Now for the rest of the post...
I would of course be remiss if I didn't include here a very sincere THANK YOU to my very close circle of supporters who day in and day out have cheered me on to continue to push myself and to stick to my personal challenge of writing every single day this month. Special thanks are in order for my hubby, who graciously dealt with my crazy schedule and with being ignored most evenings while I typed away. :)
At the end of May, while I was just forming this idea, I initially only had the idea that I needed to do something to jump start me, to get me writing again. It's therapeutic, and some days I just need it. What I didn't anticipate was that I would learn anything through disciplining myself to do this. I mean, I still went to the gym four times per week and still had fun things going on most weekends, so there were days when it would have been easier to be like, "Ah well, not today..." but I stuck to it, kept pushing, and when the words didn't come, I drew pictures. Sometimes words were placed with the pictures. It didn't matter... as long as I was continuing on. And then something happened ~ I learned that I have time that I didn't know I had... but have nonetheless had all the while. In essence, time is what you make of it.
I've also learned that a little bit can go a long way. Sometimes I could knock out an entire post in under half an hour, and the ones I took longer on weren't necessarily the better ones.
The topics have been varied: {rule-following... New Orleans traditions & music... imaginary friends... PMS... unacceptable annoyances... life endurance... quantum physics & psychology... things that would make life better... the slow death of the newspaper... art... empowerment... buying local... loving people... music for running... heroes... socially awkward situations... arachnophobia... first world problems... cookies & milk, to name a few} ...
... but the common thread is that I have the endurance to keep spilling words, and I've now proven that to myself. Maybe now I'll even be able to transition that into a less varied, more focused new challenge... one that harnesses that same discipline. In any case, I'm thankful I buckled down and did this thing. Whether or not anyone reads a word I write isn't nearly as important as the discovery that I am powerful beyond measure. Like Tim Robbins said, that is a very frightening thing because where I go from here is largely unknown and requires me to continue to push.
And so, a challenge begets yet another challenge. And this is life. And it is good. :)
... but the common thread is that I have the endurance to keep spilling words, and I've now proven that to myself. Maybe now I'll even be able to transition that into a less varied, more focused new challenge... one that harnesses that same discipline. In any case, I'm thankful I buckled down and did this thing. Whether or not anyone reads a word I write isn't nearly as important as the discovery that I am powerful beyond measure. Like Tim Robbins said, that is a very frightening thing because where I go from here is largely unknown and requires me to continue to push.
And so, a challenge begets yet another challenge. And this is life. And it is good. :)
Yay! You did it! Dude... you should be proud of yourself for getting this done on top of everything else you do... Keeping up that rigid gym schedule on top of work while writing every night should be an inspiration to the rest of us to "....listen to (our) gut, it ain't nobody's right to say no after you earned the right to be where you want to be and do what you want to do!... " You just proved it to yourself and us that writing is a passion that you should pursue... so do it! Enjoy it every day you write and keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ri! :)
DeleteCongrats Stacie! I always knew you could do it, but realizing you were still doing all that other stuff at the same time kinda blows my mind! You've accomplished a lot and you'll always have the memory of doing it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jim! :)
DeleteSo proud of you. I have so enjoyed reading your blogs this month. It was a daily dose of sanity in a month full of lunatics, crazies, and cracker jacks! I hope you made a 30-blog long to-do list so you can have the satisfaction of checking each of them off.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the next challenge? Oh, I know! Petting a spider!
Thank you, Tia :D EXCEPT FOR THE BLATANTLY INTENTIONAL SPIDER REFERENCE. That was naughty. :P
DeleteThe next challenge should be writing that damn book I've had on my mind - 20 minutes at a time! :D