The Journey Continues  – with wonderful new experiences!

When I began this journey of becoming a writer – I never dreamed it would happen not only so quickly, but with veracious passion.

It really is true.  If you put it out there into the universe – say what you want (and no, I do not mean for a new 911GT or that you will find a bag of cash) I do not believe the universal powers that be just sit there and listen for wishes of ‘stuff’.  It is more complex than that – and yet it is also very, very simple.

I can’t speak for anyone else but myself, but I can tell you that it takes a little time and consistency is key.  Keep something in mine, it does not work like the Tooth Fairy.  You don’t put a tooth under your pillow and in the morning there is money.  No, it is an interactive relationship.  More like gardening.  You decide where you want your garden, watch the sun – is there enough light during the day?  Then you decide what you want to plant, will it be a veggie garden or flower garden or perhaps a little of both.

Do you want to cultivate your entire yard, or have containers or raised beds?  Then you need to decide the how, how are you going to pay for it, how are you going to schedule time to weed it, fertilize it (what kind of fertilizer? Organic or commercial with pesticides).  You learn as much as you can before you begin.  AND if you do the work – you hope you will be rewarded.

Hope?  Yes.  Hope.  Because you have no control of the weather, or insects, do you have deer that come in and wipe you out, or neighbors kids who run through it by accident?  There is a lot to think about – a lot to think through.  Is it worth all this work, planning and doing just to have this garden?

Absolutely.  It is very important, because it is YOUR efforts, your ideas, your knowledge that gets you to that ultimate bounty.  The fruit will never taste as sweet from a grocery store, as yours does with the care and energy you give your garden.

Now, substitute the “garden” with what you want for yourself.  Keeping in mind – you must think this through – carefully, patiently, research it.  What will it take to make it happen?  Do you need to adjust it, alter it a bit, but still be happy with the outcome?  You might also be very surprised when you do the work, you may change your mind.  You may decide you this it not what I want.  Then keep searching.

For me, I started putting basics out into the universe when I was still working in Hospitality.  Getting up at 4:30 am to work a thirteen hour day was not fun.  Oh there was some very good experiences, but I knew I did not want to do this forever.  It was a job, not a career, not a goal for me.

Driving to work and back by myself I would say out loud – “First thank you for letting me wake up and have a job to go to.  Thank you for keeping my family safe and healthy. And please, please, please, let my efforts bring me something more amazing then I could have ever hoped or dreamed for.”

Simple.  Yep.  Simple, but that’s not all of it.  A very wise woman told me right before I jumped into this blog, writing groups, workshops and seminars and writing life – “You have to do the work.”  Simple as that.  Think about it, give it time and effort and you may be surprised at the outcome.  It may not be what you originally thought either – that in a flash all will be perfect.  Heck no.  You will go through experiences and trials and see clearly what you do not want before you see what you do.

My journey has happened so quickly now – with amazing people in the writing world.  I am so blessed – with the good ones who are willing to share and point me in different directions I didn’t know existed, to reaching out and putting an arm around me when things get confusing, to being honest without being brutal (now that’s a story in and of itself!).  There is also experiences to learn from.  I personally thought the first writing circle I joined was going to be great.  Hardly, it was not great at all – there was a over bearing controlling woman and her side kick that had a free form style of watching would be writers critique aka abuse others without any guidelines or understanding you must give constructive feedback to new writers – and ask a seasoned writer  if they want critiquing.  Ultimately you want people to keep writing – not squash their writing with your opinions.  Yeah.  I’ve learned that!

I also learned when you do the work it requires you to put yourself in sometimes uncomfortable situations.

Recently I was invited to a Poetry Pot Luck event where I was asked to read two original pieces.  My knees were shaking, I hardly tasted the foods set out for everyone to enjoy.  There were well seasoned, lifelong writers, published authors and a variety of people attending.  I was to read towards the end of the program, so it gave me a good long time to panic!

You know what?  I took a deep breath, I centered myself, I knew this was part of the ‘work’ I needed to do and I had about 70 sets of ears to listen to my writing.  THAT WAS AWESOME!  Taking a chance with a complicated piece I made the audience laugh – it was wonderful.  I was so happy, a whisper of ‘relax, enjoy it’ came over me.

Such a special evening.  Afterwards people approached, shared their stories, offered information, asked for my email.  It was lovely.  It happened so very quickly, it is part of this amazing, crazy, fun, scary, work of becoming a writer.

Breathe Deep, Think Peace