems about pillows, and it’s not Japanese poetry, although I have experimented with haiku.

Elaine was right. For me writing poetry is a pillow. You can rest your head and back on a pillow. You can lie your head on a pillow and do reflections. You can make a pillow fight. You may not know that you can also pound your fist in a pillow, and you can jump on it and kick it. It might loose feathers or get a hole, but it does not complain or hit back. You can hit your head in a wall or kick a curb, but it will hit back while pillow fights cause no pain.

The story about pillows and poems will be continued…

Contest: What is pillow poetry?

October 18, 2014 / / 2 Comments

A new category is on its way to my blog. The category is called Pillow Poetry. To kick-start this category I invite you to participate in a contest by answering the question: What is pillow poetry? You’ll send your answer to servantwriter@k-doktor.dk.

The deadline is tomorrow Sunday at 12 midnight CST.

I’ll select the best answer and publish it on my blog if the writer will give permission. More amazing prices will come to the winner!

8 types of gifts I can’t live without

October 12, 2014 / / 4 Comments

I found out Canada is celebrating Thanksgiving right now, Happy Thanksgiving to Canada. In a short while, other countries will be celebrating Thanksgiving. Soon there will only be two months until Christmas. However, there is always a time for thankfulness.
Tak, danke, merci, gracias and thanks. It is a small word, which often seems insufficient, but it comes from a wealth of thoughts and feelings. The word covers a thankfulness, an appreciation, a joy, and an acceptance. I wish I was more generous. I wish I was more thankful, also in hard times.

I try to teach my children to say thank you when they receive a present. Nevertheless, even if they do not say thank you with their voice, their smile and joy show gratitude. My children are always happy when they get a present. I hope they will become grown-ups saying thank you, and that presents will still make them happy. Hopefully, they will never deny a present.

1. The best gifts are free. They may come unexpected, and the giver might not think about repay or getting anything back. A thank you and a smile can be enough for the giver. The best gifts are the things you wished for a long time, or things you did not know you wished or needed. The best gifts are the thoughts behind the gifts.

2. The best gifts are a smile, a hug, a person listening to me, showing interest, encouragement, comfort, or helping. The best gifts are letters and personal e-mails.

3. The best gifts are people accepting my gifts and help.

4. The best gift is you, my reader. To a writer or an artist it means the world to be seen or heard. When my words are read, I know there’s not a risk they will drown in my brain and heart or vanish in the universe. Someone has read my words. She or he has seen my message.

5. The best gifts are sunshine, mountains, waterfalls, birdsong, butterflies, flowers, autumn leaves, crickets, ladybirds, art, music and literature.

6. The best gifts are food on the table, a warm bed and a roof, a good health, and my family and friends.

7. The best gifts are my legs, arms, hands, eyes, ears, mouth, head, lungs, heart, blood, and pulse.

Sky

8. The best gift is the love from God, my creator, savior and father. He endures my doubts, envy, jealousy, desires, confusion, fears, worries, and unfaithfulness. He endures my darkness. When I ran away and chose other paths, he waited for me and bid me a warm welcome when I returned to his arms. His grace is free. He died for me. Lord, I pray I will never leave you.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

Did I miss your language’s word for “thank you”? Let me know. Are you a generous and thankful person? Share in the comments.

How I stopped my fear, and started to be myself

October 8, 2014 / / 8 Comments

The Law of Jante:

  1. You’re not to think you are anything special.
  2. You’re not to think you are as good as we are.
  3. You’re not to think you are smarter than we are.
  4. You’re not to convince yourself that you are better than we are.
  5. You’re not to think you know more than we do.
  6. You’re not to think you are more important than we are.
  7. You’re not to think you are good at anything.
  8. You’re not to laugh at us.
  9. You’re not to think anyone cares about you.
  10. You’re not to think you can teach us anything.

Before you run away, I will tell you the words above are not mine. Many years ago, the Danish author Aksel Sandemose wrote those words and called them the Law of Jante, Jante being the main character in the book “A Fugitive crosses his Tracks”. He did not invent the rules, but put the existing social norms into these commandments. It was not a real law, but even today, the law still affects many Danes. I think Jante was a man who compared himself to other people, he had low self-esteem. He was jealous of other people’s succes, he didn’t love himself, and he was afraid to be himself. He hated himself and he projected his hatred unto other people. His hatred was so tremendous, that he wrote down those rules so other people would feel of less worth than they really were.

The law affected me too. As a child, I didn’t want to show what I was good at, and I was afraid to speak up. I was afraid of being different and making mistakes because I was afraid others wouldn’t like me. I was afraid of being who I was.

Continue reading

Why it matters, what you tell others about yourself

October 3, 2014 / / 10 Comments

I am unemployed

“Tell us about yourself.” I get this question 9 out 10 times when I’m at a job interview. Doesn’t the employer know how to read? He can see who I am in my job application and CV. No, he can’t. He wants to see and hear me tell him who I am. When I get this question, I tell him about my marriage, my kids, and what I have been doing since I graduated. I repeat the things in my CV. In the end, I tell him why I’m there; I am unemployed.

It’s the story about the identities society has given me. Society tells me that I’m a kindergarten teacher and a mother. For three years, society has been telling me that I’m unemployed. I could call myself a terrorist of society, a failure or a social outcast because this is what the word “unemployed” means to many people. For a long time, I denied being unemployed, but not anymore. What the word means to other people, is not my problem.

Who am I?

  1. My Unemployment Benefit Fund are raising their arms: “You have an education, you are a kindergarten teacher!” I look at the floor. I can’t find a job.
  2. I have relations. I am daughter, a sister, a niece, a cousin, an aunt, a daughter in law, a wife, a mother, a friend, a neighbor and a woman.

Who am I to myself?

  1. I am a human being created in God’s image. No one can deny my humanity. No one can question that every person has value.

I am a writer

I am also a writer. I began to write a diary when I was 8. I wrote poetry when I was young. I became an adult. A voice inside me said:

“You are not a writer because you haven’t published anything. You can’t become an author or a writer because no one wants to publish your books. No one reads books. Why write when your husband, children and job applications need you?”

An author told me: “You are not a writer for you haven’t published any books. You are an amateur writer.”

No. I don’t want to be an amateur. When I think about amateurs, I come to think about Dancing with the Stars, X-factor and stamp collectors. I connect these people with something temporarily, with a hobby. My writing is not a hobby, it’s a passion. I want to write even though books are an endangered species. I write even though no one reads my words. I write because I love to write. I am a writer. When I’m writing, I am alive.

Why the words “I am” are dangerous

 Be careful which words you put in the end, when you say “I am.”

In the Bible, Jahve, the Hebrew word for God, means “I am.” In John’s gospel Jesus tells us who he is; “I am”; “I am the bread of life.” “I am the good shepherd”, “I am the light of the world”, “I am the door”, “I am the resurrection”, “I am the true wine tree”, “I am the truth, the road and life.”

When I say “I am”, I create my own identity.

When you say “You are”, you create an identity for another person.

What do you tell others about yourself? Share in the comments.

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