11 | December | 2013 | Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

For a small fee you too can help stop this abhorrent practice. People like Gordon need as much support as possible.

“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.”

~Robert Louis Stevenson

There isn’t much I wouldn’t do to help dogs, but for all of my efforts I must admit that I have found somebody whose devotion to man’s best friend makes mine look inadequate.

His name is Gordon “Shotgun” Shell.

Shell is a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter from Detroit who was forced into early retirement in 2010 due to a heart condition.

Now he fights a different battle – he has waged war on dog fighting.

Dog fighting is an abhorrent activity that is much more common than many people know.

Here are just a few statistics about it:

Over a thousand arrests were made for dog fighting in the U.S. between 2003 and 2008
An estimated 40,000 individuals are involved in professional dog fighting in…

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Exigent – definition: requiring, demanding, or calling for much attention or action

Life is exigent, isn’t it? We are pulled in different directions for family, work and writing commitments. This Wiki explanation sums it up well:

Work–life balance is a concept including proper prioritizing between “work” (career and ambition) and “lifestyle” (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development / meditation). Related, though broader, terms include “lifestyle calm balance” and “lifestyle choices”.

For most of the time we seem to be ‘catching ourselves up’ or ‘dropping the ball’ in one area; if not more. Stress results and impacts severely on our decision making, abilities and mental health. Finding a balance in our personal lives isn’t easy and although we try to divide our attention to each area equally, it is not always possible.

What should suffer? Work – would impact us financially. Family – relationships would falter. Writing – creativity and productivity would diminish. So the answer is…juggle it all and hope for the best or find methods to enable a balance to be achieved.

Have you found difficulties with this?

Do you have creative ways to achieve your best balance?

http://www.writedirections.com/balancing.php

http://www.mybooktherapy.com/finding-balance-with-writing-life-getting-organized/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/amyanderson/2013/07/26/work-life-balance-the-ultimate-oxymoron-or-5-tips-to-help-you-achieve-better-worklife-balance/