Bloom: Bloom Where You Are Planted

Hi, folks! I'm continuing my Bloom series for the month of May.  There is nothing more heartening to me than a flower blooming in the crack in the sidewalk, the crevice of a mountain, or on a cliff face by the sea. Another surprise is a bloom in the desert place. There is no circumstance than can hold back a bloom. You must bloom where you are planted. This is your purpose. Life finds a way.

"Bloom where you are planted" is a quote attributed to St. Francis De Sales, the patron saint of writers. This is a little quote I whisper to myself often. It is a story of tenacity and one I am close to. Flowers that bloom in impossible places are the heart of tenacity. They put down roots in rocks. They cling to life when there is little chance of life. They bloom even if that bloom is stunted and its flower is deformed. Writers have a similar tenacity to bloom. I am no exception.

How does a writer bloom where they are planted? You may live on the backside of nowhere, i.e. suburbia.  You may work a mind numbing job that is mocked on national TV.  You may be over the age of 50. You may have family members with complex health issues and you care for them. You may suffer from depression during this same time.You may have received more writing rejections at this point than you considered was humanly possible. At the end of the day, it's tough to stay alive in a place like this this, much less bloom.

So how do you do it? How do you bloom?  Here some of the answers: live in this moment. Don't think about the road that brought you here. Don't think of the road that will take you on. Be here and now and exist. Place your baggage down and move on. Don't refuse to forgive yourself and others. Move on with your life. Stop the foolishness. It is time to let all that stuff go. Focus of all the good you know, have known and hope to know. Believe that you will  rise above the waves that wish to beat you down. Work when you are too tired. Be positive even if the waves crash over you.  Be positive if you are washed out to sea and must swim back to shore. Believe that your gifts will make a place for you. Never stop trying. Do these things and you find yourself blooming in some odd places and at some odd times.

Life is tenacious. Whatever you facing, don't let it choke you. Bloom.

I'm glad you dropped by!  Come back next week for the end of the Bloom series.

Here is a doodle for you. Cemetery Roses.

Here is a quote for your pocket:

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. St Francis De Sales. 

The End of the Tunnel (AMENDED)

AMENDMENT: I've been caught red handed spreading salacious falsehood! Below I make this lovely analogy about Ferdinand M. sailing around the world and the feeling you get when you finish writing a novel. "Ferdinand Magellan didn't make it around the world. He was killed in battle in the Philippines. A fraction of surviving sailors did, however, complete the voyage. Your Magellan Theory works well for them." -- Writes a savvy reader. Sorry, folks. I do blame this utterly on my small town Texas education.

Oh, I read over for over 60 hours in the past two weeks and then I wrote 20 articles. I also revised an entire novel from end to end. I've got seven more articles to plow through and then I'm going to treat myself to fab reading jag. I really need one. I'm going to buy some new pajamas, and I'm going to sleep extra.

Someone asked me if I was "a lady of leisure" yesterday. Small town Texans always wonder what to do with me, not many writers live on this part of the prairie. I'm even working in the doctor's waiting room -- writing emails. I'm not exactly sure why so many people think I don't do anything because I'm a writer. Will someone explain to me how that rumor got started?

Anyway I've been trudging through a tunnel of work and there is light at the end of the tunnel. I call this that "Magellan feeling", you know the one he got when he came into port for the first time after circling the world in a wooden ship. You got to know every book journey is like that. The thing inside you is true and real but it takes a monumental effort to get it out of you into the world. Be sure to dance when you finish a project because it is a good reason to celebrate.

I hope that you keep at your projects. I hope you don't listen to voices that mock you or discourage you, wherever they may come from. I hope that you focus on that imagine burning so brightly within. Open up and let it shine out to us all.

See you next week with more of the good stuff. Seize the day!

This week's doodle is "Deer". This is my interpretation of a photo I saw a long time ago. But I did see a real deer just on Tuesday.


It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. Ursula K. Le. Guin

Less Than

Hi, folks.

Today I'm going to chat about the times reality slips far below what you'd hoped for. Inside us all is a sense of fairness and rightness. But these days come "Less than perfect. Less than hoped for. Less than desired."

These slips happen to all of us, too much and too often. Sometimes those "less than" moments are immediately reflected out of us and then we too act like "less than" we are. The disappointment spreads like a cancer, doing it work of damage.

When unfair deals come our way, it often results in feelings of helplessness. We are damaged. We sometimes act out and damage others, even people we love. Everyone pauses but the perfection of the earlier days are gone.

This is where the hard work of faith and love must come into play. Remember all the times that you thought the thing was "stupid and bad" had ruined it all but in the end it all worked out anyway. Think about the good things that were worked in your soul because of the injustice that's undercut you. Take time to forgive yourself for every misstep. Ask for any forgiveness needed.

Let the disappointment work good things in your soul. Do this by calling to mind the good things before and having faith that a future and good hope are before you. Remember every voice that has believed in you.

I wish I could say that you will never be disappointed. You will be damaged. Don't let anyone pick on you for limping along. Let your tears fall and then let it go. Move on. Bravery is hard. You will come through.

Peace. Keep working, friends. I will be back next week.

Here is my doodle for the week: "Self Portrait '09"



When the waves are taking you under
Hold on just a little bit longer
He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger
The pain ain't gonna last forever
And things can only get better
Believe me.

Christopher Stevens, Ben Glover, and David Garcia

Wobbling

Hi folks, one month of 2011 has raced past. Another month, another gift. To me everyday is a gift. I used to write about wobbling eggs. Wobbling eggs were books that had made their way into the hands of some agent or editor. I felt this sense that my book had become a baby chick about break out of it's egg. Those wobbling eggs did lead to some success, and I'm grateful for the beautiful books sitting on my shelf. But let me tell you something, there is a joy in this work. Joy bubbles up as I shape and reshape my writing, learn the craft of writing, and actually do the work.

I have something to say and yearn for folks to connect with my work. I had this brilliant experience of taking in pages in for critique. I'm in the Best Little Critique Group in Texas. It has two members -- me and Kathy Whitehead. She read my current pages and gave the best critique ever. She cried and unlike me, who am a watering pot, she rarely cries. That moment made me know I've got a whole flat of wobbling eggs. The chicks are ready to hatch.

Keep working, folks. Let that yearning to have your work out there fuel your drive to create works that will last for generations. Quiet all the noise, the hype, the hunger, and channel all that energy into writing your best book. This takes a special kind of confidence. Think about a doctor who cuts into someone's chest and pulls out their heart and puts in a new one. You'd want someone confident, someone who knows what they were doing to perform heart surgery. Our words inscribe on the hearts of our readers. I'll tell you of the story of writer who saved me sometime. Do what ever it takes to write your best book.

We are creating the warp threads of the fabric of our times.Respect the depths of this work. Seize the day. See you back next week folks.

Eyes are the window of the soul. My doodle this week is a "A Face Study".



Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream. Paulo Coelho