A couple of months ago two of us got together to discuss how to encourage and hold one another accountable to our dream and calling: writing.
Hidden Plotmasters
We bravely decided to come out of hiding; market our stuff; court rejection and accolades; share our hearts with the world. Counterclockwise: Carrie, Andrea, Heather, Me. We are novelists, short story writers, screenplay writers, bloggers. Visit our sites. Read what we write. Come hear us read what we have written. And please, please, buy our books once they are in print! You can say you knew us back when we were corny enough to pose for pictures!
Four d’plume
And now there are four. Four creative intellectuals, serious about their craft. Real writers taking the ups and downs–and rejections! After all, rejections are tangible proof that we are, indeed, writers!
Crossing Bridges to Our Future
Originally uploaded by ein feisty Berg
It seems like the older I get (the ages of any two of the other writers approximate mine) the more bridges there are to cross–or are those bridges merely adventures on the way to completion of 10 things I want to do before I die?
The Perfect Birthday
For me, a perfect birthday consists of
Fun
Family
Food
Favorite Things (Music, Mountains, Hiking, Travel, etc).
Early in June, 19 year old A asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. I knew the Colorado Children’s Chorale Tour Choir (my most favorite children’s singing group – see link at the left) was at that moment in residency in Vail, so I said I would like very much to go hear their free culminating concert in the Ford Amphitheatre.
My Favorite Things
We sat out relatively early Saturday morning with a packed picnic lunch. A drove, making it possible for me to sit back and enjoy the ride and the ever changing light and landscape. On the way we stopped and hiked to Hanging Lake, basking in the beauty of summer mountain foliage, waterfalls; the creativity of observation, and the exhilaration of exertion. Arriving in Vail we were mesmerized by the setting and the music and performance of the young voices and were able to greet a few old acquaintances
The Perfect Birthday
It was an altogether satisfying day. The following day I enjoyed Sunday dinner at a cozy little brew pub accompanied by my three children and my three grandchildren. Life is good when one can say, “It was a perfect birthday!”
NOT on the BUCKET List
Forget the negative things for a moment and consider with me: A lot of great things happen in life that are NOT on one’s Bucket List. When you made that goal list (for instance, in high school) did you ever dream all the GOOD experiences you would have between that time and this? Sure you were told, “You can be anything you want to be!” But, did you really know all the things you would be between then and now? Did you even know the possibilities existed for some of the fabulous things you have experienced? A valid, thoughtful list of “ten things I want to do before I die,” or “list of things I want to do before I kick the bucket,” is made only after one tastes a bit of life, makes a few detours, and refocuses priorities. Take this picture of my dad with ALL my children and ALL my grandchildren. They are one of life’s greatest joys; yet, as a very young adult, I would never have dreamed of putting them on the list beyond a casual, “get married and have kids.”
But What Does It Mean?
Some time ago my daughter-in -law (Sermon on the Mount of Laundry located at sarahsermons.com)wrote a post about “Flip Flop” (http://www.sarahsermons.com/?paged=4) in which she asked “But what does it all mean?” She got a tremendous response in answers.
A day or two later I came home from a weekend trip to higher elevation with my Son, D-I-L and grandbabies and noticed that my best jeans were sporting grass-stain on the rear pockets. Grass Stain! I have not had to deal with grass stain for, oh, 35 years or so. What does it mean? Grass stain on a 53 year old? I tend to think it has a lot to do with my bucket list; my 10 things I want to do before I die.
Prince Caspian and Things Don’t Happen The Same Way Twice
“Things don’t happen the same way twice,” so said Aslan to Lucy in the movie Prince Caspian. “The wardrobe? Oh, you’ll not get back in again that way,” said the professor to the four children in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. And while we are talking of repetition; DID Moses put a spigot on the rock that gushed out water so the masses could always return to that same rock to draw water? No, they did not return. They kept moving forward. Did Jesus always heal blind men by spitting in the dust and putting mud on the eyes?
Things don’t happen the same way twice. While it is good to have trusted, tried and true resources or counselors; one can hardly keep going back to the same friend or the same resource indefinitely; you would milk them dry. The Higher Power, the Creator, is the only limitless resource and (S)He is not limited in creativity. So it is that as I struggle on through life and relationships; I do not limit myself to one friend, one counselor, one confidant, one book, one doctor. I get a second opinion. I turn over lots of rocks, rather than returning to the same handout all the time. I wait in anticipation to see from whence the next word of wisdom or critical sustenance will come. “There is safety in a multitude of counselors.”
Do I accept counsel without question? No. Discernment is also a gift of the creator. If I pray to my Higher Power for knowledge of his will for me and for the power to carry it out; the result is wisdom and discernment and resources and guidance.