What I Learned From… Animals
If you're new around these parts, I just want to say how much I appreciate your dropping by! Oh, and you may want to subscribe to my feed. Thanks, and a tip o' the hat to ya!
[Note from the Proprietor: I'd like to once again welcome the High Calling Blogs Community to this month's group writing project! A big ol' "Howdy" to ya and a tip o' the hat!]
Howdy, Y’all! Today is the first Monday of the month, and you know what that means, right? Hey - you got it in one! It’s time for our monthly What I Learned From… group writing project (sound of crowd going wild)!
Yessir, it’s time to demonstrate for all the world to see that we are indeed capable of learning a thing or two about what life has to teach us. How do we do that, you ask? We do it by telling stories about lessons learned from, well, whatever the chosen topic happens to be.
Unlike last month, though, I’m only giving you one topic this time: ANIMALS. But hey, it’s broad enough, don’t you think? So my fine feathered friends; now’s your chance to write a post about a thing (or things) you learned from the animal kingdom.
Perhaps it was the perspicacity you gained from that pet platypus you had as a child (er, sorry). Maybe you picked up some interesting insights from that orangutan who co-starred with Clint Eastwood in the movie Any Which Way But Loose. Heck, you could even write a soliloquy to the horse you rode in on!
The beauty of it is, it doesn’t matter! Hey, as long as one or more critters had anything to do with the story, well, ya got yourself a winner. (Just please - make sure no animals are harmed in the writing of your post. We wouldn’t, you know, want the little darlin’s to get their feelings hurt. Or anything.)
What to Do
It’s easy! Write anything you like, as long as it relates to the topic. Be specific. Be non-specific. And, since I never impose a restriction on length, be as eloquent - or as brief - as you like. But most of all, be yourself - and write something! And don’t forget the details…
Ordinarily, WILF projects are open to contributions for only one week. However, next weekend Mrs. MZM and I won’t be anywhere near an internet connection; we’ll be busy enjoying the free retreat we won, sponsored by Laity Lodge (you may remember the retreat writing project over at Success Creations and High Callings Blog? Can you believe Marcus pulled my number out of a - albeit very strange - hat? And I never used to win anything!)
Anyhoo; since we’ll be away, let’s just go ahead and make the writing project open for TWO WEEKS again. Yep; that means we’ll be taking entries from now thru midnight, Sunday night, June 15. (Now, that doesn’t mean you can wait until the last minute to write your post - and you know who you are!)
Oh, and let’s not forget the disclaimer: As usual, should you or any of your team be caught or killed, or, you know, break a fingernail or something during the execution of this project, the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your existence.
To participate, here’s all you have to do:
- Write a new post on your blog. As I said, feel free to be as eloquent (or concise) as you like. C’mon; show off for us!
- Include a link to THIS POST (uh, the one you’re reading now), PLUS, please include a link to the High Callings post, too.
- Send me an email (rhruzek@sbcglobal.net) containing your name, the title of your post, and the permalink of the post. (To make sure I don’t miss it.)
That’s all there is to it! On Monday, June 16, I will post the entire list of entries right here at the Middle Zone, so be sure and drop by to check ‘em all out. (By the way, that list will be mirrored in several places, so submitting an entry will net you multiple links around the Blogosphere, along with a permanent spot in the WILF archive page right here at the Zone).
As always, we have just two simple rules around here:
- For the sake of the general blogging audience, please keep it G-Rated. (Also please note: this is a request, not a demand, since after all it’s your blog and you can do what you want. Fair warning: I can choose to link to you or not.)
- Be nice.
All right, ladies and gentlemen; you know what to do! Grab the writing instrument of your choice and start writing!
[Further note from the Proprietor - I realize it takes time to write your entries, but would you mind too terribly not waiting until midnight on Sunday night, June 15, to notify me? When everyone waits to the last minute (you know who you are!) it sometimes gets a little difficult to get them all compiled by Monday's 6 am post time. I surely thank you, and as a token of my appreciation - have yourself a cookie!]
You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!
58 responses so far
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
Your rules are quite welcome this month, Robert. I would definitely NOT want to read an R or X rated post involving animals.
Don’t think I can trump Brad’s comment!
I’m looking forward to this one.. got a feeling it might just feature cats (I am a serious cat person…) but I might see if I can find a way to link it to writing too…
Joanna
@Brad - Heaven forbid! :-O
@Joanna - Cats, eh? Well, shouldn’t be a problem for someone as talented as you, Joanna!
[...] project has just been announced! Read more about it on our permalink for the project and over at Robert Hruzek’s site. He’ll be hosting us this month from [...]
Robert,
Sounds like a fascinating project this time around! Animals can often teach us so much!
Jeanne
brad - that comment is just toooo funny.
This WILF is going to be fun.
By the by i am seeking guest authors in June and July - care to help? Also my Blog turns one this friday - how cool is that?
Karen, as always, I look forward to your post! Happy B-day, too!
@Jeanne - you’re absolutely right about that! I can’t wait to read the entries this month!
Hey, just for kicks, I created a Facebook event for this WILF.
Robert,
I’m constantly overbooked …
I’ll try to get my entry in early … but the only times I haven’t just got in under the deadline wire, I’ve missed the deadline.
Hi Bob,
Congratulations on the whole “icy envelope” retreat selection thing…
Sounds like an interesting topic. Question: does it need to a be a ‘real’ animal?
Mike
@Mark - hey, I never knew that about Facebook; don’t get over there much. What the hey, all publicity is good publicity, they say - right?
@Lillie - I’ll tell ya what - if you know you’re going to submit one, I’ll leave a place marker for it and add it to the list, even if it’s late. I love having your input too much to leave you out in the cold!
@Mike - “Icy envelope”? I have no idea what that could possibly mean, Mike! But I’ll tell ya; with the temperature soaring to the 100 F mark today, climbing into one sounds like a really good plan!
No, the animal doesn’t have to be real, so that includes dragons, vampires, unicorns, and your old drinking buddy everyone used to call “Grizzly B’ar”!
Back to you, Buddy!
[...] here I am, answering Big Bob Hruzek’s call for articles on the theme What I Learned From… Animals. [You might also read about it at High [...]
Hey Robert, there’s a problem with the “THIS POST” link, I think you copy&pasted too quickly since half the url appears twice.
Good luck with the project, I’m sure there will be some funny results
Hey Bob - methinks you have a bunch of procrastinator blog pals here - me included. Giving us 2 weeks to think….well either it will all go beautifully ( edited within an inch of its life) or it will be (sadly for you) the last minute rush that we all seem to respond well to. I asked Robyn McM to comment on going to the wire a couple of weeks ago. I am going to reread her response!
I have a feeling that my late lamented pet housebunny might feature this time.
@Jacob - Oops! Ever since WP 2.5, I’m still not used to the link thingie being different than before. I used to just copy & paste, but now there’s an “http://” already there and I sometimes forget to compensate. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!) :-\
Thanks for pointing it out, Jacob. It’s, er, fixed now. (Although… considering the topic is ANIMALS, perhaps we should avoid the term “fixed”?) Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
@Jackie - Housebunny, eh? Now that’s a pet you don’t find too often!
To be honest, I’d rather NOT allow too much time for these. I think the deadline is part of the challenge. Besides, when they run for two weeks, it seems like they just barely end before the next one starts. Can’t be helped this time, though. *sigh*
[...] post is part of Robert Hruzek’s latest What I Learned From … group project, now co-sponsored by the High Calling blog. [...]
[...] What I Learned From Animals Group Writing Project Submit your entry until 2008-06-15 here [...]
Hi Bob,
The ‘icy envelope’ refers to a story about the NBA draft lottery the year Patrick Ewing came out of college. As the story goes, NBA execs froze the envelope containing the name of the New York Knicks, so that when the commissioner reached into the bin to pluck the lottery winner it would be easy to ‘randomly select’ the Knicks by feel…
Mike
Aha! Now I get it (sound of blunt object hitting back of head)! Yeah, weird, wasn’t it? When I submitted my post there were only 8 other entries, so I thought it was a pretty fair chance. But when he drew the winner, there were 20!
Maybe it was the shark fetus that did it. (You’ll have to watch the video of Marcus drawing the winning number to understand that one…) That’s sufficiently weird that Strange Attractors must have been at work.
Still think climbing into an icy envelope might be a good idea today - 100+ today! (But not as hot as YOU guys get!)
[...] might as well warn you now; this is probably the weirdest post I’ve ever written, even for a What I Learned From… writing project. (Er, to date, that is - let’s leave room for improvement, shall we?) Just thought [...]
I really don’t see the connection between the high calling of our daily work and animals. Shouldnt a group writing project support the goal of the network? But maybe I’m missing the point — so I’ll sit back and watch the creative ones go to work!
Howdy, David! Good question, and I thank you for coming right out and asking it, rather than simply staying in the background without saying anything! Brave of you, Buddy!
Yes, you CAN learn things from the animal kingdom - things that apply to life, business, prayer, relationships - whatever! You just have to keep your eyes open, and keep a learner’s attitude.
For example, I’ll point you to my own entry, Well Ain’t That Just the Duck’s Posterior, for a set of powerful business lessons I picked up by observing a duck in our neighborhood lake.
Hey, you never know what you might learn - or where! The object of this writing project is to share with others those lessons we learned. To “be the light”, you know.
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Hi Robert,Here is my contribution to the group writing project.What I Learn from Kung Fu Panda. I love the movie.Btw, the typing response here is very slow, wondering if it is caused by your comment plugin. Thanks,Robert
Robert A. Henrus last blog post..What I learn from Kung Fu Panda
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Another brilliant article you seems to be a great pet lover as i am, i have 2 dogs atm and i love them both (equal
) if i give contribution to this topic then i must say the first ever thing you can learn from an animal is generosity, love and helping when something is bad another good thing team work. if you see a dog he loves his master he die for his master he comes back to his master even if he beats him badly now the height of love is extreme here no man in this world is this generous to forgive such big mistakes.
MOins last blog post..Track Your Backlinks And Search Engine Index With iTracker
[...] post is my entry in What I Learned from Animals at Middle Zone Musings and High Callings [...]