I read this quote today and it really resonated. It goes, Do not fear the winds of adversity. Remember, a kite rises against the wind rather than with it. (Unknown)
Like I said, it really resonated. I'm trying to get back to my "roots" and I realized a basic principal. Writers write. Writers write every day. It doesn't have to be good or pithy or even worth saving. It is a discipline. And just like a sport, or a hobby, to get good at it, you have to do it - often. You can't practice Taekwondo once a month and expect that you can break a board.
A number of hurts have stunted me and I refuse to be stunted any longer. A friend of mine has just put herself through school to learn coding. While she worked full time, at a job that was exhausting and provided little in the way of support or reward. Now this warrior woman has gotten out of the phone support hamster wheel and is doing something she believes she will enjoy. I really hope her belief and hard work does just that. She may not realize it, but her struggles and hard work haven't gone unnoticed and they certainly have encouraged and inspired.
This post was titled, Some Things I've Learned. The first thing I wanted to mention is you have to keep learning. To refuse learning (of any kind) is akin to a slow suicide.
When I think about retirement, I don't think about sitting in a La-Z-Boy recliner watching television. I don't visualize closing myself off in my home and ceasing interaction with people and quitting the things I enjoy. Retirement does not mean inactivity. At least not in my eyes.
Yet, to be honest, that is one of the things I've learned. My depression has kept me isolated. It zapped my will. In many ways I ceased to exist.
So, lesson one is I am returning to some of the things I love. One of those is reading. Granted it has been difficult. I don't see well in low light (I am forever opening the blinds and turning all the lights on in the house). For a number of decades (yeah, I have to count the years now in groups of ten), I've been fascinated with Ireland. It goes back to when I read a book by Leon Uris called Trinity which presented a historical fictional look at the Irish rebellion in the early 1900's. The work I am currently reading is a historical text book. It is dry, meandering, with run-on sentences needing slow reading in order to decipher the meaning.
Lesson two: In the Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes the writers often remind themselves to "number" their days. It isn't a death wish. It is an admonition to make the most of the time we have; to not waste it.
Guilty. With a hefty dose of shame. Or maybe embarrassment is a better word. I am planning to do better. I can only discipline myself in such a way that I encourage myself to keep moving forward. I'm sure there will be drawbacks, downfalls, lapses. Those things are a part of human nature. But, it is possible to develop good discipline and I intend to work that until it is a habit.
Lesson three: When I am prompted to think of someone or do something, I am following through. In my last post I mentioned the professor who had impacted me in college. There were a number of things that brought him to mind, and then, boom, he was gone. I hope he knew what an impact he had on my life. There have been others as well, and when they are brought to mind, that is my hint to connect. I've had so many instances where I've suddenly thought about someone and within a short while they were gone. So I am acting on those taps on the shoulder.
Lesson four: I have some basic questions I can ask myself if I get "stuck" not knowing what to write about. What did I learn yesterday that I can apply to my life today? What did I read or hear that can make my life better and perhaps be shared with others? And privately, I can ask myself what did I really accomplish today? Did I write it down, did I create a list or some other tool to help me remember what I needed to do (like laundry or making a doctor appointment)? These are little wins, but sometimes, little wins are what keep you moving forward.
Lesson five: Start the day with gratitude and words of encouragement. Mine come from the Bible, others have daily mindfulness exercises, or meditation or workouts. All these things can help us start our day with the right frame of mind so when those irritations (or worse) crop up, we are in a better mental state for handling them.
When we start the day off better, we are better at handling the anger of others, or their frustrations, or whatever has set them off. The Bible admonishes to not repay evil with evil, but rather do good. This is not intended for those practicing such to be martyrs, but rather for showing grace and mercy to someone else. I've found more often than not that someone's angry reaction isn't so much at me, as it is at all the frustrating circumstances they've been dealing with, and whatever I did was just the touchstone that sparked the flame. Doing good for someone who is angry is especially effective at reducing tensions.
So, I am not going to make any promises about writing everyday, but I am going to say, I am going to strive to return to the discipline I had last spring, before I got knocked off my horse.
I thank you for reading my meanderings and hope that some of these words help you somewhere, sometime. I am thankful for each and every one of you and wish you the blessings that really count in your life. Peace.
