It's Personal

“The personal life deeply lived always expands into truths beyond itself.”

Anais Nin

“For some reason, I'm really comfortable talking about my personal life in songs.”

Taylor Swift

“I don't know much about creative writing programs. But they're not telling the truth if they don't teach, one, that writing is hard work, and, two, that you have to give up a great deal of life, your personal life, to be a writer.”

Doris Lessing

This might be too personal, but here is my agenda for the evening:

·      Eat vegetable soup for dinner.

·      Write as much as I can.

·      Read.

·      Listen to calming music.

·      Have a nice, warm cup of coffee by my side.

·      Listen to my Muse.

·      Practice gratitude.

·      List something on eBay.

·      If time permits, make a bowl of popcorn and read some comic books.

While that may not sound like the most exciting agenda for a Friday night, it’s exciting to me.  All of it revolves around doing things that are meaningful and fun for me.   For me, life doesn’t get much better than when I’m in my Purpose or having genuine fun.  It’s been a nice day and it should be a quiet night.  I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to sit and write and not have anything else to do. 

Today I realized I should be constantly grateful for the following four things because without them my life would be infinitely more difficult:

·      Health

·      Freedom

·      Home

·      Daily needs

Those four things are really all I need to have a peaceful day.  Barring an unforeseen tragedy, most troubles in life are fairly small.  However, they become much larger because they are exaggerated by fear.  I don’t say that to be judgmental, but from experience.  My fear makes my problems larger than they are.  In fact, my fear often creates problems where there are none.  

As far as I’m concerned there is far too much drama in the world and it’s everywhere.  Tonight I was looking at Facebook.  As a comic book reader I like to read fan pages from other comic readers.  But even there, on a place where people all have a common interest, there is fighting, name-calling and anger.   I’ve certainly been guilty of enough of my own drama.  One of the reasons I like writing so much is because it helps me work through my drama privately before it becomes drama publicly. 

If I want I can write about my fears, hatreds, prejudices and pettiness without having to share it with anyone.  I can say, I hate ____________ because ___________!” 

No one has to know.  The world doesn’t have to endure my stupidities.  I can write it all here and then delete it.  I can write for hours and no one has to listen, but it feels the same as if I were talking to my best friend.   I am.  I’m speaking with my Muse.  She has told me that she loves my voice, she loves to listen to me and she even likes the way my mind works. 

The other joy in writing consistently is watching how my line of thought develops over time.  Although the theme has been fairly consistent, Purpose, I’ve spent a lot of time writing about the writing process.  In fact, based on my experiences in the last year, I’ve learned that I want to write full time.  Sitting alone at this keyboard with only my Muse to keep my company is one of the most effective and enjoyable uses of my time.  If I could stop being so easily distracted, I think I could do this for three to four hours a day easily. 

Perhaps this blog is too personal, but that’s what writing is:  it’s personal.  That’s what Purpose is, too.  Even if I share it with the world, it’s really between God, my Muse and me.  It’s personal.