Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The beautiful bounty of doing nothing. . . .

     So, this last sultry sunny Sunday, I decided to indulge in an activity that lately has seen to be my lowest priority, which I don't understand because I love going. . . And that event is church. Those who know me well know that not to long ago, I hated even the idea of church. But now,  my spirit craves it. And every once in a while (OK, almost every week) I walk away from the service thinking about how that theme affects my life.

     And this Sunday was a whopper. After singing songs, and mediating, and giving tithe and all that, Jason Sheldon, who usually leads our choir, started talking about the fact that he was going on a five month sabbatical. He talked about how nerve-wrecking it was to prepare for and the things that he would miss. And then he said the question that he was asked most was: What are you gonna do on your break? He had reflected on that, and gave many different slightly varying answers, but he realized he was afraid to say the truth: a whole lot of nothing.

      He went on to talk about how we are trained that after childhood we are not allowed to play or rest. That as grown ups we are taught to keep busy, always find something to do, Idle hands . . . and so forth. Some of us are taught that that is our worth, how busy our schedule. He read an article, the author I can't remember, who talked about how he fought to keep his schedule full until he realized the reason he was doing it was so he could turn others away, legitimating claiming that he was "too busy" for them. He also realized that the fuller his schedule, the more excuses he had not to write, which was his passion.

     I could see myself in everything both Jason and the author of the article was saying.

     If I have two appointments and then something doing on in the evening, then my day is full, and I don't need to even try writing. . . because I'm just too busy.

     And this excuse is good for almost anything. Working out. Meditating. Learning new skills. There are always a plethora of excuses and lack of time.

     So . . . cheers to doing nothing. Because that frees the mind, and allows creativity inside. I have learned to cherish, celebrate, and relax. I don't always have to be doing something. Because sometimes by doing nothing, I'm recharging my brain and getting it ready to create something brilliant! And sometimes, doing nothing can be a reward all it's own.

Friday, July 27, 2012

The Shortest Statement

     So, one could say I've been on vacation, if by vacation you mean, home deeply depressed and finding no movitation to do little more than eat, sleep, and watch Gilmore Girls. So, the abbreviated back story . . .At the beginning of July, I found out that our house was being sold by the bank and that there was a good possibility we would be homeless. After almost a month of feeling like most of the bad news being sprouted was my fault, and feeling like a ping pong ball being hit between the players, helplessness and hopelessness, I am finally forfeiting the game. I am not entirely whole and stable, but I working to create more solid ground to stand on.
     There will be curve balls thrown my way in the near future I'm sure, but I will try to force myself to be open as I go . . .
The good news is that we are moving from one area of Nashville to another area at the beginning of August. We are moving into a townhouse with 4 other friends which will either be incredibly awesome, and a learning experience. Or a a really horrific episode of MTV's Real World -Nashville. We shall see.
The bad news (depending on  POV) We have decided that we are moving out of Nashville, and Tennessee as a whole, at the end of 2013 unless something spectular holds us here. So. . . .

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

WIP it And the Winners!

  


  SO it is Wednesday, which is W.I.P. it Wednesday for me, but being that I have only been working on The Question Game, which has been sent off to my Betas (Yippee!). It is currently 12 chapters long, and has 11600 words, so I'm very proud of it. By this time next week, it will be Green, so that makes two greenies!



   
    Regarding the Flash Fiction Friday, I'm sorry I have not posted a winner, mostly just because I have been lazy and sick. I've also been dealing with depression in the way I always do, picking back and sleeping. So, I offer a heart felt apology to everyone who entered. I thought all the entries were wonderful, and very inventive!



So, I'm awarding second place to:
Author Kyle Mankles,
Author Gary Smith, and
Author Cheryl Moore






And First Place to:
Author Laura Medeiros,
Author Kitten Blue, and
Author Richard Garrison