A Manifesto?

“The best way to serve God is by going in search of your own dreams.  Only the happy can spread happiness.”

Paolo Coehlo

Sometimes, often actually, I sit down in front of this blank screen that has what looks like a blank piece of typing paper on it, and I wonder, “What in the world do I have to say?”  I have no idea most of the time.  Sometimes, like now, I just write things as they come to me, one word, one sentence at a time.  Stephen King says in On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, that I need to read and write for four to six hours a day.  I’m probably at 2½ so I have work to do.  I still feel like I waste too much time.  I need to be more self-disciplined if I want to do this.  It doesn’t feel like a burden though.  Sitting alone with my Muse seems like the very best way to spend my time.

I know there are voices that will argue.  There are those who will say I can and should spend my time differently.  These voices are in my head and they are me.  Perhaps they are making a valid point.  But I don’t think so.  I think that guilt, fear, or regret are just tricks of the Enemy to keep me off track from my writing.   Does this mean that I shut out the world and my responsibilities in order to write?  No and yes.

I don’t shut out the world, but I don’t let it take over my life.  This is a difficult message to deliver and to hear, but in order to be fully in Purpose, I must prioritize my life.  I must use my time well.  This requires proper time management.  More importantly, it requires knowing what I really want and then not allowing anything to stop me.  Obstacles will come, “as night follows day,” but if I want to be in my Purpose, then I need to get over or avoid those obstacles.  I need to keep working.  My greatest obstacles – fear, procrastination, laziness, guilt, regret – anything that comes from the mind all need to be dealt with quickly, or ignored. 

So here’s how I see it: my Purpose is to read, write, spend my life with my Muse and get my house on the beach.  This may seem selfish, but it is the way I can be more focused on those I love.  It is my way to success, peace, and serving God.  There may be those who disagree, but I find my critics are rarely invested in me.  They are more concerned that I live life their way.  I have no more time for them, just as I have no more time for the voices in my head.

At the same time, my calling doesn’t excuse me from being kind, loving, and responsible.  In order to do this, I must, I must, I must use my time well.  And when I am not sitting in this chair with my Muse, I must, I must, I must be present wherever else I am.

That’s it.  That’s all there is to it.  I want to be at work with my Muse or I want to be in relationship, with God, others, and myself.    That’s my Purpose.  Everything else seems like a waste of time.

Was this a manifesto or just some random thoughts written in order to reach my goals?  I don’t know.  I just know that I’m still working on using my time better.  I’m also working on being the man I just wrote about.  Finally, I know that I need to be reminded and motivated to Get Started and Keep Going every day.