Articles written by Andrea Maclean

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About me - Andrea Maclean

I have always believed that the portals through which we can access the world around us are well worth exploring. One such portal for me is through writing and interpreting my life experiences through words and expression. I am an outdoor enthusiast, an activist,

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Society & Lifestyle > Social Values & Norms Lessons in life: 2 of 220
Some say that we cannot live in two places at the same time. But, leaving a place always entails leaving behind a piece of yourself. So, while we physically cannot be in two places at once, our minds often wander to the places we love the most and to thoughts of people we love the most. Likewise, those we leave behind have be... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Lifestyles Living unconventional lifestyles: 2 of 43
Life is not a story about us; it is about telling us a story. I think this is the only way to truly enjoy life, and do so selflessly. All we must do is learn to listen to the stories that are being told by things around us; things that go unnoticed for the most part.Finding amazement in the blessings of life, in the creativit... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: As October begins: 1 of 19
There is a season when time is made visible in the dying earth.In a final breath the earth reveals her best. A bright canopy of red and orange and yellow cast shadows on the cooling soil speckled with patches of brown grass, dry, fragile shrubs, and the occasional fading flower.The air is crisp and inviting for an afternoon w... More..
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: Identity: 5 of 37
Identity - the set of characteristics that somebody recognizes as belonging uniquely to himself or herself and constituting his or her individual personality for lifeHow often have we heard the phrase, "you're living in the past?" For one, I just wrote about it in my previous entry. But what if our tendency to live in the pas... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Self-Healing Reflections: Guilt: 5 of 22
Guilt an awareness of having done wrong or committed a crime, accompanied by feelings of shame and regretOne thing I have learned about guilt lately is that it is, for the most part, a misleading emotion. Guilt has a way of dragging us down to the depths of our own souls where we scrape the bottom of the barrel for excuses an... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ethics Understanding and overcoming suffering: 7 of 20
Grace - the condition of being freeWe all have times of suffering in our lives. For some people, it seems that they go from one troublesome situation to another, from grief to more grief, problem to problem. Many of us can pinpoint a particularly difficult time in the past - a season of suffering - where life seemed to be sli... More..
Relationships & Family > Dealing with Problem People When expectations become a trap: 4 of 11
Role - the usual or expected function of somebody or something, or the part somebody or something plays in an action or eventImagine a man juggling eight bowling pins. If each of those pins is a role we play, no doubt it will cause stress for us as we make heroic attempts to balance each one, and fulfill each role to perfecti... More..
Relationships & Family > Communication Issues Complaints and their impact on relationships: 7 of 16
Complaining - to express discontent or unhappiness about a situationI know that I do it. Sometimes I wait all day to talk to someone about it, keeping each and every detail meticulously filed in my mind, so as to not leave out any information in explaining just how horrible it was for me - whatever it is. Poor me.Have you eve... More..
Creative Writing > Memoirs Memoirs: Halloween costumes: 20 of 44
As children, we all dream about the transformation we will undergo on October the 31st. When we come up with a unique idea, we dare not share it with others. Inevitably, though, our dreaming is difficult to produce in reality. On television and movies we see that the kids always have best costumes. They have costumes sewn by ... More..
Jobs & Careers > Job Search (Other) Job search: Communicating the value of non-paid work: 24 of 51
You sit at your kitchen table brainstorming, sifting through your past, attempting to fill out a crucial section of your resume: Previous Employment. Discouraged, you stop thinking because the reality is that all the work you have ever been paid for is written on your resume already. You may be feeling like your meager collec... More..