Gratitude - Day 4

At times when our own light goes out
and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude
of those who have lighted the flame within us.

Albert Schweitzer

I got to spend time with my writing group today. In the company of women I not only enjoy but learn from, it's like going to school and having fun at the same time ... not to mention the almondy Bear Claw pastry and good iced tea. We celebrated with of the ladies who recently had a story published in the local newspaper. We did a rather raucus "Woohoo" which was out of character for the prim and proper group! Ha!

I am really grateful to these ladies for their inspiration, friendship and generosity. As my ex-husband used to tell me on many an occasion I'm not very accepting of "corrective" criticism. (Who is?) Knowing critiques are part of the writing/rewriting experience, I was a little nervous about my ability to take constructive comments about the things I write. I must say each of these ladies knows how to say, "this could be better" in a very gentle way.

Today was no exception. I'd written a short and long version of a story. The group gave me good reviews on both. I knew I'd done good when our facilitator told me she'd called her writing friend in Atlanta and read her my story.

Toot! Toot! goes my own horn! Now I have to do some tweaking and start looking around for a place to publish it. Except for this blog and the group, I'm not much good at putting my stuff out there for all the world to see. In the privacy of my own little world, I imagine myself sitting on the stage with Oprah in her big ol' comfy chairs. But even my dreamer personality knows that ain't gonna happen. However, I'm coming to the edge of the cliff where I have to take a leap of faith. If I want to be known as a writer, I can't keep my stuff under a basket. Perhaps the first rejection letter will send me back into the closet, but there's always the off chance that it will inspire me to be better. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

I'm also grateful today for a happy ending to an almost tragic event that transpired at the Emergency Room last night. I won't go into the details because it's not my story to tell. For now all is well. The Divine Creator in the sky is in charge and I will bow down to His/Her plan that has to be far greater than we can imagine.

What about you? Have you opened yourself up to new possibilities? To the idea of trusting others with your personal dream/wishes? I hope if you do, you'll feel the gratitude that comes with the freedom.
Blessings,
Merry ME