What personality trait in people raises a red flag with you?

When people flare at trivial comments or disturbances, I take note. I’ve had my own triggers. On—thank goodness!—rare occasions I’ve even exploded! Too often I’ve reacted in some unhealthy way with noise and fuss.

When I volunteered at a crisis hotline, I took 52 hours of Listening Training. That’s where I learned about the Anger Bucket 🪣. it fills up with old hurts—some dating back to early childhood or teenage years. And when “the last straw” falls in, the anger overflows.

The healing ❤️‍🩹 of anger takes place in a safe, loving environment where I can tell fully about the experience that triggered me and trace it back to the old hurt 😔. The environment may be alone writing in my journal. Or, in prayer. I can (and do) talk with a trustworthy person —for me, that’s a counselor.

And so, I urge you, use your decision ability to clean out your anger bucket regularly during peaceful and safe times. Then your responses will fit the situation.

What brings a tear of joy to your eye?

Rosemary B. Althoff—gratitude, but …

1. Remembering how grateful I am to have 3 grown kids: Peter, Amy,and Mary. They’re my friends as well as my precious kids, and now I also have the people they have added to my family.

2. I will have a tear of joy in my eye when I get over this rotten URI.

What brings you peace?

A doctor once told me, “Writing longhand is a good way to regulate a surging, overactive hippocampus. Choose a memory—a good one—and write about it longhand using sensory details. The physical and mental practice of writing causes that organ of the brain to engage, and it begins to slow down.”

When my mind races, especially if I’m anxious, I grab a pen and my journal and just plunge into writing. The words are not brilliant because I’m not crafting a novel, I’m just pouring out my heart.

In a little while, I calm down. I can, like one of the Shepherd’s sheep, wander into the green pasture and lie down beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

On what subject(s) are you an authority?

I teach creative and research writing at the college level.

WHAT ALTHOFF LOOKS FOR IN A GOOD ESSAY

 

1    KNOW YOUR THESIS STATEMENT/CENTRAL IDEA

 

After you play around with your topic, create one sentence that sum ups what you want to say, like a movie blurb.

2    FIRST PARAGRAPH

A  Get Attention.

B. State your thesis/central idea AND your main points. All of them. PER ALTHOFF: I do not want any more than 5 main points in any essay.

C. Tell why this essay  is very, VERY  important to somebody besides you and the instructor.

3    SECOND PARAGRAPH SET (Main point A. of your outline)

A. What’s the point? State it.

B. Now use examples, statistics, and testimonies to analyze, summarize, categorize, and otherwise-ize your position on that main point.

–  Where did that example come from?

–  Where did that statistic come from?

–  Where did that testimony or quotation come from?

 

4    THIRD PARAGRAPH SET (Main point B. of your outline):

 

Same as 2^nd Set

5    FOURTH PARAGRAPH SET (Main point C. of your outline):

 

Same as 2^nd Set

7    CONCLUSION (usually only 1 or 2 paragraphs)

A. Remind people why this is important to them.

B. Help people visualize what in the world will be better if they believe what you wrote.

C. Ask them to DO the next step, for instance:

–  Agree with you on at least one fact.

–  Find that they have some basic value in common with you

–  Assent (say ‘yes’) to what they ought to do

–  Take a real action step asap.

8    CONNECT IT ALL TOGETHER

–  Connect sentences to each other with transitions, pronouns, synonyms, repetitions, etc.

–  Connect paragraphs to each other with preview & summary statements, bridging sentences, and signposts.

9    SPELL AND GRAMMAR CHECK

 

Do or die.

Note: a simple Spell check won’t catch all the spelling problems. For instance, the infamous “to,” “too,” and “two” all sound the same but have different meanings. Likewise: “there,” “their,” and “they’re”; “its” and “it’s”; and “your” and “you’re.”

10 WORKS CITED (MLA Style)

12   ON TIME

How do you express your gratitude?

Very simply, I say “Thank You!” I also write thanks to God in my journal and think “thank you” in my prayers. I may be moved to offer a gift to someone who has encouraged me, too.

I think it might to fun to write a song of thanks!

How would you like to express your gratitude?