Start writing your personal history with the 52 Stories ProjectOn nearly every headstone or marker, no matter how plain or ornate, is carved one universal symbol. It is a simple horizontal line – a dash – separating two significant dates. The first marks the day one precious soul entered this mortal life. The second marks his or her inevitable journey onward.
A well known poem by Linda Ellis, “The Dash,” speaks of this symbol.
“For that dash represents all the time that they spent alive on earth. and now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.”
We are each, right now, standing somewhere in the middle of our own dashes. Because its human nature to think of our lives in terms of beginnings and endings, the approaching New Year gives us the perfect opportunity to make sure we are making the most of that dash, filling in the details of our lives so our loved ones and our posterity are not left wondering what happened in between.
All of us are “in the dash”. But you may be thinking, “I’ve got plenty of time to record my story.” Or more often, I hear, “No one would be interested.” But a study published in the Journal of Family Life in 2010 states that they found teens who knew more stories of the extended family were more resilient in the face of adversity. They showed higher levels of emotional well-being, and also higher levels of identity achievement. Children with the most self-confidence have what’s called a strong “intergenerational self”. In other words, they know they belong to something bigger than themselves.
Don’t expect to sit down and pour out the events of your entire life in one epic writing session. Just like the journey of a thousand miles begins with the single step. Writing your history begins with a single story. Followed by another, and then another…
And that is where the 52 Story Project comes in. The idea is to write one brief story about your life, past or present, every week this year. You can do it in a handwritten journal, on your computer, or in a series of videos. At the end of the year you will have 52 little pieces of your dash.
Sounds easy enough in theory, but what on earth are you going to write about each week? Should you just start at the beginning and record all the events of your life chronologically?
Actually, no. That’s the most challenging way to go about this project. Memory isn’t orderly, structured, or predictable. Recollections are more likely to surface randomly, sparked by various external triggers. Embrace the randomness, and just start writing. You can always organize your stories later if chronology matters to you.
You don’t have to look far for a great series of memory triggers. Bee Hive Support will provide each participant in the 52 Stories Project, a weekly writing prompt from one of 12 themes, from “Goals & Achievements” to “Education& School” to “Holidays & Traditions,” over the year you will be provided a total of 144 questions, giving you plenty of options to choose from as you build your library of 52 Stories. At this time next year you will have a wonderful gift to share with your children and grandchildren.
What if all the devices in your life could connect to the internet? Not just computers and smartphones, but everything: clocks, speakers, lights, doorbells, cameras, windows, window blinds, hot water heaters, appliances, cooking utensils, you name it. And what if those devices could all communicate, send you information, and take your commands? It’s not science fiction; it’s the “Internet of Things”, and it’s a key component of home automation and smart homes.
Home automation is exactly what it sounds like: automating the ability to control items around the house—from window shades to pet feeders—with a simple push of a button (or a voice command). Some activities, like setting up a lamp to turn on and off at your whim, are simple and relatively inexpensive. Others, like advanced surveillance cameras, may require a more serious investment of time and money.
There are many smart home product categories, so you can control everything from lights and temperature to locks and security in your home. We will be presenting the ones that we have had experience with starting with the Amazon Echo family of products.
Amazon Echo Family
Three years after the debut of the original, which we had almost immediately, Amazon decided the time was right to refresh its flagship smart speaker, the voice-activated Amazon Echo. The Echo is a Bluetooth speaker powered by Alexa, Amazon’s handy and friendly, voice assistant. Alexa works with a number of smart home devices directly, as well as with If This Then That (IFTTT) to control plenty of others via “recipes” you can create yourself. If you ever wanted to turn all your lights out, lock the front door and set the thermostat for bed without getting out of bed – Alexa can do that! It’ll take a little work to set up the commands, but you can use Alexa to control most of the gadgets in your house by the sound of your voice. If you already have a favorite speaker, the inexpensive Echo Dot can connect to it and add Alexa functionality. And if you want a touchscreen to see search results and make video calls, check out the Echo Show or Echo Spot.
The Amazon Echo is frequently discounted from its standard $100 price. At $100, nearly half the cost of the original, the new Echo seeks to undercut them all. In short, it’s the same Alexa speaker that quickly became a dominant smash hit, only now it’s cheaper and nicer-looking. If you’re interested in bringing voice controls into your home, smart or otherwise, the Echo still offers the most bang for your buck.
