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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

#TuesdayTreasures Guest Post by Mark Wayne Allen

Good Morning Friends,

It is always a pleasure to bring to you a fellow Bayou Writers Group member and our guest today, Mark Wayne Allen is no stranger to our blog. He's shared treasures and thoughts with us before and we've spotlighted his book. With this in mind, I'll turn the blog over to him.

Welcome back Mark!

Life is not living

I'm an author, yes, but I've lived an unusual life.

Those that know me, well, also know what it is to live a life. You may think that is a redundant statement, but from my point of view, "live", and, "life", are not synonymous. Let's take the terms one at a time, shall we?

By the dictionary:
Life means the state or condition of anything having the capacity to grow, reproduce, functional ability, and continual change until death.

If we take this definition at face value, it seems to encompass everything an entity needs to merit cognitive existence, but now let's define the other term.

By the dictionary:
Live means to be alive.

 Now, those are congruent terms having no real substance. My friends, I've died many deaths, through heart stoppages and being what "The Experts" term as brain dead. Those experts said I would never survive even 12-hours. They've also said that if I did survive that I'd be a mental vegetable the rest of my life.

You don't realize what you have until it's ripped away. I'm telling, you I don't think it's humanly possible to fathom everything that's right about anyone's world until everything they know and think understand has been whisked away.

I was up walking and talking 4-months after my first accident. After the second, I would never walk again. I had to re-learn to breathe, eat, and drink. My definitions of "life", and "live", are drastically different from the norm. I have lived normal only in my youth, but I won't say that I've been through the worst, even with my life tragedies.

If you ever want to see the other side, tour any major rehabilitation center. Don't stop at the rooms. There are intensive care units all over the place. Lives are changes daily due to horrible tragedies. With all due respect to the dictionary, my definitions are below:

Life is when the heart is pumping blood and there is brain activity.

Living is the state when a person shows cognition and can have some positive emotional responses from activities with others.

Simply put, I treasure living.


Wow, Mark, you sure have a way with words. Treasuring life and living is something we all need to do!

Mark Wayne Allen was born in Merryvillle, Louisiana where he now resides, but has lived in many states. Due to life tragedies, he is a quadriplegic.
A love of books inspired him to write down his own stories, which, over the years, has evolved to include all categories. From poetry to short stories to novels, his knowledge of the craft grew over time, and so did his love for it.
He wrote two short stories and several poems that were published in a short-lived e-zine called Dementia. In 2013, he published the science fiction book Star Siege which was written during his years at Louisiana State University. Since then, he has placed in several contests since and even had a first place poem. He writes regularly for The Voice Of Southwest Louisiana Magazine.
Having lived in the North, South, East, and West has given him the opportunity to talk with a diverse group of people as well as an appreciation for different cultures. Currently, he lives with his wife of many years, Kelley, and is an active part of the community. You can keep up with Mark through his Website,Facebook and Twitter.
Mark's book, 3 Lifetimes in 1 is available through Amazon in Paperback, on Kindle and now on Audible!
I hope you enjoyed today's treasure as much as I did and I hope you'll stop by each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.
Until next time, take care and God Bless.
PamT

18 comments:

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Mark,

Your story is an inspiration to us all! Check out the Chicken Soup anthologies. I think you could write an excellent essay for them.

Unknown said...

I've only submitted a couple of times to them. I will continue submitting. By the way, I have a new book due out in January 28, 2017 called Introspection: From The Melvin Time Chronicles and a FREE prequel on November 1, 2016. The Force Of Life prequel can be downloaded from markwayneallen.com.

Maureen said...

Wow, what an inspiring post!

Unknown said...

Thank you! I just hope that everyone makes the most of their life. I certainly do, even in my position. People ask me how I do everything I do being a quadriplegic. I just make the most of my time like anyone can.

Unknown said...

Okay Mark. You're making me feel guilty about all the time I waste.

Unknown said...

Well, I never said life couldn't intervene from time to time. Each of us has our own set of problems, but we must fight like mad dogs to overcome them at times. Hey, problems slow me down too, but they don't ever stop me from doing my best to overcome and adapt.

Please, by all means, if you need help, tell friends. Talking relieves stress and prevents a person from blowing up. (I started to say 'from blowing a gasket', but I thought that was too cliche. LOL)

Susan Coryell said...

You have survived some close calls, for sure and appear all the stronger for them. Best of luck for continued living and writing successes.

Unknown said...

It helps to be self-motivated.

Best of luck to you too. Treasure the good times and remain steadfast through the bad. The Lord is watching out for us all. Many miracles had to happen for me to be alive today. Belief in Him didn't come easy for me, but now I know and feel it each day.

marilyn leach said...

Thanks for your definitions of life and live, Mark. It's encouraging to see a positive attitude at work. I wish that each of your readers will find great courage in your story. Cheers

Elizabeth Alsobrooks said...

What a remarkable story, Mark. Thanks for sharing. Good luck with your work.

Unknown said...

Inspiring others is my dream. My wife is a teacher and I get to mentor them by way of her. I have a mld speech impediment which makes interviews, etc. a little difficult, but I mentor all the youth that I can.

I aim to exemplify for others that you cannot let difficulties get between you and your dreams. If anyone out there needs help with their writing careers, please get in touch with me.

Unknown said...

By the way, Advance copes of Introspection: From The Melvin Time Chronicles may be obtained from my website and ship the 2nd week of January 2017.

Alicia Dean said...

My, what an inspiration you are. You defied the odds for sure. Thank you for sharing your courageous story with us!

Tanya Hanson said...

Wow, I'm wiping away tears. Mark, thank you for reminding me of what true living is. May you always be blessed!

Unknown said...

I live to beat the odds! You never realize what you have until you've lost it. I certainly didn't.

Unknown said...

@Tanya May we all be blessed and realize what life is all about. May all never never have to go what and where I've been. Life is difficult, that's a fact, but my heart goes out to all who have suffered.

Most of our veterans suffer as I have, both physically and mentally. I hope and pray that all find happiness for it s well deserved.

Kara O'Neal said...

My goodness, what an amazing post and inspiring words. I'm so glad I visited. You are amazing! Good luck to you!

Unknown said...

I'm just a person that's trying to do my best. The good Lord has richly blessed me, perhaps in order to share these words. If you enjoyed this post, I suggest you check out my memoir, 3 Lifetimes In 1 On Amazon in Paperback or Kindle or The audio book on Audible.com