Saturday, October 31, 2009

Milestones

Have you ever read Simple Abundance? A very good friend of mine sent it to me. I leafed through it and even though I appreciated the time and trouble she went through to send it to me, I put it in my bookshelf and literally ignored it until Jan 1st of the following year. I pulled it back out feeling honor bound and determined that I would honor her selection consciously making the daily reads a priority.

Gotta tell ya it was a rough start. I scoffed (yes, truly scoffed literally) at some of author's exercises. I rolled my eyes (yes, again, literally) when she told me to light some candles, climb into my bed surrounding myself with pets, favorite things, and just enjoy the moment. WHAT?*#@?? Who has time for that crap? I have one day a week to get everything done that I want to and I'm supposed to throw open the windows, inhale the fresh air, make lists of what I loved about my childhood and fill a drawer full things that make me happy??? Well, I suppose it's cheaper than a therapist but really, Sara Ban Breathnach, are you nuts??

With much trepidation and head shaking I stuck to the plan and finished the book in 365 days. That was December 31, 1998. Twelve years ago. And I'm still thinking about it. When I took away the fluff, accepted that she referred to God as the Great Spirit and other some such nicknames, put my own prejudices behind me to go-with-the flow of the moment, I found that she had some interesting things to say. As Life would have it I actually 'lived' on July 3rd what she actually published in her July 4th posting. I had big expectations for that Friday. VOLUMINOUS big. The last day of work at a job I held for fifteen years. And let me tell you as far as those expectations went -- the day was a total flop. My feelings were hurt. My spirit was disappointed. I thought I would be treated as others who had left with far fewer years contributed than I had. So when I read that next-day entry, I was flabbergasted. She was writing to me. To me. Who knew the timing would be perfect for my life and what I had felt. Was still feeling. On that day. That singular day. It was one of those life lesson kind-of-days.

It is an interesting book. Worth the fifteen minutes you'll spend each day. I started out dragging my feet and protesting loudly. Oh! so loudly. I finished it feeling all the better for it. Do something outside the norm today. Go kicking and screaming into whatever it is you chose to challenge yourself. You'll be better for it, too. On some level.With some new perspective. Promise.

Took the Leap!!!!!! AAAAHHHHH!!!!!

We call it The OMG Call, those of us who experienced that phone conversation on both ends of the line and now had only half of our hearing left. A friend had called to tell me she had just discovered the sister of a friend was a literary agent in NYC. "ISN'T FANTASTIC!!!??? ", she screamed at me. Because of the overwhelming ringing in my ear it took a few seconds to let her words register. "YOU KNOW I AM GOING INTO THE CITY IN TWO WEEKS SO I CAN TAKE SOMETHING TO HER. PROMISE ME YOU WILL GIVE ME SOMETHING!!!! YOU HEAR ME??"(no, I can't hear a darned thing right now) I figured what the heck. I will send this person a sampling of what I had to see if I could get some kind of response. Sort of a barometer reading on my stuff. So I printed off some chapters and sent them along.

Didn't hear for almost three months. I had the stomach butterflies for the first couple weeks wondering if the agent had actually read it (or tossed it in the can); what impression she had(loved it? hated it?) ; did she share it with her buddies (and they all had a good laugh?). As weeks gradually flowed into months I eventually forgot about it. Then what do you know I received an email from her. I waited a day to open it -- guess I wasn't prepared to read a 'don't-give-up-your-day-job' letter. To my pleasant (and relieved) surprise she said that I had a smooth, readable style and should keep on writing and submit something later. Wow. And the kicker? I looked this professional up on the internet and the agency she works for is one of the biggest, handling huge contracts with all kinds of best-selling authors. Glad I didn't know that before....

I haven't finished that novel yet. The plot continues to expand, dialogues stream with all sorts of voices, characters keep on developing. My dream of publication burns bright. I'm having the best time challenging myself to draw the storyline out of my head and craft the written word to precisely reflect the lively, multi-layered tale that demands my attention day and night. My biggest desire is that when I've finished and the reader begins the first page of the first chapter they will be pulled into a world (my world!) which commands their complete and utter attention...makes them forget meals and miss appointments and lose a little sleep...that kind of stuff. Big dreams, I know. We shall see. Wish me luck!

Real Wealth

My day off is planned to efficiently execute the priorities chosen and any pre-set appointments. I write "The List' each week. It is specifically created in descending order of priority which is then merged into an eight-hour time. All are included. Then I make a route list that encompasses all my errands so that I don't backtrack or miss any of my stops.

Most of the days are nutty. Crazy nutty. I always have 50 'things' that I want to do in the 8 to 10 hours I have to work with each and every week. One of my biggest dreams for my life is to simply -- truthfully it could not be more simple -- have the freedom to spend my time in my own way.

Wrapping beautiful Christmas presents in hand selected wrapping papers bound by luscious ribbons with hand-written cards on heavy stock cards. Thus the presentation becomes part of the gift and adds a sparkling enhancement to what's been gingerly tucked for the recipient's pleasure.

Create beautiful cut-out cookies. For a holiday. A birthday. A special celebration. Carefully collect wonderful accents and mix all shades of icing colors to exquisitely ice and decorate each shape so that lips will actually hesitate before biting into each of these pieces of edible art.

To discover the web. Take hours. Days. Follow where my fingers want to go, winding in, out and through the wealth of information in the cosmos. To research everything from Henry VIII to the newest area restaurants to other blog sites. Out-of-the-way weekend spots to fashion trends to tracing a family's ancestry. Wherever fancy leads.....

To sit with a friend and listen. No rushed visit. No interruptions. Having the steam off two hot cups of tea slowly drift through a long conversation spiced with laughter. With memories. Being able to savor tales never before shared.

Finally start on that list of book titles collected over a lifetime. To sit nestled in a favorite chair with the afternoon sun tickling the crafted words as it moves across the opened pages. To be immersed into another time. Another place.

Real wealth? Time. I hope you carve out some for yourself. Some just-for-you space. To restore. To balance. To enrich. To spoil.

Discovering Rima at the-hermitage.uk

I had a recent email conversation with my niece about how one's blog gets promoted thus their readership grows and grows as its own entity or even reaches that magical place called DISCOVERED such as the Julie and Julie spot which became the movie featuring Meryl Streep. How does that happen??

From her perspective the advantage may go to a blogger who spends time connecting with others through reading their pages and in turn inviting these folks to then hook-up to theirs. Thus the network grows and spreads potentially exponentially. When I logged onto to write some last Saturday night I found myself reading a blog listed on the blogspot home page. "The Hermitage" was there under their Most Popular heading. I was intrigued. I wanted to burst beyond the friends/family bubble my writing exists in, peeking into new realms to explore so I dove head-first and clicked into an amazing adventure.

Take a half hour and join me there. (Really. A half hour. And I'm not even being practical with that time frame -- 'a few minutes' is not going to do the trick...not after you relish the first spoonful of the palate that awaits you down Rima's rabbit hole. You just have to go and smile and wonder and shake your head.) You will find yourself peering over my shoulder as I peek over hers as the truck house rambles along the by-ways and hedgerows of she and Tui's adventures.
I wrote to her asking permission to do just that. I received a missive from her the following day, and I quote: "I'm no less chained (or brave actually!) than anyone else, I just chose to live how I wish... we do appreciate the beauty of it of course too! You are welcome to tag along :) Best wishes to you from the house on wheels. Rima"

Have fun -- it will be like your own Alice in Wonderland experience.