Picture taken a few minutes ago from my front deck of some of the many walkers on the beach today in this glorious weather.
It is nearing the end of the year as I write this. I am struck by how many friends out there are looking or searching for a purpose as the new year approaches.
Now, I am of the belief that the purpose will find us, often unexpectedly and it will always be a surprise.
Years ago, I was told by an old shaman to always look for the surprise, the gift, in every day. It will always be there. And how true her advice was.
Yesterday, there were a few. One was the movie "The King's Speech", a brilliant film, I highly recommend it. I had the thought when it was all over and I was left wanting more, that a defect in one's life, like a speech impediment, can be transformed into such a powerful metaphor: overcoming whatever obstacle - whether real of imagined - there is to one's maximizing one's life.
Over dinner, I was challenged, in the nicest possible way, by my two dear friends as to why I haven't moved on to another publisher with my inedita - my unpublished work. And I had to admit it was fear. Fear of another editor slashing and trashing. Fear of myself, really. I need to open that window wide and trust. Not so much that everything will be rosy with a new publisher, but that I am living my life to the fullest extent possible, come what may.
In other words, we will never know until we put it out there, will we?
I was one of those people. Mostly I let life happen and take its course. For some reason, perhaps it was the cabin fever of the past weeks, I feel my life is in a rut and I need a jolly good shake up to 'Do' something new with my life. I am hoping that putting the thought into words might do the trick.
ReplyDeleteGM:
ReplyDeleteI think doing something brand new (something you've never done before) might kickstart you again. The ho-hums often set in this time of the year.
XO
WWW
WWW, I absolutely love the notion that our purpose comes to us as a surprise. It takes away the pressure. Thank you so much for helping me to think in this way. On another but related topic, I purchased February by Lisa Moore for my very first kindle book and I like it so much and even more since I am reading about Newfoundland. WWW, I find you in the descriptions and in the interactions between the characters.
ReplyDeleteYes, you must move forward with your unpublished work.
How about telling us something about that unpublished work? I'm a relatively new reader of your page, so I've missed previous writing that mentioned it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with finding that publisher - I look forward to the day when you tell me when and where I can buy your books :-)
ReplyDeleteWhenever anyone tells me that they are looking for their purpose, the first thing which comes to mind is the old Far Side comic, with a man pulling a bizarre object out from between the cushions of his sofa, with the caption "Edgar finds his purpose."
(I, too, am of the belief that you cannot go out and seek a purpose in the same way that you look for a new pair of trousers. It may come one day, or it may not overtly come at all, until one day, you realise you've been living your purpose all along and never knew.)
So why did they suggest moving to another publisher? Do they think your present publisher is not doing enough for you?
ReplyDelete"living my life to the fullest extent possible" Powerful words www. Makes me think about my own existence and how little I do that. While the intellectual is active and growing, the physical is dead. We are so many pieces and it's easy to ignore some of them while chasing after the other. Thanks for the nudge. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou can't assume that a particular day will go a certain way. Life is full of unexpected surprises and you never know what sort of things you will look back on at the end of the day. Thank goodness that we don't know all of it ahead of time. It's nice to be surprised pleasantly and to be proved wrong when you're in a pessimistic mood.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation of "The King's Speech". I'd made a mental note to avoid it, being avidly anti-royal myself. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI doubt it will reach our local cinema but I'll watch for it on DVD in due course.
Purpose is a strange concept is it not? A Bible reference (of all things) sprang to mind as I read your words, WWW - probably out of context but it sprang:
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Purpose....to grow, I guess - and upward not outward. ;-)
Hope you frind a good new publisher for 2011 - and that it will be a good year all around.
Hug.
Go for it!
ReplyDeleteMarcia:
ReplyDeleteI don't believe in itineraries even when travelling, my so-called mistaken off the beaten track trips have been by far the best.
so glad you are enjoying "February", it might nudge you to Newfoundland?
XO
WWW
Katie:
ReplyDeleteA book of short stories and 3 novels and other assorted inedita.
I need to move on all of them.
XO
WWW
Jo:
ReplyDeleteVery well said indeed. We are all living a purposeful existence even though it may not be clear in the present.
XO
WWW
Nick:
ReplyDeleteit is quite upsetting in that she (the editor assigned to me who is also a veep at the publishing house) wants to slash and burn a lot of my stories and condense them mightily. I have run them by more workshops and private readers who are appalled at what she is suggesting.
I stand by my work but must move away to another publisher.
XO
WWW
VP:
ReplyDeleteThank you.
None of us are perfect and change is in the small little actions we take which can propel greater changes.
For instance: just getting out of the "wrong side" of the bed for a month. Looking at the other side of the room for a change.
:D
XO
WWW
Nora:
ReplyDeleteit is the unexpected that gives me the most pleasure.
And often just a flood of gratitude if I see someone in a wheelchair, or with a white cane.
XO
WWW
T:
ReplyDeleteYes, wearing the world like a loose garment is where to begin, isn't it?
I love that quote.
Yes, I am committed to finding a new publisher and hopefully an agent.
XO
WWW
Betty:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement!
XO
WWW
sometimes fear is the kick in the pants we need ;)
ReplyDeletePauline:
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Fear can be a very good thing!
Was it Winston who said it best?
XO
WWW