My desire to inspire has no shelf life

I’ve been sharing blog posts for over six years now…ever since I decided to shed my fears and share with family, friends and the online world that I had a secret desire to write and that I had completed my first novel.

Sharing that news was probably the bravest, and scariest thing I have ever done.

Why? 

Because I was sharing a part of myself that I had kept locked away from everyone for a fairly long time, even my closest family members. Because I wasn’t sure how others would react to my passion to write and become a published author. Because I wanted to share my excitement in what I had accomplished and while I wasn’t in search of validation, I couldn’t deny my apprehension and how I might react should anyone decide to stomp on my dreams.

When my news began to spread, the response from both family and friends was amazing and encouraging. I realize I shouldn’t have expected anything less, but when you open yourself up in a way that makes you vulnerable, it’s going to cause some anxiety. Unless you don’t give a crap what anyone thinks or have the biggest ego of all time, you’re going to hope others will be happy for you and will share your excitement for what you have accomplished.

But what might have happened if I hadn’t received such a positive response to my news?

I would like to think that I would have plugged away, because writing is my passion and because I thoroughly believed in my story and wanted to share it with others.

But there’s also the chance that I might have lost all confidence in my dream and deflated like a balloon, only to go back to writing for myself and never sharing anything again.

I shudder to think of that possibility.

Except it does happen…how many people have a dream they would like to explore, only to be shut down by their closest family members or friends? How many people fear sharing that part of themselves because of that possibility so that they never even try?

I’m sure the number is too high.

When I was working through my reflections for 2017 and my intentions for 2018, there was one area I kept coming back to: it was my desire to inspire. Not only the desire to inspire others, but to constantly inspire myself, as well. Writers have issues, such as being creatively blocked, dealing with procrastination and ignoring their own inner critic. I deal with those issues and work though them the best I can and I’ve learned a lot from other authors who have already been through this process for many years. Based on what I’ve learned, I don’t believe it ever changes, the issues writers face, but knowing what to expect and finding ways to work through the difficult times will keep me inspired and on track.

When I first began this blog, it was my intent to share my writing journey where ever it may lead and my hope was that others would follow because they wanted to see where the journey would take me. But over the course of the past few years, even as I’ve dealt with some of the most difficult times in my life, I discovered that I had another desire. That desire has merged from sharing my thoughts as I continuously inspire myself while I write through the highs and lows of life, to the hope that I inspire others who may be dealing with their own issues while working on making their dreams a reality.

My desire to inspire will be a continued effort for as long as I carry on with writing and sharing my passion. So…

Cultivate your dreams.

Rediscover what boosts your motivation.

Find what energies your inspiration.

Be confident in yourself.

Continue to pursue your passion and be happy.

And have a great week!

Out like a lion, in like a lamb

We left February after getting quite a bit of snow and moved into March with some nice spring weather. Yesterday was no exception…it was beautiful, with temps in the high 60’s and today we apparently might hit 70 degrees. It makes me happy to have a laptop so that I can sit outside rather than having to choose between writing and enjoying a warm sunny day.

End of February

I don’t doubt that we’ll be back to normal Washington weather soon: rain, rain and more rain. It’s only March, after all, and we still have to get through “April showers bring May flowers.” It’s what makes the PNW so green and beautiful.

So we enjoy the weather when we’re treated to it, knowing that soon enough we’ll be stuck indoors again.

Even with easy access via my laptop, the past two weeks were not as focused on writing. I did complete some admin tasks with regard to updating information on various sites, narrowing down additional tasks and timelines for the projects I want to complete this year and I took part in a marketing webinar, which then added another project to my list that I want to begin when I can make time for it.

Beginning of March

Other than that, my writing focus slipped due to a number of personal tasks, each taking up space on my to-do list. However, the past two weeks were very productive when it came to finally checking off my list those tasks that have been hanging over my head for awhile. The benefit is that I will have more time to focus on my writing, which is a great thing because I feel very unsettled when I don’t get to spend regular time with my characters.

I’ll share one thing I was focused on the past two weeks…tidying up a few things with regard to my mother-in-law’s estate. It’s been long enough and I finally decided I just need to get it done. In addition, I’ve had boxes of photos and family documents to finish going through, and having those boxes sitting on the floor in my office has been, honestly, distracting. I have had a constant reminder of a task that I needed to complete, but usually I found I wasn’t emotionally prepared for. Going through a loved one’s personal items can be difficult if you aren’t ready.

But I’m glad I finally did, and that I was finally able to get through the material with more curiosity and less sadness.

Old school photo of my mother-in-law's

I found undeveloped film rolls and was pleased to discover photos of my in-laws that none of us had ever seen. I found old photos, birth certificates, death certificates, and school records from the 1950’s. I also found very old pages of family history typed up by a family member back in 1967 describing in great detail my father-in-law’s parent’s family history. I’m amazed any of these are in my hands, as they made it through a nasty flood we had in Chehalis back in 2007 (the original pages of the family history show proof of that fact), multiple moves throughout the years and even possibly a house fire the parents had many years ago. What’s even more amazing is that the family history dates back to the early 1800’s on his father’s side and the mid-1700’s on his mother’s side. It’s really a fantastic find and with the addition of little stories about some of the family members, the historic details about what some of the family members dealt with is really quite amazing.

As a reader and as an author, you can imagine how this type of find really peak my imagination!

So I begin this new week fresh and ready to get back to it as I imagine that maybe someday, many years from now, a distant relative will be reading details about me or my family’s history and what we made of ourselves.

Have a great week!