Human Connections

Getting a hug from Dad

“When an elder dies, a library burns to the ground.” African Proverb

“Each of us … at some time in our lives, turns to someone – a father, a brother, a God … and asks … ‘Why am I here? What was I meant to be?’” ~ Spock in Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Since Thanksgiving weekend I’ve been recording and editing my special Christmas Story-Power podcast of family favorites. This episode airs on December 16 and then I’ll take a break to interview people for the new year. 

For this special episode, I interviewed twelve of my family members. It was an eye opening and heart warming experience. I learned things about each of them I had never known before. I loved getting to know a little bit more about each family member and as I was editing the episode, I felt a deeper heart connection with each of them than I had experienced before.

It occurred to me that this seemingly terrible time when we are forced to be isolated from friends and family could be a golden opportunity to connect with them in deeper ways than ever before. We’re fortunate that we have Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime to be able to see and hear those we love in real time. And I encourage you to ask those you love to tell you their favorite holiday memories. Just like me, you might hear things you’ve never known before. I’m all for any communication that helps me forge a more meaningful relationship with those I love.

Something I’ve started doing recently is to make little videos for Instagram. The one I uploaded a day or two ago was about my holiday podcast experience. It’s our connection to others that makes life worthwhile and for some of us it took a pandemic to slow us down enough to appreciate that. I used as a connecting example Star Trek: The Motion Picture produced in the 1970s with the cast of the original Star Trek series. The character of Spock was my favorite of that series because he was constantly struggling to find a balance between his Vulcan and human sides. In that movie he has an experience that answers the question which is better, logic or human emotions? What he finally realizes is that it’s in our heart-to-heart interactions that we have the ability to move beyond logic and experience something that transcends the world our minds have created. It’s in our human relationships that we have the chance to find heaven on earth. That’s what I want, to share love with others so I can see the face of God in them. And I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for ways to deepen that feeling of love in my heart.

I’m going to keep this post short because it’s the end of the semester and I’ve got my final podcast to finish and schedule. This year, I’ve decided to slow down and enjoy our Christmas decorating, baking, movie watching and conversations with family, instead of stressing out about all that I need to get done. I hope you’ll do the same and take time to connect with those you love even if it’s only online.

Welcome new followers. Blessings to all of you for a heart nurturing Holiday season.

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden © 2020

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards.

Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.

The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version is published.

Lucinda is also the host of Story-Power a new podcast where she and her guests discuss the stories in all formats that have changed their lives. It’s available here on Sage Woman Chronicles and on Apple, Google, and Spotify podcast apps. Please rate and leave a review. It helps people find me.

The Hate U Give

A little about me: My name is Arielle Tate. I enjoy reading, writing, watching British period dramas (among other genres), ballet, and watching Discovery, Travel, and Science channels. 

Arielle is modest and failed to write that she has received dual diplomas for high school and an AA degree General Studies with High Honors from Green River Community College this past Spring. She hopes to attend the University of Washington.

The Magic Tree House book series, Mary Pope Osborne 

The Percy Jackson series, Novels, Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, (2010) Screenplay, Craig Titley, Director, Chris columbus

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick

Hugo, (2011) Screenplay, John Logan, Director, Martin Scorsese

Wonderstruck, Novel, Brian Selznick, (2017)  Screenplay, Brian Selznick, Director, Todd Haynes

Georges Méliès, December 8, 1861 – January 21, 1938, First Movie maker most famous for A Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Impossible Voyage (1904)

Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling

  Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince, (2009) Screenplay, Steve Kloves, Director, David Yates

  Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 (2010) Screenplay, Steve Kloves, Director, David Yates, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 (2011) Screenplay, Steve Kloves, Director, David Yates

The All Souls Trilogy, Novels Deborah Harkness, (2018 – ) A Discovery of Witches series, Screenwriters, Deborah Harkness, Kaate Brooke, Sarah Dollard, Charlene James, Tom Farrelly, Directors, Alice Troughton, Sarah Walker, Juan Carlos Medina, Farren Blackburn

The Hate U Give, Novel, Angie Thomas, (2018) Movie, Screenplay, Audrey Wells, Director, George Tillman Jr.

John Green, author, Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Turtles All the Way Down

Night, Dawn, and Day, Elie Wiesel

To Kill A Mockingbird, Novel, Harper Lee, (1962), Movie, Screenplay, Horton Foote, Director, Robert Mulligan

Roots, Novel, Alex Haley, (1977) Miniseries, Screenwriters, Alex Haley, James Lee and three others, Directors, Marvin J. Chomsky and three others

Shogun, Novel, James Clavell, (1980) Miniseries, Screenwriters, Eric Bercovici and James Clavell

Noble House, James Clavell, (1988) Miniseries, Screenwriters, Eric Bercovici and James Clavell, Director, Gary Nelson

Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi

Children of Virtue and Vengeance, Tomi Adeyemi 

Pride of Prejudice, Novel, Jane Austen, There are many versions of this story from the 1940 Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier version to my favorite, (1995) Miniseries, Screenwriter, Andrew Davies, Director, Simon Langton

Jane Eyre, Novel, Charlotte Brontë, There are many film versions of this story from the 1943 Orson Welles version to my favorite, (2006) Miniseries, Screenwriter, Sandy Welch, Director, Susanna White

Little Doritt, Novel, Charles Dickens, (2008) Miniseries, Screenwriter, Andrew Davies, Directors, Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh, Diarmuid Lawrence

Bleak House, Novel, Charles Dickens, (2005) Miniseries, Screenwriter, Andrew Davies, Directors, Justin Chadwick and Susanna White

North and South, Novel, Elizabeth Gaskell, (2004) Miniseries, Screenwriter, Sandy Welch, Director, Brian Percival 

Susan Glaspell, playwright and author

Cranford, Novel, Elizabeth Gaskell, (2007 – 2010) Series, Creators and Screenwriters, Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin, Directors, Simon Curtis and Steve Hudson

Gosford Park, (2001), Screenwriter, Julian Fellowes, Director, Robert Altman

Downton Abbey, (2010 – 2015), Series, Creator, Julian Fellowes, Director, Brian Percival and thirteen others

Dr. Thorne, Novel, Anthony Trollope, (2016) Miniseries, Screenplay, Julian Fellowes, Director, Niail MacCormick

Middlemarch, Novel, George Eliot,  (1994) Miniseries, Screenplay, Andrew Davies, Director, Anthony Page

Daniel Deronda, Novel, George Eliot, (2002) Miniseries, Screenplay, Andrew Davies, Director, Tom Hooper 

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

The Works of William Shakespeare

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens, Oliver, (1968) Book, music, and lyrics, Lionel Bart, Screenplay, Vernon Harris, Director, Carol Reed 

The Witcher Stories, Andrzej Sapkowski

His Majesty’s Dragon, The Temeraire Series,Naomi Novik

Uprooted, Naomi Novik

Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik

The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden

The Girl in the Tower, Katherine Arden

The Winter of the Witch, Katherine Arden

The Circle of Ceridwen series, Octavia Randolph

“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.” ~ Roger C. Schank, Cognitive Scientist

Following My Passion

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” ~ Maya Angelou

“It’s not about becoming rich and famous. It’s about dreaming a sacred destiny for yourself. It’s about becoming a luminous warrior in these dark times.” ~ Alberto Villoldo

This past week I’ve been recording segments for my upcoming special Christmas Story-Power podcast. I decided to interview family members. I asked them to share their favorite memories, traditions, and even Christmas movies. I recorded episode 11 with my niece Arielle, which airs December 9, in late July or early August. When the fall semester began, I was too busy to do any recording. However, now coming back to creating episode 12, I realize how much I LOVE every aspect of podcasting. It’s my ultimate passion.

There are other things I like very much, like writing this blog and my novel. But sometimes writing is hard. I get stuck, or life throws a curve ball and I have to stop and rethink my story. Don’t get me wrong, I have a passion for writing, but I don’t love EVERY aspect of it as I do creating my podcast episodes.

Resuming doing the podcast has made me reexamine my beliefs about my purpose in life. For so long I bought into the belief that I had to work at jobs that weren’t fully, or even partially, satisfying to bring in enough money to survive. And now that I have more days behind me than I do ahead, I’ve decided to jettison those ideas and follow my bliss, as Joseph Campbell used to say. I want to find as much joy in my relationships and activities as I can in the time I have left.

For many years I thought that it would be hard to follow my bliss. That the Universe wasn’t set up to support my dreams. I marveled at people who set a goal for their lives and eventually got to do what they loved. But I didn’t think that would happen for me. Then recently, or maybe it’s been coming on gradually, I understood. Having the life I want is all in MY mind and heart. I create it or not according to my beliefs. 

The question is am I determined enough to continue to follow my dreams and not let anything deter me? To be honest, I was a waverer, a fence sitter. I’d hold strong to my dreams for months and then doubts would creep in. I’d feel unworthy and allow myself to compromise. I’d allow only part of my dream to come true which meant there was always some aspect of what I was doing that I dreaded. For example, I loved working in the semi-professional theatre scene in Portland. But that meant that I rarely saw Barry and I missed lots of family events. There came a time when I had to make a choice. My relationship with Barry, or theatre. I mourned leaving acting behind but eventually I was able to teach theatre. It was rewarding to see the students blossom and I enjoyed directing plays, but I hated the paperwork and other obligations of being a teacher. 

I can’t complain though, because each choice to follow one little piece of my dream led to the next piece and the next until I finally decided to try podcasting and the miracle happened. As I wrote above, I love every aspect of doing the work. 

I’m now in transition. Sabotaging myself just won’t do any more. 2021 is the year I stop compromising. After all these years of thinking I wasn’t worthy, I must acknowledge that I’m the one who has been holding myself back. I can’t blame anyone else. However, I am happy that I kept working at discovering what it is I love to do most.

At the end of every Marie TV video Marie Forleo, a woman I love, says, “Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams because the world needs that special gift that only you have.” I think I’ve found my special gift. I’d be interested to hear what brings you joy because what brings you joy is what the world needs from you. I hope you will share your passion with us in the comments below.

Blessings to you all,

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden © 2020

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards.

Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.

The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version is published.

Lucinda is also the host of Story-Power a new podcast where she and her guests discuss the stories in all formats that have changed their lives. It’s available here on Sage Woman Chronicles and on Apple, Google, and Spotify podcast apps. Please rate and leave a review. It helps people find me.

Thank You 2020!

It’s a Wonderful Life Village

“Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.” ~ Henri Nouwen

I know. You’re saying, “How can you say thank you for this horrible year!” Fortunately, I’ve learned something very important over the years, that it’s the tragedies, the betrayals, the heartbreaks that have the richest lessons for us. I don’t think anyone can deny that this year has had plenty of opportunities for us to learn and heal and I for one am grateful for the opportunity.

I think lots of people use the last weeks of the year to reflect and evaluate what they’ve experienced, and hopefully learned in the previous months. I’ve been doing that a lot lately and here is what I’ve learned.

No matter how much I think I’ve cleared out unhealed wounds, there is always more work to do. I don’t know about you, but I tend to deal with the most painful part of my wounds, and then think I’m finished for all time. But, of course, that’s not how healing works. We have to circle around again and again to heal different aspects of whatever it is we’ve suffered. Everyone is different. Maybe you stuffed down the most painful stuff and only healed the periphery parts of the wound and thought you were good to go. There is no one right way to heal and each person has a choice whether or not to do the work. For me, I’ve chosen to dig a bit deeper to see if there is anything I ignored that needs to be dealt with.  

The healing I’ve been working on these last months has not been deeply traumatic. I’ve already done most of the hard work, but still there is another round of mop up to do. What this has done for me it to allow me to see new possibilities for my life that I didn’t even know were available to experience because part of me was still holding on to all the old perceptions of myself. It’s very exciting to let those go and realize that maybe, even at my age, I have untapped talents that I can use to create a whole knew life for myself. 

I’d be interested to know what you’ve learned and what you are grateful for as we finish this most unusual year. Or maybe you’re traumatized and in need of some support. We may be separated physically, but prayers and love travel through time and space. I’m willing to send up prayers of support for you if you need them. All you have to do is ask.

I’m going to keep this post short because I’m working on a special Family Christmas podcast to be posted on December 16th. I hope you have a wonderful beginning to your holiday season no matter what spiritual holiday you celebrate this time of year. 

It feels to me as if this is an auspicious time. Hopefully we can heal our deep personal, societal, and cultural wounds so that we can begin to come together as one human family. In any case, I plan to take advantage of our suggested separation to be quiet and go within.

Blessings to you all. Stay safe and healthy. Thanks for your likes and comments. 

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden © 2020

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards.

Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.

The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version is published.

Lucinda is also the host of Story-Power a new podcast where she and her guests discuss the stories in all formats that have changed their lives. It’s available here on Sage Woman Chronicles and on Apple, Google, and Spotify podcast apps. Please rate and leave a review. It helps people find me.

The Dark Side Of Musicals

Personally, I would describe myself with a bunch of “m’s” … mom, musical, marketing, minister, with many sisters (4). I have two grown, married sons, one of whom will welcome my first grandchild into the family this November! I am engaged to Tim Stuber, and I know I’m incredibly lucky to have found the depth of love and devotion that we have for one another at this point in our lives. I’ve owned my consulting business since 1989, and I’ve owned a total of 6 businesses over the years (usually running at least two concurrently).  As a consultant, I assist small nonprofit companies as they seek to increase their ability to provide services by developing their fund development, strategic planning, organizational structure, and brand management efforts.

Since I recorded this episode back in early July, Marjie and Tim set their wedding date for November 28, just a few days after this episode airs. Her new name is Marjie Siegfried Stuber. Congratulations to them both.

Marjie Siegfried Stuber’s business: Forte Marketing and Public Relations, Inc. LinkedIn Profile at Marjie Siegfried Foster.

Dolly Levi from Hello Dolly, (1969) Book for stage play, Michael Stewart based on the play, The Matchmaker, Thornton Wilder. Screenwriter, Ernest Lehman,  Composers, Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman, Movie Director, Gene Kelly

Nancy Drew Mysteries, Carolyn Keene

Beaker Street Radio Show with Clyde Clifford

Phantom of the Opera, Book, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe, Screenplay, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Joel Schumacher, based on the novel, Le Fantôme de L’Opéra, Gaston Leroux, Composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Charles Hart

Love Never Dies, (2009) Composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Glenn Slater, Book by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ben Elton, Frederick Forsyth and Glenn Slater

South Pacific, (1958, movie) Stage play by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Screenwriter, Paul Osborn, Movie Director, Joshua Logan

My Fair Lady, (Book for play and screenplay), Alan Jay Lerner based on the play Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw, Music, Frederick Loewe, Movie Director, George Cukor

Pygmalion, (1912)George Bernard Shaw

Cinderella, (1957, TV movie) Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

The Equalizer (2014) Based on the TV series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, Screenplay by Richard Wenk, Director, Antoine Fugua

Fiddler On The Roof (1971) Based on stories by Sholem Aleichem, Stage Play and screenplay, Joseph Stein, Movie director, Norman Jewison

Oklahoma, (1955, movie) Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, 

“You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”, song from South Pacific

“The Sadder But Wiser Girl for Me”, song from The Music Man

1776 ( 1969 Broadway, 1972, Movie) Book, Peter Stone, Music and Lyrics, Sherman Edwards, Movie Director, Peter H. Hunt, Songs discussed, “Cool, Cool, Considerate Men”, “Molasses to Rum”

The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas

Rifles for Waite, Harold Keith

Little House on The Prairie series, Laura Ingalls Wilder

Dave’s Song, Robert McKay

The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd

Cold Sassy Tree, Olive Ann Burns

LaVyrle Spencer books, e.g. Morning Glory, Fulfillment, Bitter Sweet

Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi

Jane Austen, author

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

Middlemarch, George Eliot

Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell

Blowout, Rachel Maddow

Becoming, Michelle Obama

Hamilton, (Play first performance 2013, Movie, 2020 available on Disney +) Book, Lin-Manuel Miranda, inspired by the book of the same title by Ron Chernow, Music and Lyrics, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Movie Director, Thomas Kail

“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.” ~ Roger C. Schank, Cognitive Scientist

Story-Power is available on Apple, Google, and Spotify podcast apps. If you listen to episodes there, please consider subscribing, leaving a review or sharing with a friend. It will help people find me.