A Million Little Questions

Wow, it has been an interesting week for questions and

fact-finding! For those of you who follow Oprah and her much

beloved book club, you will know that she endorsed the book "A

Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. This is a riveting book

based on his own experiences as an alcoholic and drug addict. It

is a story with helplessness and hope running through the pages.

Mr. Frey was on the Oprah show late in 2005 talking more about

his book. Oprah could not say enough about the book! Talk about an

endorsement. That would certainly help to add to the sales, which

probably made the publishers very happy.
Then, the Smoking Gun, a fact-finding on-line site, began to

question the validity of Mr. Frey's "truths." A Million Little

Pieces was being touted as a memoir and alluded to the fact that

the experiences were the truth for Mr. Frey. Turns out they were

not 100% true, they were embellished truths.

But, Oprah didn't know this when she went on the air with Larry

King live to defend Mr. Frey.

It wouldn't take long to uncover the reality once someone

started to work at it. Mr Frey recently appeared on Oprah again,

with his publisher, to defend himself. His take on all of this is

that the story is true to his memory of the events. Oprah's take

on all of this is "The truth is the truth and you can't call

something truth if it is not."
The publisher defended the book and her classification of it as

a memoir. Bottom line on all of this for Oprah, I think, was the

classification. Don't call it a memoir if it's not: call it a

memoir based on true facts.

So where does this leave things?
Well, personally, I have to give Mr. Frey credit for getting

back up on that stage and defending himself to Oprah and her

followers. That took a lot of courage. He looked like a deer in

the headlights during most of the show. It's not easy to face the

hard questions and then deal with the consequences.
I also question how much responsiblilty the publisher had in this

whole drama. Should they not have dug a little bit to find the

truth in all of this? Why are they not being held accountable?

A million little questions...a million different perspectives.

It will be some time before we hear from James Frey again,

although I hear he has already started writing again.

What's your take on all of this? Was anybody right? Was anybody

wrong? Do you think a memoir is a truth telling story or is it

based on one person's perspective of the truth?

Would you have gone back onto that stage if you were James Frey

and faced the wrath of Oprah and her audience?

A million little questions...a million different perspectives.

Until next time. Living la vida fearless, Jan

I got thinking today about circles. Specifically drum circles. I love drums, I love drumming and I love drum circles. Which sent me on a tear...why not drum squares or drum triangles? What is it about a circle that makes things so special? One of my favourite songs, Will The Circle Be Unbroken, done by many including Johnny Cash and the Indigo Girls, explains a lot....and yet not enough. Circles are continuous, fluid and never-ending. They have no end and they have no beginning. You can always see where you've been, where you are and where you're going. Joni Mitchell has a great song, "The Circle Song" which is one of my favourite all time best songs in the world...So many sing of circles there must be magic in them....Drum circles are so cool....Drumming with bunches of people, all wanting to participate in the magic of the sound, of the rhythm of the beat, of the mystery of the beforelands....Drumming summoned people, called them forth, warned them of danger, provided information to the rest of the community and was always at the centre of the traditional dances and rituals....Historic and futuristic at the same time...Can't do that with a square could you?
Just some thoughts....Living la vida fearless, Jan

It's started again....Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell are baaaccckkk....The next season of American Idol has started. I watched the first session just to see how it would all go. I actually like the show. I know that sounds corny to some people, but the bottom line for me, after all the theatrics is that these people put themselves on the line, faced their fears and went for their dream. At least they had the guts to try out. Some sucked, some were just down right horrible, I wondered what some of the people were thinking...and then there were the ones who made it through to the next level. They tried, they worked really hard and...they had some talent. It takes a lot of guts to stand in front of a panel of esteemed musicians in their own right, not to mention the television public, and work for your dream.
Canadian Idol starts soon. I'll be watching that one too. I'll keep you posted, whether you want me to or not!
So what's your thought on this? Do you watch? Do you care? Would you do something like that if the opportunity arose?
Living la vida fearless, Jan

Heroes of Fearless Living

There are always books and movies coming out that people are drawn to see. I am thinking now of King Kong, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter....The theme in all of these is that the main character fights some great foe and is successful in achieving the great dream....Does that happen in "real life?"
Well, here are some thoughts from my website story this week. I'd love to hear more of what you have to say on the topic.

I seem to be a little stuck lately on the Fearless Living theme.

It's not that I can't find people, events, things to write about

that's for sure. It's more a feeling that there is so much

fearless living going on in the world that I don't know where to

start: and yet: sometimes it feels like there isn't enough

fearless living happening. So, I'm torn.
I could write about people who have survived horrible accidents

and come back better and stronger than ever. I could write about

children, the most vulnerable, who survive, or sadly do not,

serious illness with a smile on their face and peace in their

hearts.
I could write about our veterans who believed in the price of

freedom so strongly that they gave up their own lives for us to be

free.
I could write about people who have overcome addictions,

obsessions, horrible living conditions and became great leaders.
I could write about any of those things. These are all fearless

people of that there is no doubt.
But, I won't.
This time I want to write about people who decide that they want

change in their lives. They haven't lived extraordinary lives,

they haven't held exciting jobs, they don't make multitudes of

money. They're just "ordinary" folk like the rest of us. And yet,

they're not.
"Be the change you wish to see." Gandhi.
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over

and expecting different results."
"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get the

same results."
Words of action, calling forth, holding back.
Change your perspective, change your life. It's not anybody else's

fault that your life is what it is: it's your perspective of the

circumstance that is at fault.
Ordinary people who want to live bigger lives. Want to walk

through this earth with happy hearts, making a difference in the

world, putting smiles on the faces and souls of those they meet...

These are the fearless people. The ones who seek change, who crave

change, who make the steps to make it happen. The soldiers of a

new revolution called Living Your Best Life.

Want to work on a really powerful and thought provoking idea?

Write your own obituary. Imagine what people would be able to say

about you. Is it enough? Is that the legacy you want to leave to

the world? If not, why not? What's holding you back?
Be fearless: make a change.
Work with a coach, try therapy if that's needed, communicate,

lighten up your heart...Do what you have to do to really make the

difference you want to see....Live Fearlessly!

Living la vida fearless,
Jan

I was working on something today that got me thinking. How come the word "palindrome" isn't a palindrome? Here are a few examples of what a palindrome is just in case you're not sure...

Leper can be spelled backward and becomes Repel

Evil can be spelled backward and becomes Live (now that's ironic)

Devil can be spelled backward and becomes Lived (really ironic.)

and so on.....but why isn't palindrome another word backward?

Or the word oxymoron....not a politician I assure you..... (Bush or Martin it's ok you're safe here....)

Here's an oxymoron....

Jumbo Shrimp

What about you guys? Got any favourite palindromes or oxymorons?

Post em here in the comments...Hey, if there are enough of them maybe I'll try to create a poem out of them. That would be a challenge...they have to be clean though or I don't use them.

Living la vida fearless, Jan