Because I have to...

Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals. ~ Don Delillo

several years ago, the editor for the Abilene Writers Guild asked the question, "Why do you write?"

that question prompted me to write a piece, which she printed in the newsletter, and later, that same piece became the introduction to my book Three Thousand Doors

an excerpt from that piece:

...I write because if I do not
I feel I am no more than a leaf
trapped in the brush at the waters’ edge.
Aimless, worthless;
stagnant and decaying waste... ~ me

Prompt #48: Why do YOU write?

Spring has sprung...

 and it gave me larynigitis.

but lucky for me, I don't do a voice blog. and my fingers still work...

I love Spring. I love witnessing the budding and blooming of the trees, the blossoms of pink and white, purple and red; spring's garments are beautiful, cheering; it's the time to show off the colours they've been saving up all winter...

Spring reminds me that it's time to renew, refresh, refocus, re-balance. Spring is when my creativity, (sometimes elusive during winter,) jumps back out of my soul and says: HEY! I'm still here! Let's makes something stunning!

So...Happy Spring. Happy creative time. The trees are happy, (they'd make Bob Ross proud,) flowers are blissful, even squirrels and birds are bouncing around in the excitement of things blooming.

enjoy your day.

Prompt #47: Paint a picture, take some photos, write an ode or sonnet...Celebrate Spring!

thing a day...

This week is a shout-out to my friend Lori - funny strange - and her husband Stephan who has been keeping a new blog project - Thing a Day Project - a creativity marathon - since January 1, 2011.

Stephan is a multi-talented phenom.

He sings, he writes, he paints, and he's a voice-over wiz - and a plethora of other talents.

Prompt #46: For your prompt this week, head on over to Stephan's page and get inspired by his project. 74 days in, there is plenty to choose from. and while you're at it, check out Lori's blog...she packs some serious funny!

Light at the end of the tunnel...

...it's not always a train.

sometimes it is actual sunshine.

Things are looking up. after several months of changing circumstances, new locations and job searches...

...I am starting a new job this evening! hurrah! things are looking up. and I am breathing a bit easier.

and I am thankful.

prompt #45: What are you thankful for?

Weather...or not

So...yesterday we were all set up for a "dynamic" weather system to churn through the Ohio River Valley.

By late evening/early morning the wind was roaring fierce and ferocious-like, and we were pretty sure we were in for a real "walloping."

Then...the storm was past us. in like, a matter of moments. ummm...where did it go? Where was all the rain? Where was the thunder and severe weather? and it's not like it didn't exist...there were several funnel clouds nearby and 65+ mile an hour winds, warnings and watches...it just...it was the storm that wasn't.

Not that I'm sad about it. I'm not a big fan of tornadoes. I mean, I appreciate their awesome power, and I'm totally wowed by the dynamics which must be in place in order to create this awesome, turbulent force of nature, I just don't particularly want to be in the path of that power.

Prompt #44: Write about the power of the weather. Write about storms. real storms, life storms, emotional storms.

Lean on me...

I'm a lucky girl.

I am blessed with some of the most amazing women in my life, women I am more than proud to call "friend."

A few weeks ago I was transitioning through a rough patch, and I tend to be the type of person who walks through those woods alone. I don't ask for help, I don't like to cry, and I don't want the people I love to know when I've had a bad day. I usually wait until after the fact and then share my dismay.

so a few days ago, when my touchstone girl called and asked how I've been, I told her I'm good now, but a few weeks ago I felt like a disaster. She wondered why I didn't call her. I told her what I just said above.  I didn't want her to know how bad off I'd been.

She said:

as the song goes, "lean on me when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend.  I’ll help you carry on."

Oh yah. That's what friends are for. I guess sometimes we all need a reminder, and we all need to know there are those who love us endlessly, even when we are at our weakest.

Prompt #43: Who do you lean on? Do you sometimes need a reminder that you're not alone - that there are people willing to help carry that load when it gets too heavy?

Change your life...

Archaic Torso of Apollo

We cannot know his legendary head
with eyes like ripening fruit. And yet his torso
is still suffused with brilliance from inside,
like a lamp, in which his gaze, now turned to low,

gleams in all its power. Otherwise
the curved breast could not dazzle you so, nor could
a smile run through the placid hips and thighs
to that dark center where procreation flared.

Otherwise this stone would seem defaced
beneath the translucent cascade of the shoulders
and would not glisten like a wild beast’s fur:

would not, from all the borders of itself,
burst like a star: for here there is no place
that does not see you. You must change your life. 

~ Rainer Maria Rilke 

I love this poem. I love the last line. It's what echoes in my head when I feel disconnected...I remind myself that my happiness, my glee, my light, is all in my hands.   

Prompt #42: Write a piece about changing your life.