Love in Action Heals Us and the World
Contact Me
close
Contact Me
You Might Also Like
A Roadmap for the Hero, Part 4: Meeting The Mentor
Laura Formentini
May 7, 2021

The needs of the hero when she meets her guide or mentor can be small or large. The guide can give an object, like a ring, or just simple insight, like the way the canary’s presence gives Doris an idea and the courage to see it through. This help can also come in the form of wise advice, practical training, or even just a kind word that can give the character some self-confidence. The guide’s advice always takes away the hero’s fears and doubts and brings her strength and courage to begin her quest.

Read more
Where There is Love, There is Life
Laura Formentini
May 4, 2021

After dropping the tool he had in his hand, he wiped his forehead and eyes and stood up, puzzled. What in the world can that be?, he must have said to himself, but because his preoccupation was with the broken-down water system and he knew that he had a limited amount of time to fix it, he kept ignoring the idea that maybe, and seriously maybe, something else needed his attention right away elsewhere. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint where those sounds came from, but he quickly figured out once he started walking behind the gate and around the pond with the papyrus trees.

Read more
A Roadmap for the Hero, Part 7: Approach To The Inmost Cave
Laura Formentini
May 10, 2021

Doris’s innermost cave is how her hospitality will work to create peace for the bats and the fairies that have inhabited her home. There is a pause in the action here for the reader to feel the stakes. Will the bats be angry that the honey caused them to stay silent? How would the bats react to laughter of the fairies? Would the bats have a sense of humor? Would her “perfect” canary-inspired idea of baking honey cakes for the bats with the crunchy centers turn into a nightmare? Would Doris be more of an outcast than ever if the bats AND the fairies looked down on her silly ways and ideas? She thought she had it bad just being a duck-sized fairy, but now the stakes are higher.

Read more
What an overland trip through the continent of Africa taught me about creating a new normal
Laura Formentini
May 1, 2021

As an archeologist and philanthropist, world travel has been my lifeblood and has led serendipitously to the transformation of the lives of orphans and the welfare of abused animals in five countries over the last sixteen years. I met ordinary people who, like me, just wanted to make a difference in this world. In this time of the Coronavirus, the world has shuttered. Suddenly our passions, projects and even our connection with people have been put on hold. How do we keep transforming ourselves and the world from the confines of our four walls? How do any of us continue to do what we’ve always done with such dramatic life changes? How do we find a new normal?

Read more
A Roadmap for the Hero, Part 2: Call to Adventure
Laura Formentini
May 6, 2021

One day Doris’s doorbell rang, and she opened her door. That was her call to adventure. Can you imagine something so mundane changing a life? Lots of movies work this way. Especially romantic comedies. In movies, they talk about the “meet cute,” a mundane moment where the romantic leads meet. In The Holiday, the character played by Kate Winslet meets her romantic interest played by Jack Black when he rings her doorbell and she doesn’t know how the technology works to answer it.

Read more
A Roadmap for the Hero, Part 3: Refuse The Call
Laura Formentini

As you can see, Doris is a reluctant hero. She didn’t believe that there were such terrible creatures in the world and that the bad things that the fairies talked about could actually occur. She doubts and doesn’t want to be the one to do something about it because that meant the small fairies living in her huge home would discover it was messier than most, and that her kitchen appliances and artwork were out of date.

Read more
Show all
close
Contact Me