NaBloPoMo - Day 22

"Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities."
Sue Atchley Ebaugh

I'm getting a really late start. Not sure where the day went, but it's just about gone.

I've told you before about my writing group, how much it means to me. Our meeting yesterday was small but packed full of information. You know writing is so much more than just putting words on a computer screen. There is so much to learn. When we "Chats" get together we laugh as much as we learn, which is like the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down.

Individually and collectively, this group of writers is pretty talented, and gutsy. I'm learning it takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there. Writing is one thing, you can do it in the wee hours of the morning in your pjs. Or you can do it in a coffee shop or while waiting in the hospital. Ah, but it's the saying "please read this and let me know what you think" and the willingness to hear what needs to be done to make your work even better that takes courage. And then if you are really serious about being published, you have to go one step further and submit your work to people and places with the power to lift you up or crush you like a bug. The thought of that makes me weak with fear. That's why I still only take baby steps.

The more I am with others who show me how courageous they are, the more I think I can be brave too. Yesterday when my friend Amy called to say the book she's been working on for 2 years (at the rapid pace of 9 words a minute) has been picked up by an agent, I was as happy for her as I would be for myself. Yikes! An agent! She's on her way. I swear I could do the happy dance all over again. If you want to get a feel for Miss Amy go check out her blog.

On the heels of this information, I got a Poets and Writers newsletter today with this TED video by Elizabeth Gilbert. I swear, if you have any creative aspirations at all, you have to watch this. Gilbert really "spoke to me" about what it means to be creative. I KNEW what she meant when she talked about being a vessel for "genius" to flow through. It made me realize that I am a writer, and it's okay to say that out loud. That information and $5.00 might buy me a mocha something at Starbucks. But more than that it adds to my courage account. Like throwing pocket change into a jar at the end of the day, moving in the direction of my soul's voice is adding up. Maybe, just maybe, one day I'll have an agent too! And if I don't? Well so what, I tried, right?

Today I'm grateful for good news and I'm grateful for supportive friends who inspire me to be more of ME.

Wishing for you a glittery stairway to the stars where your dreams await,
Merry ME

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