Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

‘Bella in Flight. An example of full commitment to the moment.’
(Landscape Orientation)
A photo of Bella at the moment of success in catching a frisbee.
She was of the traditional German Shepherd colorings, i.e. dark, nearing black on her back, light brown-to-sable down her legs. Her head was redish brown, light around the eyes and black snout.
She is in the very center of the photo. The background (lawn below, woods behind) is out of focus. She is not.
The camera is with her as she flies from right to left, the woods and lawn are, in a sense, left behind. Such photos are very real examples of one staying in the here and now.
While tempting to describe Bella as ‘flying through the air’ it is clear in the photo that she’s not even thinking about flying. (Not the slightest hint of flapping her fore or hind legs to either side).
What Bella is doing in the photo is running as fast as she can in order to capture the frisbee. And if the earth cannot keep up with her legs, then it’ll just get left behind.
Kind of an example of when we allow our essential selves to express without factoring in the limitations we have created for the world around us.
(Note: Bella is not looking at the camera, proud of her accomplishment. She isn’t really looking at the frisbee. She is capturing the prey. It’s what dogs do.)

Mimi does this thing with a ‘themed’ TToT. Very cool. Will try it this week.

Just need to find a unifying thread, then look to the world around me (and my life) and list ten examples. How hard can it be?

(…this just in… kinda not so easy.)

For anyone out there who happens to be new to the TToT, you know how the youtube is full of ‘How To’ videos? And how the production values range from range from ‘Someone-running-a-vacuum-in-the-next-room-making-it-all-but-impossible-to-hear-what-they’re-saying’ to the ‘OMG-I-could-spend-the-day-just-watching-this-person- talk,-even-with-the-oleomargerine-accent’? This post is not like that. The TToT is full of writers of exceptional skill and style. Each individual contribution will demonstrate the power of the written thought. The other posts, thats ‘How It’s Done’.

Maybe some ‘backstory’ would help, the raison d‘être, if you will. Originally an exercise organized by the founderini, L. Lewis (no, no relation to Jack*) The idea was to force oneself to find things to be grateful for. (Mind you, this did not start as a bloghop. She started writing a post each week on the theme. Very impressive effort). Well one thing lead to another and the bloghop, Ten Things of Thankful, came into existence.

As a reflection of the natural world, the TToT bloghop grew and people came and went and eventually Lizzi found in Josie Two Shoes a kindred soul. I can say without reservation that Josie has not only continued the existence of this bloghop, (no small task in and of itself), she has advanced the spirit of it. To create a place where all sorts of people can share all sorts of experiences that confirm the positive and encourage the identification among those of like minds (and those of us here at the Doctrine, lol) and have fun doing it.

So that’s the history. (sorry, rogers, can’t do the whole post on history**) To the present!

We try to share Ten Things that elicit a sense of gratitude.

(Damn! I just realized my theme.) (Double damn! Intrinsic to this theme is the absence of explication.) (Sorry guy, I just write these, I don’t make up the rules.)

1) Una and her people.

2) Phyllis

3) Work and the challenge it affords me to take on (or not).

4) Technology (which, in this context, is like saying ‘cooking’ when the topic is ‘My Favorite Foods’) and the blogosphere.

5) The people in the virtual world with whom I am individually a friend and as a member of (a) cohort of the imaginative.

6) The Book of Secret Rules (aka the Secret Book of Rules) ’cause as the old saying holds, “Give me an Etch-a-Sketch in the shape of a book with a Dyna Label that says, ‘Rules’ and I will move the world.’***

7) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE (For any new Reader reluctant to throw in with a group that has someone like me for a member², just go ahead send in one (or two) Grat Items in a comment, I’ll post it here and you can get a feel for participation. I betcha ya don’t hate it.)

Hey, Josie was having difficulty getting the comment section to work for her and she was good enough to email her comment. (She has a way with comments, so here it is, in it’s entirety.

Hi Clark!

 Once again I find I am unable to post my comment on your blog. Darn it!  But I want you to know I am reading and reacting…. so here it is!  :-)

This was great! I love Mimi’s TToT themes, and you are right that it isn’t all as easy as it might seem, but it does cause us to look deeper into things, to see more and be more aware. When I did my theme on my mother last week, it turned out to be insightful and good therapy. :-)

 I love your caption under Bella’s photo at the top. You are right, she isn’t thinking about flying, or afraid of launching into the air if need be. She isn’t looking at the camera or seeking an audience(or grabbing for her phone to capture the moment). She has her eye on the prize… the goal of catching the Frisbee. She is truly living in the moment… a great example for us all!

 I am happy to see the Una Garden back in action, may your tomatoes grow and flourish as your writing has!

 PS – I am a fan of CS Lewis, and the Screwtape Letters in particular…  pure creative genius!

8) Sunday Supplement

This year, ‘A’ is for tomato.
Una inspects the first letter planted for the coming summer.

9) the Theme? (either: footnotes and paratheseses, or the Wakefield Doctrine; probably both)

10) Secret Rule 1.3

tuneage

* seriously, how cool is this internet? (at least for clarks)… that reference to ‘Jack’ is because I had to check the internet for what CS Lewis’ initials stood for (Clive Staples… no, really!). Well the last ‘search return’ on the first page said: “But “Jack,” as C.S. Lewis’s friends knew him, was not bothered by fashion. He was meticulous about the precise use of words, the quality of evidence presented…” (Christian History   thanks guys)

** theres an intriguing insight into the Wakefield Doctrine! rogers are the history buffs and clarks remember. Cryptic? Yes. Accurate and informative once it is understood? Very much so.¹

1) ok…ok, I can hear Josie and Kristi chiding me, ‘Now clark. You mustn’t tease. New Readers want to learn about the Wakefield Doctrine, but sometimes we think you enjoy being provocative just a little too much.’  (Those of an age, think: June Lockhart or Barbara Billingsly)

*** somewhat paraphrased

2) old joke… I don’t tell jokes all that well so…

So come on down and join in the best of all bloghops, the TToT